Our brand gets cited in AI answers but way less than competitors. What actually increases citation frequency?

Based on analyzing thousands of brand citation patterns, here are the biggest levers:

The Citation Frequency Hierarchy:

1. Domain Authority (biggest impact)

   • Sites with 24,000+ referring domains: 6.8 avg citations
   • Sites with <300 referring domains: 2.5 avg citations
   • This 2.7x difference is the largest factor

2. Content Depth

   • Pages under 500 words: 4.1 citations
   • Pages over 2,300 words: 5.1 citations
   • Sweet spot is 1,500+ words

3. Community Presence

   • Reddit presence: Huge for Perplexity (47% of citations)
   • Active community participation signals real-world trust

4. Content Freshness

   • Updated within 2 months: 5.0 citations
   • Untouched for 2+ years: 3.9 citations

Your gap analysis:

With DR 54 vs 58, domain authority isn’t your main issue. I’d bet it’s community presence and third-party mentions. Check how often your competitor is discussed on Reddit versus you.

Beyond the big factors, here are citation frequency multipliers that often get overlooked:

1. Be the source, not the summarizer

If your content says “According to HubSpot, the best practice is…” AI will cite HubSpot, not you.

If your content says “Based on our analysis of 500 customers, the best practice is…” AI will cite you.

Do you have original data, research, or unique insights? Or are you synthesizing others’ work?

2. Own the comparison content

Create definitive “X vs Y” and “Best [category]” content that includes you. When AI answers comparison questions, it needs comparison content. Be the one providing it.

3. Answer the long-tail specifically

Broad queries are competitive. Specific queries are winnable.

Instead of trying to get cited for “best CRM,” target “best CRM for real estate agents” where you can dominate.

The threshold effect is real. Let me share some data:

Citation Visibility Cliff:

Brands in the top 25% for web mentions: 169 avg AI Overview mentions Brands in the 50-75% quartile: 14 avg mentions Brands below median: 0-3 mentions

That’s a 10x+ difference between top quartile and second quartile.

What this means:

You may be at 12% citation because you’re below some threshold of brand recognition. Getting to 15% isn’t the goal - you need to break into the top tier.

This requires sustained brand building, not just content optimization. It’s about becoming a recognized name in your space, not just having good content.

Different platforms need different strategies:

ChatGPT (your 12% vs their 45%):

• 48% of citations from Wikipedia
• 27% from news sites
• Values encyclopedic authority
• Action: Get Wikipedia mentioned, earn news coverage

Perplexity (your 8% vs their 38%):

• 47% from Reddit
• Strong preference for review sites
• Action: Build genuine Reddit presence, get on review platforms

Google AI Overview (your 15% vs their 52%):

• Diverse sources: blogs (46%), news (20%), Reddit (4%)
• Correlates with traditional search rankings
• Action: Win featured snippets, diversify content types

Your competitor may be stronger on specific platforms that dominate their citation frequency. Identify which platform they’re winning on and focus there.

Did some digging based on these suggestions. Here’s what I found:

Competitive analysis:

1. Reddit presence:

   • Competitor: Mentioned in 47 Reddit threads in past 6 months
   • Us: 8 threads

2. Wikipedia:

   • Competitor: Has Wikipedia page with industry section mention
   • Us: No Wikipedia presence

3. Review sites:

   • Competitor: 500+ reviews on G2, 4.5 stars
   • Us: 80 reviews on G2, 4.3 stars

4. News mentions:

   • Competitor: 12 major publication mentions last year
   • Us: 3 mentions

The pattern is clear: They’re more recognized in the real world. This isn’t a content optimization problem - it’s a brand awareness problem.

New question: What’s the fastest path to building the third-party presence that drives citations?

Based on your competitive analysis, here’s a prioritized plan:

Fastest impact (1-3 months):

1. Review sites - Email customers asking for G2/Capterra reviews. Offer nothing in exchange (violates TOS) but make it easy. 50+ reviews in 3 months is achievable.

2. Reddit authentically - Identify team members who naturally use Reddit. Have them contribute genuinely in relevant subs. Not promotion - actual help. 10-15 quality contributions monthly.

Medium term (3-6 months):

3. Expert commentary - Pitch yourself as a source for journalist queries. HARO, Qwoted, industry publications. Goal: 5-10 mentions in 6 months.

4. Original research - Commission a survey or analyze your own data. Publish findings. Pitch to industry publications. One solid study can generate 10+ citations.

Longer term (6-12 months):

5. Wikipedia - Build notability through the above, then create a Wikipedia page following guidelines. Rushing this fails.

The key: These aren’t AI optimization tactics. They’re brand building tactics that happen to feed AI trust signals.

One more angle: identify citation gaps.

The process:

1. Run prompts in ChatGPT/Perplexity that should mention you
2. Note which competitors/sources ARE cited
3. Find the actual pages being cited
4. Analyze why those pages get cited over yours

Common gaps I find:

• Competitor pages that explicitly compare options (including themselves)
• Competitor pages with original data/stats
• Competitor pages that directly answer the question in first paragraph
• Competitor presence in roundup articles that get cited

Quick win: Find roundup articles that cite competitors but not you. Reach out to authors requesting inclusion. Even getting added to 5-10 roundups can meaningfully increase citation frequency.

On your timeline question - here’s what’s realistic:

Weeks 1-4:

• Content restructuring: +5-10% citation improvement
• Schema markup: +3-5%
• Freshness updates: +5%

Months 2-3:

• Review accumulation: +5-10%
• Initial Reddit presence: +5-10%
• Expert commentary pieces: +5%

Months 4-6:

• Sustained PR efforts: +10-20%
• Original research: +10-15%
• Community recognition: +10%

Realistic timeline to double citation frequency (12% to 24%):

• Minimum: 4-5 months with aggressive execution
• Typical: 6-8 months with consistent effort

To match your competitor (45%)? That’s a 12-18 month journey because you’re not just optimizing - you’re building brand recognition that takes time to compound.

This is incredibly valuable. Here’s my 6-month action plan:

Month 1: Quick Wins

• Restructure top 20 pages for AI extraction
• Launch review generation campaign
• Identify 3 team members for Reddit participation

Month 2-3: Build Third-Party Presence

• Start expert commentary pitching
• Contribute genuinely on Reddit (15+ quality posts)
• Commission original research study

Month 4-5: Amplify & Expand

• Publish and promote research findings
• Outreach to roundup articles
• Continue review and Reddit building

Month 6: Measure & Adjust

• Full Am I Cited analysis
• Compare citation frequency to baseline
• Identify what worked best, double down

Key reframe for leadership: This isn’t an SEO project - it’s a brand visibility project that happens to improve AI citations. The investment builds real brand equity, not just AI gaming.

The 4-5x gap with our competitor is actually about 4-5 years of brand building we need to accelerate. Setting expectations accordingly.

Thanks everyone - this has been a masterclass.