The Citations page reveals the source of truth for AI platforms. It shows you exactly which websites and domains are being referenced in AI responses, giving you a powerful lever to influence the narrative.

Why Citations Matter

A citation is an explicit endorsement from an AI model. When your domain is cited, the AI is effectively pointing to you as an authoritative source.

• Shape the Narrative: If your citation share is low while your competitors' is high, they are directly influencing what the AI says. Winning citations means you control the story.
  
  

• Signal Authority: Content that gets cited is seen as credible and trustworthy by AI models, which can lead to more frequent and positive mentions over time.
  
  

• Uncover Outreach Opportunities: Identifying which third-party "Earned" and "Social" domains are frequently cited gives you a targeted list for PR, backlinking, and community engagement efforts.

To an AI platform, citations are more than just footnotes – they are a core part of how an answer is constructed and validated. Cited content often serves as the primary source material or "seed" from which the AI synthesizes its response. If your article is the one being cited, your data, phrasing, and perspective are more likely to form the foundation of the AI's answer.

Understanding the Citations Page

Citation Share Trend Chart

At the top of the page, a trend chart visualizes your Citation Share over time, benchmarked against your tracked competitors. Use this to quickly see if your efforts to create citable content are paying off and how you stack up against the competition.

The Citation Breakdown Table

The main table on this page lists every single root domain that has been cited in AI responses related to your tracked prompts. The data is organized into four key categories:

Table Columns:

• Domain: The root domain (e.g., yourcompany.com). 

  • Subdomains are automatically rolled up into the root domain.
    
    

• Citation Count: The total number of times a page from that domain has been cited.
  
  

• Citation Share: The percentage of all citations that come from that domain.
  
  

• Category: Owned, Competitor, Earned, or Social.

Drilling Down for Actionable Insights

You can investigate any domain to see exactly what content is driving its success.

1. Select a Domain: In the main table, find a domain you want to analyze (it could be yours, a competitor's, or an earned media site).
   
   

2. View Details: Hover over the domain and click View Details.
   
   

3. Analyze the Data: This will open the Citation Details Page, which reveals:

   • Specific Cited Webpages: A list of the exact URLs from that domain that have been cited, showing you which specific articles or pages are most influential.

   • Performance by Context: You can see how the domain's citations perform across different prompts, topics, and AI platforms, helping you understand where its content is most effective.
     
     

     

Use this drill-down feature to understand what specific content of yours is working, get article ideas from competitors, and identify the most valuable pages on third-party sites for your outreach efforts.