Dofollow Digest
Posts
Dofollow Digest #47: AI citations don't follow Google rankings... here's why

Dofollow Digest #47: AI citations don't follow Google rankings... here's why

Eric Carrell
October 17, 2025

Hey, it's Eric 👋

I read a study this week that analyzed 15,000 queries across four major AI assistants and found something surprising: only 12% of AI-cited URLs actually rank in Google's top 10 for the same prompt.

This matters because it suggests that optimizing for traditional search and optimizing for AI citations might be two different games. I'll break down what we're seeing below, plus our usual roundup of what's happening in SEO and link building.

📣 Build AI visibility brand mentions & backlinks with our lite package
We’ve received a lot of requests for a lower price point than our $4k/month package, so we listened. We dropped our Lite Link Building Package for only $2,500/month a few months ago.

It should be noted that this package's DR cap is 69, so you won’t get our usual DR70, 80, and 90+ links that we build for clients. However, it might be a good fit for you if you’re more budget-conscious or in the early stages of building your SEO strategy.

We’re opening up a few slots in October for this package, so if you want to learn more, get in touch here.

🔍 DEEP DIVE: AI Citations Don't Follow Google Rankings… Here's Why

If you're optimizing content hoping it'll rank well in both Google and AI assistants, you might want to rethink that approach.

Recent research analyzing how often AI assistants like ChatGPT, Gemini, Copilot, and Perplexity cite pages that actually rank well in traditional search revealed striking results: across 15,000 queries, only 12% of AI-cited URLs appear in Google's top 10 for the same search.

Even more telling-80% of AI citations don't rank anywhere in Google's top 100 for the original query.

The one outlier is Perplexity, which aligns much closer to traditional search results with nearly 29% of its citations coming from top-10 pages. That makes sense given Perplexity was built specifically to cite sources, while other AI assistants trigger searches based on different internal criteria.

Why the disconnect?

AI assistants don't rank results the way search engines do. Instead of processing one query, they use something called "query fan-out"- generating multiple variations of your question and retrieving pages based on those different phrasings.

For example, a page ranking sixth for "how to descale a coffee machine," "cleaning a Nespresso machine," and "remove limescale from coffee maker" might get cited over a page that ranks first for just one of those terms. The AI assistants are looking for pages that consistently appear across multiple related queries, not just the top result for your exact search.

This explains why 76% of Google's AI Overview citations come from top-10 pages, while standalone AI assistants pull from a much wider range. AI Overviews still follow the traditional SERP closely. Standalone assistants operate differently.

What this means for SaaS companies:

First, don't panic about optimizing for AI citations just yet. Traditional SEO still drives the majority of organic traffic, and Google's AI Overviews still favor pages that rank well in regular search.

Second, if you're thinking long-term, consider that comprehensive content targeting multiple question variations might perform better in AI citations than content hyper-focused on one primary keyword. This aligns with what we've been seeing work anyway - content that thoroughly addresses user intent from multiple angles tends to perform better overall.

Third, the research confirms what we already know about quality backlinks: they signal authority across contexts. Pages that earn strong backlinks tend to rank well in traditional search and get recognized by AI systems as authoritative sources worth citing.

The gap between search rankings and AI citations will likely influence how we think about content strategy moving forward. But for now, the fundamentals haven't changed - create genuinely useful content, build real authority through quality backlinks, and focus on serving user needs rather than gaming algorithms.

Both traditional search and AI citations reward that approach.

🔗 LINK ROUNDUP

Til next time,

Eric