Queries

How to tell which queries still offer a chance to be cited

For informational queries that ask for a definition or a how-to, documents from outside the top search results have been observed being cited. Commercial queries such as recommendations, rankings and comparisons overlap almost entirely with the top results, so a new document rarely gets cited. Budget goes only to queries with citation opportunities.

Contents

  1. 01Citation opportunities that remain
  2. 02How we choose which queries to target
  3. 03The same criteria applied to different industries

Citation ratio by query type + screening steps · Last verified 2026-08-17

Citation opportunity

Citation opportunities that remain

How much AI answer sources overlap with the top search results shows whether a new document still has a chance to be cited.

Share of citations from the top search resultsShare of citations from outside the top results
  • Informational queriesCitation opportunity 71.4%

    Documents outside the top results were also cited

  • Commercial and comparison queriesNo citation opportunity

    Every cited source overlapped with the top search results

From a Korean study of AI Briefing sources; its sample and methodology weren’t published. We use it only to read the direction.

Screening

How we choose which queries to target

Only queries that pass all four steps, in order, go into the production spec.

01

What is this query asking?

If it asks for a definition, method, procedure or deadline, it’s informational. If it asks for recommendations, rankings, comparisons or the lowest price, it’s commercial.

If it’s commercial, stop here. There’s no reason to look at the later steps.

02

What fills the top search results right now?

Search it yourself and look at the top 10 results. If they’re all ads, marketplaces and brand stores, there’s no room for a new document.

If community posts, blogs and public-agency documents are mixed in, the query has citation opportunities.

03

Can we answer it with facts?

Check whether the answer can come from data, experience and verifiable evidence that’s actually in your hands. If answering means summarizing other people’s writing, that document has no reason to be cited.

In regulated industries, also check whether the wording is permitted.

04

Is another page on our site already answering it?

If a page already answers the same question, improve that page instead of creating a new one.

Skip this check and your own pages end up competing with each other.

By industry

The same criteria applied to different industries

The kinds of queries that offer citation opportunities differ by industry. Target and excluded keywords for each industry are listed below; the examples are Korean search queries shown with English glosses.

Original data56 keywords from 8 industries. Left: target keywords with citation opportunities. Right: keywords we chose to exclude. Korean queries are shown with English glosses

For excluded keywords, AI answer sources are nearly identical to the top search results, which leaves little room for a new document, and regulated industries face limits on the wording itself. That’s why target keywords come first.

Online store marketing

쇼핑몰 마케팅

Citation opportunity · Questions about choosing and caring for products

Cosmetics marketing

화장품 마케팅

Citation opportunity · Questions about ingredients and how to use products

Food brand marketing

식품 브랜드 마케팅

Citation opportunity · Questions about storage, cooking and ingredients

Dental clinic marketing

치과 마케팅

Citation opportunity · Questions about symptoms and treatment

Law firm marketing

법률사무소 마케팅

Citation opportunity · Questions about procedures and deadlines

B2B content marketing

B2B 콘텐츠 마케팅

Citation opportunity · Questions about concepts, integrations and requirements

Private academy marketing

학원 마케팅

Citation opportunity · Questions about admissions rules and prep timelines

Interior renovation marketing

인테리어 마케팅

Citation opportunity · Questions about cost breakdowns and process

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