The Citability Score predicts how likely each page on your site is to be cited by AI answer engines. It analyzes 10 content signals and gives each page a score from 0 to 100 with a letter grade.
This is a Pro feature. It requires an active Pro license.
Accessing the Citability Page
Go to AEO God Mode > Citability in your admin sidebar (admin.php?page=aeo-god-mode#/citability).
Running a Scan
Click Score All Posts to analyze every published post and page (up to 200). Results are cached so they persist across page visits. Click Re-Scan All any time to refresh scores.
The 10 Scoring Signals
Each signal has a weight. Weights sum to 100.
| # | Signal | Weight | What It Measures |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Direct Answer | 15 | Is there a clear, direct answer within the first 2 sentences after the first H2? AI engines extract this as the primary citation |
| 2 | Original Data | 15 | Count of statistics, percentages, and specific numbers (e.g., “73% of users,” “2.4 million customers”) |
| 3 | Definitive Claims | 10 | Sentences containing “is,” “are,” “means,” “refers to,” or “defined as” without hedging words (might, could, possibly, perhaps) |
| 4 | Heading Structure | 10 | Has 2+ H2 headings (5 pts) + has question-based headings using What/How/Why (5 pts) |
| 5 | Quotable Sentences | 10 | Short, self-contained sentences (15-120 chars) that define something. LLMs extract these as standalone quotes |
| 6 | Source Links | 10 | External outbound links to authoritative sources. Builds trust signals |
| 7 | Author Attribution | 10 | Named author with a bio/description. Requires display name > 2 chars AND a non-empty author description |
| 8 | Content Depth | 10 | Word count: < 300 = 0 pts, 300-799 = 3 pts, 800-1499 = 7 pts, 1500+ = 10 pts |
| 9 | FAQ Structure | 5 | Presence of FAQ patterns: question headings, “Q:” prefixes, “Frequently Asked” text |
| 10 | Schema Present | 5 | Detects schema from any source: ASGM override, ASGM FAQ schema, JSON-LD in content, Yoast, or RankMath |
Dynamic Thresholds
The scanner adjusts required counts based on content length:
- Short content (< 500 words): Base threshold
- Medium content (500-1199 words): 1.5× base threshold
- Long content (1200+ words): 2.5× base threshold
For example, if base requirement for definitive claims is 3, a 1500-word post needs 8 claims (3 × 2.5, rounded up) for full marks.
Letter Grades
| Grade | Score Range | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| **A** | 85-100 | Highly likely to be cited. Content has strong signals across most categories |
| **B** | 70-84 | Good citation potential. A few signals need improvement |
| **C** | 50-69 | Average. Missing several signals that AI systems look for |
| **D** | 30-49 | Below average. Significant gaps in citability |
| **F** | 0-29 | Unlikely to be cited. Major structural and content improvements needed |
Reading the Dashboard
Summary Bar
Six stat cards showing:
- Average — Mean score across all scored pages
- Grade A/B/C/D/F — Count of pages in each grade bucket
Results Table
Each row shows a page with:
- Title — Clickable link to the page
- Grade — Color-coded letter grade badge (green for A, blue for B, yellow for C, red for D/F)
- Score — Numeric score with a progress bar
- Exclude button — Eye icon to remove a page from scoring
Expanded View
Click any row to expand it and see:
- Improvement Tips — Specific, actionable suggestions for each failing signal (e.g., “Found 2 definitive claims, need 4+. Replace hedging language with direct statements.”)
- Score Breakdown — Points earned per signal, showing exactly where you gained or lost points
Excluding Pages
Some pages (landing pages, contact forms, privacy policies) aren’t meant to be cited. To exclude them:
- Click the eye icon next to any page in the results
- The page moves to the Excluded tab
- To restore it, switch to the Excluded tab and click Restore
Excluded pages are stored in asgm_citability_excluded and don’t affect your average score.
Improving Your Scores
Based on the 10 signals, the highest-impact improvements are:
Quick wins (worth 15 pts each):
- Add a direct answer paragraph immediately after your first H2 heading
- Include 3+ statistics, percentages, or data points in your content
Medium effort (worth 10 pts each):
- Write definitive sentences without hedging language
- Use question-based H2 headings (What is…? How does…?)
- Add 2+ outbound links to authoritative external sources
- Set up a named author with a bio via the E-E-A-T page
- Expand thin content to 1,500+ words
Structural (worth 5 pts each):
- Add an FAQ section with question-and-answer format
- Apply schema markup via the Schema page
Troubleshooting
Scores seem low across all pages:
- Check author attribution first. If your WordPress users don’t have bios set, that’s 10 points lost on every page
- Add a direct answer paragraph after H2 headings. That’s another 15 points
Scan takes a long time:
- The scanner processes up to 200 posts. On large sites, this can take 15-30 seconds
Results disappeared after refreshing:
- Results are cached in
asgm_citability_cache. If the option was cleared (e.g., by a database optimization plugin), run Re-Scan All