What is the Citation Loop?
The Citation Loop is CitedGEO's Generative Engine Optimization method: a five-step cycle, run every month, that measures where a brand is named and cited by AI engines, fixes what is holding it back, and re-measures to check the fix worked.
- 01
Probe
Run your buyers' questions through five AI engines, 3 times each. Record who is named and who is cited. Detail: the GEO audit method.
- 02
Diagnose
List the sources the engines cite for your topic. Compare what they say about you with what is true. Detail: the GEO audit method.
- 03
Build
Fix crawl access and page structure. Publish definitions, comparisons and facts an engine can quote. Detail: content for citability, technical SEO.
- 04
Earn
Get your brand described correctly on the third-party sites the engines already cite. Detail: entity and brand signals.
- 05
Re-measure
Run the same prompt set again. Compare with the baseline. Pick the next cycle's priorities. Detail: the measurement method.
The two open methods behind the loop
- The GEO audit method: the seven-step process behind Probe and Diagnose — scope, prompt set, five engines, classification, source mapping, site and brand checks, report.
- The measurement method: the process behind Re-measure — metric definitions, how prompt sets are built and versioned, run frequency, and what happens when a model updates.
Why a loop, not a one-off project
AI engines retrain, update crawlers and change what they cite without notice. A single audit only describes one month. The loop re-runs the same measurement every cycle, so a change in your numbers can be tied to a specific step: something we built, something a competitor did, or a model update — see how we mark a model update in the measurement method.
What we do not claim
- No guaranteed placement in any AI engine's answers — no agency controls model output.
- No invented case numbers: every figure in our case studies has a source and a date.
- No hidden instructions or manipulation aimed at AI models; see the audit method for what "Build" and "Earn" actually mean in practice.