This methodology explains how AI citations are earned. Its governing principle: citations are consequences, not commodities. You build the conditions under which engines choose to cite you; you do not (and cannot) buy or force the citation itself.

Step 1 — Citation-worthiness audit

Before earning coverage, establish whether your content is citable: quotable facts, verifiable claims, named sources, entity clarity. A site whose content cannot be safely quoted will not be cited no matter how much coverage it earns. This is the same logic as the audit checklist.

Step 2 — Evidence base

Create the evidence engines can cite: original research, methodology pages, technical documentation, precise product facts, transparent company information. This evidence base is the supply side of the citation economy — without it, coverage has nothing to point at.

Step 3 — Entity-consistent coverage

Earn placements from credible, relevant properties — industry media, directories, associations — with consistent brand attribution. Every placement should describe the brand identically, reinforcing entity resolution and E-E-A-T signals.

Step 4 — Verification and correction

Monitor how engines describe the brand across placements. Correct inaccuracies at the source (the property, not the engine). Engines assemble their picture from the web’s description of you; a single persistent error can colour the entire graph.

Step 5 — Measurement

Track citation rate against the baseline, per platform, with the discipline of the prompt testing methodology. Attribute changes to placements only where the timeline supports it.

The ethics boundary

This methodology explicitly excludes: hidden instruction content, payment for citations, artificial link schemes, and any attempt to manipulate engines directly. Beyond the compliance risk, such tactics are self-defeating — engines harden against them continuously, and the prompt injection attack class shows how aggressively they do. The citation building service operates within this boundary; the digital PR service supplies the earned-coverage engine.