Monitoring & Tracking Overview
🎯 Quick Summary
- Complete guide to monitoring LLM-SEO performance
- Track citations, competitors, and trends across all AI platforms
- Set up alerts for important changes
- Measure ROI and demonstrate value
📋 Table of Contents
🔑 Key Concepts at a Glance
- Citation Monitoring: Track when AI platforms cite your content
- Competitor Tracking: Benchmark against competitors in AI results
- Alert System: Get notified of important changes
- Trend Analysis: Measure performance over time
- Share of Voice: Your visibility vs competitors in AI answers
🏷️ Metadata
Tags: monitoring, tracking, analytics, alerts
Status: %%ACTIVE%%
Complexity: %%BEGINNER%%
Reading Time: 7 minutes
Last Updated: 2025-01-18
Why Monitor LLM-SEO?
The Visibility Challenge
Traditional SEO is easy to monitor:
Google ranking: Check position 1-100
Up or down? Clear signal.
Traffic: Google Analytics shows visits
LLM-SEO is different:
AI platforms don't have "rankings"
They either cite you... or don't.
Questions:
• Is ChatGPT citing my content?
• For which queries?
• How does this change over time?
• Am I winning or losing vs competitors?
Without monitoring: You're flying blind
The ROI Problem
Executives ask:
"We're investing in LLM-SEO. What's the return?"
Without monitoring, you can't answer:
- ❌ "I think we're doing better..."
- ❌ "Seems like more AI platforms know about us..."
- ❌ "Maybe we're being cited more?"
With monitoring, you show data:
- ✅ "Citation rate increased from 15% to 42% in 3 months"
- ✅ "We're now cited 2.3x more than our top competitor"
- ✅ "5 of our target queries now cite us on all 4 platforms"
Bottom line: You can't optimize what you don't measure.
What to Monitor
1. Citation Rate
Definition: Percentage of target queries that cite your content
Citation Rate (CR) = (Queries citing you) / (Total queries) × 100
Example:
• You track 100 queries
• ChatGPT cites you on 38 queries
• Your ChatGPT Citation Rate = 38%
Track across platforms:
┌──────────────┬─────────────┬──────────┐
│ Platform │ Citations │ CR │
├──────────────┼─────────────┼──────────┤
│ ChatGPT │ 38/100 │ 38% │
│ Claude │ 29/100 │ 29% │
│ Gemini │ 45/100 │ 45% │
│ Perplexity │ 31/100 │ 31% │
├──────────────┼─────────────┼──────────┤
│ Overall │ 143/400 │ 35.8% │
└──────────────┴─────────────┴──────────┘
Goal: Increase CR month-over-month
Benchmark: 25-40% is good, 50%+ is excellent
2. Share of Voice (ASoV)
Definition: Your citation visibility vs competitors
AI Share of Voice = Your citations / Total citations × 100
Example:
Query: "best CRM software"
AI mentions: 5 products total
Your product: #2 (mentioned)
Competitor A: #1 (mentioned)
Competitor B: Not mentioned
Competitor C: #5 (mentioned)
Competitor D: #3, #4 (mentioned twice)
Citation breakdown:
• You: 1 mention
• Competitor A: 1 mention
• Competitor D: 2 mentions
• Competitor C: 1 mention
Total: 5 mentions
Your ASoV: 1/5 = 20%
Competitor D ASoV: 2/5 = 40% (winning!)
Track across all queries:
• You: 47 total mentions
• Market: 200 total mentions
• Your ASoV: 23.5%
Goal: Grow ASoV to 40%+ (market leadership)
See: Competitor Analysis Guide
3. Citation Position
Where you appear in citation lists matters.
Position analysis:
ChatGPT answer for "email marketing software":
"Here are the top email marketing platforms:
1. Mailchimp - ...
2. HubSpot - ...
3. [YOUR BRAND] - ... ← Position #3
4. Constant Contact - ...
5. SendinBlue - ..."
Position tracking:
• #1 position: Premium visibility
• #2-3: Good visibility
• #4-5: Mentioned but less prominent
• Not cited: Invisible
Track position trends:
Week 1: Not cited → Week 2: #5 → Week 4: #3 → Week 8: #1
Goal: Move from #4-5 → #1-2 positions
4. Trend Analysis
Monitor changes over time.
Week-over-week trends:
Citation Rate Trend:
Week 1: 15% baseline
Week 2: 18% (+3pp) ← Optimization applied
Week 3: 22% (+4pp) ← AI platforms re-crawled
Week 4: 25% (+3pp) ← Sustained improvement
Week 8: 35% (+10pp from Week 4)
Month-over-month:
Jan: 15% baseline
Feb: 25% (+10pp, +67% relative growth)
Mar: 35% (+10pp, +40% relative growth)
Year-over-year:
2024: 12% average CR
2025: 38% average CR
Growth: +26pp, +217% improvement
Platform-specific trends:
ChatGPT: Growing (+5pp/month)
Claude: Stable (±0-1pp/month)
Gemini: Declining (-2pp/month) ← Investigate!
Perplexity: Growing (+8pp/month) ← Invest here
5. Competitor Performance
Track competitor citations to benchmark.
Competitive monitoring:
Your citations vs competitors (on same 100 queries):
┌───────────────┬────────────┬──────┬──────────┐
│ Company │ Citations │ CR │ ASoV │
├───────────────┼────────────┼──────┼──────────┤
│ Competitor A │ 62 │ 62% │ 31% │
│ YOU │ 45 │ 45% │ 22.5% │
│ Competitor B │ 38 │ 38% │ 19% │
│ Competitor C │ 31 │ 31% │ 15.5% │
│ Competitor D │ 24 │ 24% │ 12% │
└───────────────┴────────────┴──────┴──────────┘
Insights:
• You're #2 overall (good!)
• Competitor A dominates (62% CR)
• Gap to close: 17pp to reach #1
Opportunity: "Citation Gap Analysis"
→ Queries where Competitor A is cited but you're not (17 queries)
→ Optimize for these queries first
→ Potential CR gain: +17pp (reach 62%)
Monitoring Tools
UnrealSEO Platform
Built-in monitoring capabilities:
1. Citation Tracking
Features:
• Real-time citation testing
• Historical data (90 days)
• Multi-platform tracking (ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Perplexity)
• Automated re-testing (daily/weekly)
• Citation position tracking
Access: Dashboard → Citation Tracking
2. Query Explorer
Features:
• Query discovery and management
• Bulk query testing (1000s at once)
• Query scoring (opportunity ranking)
• Citation history per query
• Export to CSV/Excel
Access: Dashboard → Query Explorer
3. Competitor Tracking
Features:
• Add up to 10 competitors
• Side-by-side comparison
• Citation gap analysis
• Share of Voice calculation
• Competitor alert notifications
Access: Dashboard → Competitors
4. Analytics Dashboard
Features:
• Citation rate trends (graphs)
• Platform breakdown
• Answer Equity score
• Custom date ranges
• Executive summary export (PDF)
Access: Dashboard → Analytics
5. Alert System
Features:
• 20+ alert types
• Email/SMS/Slack notifications
• Custom alert rules
• Alert history log
Access: Dashboard → Alerts
See: Platform Overview
Manual Monitoring
DIY tracking (for testing or validation):
# Test ChatGPT manually:
1. Open ChatGPT
2. Ask: "What are the best CRM software options?"
3. Check if your brand is cited
4. Note position (#1, #2, etc.)
5. Repeat weekly
# Test Claude:
1. Open Claude
2. Ask same query
3. Check citation
4. Record result
Pros: Free, simple
Cons: Time-consuming, not scalable, no history
Use case: Spot-check or validate UnrealSEO data
Getting Started
Step-by-Step Setup
1. Define Target Queries (Day 1)
Start with 20-50 queries:
Categories:
• Brand queries (10 queries)
- "What is [your brand]?"
- "[Your brand] vs [competitor]"
- "[Your brand] review"
• Product queries (10-15 queries)
- "best [your product category]"
- "top [your product type]"
- "[product] comparison"
• Solution queries (10-15 queries)
- "how to [solve problem]"
- "[problem] solution"
- "best way to [achieve goal]"
• Long-tail queries (10 queries)
- Specific, niche questions
- Low competition, high intent
Import to UnrealSEO:
Dashboard → Query Explorer → Import → CSV/Manual
2. Run Baseline Test (Day 1)
Test all queries across platforms:
1. Select all queries in Query Explorer
2. Click "Test Now"
3. Wait 30-90 seconds per query
4. Review results:
- Which platforms cite you?
- Citation rate per platform
- Overall citation rate
Example baseline:
┌──────────────┬─────────────┬──────────┐
│ Platform │ Citations │ CR │
├──────────────┼─────────────┼──────────┤
│ ChatGPT │ 8/50 │ 16% │
│ Claude │ 5/50 │ 10% │
│ Gemini │ 12/50 │ 24% │
│ Perplexity │ 7/50 │ 14% │
├──────────────┼─────────────┼──────────┤
│ Overall │ 32/200 │ 16% │
└──────────────┴─────────────┴──────────┘
Save this as "Week 0 baseline"
3. Set Up Alerts (Day 2)
Configure important alerts:
Critical Alerts:
• Citation lost on high-value query
• Competitor cited on your brand query
• Citation rate drops >10pp week-over-week
• Platform-wide citation drop (all queries)
Positive Alerts:
• New citation on target query
• Citation position improved (#5 → #3)
• Citation rate milestone (25%, 50%, 75%)
• Competitor citation lost (you might win!)
Delivery:
• Email: support@yourcompany.com
• Slack: #llm-seo-alerts channel
• SMS: For critical alerts only
Set up: Dashboard → Alerts → Create Alert
See: Alert Setup Guide
4. Schedule Regular Testing (Day 2)
Automate ongoing monitoring:
Testing frequency:
• Daily: Top 20 queries (high-value)
• Weekly: All queries (50-100 queries)
• Monthly: Comprehensive audit (all queries + new discoveries)
Configure:
Dashboard → Settings → Automated Testing
Example schedule:
• Every day at 9am PT: Test top 20 queries
• Every Monday at 6am PT: Test all queries
• 1st of month: Full audit + executive report
Results:
• Emailed to team automatically
• Viewable in Analytics dashboard
• Stored in citation history (90 days)
5. Monitor & Review (Ongoing)
Weekly review (15 min):
• Check Citation Rate trend
• Review new citations (celebrate wins!)
• Investigate citation losses (fix issues)
• Update query list (add/remove queries)
Monthly review (1 hour):
• Deep-dive analytics
• Competitor comparison
• Citation gap analysis
• Prioritize optimizations for next month
• Generate executive report (PDF)
Quarterly review (half-day):
• Strategic assessment
• ROI calculation
• Budget allocation
• Roadmap planning
Best Practices
1. Start Small, Scale Up
❌ Don't: Track 1000 queries on day 1
✅ Do: Start with 20-50 core queries
Why:
• Easier to manage
• Faster to optimize
• Clear signal (not noise)
• Build confidence
Scaling timeline:
Month 1: 20 queries → Learn basics
Month 2: 50 queries → Expand coverage
Month 3: 100 queries → Systematic tracking
Month 6: 500+ queries → Full program
2. Mix Query Types
Balanced query portfolio:
Brand queries (20%):
• Track brand awareness
• Protect brand reputation
• Competitive mentions
Product queries (30%):
• Track product visibility
• Competitive intelligence
• Purchase intent signals
Educational queries (30%):
• Thought leadership
• Awareness stage
• Content performance
Long-tail queries (20%):
• Specific use cases
• Lower competition
• High conversion intent
3. Monitor Competitors Strategically
Choose competitors wisely:
✅ Track:
• Direct competitors (same product/service)
• Market leaders (benchmark)
• Fast-growing startups (watch threats)
❌ Don't track:
• Unrelated companies
• Too many (>10 creates noise)
• Companies outside your space
Example (CRM software):
1. Salesforce (market leader)
2. HubSpot (direct competitor)
3. Pipedrive (direct competitor)
4. Monday.com (adjacent space)
5. Notion (emerging threat)
4. Act on Data
Monitoring without action = wasted effort
Action triggers:
Citation Rate drops >10pp:
→ Investigate immediately
→ Check platform changes
→ Review recent content updates
→ Test recovery plan within 48 hours
Competitor cited, you're not:
→ Analyze their content
→ Identify citation triggers
→ Update your content
→ Re-test in 7-14 days
New citation opportunity:
→ Validate query value (search volume, intent)
→ Create/optimize content
→ Add to tracking list
→ Monitor for 30 days
Pattern recognition:
→ Weekly data review
→ Identify trends (positive/negative)
→ Allocate resources accordingly
→ Iterate strategy
5. Report Results
Stakeholder reporting:
Executive summary (monthly):
• Citation Rate: Current + trend
• Key wins: "Now cited on X new queries"
• Competitor comparison: "Gained Y pp vs Competitor A"
• ROI: "Z% increase in brand mentions"
Team dashboard (weekly):
• Top performing content
• Citation gaps to address
• Testing schedule status
• Alert notifications
Public metrics (quarterly):
• Brand visibility growth
• Platform coverage (4/4 platforms)
• Market position vs competitors
• Year-over-year improvement
Format: PDF export from Analytics dashboard
Distribution: Email, Slack, executive meeting
📚 Related Topics
Monitoring Guides:
- Citation Tracking - Setup and track citations
- Competitor Analysis - Benchmark and identify gaps
- Alert Setup - Configure notifications
Platform Features:
- Query Explorer - Query discovery and testing
- Analytics Dashboard - Metrics and reporting
Metrics:
- Citation Rate - Core metric explained
- AI Share of Voice - Competitive visibility
- Answer Equity - Quality measurement
🆘 Need Help?
Getting Started:
Support:
- 📧 Email Support
- 💬 Live Chat (Mon-Fri 9am-5pm PT)
- 📱 Contact Us
Last updated: 2025-01-18 | Start monitoring: Sign up free