How to get your business cited by Claude
Claude does not rank pages. It evaluates whether your content is worth quoting. That is a different problem to solve.
SEE WHERE YOU STANDAhrefs, 75,000 brands, 2025
How to get your business cited by Claude
Claude does not rank pages. It evaluates whether your content is worth quoting. That is a different problem to solve.
See where you standWhy does Claude ignore most business websites?
Your website was built to sell. Claude was built to evaluate. That mismatch is why most businesses are invisible on Anthropic's platform.
Claude's selection model is editorial. It looks for specific claims, named sources, and transparent methodology. Content that reads as marketing copy gets passed over. No exceptions.
Web search launched in March 2025. There is no toggle. When the model determines current information would improve an answer, it searches automatically, retrieves sources, evaluates them, and cites the ones it considers substantive. Your business is either in that list or it is not.
This is where Claude separates from every other platform. ChatGPT leans on Bing's index. Perplexity rewards earned media and community presence. Generative Engine Optimisation covers the shared principles, but each platform weights them differently. Claude is closer to peer review than to search ranking. A page that says “we tested this across 200 companies” is citable. One that says “our proven approach delivers results” is not.
of URLs cited by AI assistants do not rank in Google's top 100 (Ahrefs, 2025). Traditional rankings are an unreliable predictor of whether Claude will cite you. The businesses appearing in Claude's answers are not there because they rank well on Google. They are there because their content reads like a primary source.
Why does Claude ignore most business websites?
Your website was built to sell. Claude was built to evaluate. That mismatch is why most businesses are invisible on Anthropic's platform.
Claude's selection model is editorial. It looks for specific claims, named sources, and transparent methodology. Marketing copy gets passed over.
Web search launched in March 2025. When the model needs current information, it searches automatically, evaluates sources, and cites what it considers substantive. You are either in that list or you are not.
ChatGPT leans on Bing's index. Perplexity rewards earned media. GEO covers the shared principles. Claude is closer to peer review than to search ranking.
of URLs cited by AI assistants do not rank in Google's top 100 (Ahrefs, 2025). Traditional rankings are an unreliable predictor of whether Claude will cite you. The businesses appearing in Claude's answers are there because their content reads like a primary source.
What does Claude look for in a source?
Specificity is the price of admission. A page with verifiable claims, named data, and described methodology gets treated as a primary source. Generic assertions get ignored. If someone could verify it, Claude cites it. If not, Claude moves on.
Five signals carry the most weight:
Methodology transparency
Specific claims backed by named data. "We audited 50 companies and the average score was 38 out of 100" is citable. "Our proven approach delivers results" is not.
Content structure
Question-based headers that mirror natural-language queries. Self-contained sections that Claude can extract without needing the rest of the page. Logical H2/H3 hierarchy.
Schema as trust signal
FAQPage schema gives Claude pre-labelled question-and-answer pairs. Service and BreadcrumbList schema provide navigation context. Schema does not drive citations alone, but it improves extraction accuracy once content is selected.
Brand mentions over backlinks
Web mentions correlate 0.664 with AI visibility versus 0.218 for backlinks (Ahrefs, 75,000 brands, 2025). Claude does not care how many sites link to you. It cares how many credible sources mention you in the context of your expertise.
Ahrefs, 2025Author credentials
Named author with real credentials. Content attributed to a specific expert carries more weight than anonymous or "Staff Writer" content.
None of this is about gaming a system. Claude rewards the same qualities that make content useful to a human reader. Be specific. Show your evidence. Name your sources.
What does Claude look for in a source?
Specificity is the price of admission. Verifiable claims, named data, and described methodology get treated as primary sources. Generic assertions get ignored.
Five signals carry the most weight:
Methodology transparency
Specific claims backed by named data. "We audited 50 companies and the average score was 38 out of 100" is citable. "Our proven approach delivers results" is not.
Content structure
Question-based headers that mirror natural-language queries. Self-contained sections that Claude can extract without needing the rest of the page. Logical H2/H3 hierarchy.
Schema as trust signal
FAQPage schema gives Claude pre-labelled question-and-answer pairs. Service and BreadcrumbList schema provide navigation context. Schema does not drive citations alone, but it improves extraction accuracy once content is selected.
Brand mentions over backlinks
Web mentions correlate 0.664 with AI visibility versus 0.218 for backlinks (Ahrefs, 75,000 brands, 2025). Claude does not care how many sites link to you. It cares how many credible sources mention you in the context of your expertise.
Author credentials
Named author with real credentials. Content attributed to a specific expert carries more weight than anonymous or "Staff Writer" content.
None of this is about gaming a system. Be specific. Show your evidence. Name your sources.
How is Claude's architecture different from ChatGPT and Perplexity?
Most companies block all AI crawlers and wonder why they are invisible. Claude operates three separate bots: ClaudeBot for training data, Claude-SearchBot for search indexing, and Claude-User for retrieval. Blocking ClaudeBot prevents training data collection but does not prevent search indexing. The distinction matters.
| Feature | Claude | ChatGPT | Perplexity |
|---|---|---|---|
| Primary index | Web search via tools (on-demand) | Bing (primary) + own crawler | Own 200B URL index |
| Data deals | No known publisher partnerships | Reuters, FT, News Corp, Reddit | Comet Plus revenue sharing |
| Crawler structure | 3 bots (ClaudeBot, Claude-SearchBot, Claude-User) | 3 bots (GPTBot, OAI-SearchBot, ChatGPT-User) | PerplexityBot + Perplexity-User |
| Primary selection signal | Editorial quality, substance | Referring domain count, Bing correlation | Freshness (~40%), earned media |
| Search behaviour | Triggers when needed, query-specific | Always-on browsing | Continuous crawl + real-time |
Anthropic has not disclosed what Claude was trained on. There are no known publisher deals. Content earns its way in on substance, not through a licensing agreement.
Claude's Citations API (launched June 2025) references exact sentences and passages within a page. This is why structural work matters. Claude is not just deciding whether to cite your page. It is deciding which specific passage to quote.
Only 11% of cited domains appear across multiple AI platforms (Profound, 680M citations, 2025). Visibility on ChatGPT does not transfer to Claude. Platform-specific optimisation is not optional.
How is Claude's architecture different?
Most companies block all AI crawlers and wonder why they vanish. Claude runs three separate bots: ClaudeBot (training), Claude-SearchBot (search indexing), and Claude-User (retrieval). Blocking ClaudeBot does not prevent search indexing.
Anthropic has not disclosed training data. No known publisher deals. Content earns its way in on substance.
Claude's Citations API (launched June 2025) references exact sentences and passages. Structural work matters because Claude decides which specific passage to quote.
Only 11% of cited domains appear across multiple AI platforms (Profound, 680M citations, 2025). Visibility on ChatGPT does not transfer to Claude.
What does Claude optimisation actually involve?
Google rewards ranking signals. Claude rewards editorial quality. That distinction changes what optimisation actually means. The index is different, the signals carry different weight, and the technical requirements go beyond what most agencies test for.
Three areas, each specific to how Claude selects sources:
Content substance
Claude rewards methodology transparency, primary-source data, and well-attributed claims. Marketing copy gets ignored. Show your working: "We audited 200 sites and found X" is citable. "Our proven approach" is not. 80% of URLs Claude cites do not rank in Google's top 100 (Ahrefs, 2025). Substance is the selection filter.
Authority through mentions, not links
Brand mentions correlate 3x stronger than backlinks for AI citation (0.664 vs 0.218, Ahrefs, 75,000 brands). Claude does not count who links to you. It reads whether credible sources mention you in the context of your expertise. Get named in industry publications, analyst coverage, and third-party research Claude already trusts.
Technical clarity
Clean HTML, proper schema, server-side rendering. Claude operates three bots: ClaudeBot (training), Claude-SearchBot (web search), and Claude-User (retrieval). Each needs to parse your content without JavaScript rendering. Block ClaudeBot if you choose, but leave Claude-SearchBot open or you vanish from search entirely.
Claude's Citations API (launched June 2025) references exact sentences and passages. Content structured in self-contained sections benefits directly. For the broader picture across all six platforms, see our AI search visibility services.
What does Claude optimisation actually involve?
Google rewards ranking signals. Claude rewards editorial quality. That distinction changes what optimisation actually means.
Three areas, each specific to how Claude selects sources:
Content substance
Claude rewards methodology transparency, primary-source data, and well-attributed claims. Marketing copy gets ignored. Show your working: "We audited 200 sites and found X" is citable. "Our proven approach" is not. 80% of URLs Claude cites do not rank in Google's top 100 (Ahrefs, 2025). Substance is the selection filter.
Authority through mentions, not links
Brand mentions correlate 3x stronger than backlinks for AI citation (0.664 vs 0.218, Ahrefs, 75,000 brands). Claude does not count who links to you. It reads whether credible sources mention you in the context of your expertise. Get named in industry publications, analyst coverage, and third-party research Claude already trusts.
Technical clarity
Clean HTML, proper schema, server-side rendering. Claude operates three bots: ClaudeBot (training), Claude-SearchBot (web search), and Claude-User (retrieval). Each needs to parse your content without JavaScript rendering. Block ClaudeBot if you choose, but leave Claude-SearchBot open or you vanish from search entirely.
Claude's Citations API (launched June 2025) references exact sentences and passages. Content structured in self-contained sections benefits directly. For the broader picture, see our AI search visibility services.
What happens in a Claude visibility audit?
Most businesses have no idea how Claude sees them. The AI visibility audit answers that question. We run real buyer queries through Claude in your market, record every response, and score your citation strength against competitors. That is one layer of a full assessment covering seven weighted categories.
A financial services firm in London had strong domain authority but generic service descriptions. Claude cited them on one of twelve queries. Their competitor, a smaller firm with detailed methodology pages and named author credentials, appeared on nine. The gap was not authority. It was substance.
Claude visitors convert at 5%, nearly 3x the rate of organic search (1.76%, Semrush, 2025). Generative AI tools are now the single most cited meaningful interaction for B2B purchase research, ahead of vendor websites and sales conversations (Forrester, Buyers' Journey Survey 2025, 18,000 global buyers). The buyers Claude sends are not browsing. They have already had their question answered. They come to confirm and contact.
The audit covers your full AI search infrastructure: technical foundation, content extractability, AI crawler access, schema markup, brand entity coherence, competitive positioning, and content quality. Each recommendation is tied to the Claude-specific signal it addresses.
Audits built and run by Mo Walji across six AI platforms for B2B companies in the UK and US.
What happens in a Claude visibility audit?
Most businesses have no idea how Claude sees them. The AI visibility audit answers that. We run real buyer queries through Claude, record every response, and score your citation strength against competitors across seven weighted categories.
A financial services firm in London had strong domain authority but generic service descriptions. Claude cited them on one of twelve queries. Their competitor, a smaller firm with detailed methodology pages and named author credentials, appeared on nine. The gap was not authority. It was substance.
Claude visitors convert at 5%, nearly 3x the rate of organic search (1.76%, Semrush, 2025). AI tools are now the top cited meaningful interaction for B2B purchase research (Forrester, 2025). The buyers Claude sends are not browsing. They come to confirm and contact.
The audit covers your full AI search infrastructure: technical foundation, content extractability, AI crawler access, schema markup, brand entity coherence, competitive positioning, and content quality.
Audits built and run by Mo Walji across six AI platforms for B2B companies in the UK and US.
See whether Claude considers you worth citingFrequently asked questions
Frequently asked questions
Related reading
Start with a free audit. See where Claude ranks you.
The audit tests your visibility across six platforms, shows exactly where you stand on Claude, and walks you through what to change.
The businesses building substance now will own the citations as Claude's user base grows. The ones that start later will be paying to displace them.
GET YOUR FREE AUDIT15-minute call. No payment details required.
Start with a free audit. See where Claude ranks you.
The audit tests your visibility across six platforms, shows exactly where you stand on Claude, and walks you through what to change.
The businesses building substance now will own the citations as Claude's user base grows. The ones that start later will be paying to displace them.
15-minute call. No payment details required.