Citation Intelligence Dashboard
The Citation Intelligence dashboard provides deep analysis of how AI platforms cite sources across all your AI Visibility Reports. Understanding citation patterns helps you optimize content to be more frequently cited.
What You'll Learn
In this guide, you'll learn:
- How to interpret citation analytics
- What different citation formats mean
- How to identify influential third-party sources
- How to use citation trends for content strategy
Prerequisites
Citations are tracked based on the AI Visibility reports you run for the property. If you haven't run a report there will not be any data here to view.
Citation Overview
At the top of the dashboard, you'll see summary metrics:
- Total Citations: How many times sources were cited across all reports
- Your Citations: How many times your domain was cited
- Third-Party Citations: Citations to other domains
- Citation Rate: Percentage of AI responses that included citations
Charts and Analysis
Media Type Distribution
This chart shows what types of content get cited most often:
| Media Type | Description |
|---|---|
| Article | Blog posts, news articles, long-form content |
| Product Page | Product descriptions, feature pages |
| Documentation | Help docs, technical documentation, guides |
| Review | User reviews, comparison reviews |
| Data/Research | Studies, statistics, research reports |
| Video | YouTube, embedded video content |
| Other | Miscellaneous content types |
Authority Distribution
This shows the authority level of cited sources:
- Major Media: Well-known publications, major news sites
- Reference/Encyclopedia: Wikipedia, Britannica, and other reference sites
- Trade Media: Industry-specific publications
- Local Media: Regional news publications or guides
- Conpany Websites: Yours or competitors' websites, or smaller third-party sites
If your citations are primarily from low-authority sources, focus on building presence on higher-authority platforms.
Platform Coverage
This chart shows which AI platforms generate the most citations. Understanding which platforms are generating more citations can help you decide which platforms to focus on optimizing for.
Citation Content Formats
We categorize several different types of citations:
- Standard: Traditional informational page content in article format
- Listicle: Best-of or category comparison content
- How-to Guides: Detailed walkthroughs or instructional articles
- News: Articles in major, trade pub, or regional news sources
- Reference: Authoritative guides like Wikipedia
- Reviews: Review platforms like Yelp, G2, Capterral, TrustPilot, or regional or sector-specific review sites
Some formats are more likely to generate click-throughs than others. Listicles are a very common format for citations since they naturally describe differences in category options.
Citation Trends Over Time
The trends chart shows how citation patterns change across your report history:
- Rising citations: Your authority is growing
- Stable citations: Maintaining position
- Declining citations: May indicate increased competition or content staleness
Look for correlations between citation trends and:
- New content publication
- Content updates
- Competitor activity
- AI platform changes
You can compare breakdowns over time of different types of citations:
- Earned media vs. owned media
- Media Type
- Source Authority
- Content Format
Top Third-Party Citation Sources
This list shows which external domains are most frequently cited in reports:
| Column | Description |
|---|---|
| Domain | The cited website |
| Citations | Number of times cited |
Using This Data
Outreach Opportunities: High-citation sources in your space are influential. Consider:
- Contributing guest content
- Building relationships for backlinks
- Monitoring their content strategy
Competitive Intelligence: If competitors' domains appear here frequently, study what content gets cited.
Content Gaps: If certain topics are always cited from third parties, you may need to create authoritative content on those topics.
Taking Action
To Increase Your Citation Rate
- Create citable content: Research reports, original data, comprehensive guides
- Add structured data: Help AI understand your content type
- Build authority signals: Backlinks, mentions, social proof
- Update regularly: Fresh content is more likely to be cited
- Cover topics comprehensively: Thin content rarely gets cited
To Appear in More Citation Contexts
- Review which third-party sources get cited
- Create content covering similar topics
- Ensure your content is at least as comprehensive
- Target the specific grounding searches that trigger citations
- Monitor citation trends after publishing
Best Practices
Track Citation Patterns, Not Just Counts
Raw citation counts fluctuate. Focus on:
- Are you being cited for the right topics?
- Are citation contexts positive or neutral?
- Are you gaining share vs. third parties?
Invest in Citable Content Types
Based on media type distribution, prioritize creating content types that get cited. If research reports get cited frequently, invest in original research.
Build Relationships with High-Citation Sources
The top third-party sources are influential in your space. Building relationships can lead to mentions, links, and referral traffic beyond AI citations.
Monitor Competitor Citations
If a competitor suddenly appears in top citations, investigate what content drove this. You may need to respond with your own authoritative content.
Related
- AI Visibility Reports - Run reports to generate citation data
- AI Traffic Analytics - Track when users click through from AI citations
- Getting Started - Install the tracking plugin