Citation Tracking Setup & Best Practices

🎯 Quick Summary

• Complete guide to setting up automated citation tracking across AI platforms
• Learn to monitor ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, and Perplexity citations systematically
• Track both brand-level and content-level citations with actionable dashboards
• Implement manual and automated tracking methods based on your resources

📋 Table of Contents

1. Citation Tracking Fundamentals
2. UnrealSEO Dashboard Setup
3. Manual Tracking Methods
4. Automated Tracking
5. Organizing Your Data
6. Analysis & Reporting

🔑 Key Concepts at a Glance

• Citation Tracking: Systematic monitoring of AI mentions of your brand/content
• Test Query Set: Collection of 50-500 queries to test regularly
• Citation Log: Database of when/where you're cited
• Tracking Frequency: How often to run tests (daily, weekly, monthly)
• Attribution Verification: Confirming citations are accurate

🏷️ Metadata

Tags: monitoring, tracking, setup, how-to Status: %%ACTIVE%% Complexity: %%MODERATE%% Max Lines: 450 (this file: 445 lines) Reading Time: 10 minutes Last Updated: 2025-01-18

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Citation Tracking Fundamentals

What You're Tracking

Three Levels of Tracking:

Level 1: Brand Mentions
├─ Query: "best CRM software"
├─ Result: Is your brand mentioned? (Yes/No)
└─ Metric: Brand Citation Rate

Level 2: Content Citations
├─ Query: "how to calculate sales velocity"
├─ Result: Is your specific article cited? (Yes/No)
└─ Metric: Content-level Citation Rate

Level 3: Quote/Data Citations
├─ Query: "average CRM ROI statistics"
├─ Result: Are your statistics/quotes cited? (Yes/No)
└─ Metric: Authority Citation Rate

Why Track?

Without Tracking:

"Are we visible in AI search?"
→ No data
→ Can't measure progress
→ Can't justify LLMO investment

With Tracking:

"Our Citation Rate grew from 12% to 28% in 6 months"
→ Clear progress
→ ROI proven
→ Know what's working

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UnrealSEO Dashboard Setup

Initial Setup (5 minutes)

Step 1: Connect Your Domain

Dashboard → Settings → Domain Setup

1. Enter domain: yoursite.com
2. Verify ownership:
   - Method A: DNS TXT record
   - Method B: HTML file upload
   - Method C: Meta tag
3. Click "Verify"

Status: ✅ Verified

Step 2: Define Your Topics

Dashboard → Topics → Add Topics

Enter 3-10 core topics:
✓ "CRM software"
✓ "Sales pipeline management"
✓ "Customer relationship tools"
✓ "CRM for startups"
✓ "CRM pricing"

UnrealSEO will generate 100+ test queries per topic

Step 3: Configure Competitors

Dashboard → Competitors → Add Competitors

Add 5-10 main competitors:
1. Salesforce
2. HubSpot
3. Pipedrive
4. Zoho CRM
5. Freshsales

UnrealSEO tracks their citations too for comparison

Dashboard Overview

Main Dashboard Metrics:

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│  Citation Rate: 24.5%  [+2.3% vs last month]│
│  AI Share of Voice: 15.2%  [#4 in category] │
│  Answer Equity: 78%  [Grade: B+]            │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────┘

Platform Breakdown:
├─ ChatGPT: 31.2% CR  [↗ +3.5%]
├─ Claude: 22.4% CR   [↗ +1.8%]
├─ Gemini: 18.7% CR   [→ +0.2%]
└─ Perplexity: 15.8% CR  [↘ -1.2%]

Top Cited Content:
1. "CRM Buyer's Guide 2025" - 47% CR
2. "CRM Pricing Comparison" - 38% CR
3. "Sales Pipeline Best Practices" - 32% CR

Setting Up Tracking Schedules

Recommended Frequency:

Dashboard → Settings → Tracking Schedule

Small Business:
├─ Full scan: Monthly
├─ Quick check: Weekly (top 50 queries)
└─ Cost: $49/month

Mid-Market:
├─ Full scan: Bi-weekly
├─ Quick check: 2x per week
└─ Cost: $149/month

Enterprise:
├─ Full scan: Weekly
├─ Quick check: Daily
└─ Cost: $499/month

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Manual Tracking Methods

DIY Tracking Setup

For those without UnrealSEO or wanting supplemental tracking:

Step 1: Create Test Query List

Spreadsheet Template:

| Query ID | Query Text | Category | Difficulty |
|----------|-----------|----------|------------|
| Q001 | best CRM software | Generic | High |
| Q002 | CRM for startups under 10 people | Specific | Medium |
| Q003 | Salesforce vs HubSpot comparison | Competitive | High |
| Q004 | how to set up CRM workflow | Educational | Medium |
| Q005 | CRM pricing guide 2025 | Commercial | Medium |

Generate 50-100 queries covering:

• Generic category queries (20%)
• Specific use cases (30%)
• Comparison queries (20%)
• How-to/educational (20%)
• Commercial intent (10%)

Step 2: Manual Testing Process

Weekly Testing Routine:

Monday: ChatGPT Testing
├─ Open ChatGPT
├─ Test 25 queries from your list
├─ Record results in spreadsheet
└─ Time: ~30 minutes

Tuesday: Claude Testing
├─ Open Claude
├─ Test same 25 queries
├─ Record results
└─ Time: ~30 minutes

Wednesday: Gemini Testing
└─ [Same process]

Thursday: Perplexity Testing
└─ [Same process]

Friday: Analysis & reporting
└─ Calculate Citation Rate, trends

Tracking Spreadsheet:

| Query | ChatGPT | Claude | Gemini | Perplexity | Total |
|-------|---------|--------|--------|------------|-------|
| Q001 | ✅ Yes | ❌ No | ✅ Yes | ❌ No | 2/4 |
| Q002 | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes | 4/4 |
| Q003 | ❌ No | ❌ No | ✅ Yes | ❌ No | 1/4 |

Citation Rate: 7/12 = 58.3%

Step 3: Detailed Citation Logging

For each citation, record:

## Citation Log Entry

**Date:** 2025-01-18
**Query:** "best CRM for startups"
**Platform:** ChatGPT
**Cited:** ✅ Yes

**Position:** #2 recommendation
**Context:**
"For startups under 20 employees, I recommend:
1. HubSpot CRM - free tier, easy setup
2. [Your Brand] - affordable, great for agencies
3. Pipedrive - visual pipeline"

**Type:** Direct recommendation
**Sentiment:** Positive
**Accuracy:** ✅ Correct positioning
**Competitor Context:** Listed alongside HubSpot, Pipedrive

**URL Cited:** yoursite.com/startup-crm-guide
**Quote Used:** None (brand mention only)

**Notes:** Good placement, accurate description

---

Automated Tracking

Automation Tools

Option 1: Browser Automation (Intermediate)

Using Selenium/Puppeteer:

// Example: Automated ChatGPT testing
const puppeteer = require('puppeteer');

async function testQuery(query) {
  const browser = await puppeteer.launch();
  const page = await browser.newPage();

  // Navigate to ChatGPT
  await page.goto('https://chat.openai.com');

  // Enter query
  await page.type('#prompt-textarea', query);
  await page.keyboard.press('Enter');

  // Wait for response
  await page.waitForSelector('.response-content', {timeout: 30000});

  // Extract response
  const response = await page.$eval('.response-content',
    el => el.textContent);

  // Check for brand mention
  const cited = response.includes('Your Brand Name');

  return {
    query: query,
    cited: cited,
    response: response,
    timestamp: new Date()
  };
}

// Test all queries
const queries = [
  "best CRM software",
  "CRM for startups",
  // ... more queries
];

queries.forEach(query => {
  testQuery(query).then(result => {
    console.log(result);
    // Save to database
  });
});

Option 2: API-Based Tracking (Advanced)

Using OpenAI API:

import openai
import csv
from datetime import datetime

openai.api_key = 'your-api-key'

def test_citation(query, brand_name):
    response = openai.ChatCompletion.create(
        model="gpt-4",
        messages=[{"role": "user", "content": query}]
    )

    answer = response.choices[0].message.content
    cited = brand_name.lower() in answer.lower()

    return {
        'query': query,
        'cited': cited,
        'answer': answer,
        'timestamp': datetime.now(),
        'tokens': response.usage.total_tokens
    }

# Load test queries
queries = [
    "best CRM software",
    "CRM for startups",
    # ...
]

results = []
for query in queries:
    result = test_citation(query, "Your Brand")
    results.append(result)
    print(f"{query}: {'✅' if result['cited'] else '❌'}")

# Save results
with open('citation_tracking.csv', 'w') as f:
    writer = csv.DictWriter(f, fieldnames=['query', 'cited',
                                           'timestamp', 'tokens'])
    writer.writeheader()
    writer.writerows(results)

# Calculate Citation Rate
citation_rate = sum(r['cited'] for r in results) / len(results)
print(f"\nCitation Rate: {citation_rate:.1%}")

Cost Estimate:

100 queries × $0.03 per query (GPT-4) = $3.00
Run weekly: ~$12/month
Run daily: ~$90/month

(Much cheaper than manual labor)

---

Organizing Your Data

Database Structure

Citation Tracking Database Schema:

-- Main citations table
CREATE TABLE citations (
  id INTEGER PRIMARY KEY,
  query_id INTEGER,
  platform VARCHAR(50),  -- ChatGPT, Claude, etc.
  cited BOOLEAN,
  position INTEGER,      -- 1st, 2nd, 3rd mention
  sentiment VARCHAR(20), -- positive, neutral, negative
  test_date DATE,
  response_text TEXT
);

-- Queries table
CREATE TABLE queries (
  id INTEGER PRIMARY KEY,
  query_text TEXT,
  category VARCHAR(50),
  difficulty VARCHAR(20),
  commercial_intent BOOLEAN
);

-- Content citations table
CREATE TABLE content_citations (
  id INTEGER PRIMARY KEY,
  citation_id INTEGER,
  article_url VARCHAR(255),
  article_title VARCHAR(255),
  quote_used TEXT,
  accurate BOOLEAN
);

Monthly Reporting Template

# Citation Tracking Report - January 2025

## Executive Summary

**Overall Performance:**
- Citation Rate: 26.4% (↗ +2.1% vs Dec)
- Queries tested: 200
- Times cited: 53
- Platforms tested: 4

## Platform Breakdown

| Platform | Citation Rate | Change | Rank |
|----------|--------------|--------|------|
| ChatGPT | 32.5% | +3.2% | 🥇 Best |
| Perplexity | 28.0% | +2.5% | 🥈 |
| Claude | 24.5% | +1.8% | 🥉 |
| Gemini | 20.5% | +0.9% | 4th |

## Top Performing Content

1. **"CRM Buyer's Guide 2025"**
   - Citation Rate: 48%
   - Platforms: All 4
   - Position: Avg #2.3

2. **"CRM Pricing Comparison"**
   - Citation Rate: 41%
   - Platforms: 3/4 (not Gemini)
   - Position: Avg #1.8

## Issues Identified

⚠️ **Gemini underperformance**
- Only 20.5% CR (vs 32.5% ChatGPT)
- Action: Create Gemini-optimized content

⚠️ **Product comparison gaps**
- "[Your Brand] vs Salesforce": 0% citation
- Action: Create detailed comparison content

## Actions This Month

✅ Created 3 new comparison articles
✅ Updated pricing page with schema
✅ Fixed 5 factual inaccuracies
🚧 Working on Gemini optimization

---

Analysis & Reporting

Key Metrics to Track

1. Overall Citation Rate Trend

Jan: 18.2%
Feb: 19.7% (+1.5pp)
Mar: 22.1% (+2.4pp)
Apr: 23.8% (+1.7pp)
May: 26.4% (+2.6pp)

5-month growth: +8.2pp (+45% increase)
Average monthly growth: +1.64pp

2. Platform-Specific Performance

Which platforms are you winning/losing?

ChatGPT: 32% CR → Winning ✅
Perplexity: 28% CR → Competitive ✅
Claude: 24% CR → Average 🟡
Gemini: 20% CR → Needs work ⚠️

Focus: Improve Gemini presence

3. Content Performance Analysis

Best performing content types:

Comparison guides: 41% avg CR
How-to tutorials: 36% avg CR
Pricing guides: 33% avg CR
Case studies: 28% avg CR
Blog posts: 19% avg CR

Strategy: Create more comparison/how-to content

4. Query Category Analysis

Citation rate by query type:

Specific use case: 38% CR ("CRM for real estate")
Educational: 31% CR ("how to implement CRM")
Commercial: 27% CR ("CRM pricing")
Generic: 18% CR ("best CRM")
Competitive: 12% CR ("Salesforce alternative")

Insight: Dominate specific niches, struggle on generic

Competitive Benchmarking

Track competitors alongside your brand:

Category: CRM Software (100 test queries)

Your Brand: 26% CR (#4 position)
├─ HubSpot: 34% CR (#1)
├─ Salesforce: 29% CR (#2)
├─ Pipedrive: 27% CR (#3)
├─ You: 26% CR (#4) ← Current position
└─ Zoho: 18% CR (#5)

Gap to #3: -1pp (very close!)
Gap to #1: -8pp

Goal: Overtake Pipedrive (27%) by next month

Alert Triggers

Set up alerts for significant changes:

Alert Conditions:

🔴 Critical:
- Citation Rate drops >5pp month-over-month
- Major competitor surges >10pp
- Negative sentiment citation detected
→ Action: Immediate investigation

🟡 Warning:
- Citation Rate flat for 2+ months
- Losing position on key queries
- New competitor enters top 5
→ Action: Review strategy

🟢 Positive:
- Citation Rate increases >3pp
- New content gets >40% CR
- Overtake competitor in ranking
→ Action: Document what worked, replicate

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📚 Related Topics

Other Monitoring:

• Competitor Analysis
• Alert Setup

Metrics:

• Citation Rate
• AI Share of Voice
• Answer Equity

Optimization:

• Content Optimization
• Schema Implementation

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🆘 Need Help?

Citation Tracking Support:

• 💬 Community
• 📧 info@unrealseo.com
• 📊 Tracking Template

Tools:

• Citation Tracker (Free)
• Automation Scripts
• API Documentation

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Last updated: 2025-01-18 | Edit this page