Citation Engineering Checklist

Overview

Ensures your pages are structured so AI engines can quote them as the source of an answer.

When to use this

Run when competitors are cited in AI answers and you are not, or before publishing key answer pages.

Make the page quotable

• Confirm the page answers the target question directly in a single, self-contained passage.
• Structure content with clear question-style headings an engine can extract.
• Provide concise, factual statements that stand alone without surrounding context.
• Include original data, definitions or expert quotes worth citing.

Make the source trustworthy

• Attribute the page to a credentialed, named author.
• Cite primary sources and link to authoritative references.
• Confirm publish and update dates are visible and accurate.
• Add relevant schema so the answer and its provenance are machine-readable.

Verify and monitor

• Query target AI engines and confirm whether the page is cited.
• Log which passages are quoted and refine those that are ignored.
• Re-check citations after each engine update or content refresh.