Citation Analysis

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What Citation Analysis Is

Citation Analysis tracks which websites and URLs AI platforms reference when they mention your brand or answer queries in your industry. It shows you exactly where AI systems are pulling information from and how your content compares to competitors. When an AI platform like ChatGPT or Google AI Overview generates a response, it often cites sources. Citation Analysis categorizes these sources and helps you understand your brand’s content presence across AI-generated answers.

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Why It Matters

AI platforms don’t just mention brands—they cite specific URLs as sources. Understanding citation patterns helps you:

• Identify content gaps: See which topics competitors dominate with cited content
• Optimize existing content: Understand which of your pages AI platforms trust and reference
• Discover citation opportunities: Find external sites mentioning your brand that could be leveraged
• Track competitor strategies: See which URLs competitors are getting cited for
• Measure content authority: Understand how often AI platforms trust your owned content vs. third-party mentions

If your owned content isn’t being cited, you’re missing opportunities to control your brand narrative in AI-generated responses.

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Citation Categories

Citation Analysis groups all citations into five categories:

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1. Owned

URLs owned by your brand that are cited in AI responses. These are direct citations to your website, blog, documentation, or other owned properties. What this means:

• AI platforms trust your content as a source
• Your content is authoritative enough to be referenced
• You control the narrative when your brand is mentioned

Example scenario: An AI platform answers “What is the best CRM for small businesses?” and cites your blog post comparing CRM features.

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2. Mentioned

External sites that mentioned your brand and got cited by AI platforms. These are third-party websites (news sites, review platforms, blogs) that wrote about your brand and were referenced in AI responses. What this means:

• Your brand has external coverage
• AI platforms find third-party perspectives valuable
• Your PR and content marketing efforts are reaching authoritative sites

Example scenario: A tech news site reviewed your product, and AI platforms cite that review when discussing your category.

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3. Not Mentioned

External URLs cited in AI responses where your brand is NOT mentioned. These are sources AI platforms used to answer queries in your topic area, but they don’t reference your brand at all. What this means:

• Content gap opportunity: These are topics where you should create content
• Competitors or other industry voices are filling information needs
• You’re invisible in these topic areas from an AI perspective

Example scenario: AI responds to “How to improve email deliverability” by citing 5 external guides—none mention your email marketing platform. This is your biggest opportunity area.

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4. Social

Social media links cited in AI responses. Citations from social platforms like LinkedIn, Twitter, Reddit, or Facebook. What this means:

• AI platforms are pulling information from social discussions
• Your social content or mentions are surfacing in AI responses
• Community conversations influence AI-generated answers

Example scenario: A Reddit discussion about your product is cited when AI responds to “What do users say about [your category]?“

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5. Competitor

URLs owned by your competitors that are cited in AI responses. Direct citations to competitor websites, blogs, or content. What this means:

• Competitors have content authority in your space
• You need to understand what topics they’re dominating
• Opportunity to create better, more comprehensive content on the same topics

Example scenario: Your competitor’s pricing page is cited when users ask about industry pricing models.

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How to Use Citation Analysis

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Filter and Explore Citations

Use the filters at the top to narrow down your analysis: All Platforms: Filter by ChatGPT, Google Overview, or Google AI Mode to see platform-specific citation patterns. Topic: Focus on specific topics to understand citation trends for different query types. Date Range: Analyze citation trends over time (last 7 days, 30 days, 3 months, etc.).

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Review Category Percentages

The percentage cards at the top show your citation distribution:

• High “Owned” percentage: Your content is highly trusted by AI platforms
• High “Not Mentioned” percentage: Major content gap—AI platforms aren’t finding your brand relevant for many queries
• High “Competitor” percentage: Competitors have stronger content authority
• High “Mentioned” percentage: Strong external brand presence and PR coverage

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Analyze Domain-Level Breakdown

Below the category cards, you’ll see a domain-level list showing:

• Citations: How many times this domain was cited across all AI responses
• Appeared: How many different AI responses included this domain
• Unique URLs: Number of distinct URLs from this domain that were cited

Use this to:

• Identify which competitor domains dominate citations
• Find external sites that frequently cite your industry (potential partnership opportunities)
• Discover authoritative domains you should aim to get coverage on

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Expand Domain Details

Click the + icon next to any domain to see:

• Specific URLs that were cited
• Titles and snippets of cited content
• Platforms where each URL was cited

This helps you understand exactly which content pieces are winning AI citations.

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What’s Next

Learn how to leverage citation data for content strategy:

• Explore practical use cases and best practices
• Set up scheduled prompts to track citations automatically
• Create a content calendar based on citation gaps