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Citations are one of the strongest drivers of stable AI visibility. In many categories, AI assistants build answers by pulling from a relatively small set of trusted sources. If your brand is missing from those sources, you can struggle to show up consistently—even if your website content is strong. This workflow focuses specifically on off-page ways to improve citations:
  • Editorial (third-party articles and “best X” lists)
  • Directories (structured listing sources)
  • Social (UGC/community sources like Reddit and forums)
If you want to see which sources matter most in your category, start in Analytics → Citations first, then execute here.

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Step 1. Identify which off-page sources matter for your prompts

Before you take action, you want to make sure you’re working on sources that actually influence the queries you care about.
  1. Go to Analytics → Citations.
  2. Set your date range (Last 7 days vs Prev. Period is a good default).
  3. Note whether the biggest drivers of answers are:
    • Editorial,
    • Directories,
    • Social,
    • or a mix.
This tells you where off-page effort is likely to compound.
Off-page works best when it’s tied to your prompt set. If you change or expand your prompts, the “most important” sources can change too.

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Step 2. Decide which off-page surface to focus on first

Use this decision guide:

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If “best X” lists and publishers dominate → start with Editorial

Editorial is best when AI answers cite listicles, reviews, and roundups.

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If structured listing sites dominate → start with Directories

Directories are best when your industry relies on structured databases or review-style directories (industry-agnostic or industry-specific).

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If Reddit/forums/community dominate → start with Social

Social is best in categories where UGC is heavily cited (often DTC and consumer purchase prompts).
You don’t need to do all three every week. Pick one surface, do a small cadence, then measure week over week.

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Step 3. Use Editorial

Go to Off-page → Editorial. Editorial is a list of third-party articles and domains that are actively being cited by AI for your tracked prompts. It filters down to targets that are most likely to matter for visibility.

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How to work the Editorial list

  1. Start with the highest-impact targets. Prioritize sources that show up repeatedly for your prompt set.
  2. Open the page and confirm the gap. Confirm competitors are included and you are not (or your listing is weak/outdated).
  3. Find the right inclusion path. Look for the author/editor, submission form, editorial guidelines, or update process.
  4. Request inclusion with specific, evidence-backed language. Focus on:
    • what you do and who you’re for,
    • what differentiator matters for the criteria the list is using,
    • and proof signals (certifications, policies, benchmarks, pricing clarity, etc.).

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Step 4. Use Directories

Go to Off-page → Directories. Directories are listing sources that AI often treats as structured evidence. Some are industry-agnostic; others are industry-specific (for example, legal directories like superlawyers.com).

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How to work the Directories list

  1. Start with directories that are clearly influencing your category. If a directory appears repeatedly in citations for your prompt set, it’s usually worth prioritizing early.
  2. Get listed (or strengthen your listing). Focus on adding language that matches how AI answers rank options:
    • clear positioning (who you’re for),
    • concrete differentiators,
    • proof signals,
    • “best for” framing.
  3. Avoid vague marketing language. Directory listings tend to work best when they read like structured facts.
The goal is not just a link. It’s to add accurate, differentiated language to a source AI already trusts.

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Step 5 — Use Social (formerly Engage)

Go to Off-page → Social. Social is a list of community pages (Reddit, forums, LinkedIn, etc.) that are actively being cited by AI for your tracked prompts. UGC importance varies by industry:
  • some categories rely heavily on community sources,
  • others barely cite them at all.

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Two ways teams use Social

  1. Participate in existing threads that AI already trusts. Add helpful, factual language that matches what users are asking. The goal is to shape the narrative and decision criteria in a trusted source.
  2. Use threads as inspiration for your own social content. Learn what questions repeat, what objections come up, and what “best for” language is repeated—then publish your own posts on the platforms AI is citing.
In many cases, links matter less than the language itself. The goal is to get accurate, differentiated language about your brand and products into places AI already trusts.
In many cases, links matter less than the language itself. The goal is to get accurate, differentiated language about your brand and products into places AI already trusts.

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Step 6 — Measure impact (week over week)

After you do off-page work, measure impact in three places:
  1. Analytics → Citations
    • Are the driver sources shifting?
    • Are you appearing more often in the sources that matter?
  2. Analytics → Prompts
    • Did visibility improve on the prompt clusters those sources influence?
    • Did prominence improve (lower is better)?
  3. Home
    • Are citation rate and visibility moving in the right direction?
No single off-page action is guaranteed to increase visibility. Outcomes depend on whether the source remains cited for your prompts, whether your mention is aligned with the criteria the answer uses, and whether competitor sources still dominate. Meridian helps you focus on the sources that are most likely to compound.