# What is LLM citation?

An LLM citation is a reference to a source that an AI system names or links inside a generated answer, marking that source as one of the pages the model drew on to produce its response.

## How it works

When a generative engine answers a question, it attributes parts of the answer to specific sources. Earning that attribution is the core goal of GEO, because the citation is what carries brand visibility into an AI answer.

Citations are not evenly distributed, and they favour the top of a page. In rawmktg's analysis of high-citation pages, [roughly 55% of citations came from the first 30% of the document](/blogs/anatomy-of-a-high-citation-page), so where a claim sits on the page strongly affects whether it gets cited.

## LLM citation vs backlink

A backlink is a link from another site to yours, earned over time and counted by search engines. An LLM citation is a mention or link inside a generated answer, decided per query at answer time. One builds ranking authority; the other is the unit of visibility in AI search.

## Why it matters for B2B

Citations are the scoreboard for AI search. A page can rank well and still never be cited, so tracking which of your pages get named in answers is the most direct read on whether your GEO work is landing.

**Common mistake**

Saving the key claim for the conclusion at the foot of the page. Citations cluster at the top, roughly 55% came from the first 30% of the page, so the strongest line is the least likely to be cited when it is left for last.

*Source: https://rawmktg.com/glossary/llm-citation · rawmktg. by Vinayak Ravi*