Are AI Visibility Tools Measuring the Wrong Things?

That's a good point, which kind of brings me to something that I've been reading about on Reddit recently, and anybody that knows me know I'm, like, really big on trying to find out what people are saying on Reddit about AI search visibility, 'cause there are so many different subs about it now.

Um, but one of the arguments recently is that if you're tracking any of this, either with a tool or just manually, you don't need to be tracking citations.

You should be tracking the mentions, which goes back to what your website says about you and what the LLMs say about you.

Gotcha.

What do you think about that? Because that was a hot topic that day I was reading that topic.

Uh, I mean, yeah.

I mean, that's a great point/question.

I mean, personally, I would rather be mentioned, but, I mean, my kind of hierarchy for, like, KPIs, and I don't think any tool even provides it yet, is, like, being recommended, mentioned, and then cited.

I would say that's kind of my degree, my hierarchy of, like, what's most important.

I think citations are important, but really you wanna make sure there're actually prompts and things that are actually further down, maybe the middle or the bottom of the funnel versus here you're showing up for informational prompt and you're being cited, and it's like that's ...

They might not even visit your website.

So I think it just matters based on the prompts.

But yeah, definitely going back to being recommended and mentioned, and then cited I'm putting, like, at the bottom.

That's kind of what the original poster had said.

They're like, "It, it doesn't matter how many times you're cited.

If, if people aren't really being told about you-

Exactly

...

it doesn't really matter." Um, and I know a lot of these tools are tracking those citations more so than they are the actual mentions or the recommendations.

Yes.

Yeah.

I mean, I think it's, I dare to say, like, it's not 100% a vanity metric, but I feel like it's on the borderline of being a bit, um, a vanity metric.

metric.Yeah, I, I think you might be right.

That's a good point, which kind of brings me to something that I've been reading about on Reddit recently, and anybody that knows me know I'm, like, really big on trying to find out what people are saying on Reddit about AI search visibility, 'cause there are so many different subs about it now.

Um, but one of the arguments recently is that if you're tracking any of this, either with a tool or just manually, you don't need to be tracking citations.

You should be tracking the mentions, which goes back to what your website says about you and what the LLMs say about you.

Gotcha.

What do you think about that? Because that was a hot topic that day I was reading that topic.

Uh, I mean, yeah.

I mean, that's a great point/question.

I mean, personally, I would rather be mentioned, but, I mean, my kind of hierarchy for, like, KPIs, and I don't think any tool even provides it yet, is, like, being recommended, mentioned, and then cited.

I would say that's kind of my degree, my hierarchy of, like, what's most important.

I think citations are important, but really you wanna make sure there're actually prompts and things that are actually further down, maybe the middle or the bottom of the funnel versus here you're showing up for informational prompt and you're being cited, and it's like that's ...

They might not even visit your website.

So I think it just matters based on the prompts.

But yeah, definitely going back to being recommended and mentioned, and then cited I'm putting, like, at the bottom.

That's kind of what the original poster had said.

They're like, "It, it doesn't matter how many times you're cited.

If, if people aren't really being told about you-

Exactly

...

it doesn't really matter." Um, and I know a lot of these tools are tracking those citations more so than they are the actual mentions or the recommendations.

Yes.

Yeah.

I mean, I think it's, I dare to say, like, it's not 100% a vanity metric, but I feel like it's on the borderline of being a bit, um, a vanity metric.

metric.Yeah, I, I think you might be right.