Glossary
Citation
Citations are proof that an answer is grounded in a visible source.
Track them next to Share of Voice and sentiment scoring.
Definition
A citation in an LLM answer is a domain, URL, or named source used to support a claim. In Perplexity-style interfaces, citations are visible links. In other assistants, they may appear as named sources or implied references. For brands, citations matter because they show whether the answer can be verified.
Source mix snapshot
| Domain group | Previous run | Current run | Delta |
|---|---|---|---|
| Your owned domains | 24% | 35% | +11 pp |
| Tier-1 media | 39% | 33% | -6 pp |
| Forums/UGC | 21% | 18% | -3 pp |
| Unknown/low-trust | 16% | 14% | -2 pp |
Mini chart (owned citation share):
Run-1 24% ▇▇▇▇▇
Run-2 29% ▇▇▇▇▇▇
Run-3 35% ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇
This is a strong signal: models rely more on your primary sources, which usually stabilizes answer quality.
How it's computed
Getllmspy extracts links and source mentions from answers, normalizes them by domain, and aggregates them across the same prompt pack. Fanout queries are used to check whether a source pattern is consistent or just a one-off.
Calculation example
If one run has 120 total cited mentions and your domains appear 42 times, your citation share is:
Citation share = 42 / 120 = 35%
If a previous run was 24%, the shift is +11 pp.
How it works in practice
Citation hygiene checklist
- Publish one canonical source per key claim (pricing, compliance, product limits).
- Add publication dates and clear ownership to evidence pages.
- Remove contradictory duplicates that compete for the same fact.
- Track cited host mix weekly, not only total citation share.
How to read it
Prioritize consistent citations to high-trust pages you control (docs, research, legal pages). A spike in weak sources is a risk signal even when LLM-Score looks healthy.
First 10 actions to improve citation quality
- List your top 15 business-critical facts.
- Map each fact to one canonical URL.
- Add explicit wording models can quote directly.
- Add source-date and update-date to the page.
- Link from related pages to the canonical source.
- Remove legacy pages with conflicting values.
- Re-run the same prompt pack.
- Check if owned domain citation share improved.
- Check if low-trust source share dropped.
- Keep only changes that survived the second run.
Citation mix benchmarks (orientation)
| Metric | Weak zone | Healthy zone |
|---|---|---|
| Owned-source citation share | <20% | 30%+ |
| Unknown/low-trust share | >25% | <15% |
| Top-domain concentration | >70% one domain | 35-60% balanced |
These ranges vary by niche, but they help detect unstable grounding.
When to use
- GEO programs that prioritize verifiable facts.
- PR measurement after publishing primary research.
- Selecting outreach targets that models already treat as sources.