AI Search Optimization: Data finds Brand Mentions Improve Visibility

AI Search Optimization: Data finds Brand Mentions Improve Visibility

• AI search engines cite third-party content the most
• Citation frequency varies greatly across platforms
• High-quality sources appear most often, but mid-tier sources are common

Citation Frequency Differs by Platform

Citation frequency measures how often AI platforms cite your pages or domain in generated answers. In answer-first experiences such as Perplexity and Google’s AI overviews, citation frequency is a proxy for authority and extractability- revealing whether your content is informing the AI’s conclusions.

When AIs' regulatory cite URLs for relevant prompts, then your content is authoritative, structured, and current enough to be selected.

Why citation frequency matters?

• Authority signal: repeated citations indicate that platforms trust your content for specific topics
• Visibility without clicks: In zero-click answers, citations are the primary way users see sources
• Content roadmap: Pages earning citations reveal what structures and topics to scale
• Competitive intel: Comparing frequencies shows that competitors are informing answers instead of you

Third-Party Content Leads Citation Types

Four categories of citations-

• Owned (company domains)
• Competitor domains
• Earned (third-party/affiliate sites)
• UGC (user-generated content)

Citations that are changing throughout the Customer Journey

Based on query types, the data reveals variations in citation patterns:

Citations from third-party editorial content are more prevalent during the problem discovery and education phases. The comparative stages saw a surge in UGC citations from review sites and forums. Citations typically originate directly from competitors’ and brands’ websites during the final research and evaluation stage.

Source Quality Distribution

When examining the quality distribution of cited sources, the data showed:

• High quality sources
• Upper-mid quality sources
• Mid-quality sources
• Lower-quality sources
• Low-quality sources

Platform-Specific UGC Preferences

UGC platforms streamline how brands gather user-generated content. The platforms are software tools that streamline the sourcing of user-generated content. Gathering posts that are related to your brand on social media includes videos featuring your product or @tagging your brand.

Many brands are turning to dedicated UGC platforms for collecting customer content versus doing everything in-house. This makes sense given how time-consuming gathering UGC can be.

Most UGC software assists brands with:

• Content collection includes detection, sourcing, and aggregating social posts.
• In content creation, your brand is newer to social or doesn’t have much organic user-generated content in the wild.
• Reporting and analytics apps can actually measure the performance of your brand’s user-generated content, which includes engagement rate, comments, shares and more.
• Content rights management is important for incorporating UGC into your ads or paid promotions.
• User-generated content review and approval platform offers quality control so that your posts are on-brand and promo-ready.

Popular Types of UGC Software:

1. Content Aggregators: UGC aggregators source user-generated content from hashtags and @mentions across social media. The platforms are ideal for brands that already earn a lot of UGC from their customers.
2. Self-Service UGC Platforms: Self-service platforms offer a way for brands to find creators to post on their behalf. These platforms are ideal for brands that have time to manage campaigns in-house and are running one-off promotions with specific creators.
3. Scalable UGC Platforms: Scalable UGC platforms effectively match brands with relevant influencers and creators (no search tools required). These platforms streamlined the process of generating new content for brands while also aggregating and analyzing those posts.

Brands Investing in UGC Platforms

Growing Brands need Authentic Content at Scale

UGC platforms offer brands a scalable way to generate a library of on-brand content without having to play the waiting game.

Given that buyers are 2.4x more likely to see consumer content as authentic versus branded content, the value of real people posting about products can’t be overstated.

Brands should strive to keep their customer content front and center on social media and beyond. Doing so means that new customers can easily imagine your products in their hands. This also highlights the value of running always-on campaigns where your brand earns content consistently.

The Third-Party Citation Opportunity

Since earned media (content from third parties) is the biggest citation source on AI search platforms, it’s important to focus on:

• Building relationships with industry publications
• Creating content that others want to cover
• Contributing guest articles to trusted websites
• Developing strategies for the user-generated content (UGC) platforms that each AI engine prefers

Brand mentions have always mattered, but they’ve become mission-critical for organic visibility in the AI era. Because brand mentions from trusted sources are the top factor for visibility in AI Overviews, per a recent Ahrefs study.

To improve your content’s chances of being cited by AI search engines, invest in a combination of owned material, third-party coverage, and visibility on pertinent UGC networks. According to the data, getting mentions on reputable third-party websites might be even more beneficial than improving the content of your domain.