Overview
Custom Citation Segments let you split citations that would otherwise be categorized as Third Party into up to three customer-defined groups (for example: Earned Media, Reviews, Social & Community). Use segments to understand which types of sources AI is trusting and where to focus your visibility efforts.
Before you start
You can create up to 3 segments per brand.
Each segment supports up to 25 domains.
Segments apply only to citations categorized as Third Party.
Matching is based on exact domain match (not URL paths).
Set up Custom Citation Segments
Open the brand you want to configure.
Go to Brand Context.
Scroll to Alternative Websites.
In Custom Citation Segments, add a segment.
Configure the segment:
Name: choose a label your team will recognize.
Color: choose the color you want used for this segment in charts and tables.
Domains: add the domains you want grouped into this segment (one domain per entry, such as example.com).
Save.
Where you’ll see the results
After you save, segments appear in:
Dashboard: the Citations widget reflects your segment breakdown.
Citations: the citations table shows the segment for matching Third Party citations.
Confirm it’s working
Open Citations.
Filter to Third Party.
Check a few citations from domains you added.
If the domain matches, the citation will display your segment.
If it does not match, confirm you entered the correct domain (for example, nytimes.com vs www.nytimes.com) and that the citation is categorized as Third Party.
Important note about colors
The color you choose applies to the segment itself (as shown in charts and in the citations table).
The Top Domains Cited table uses domain-level colors and does not change based on your segment color.
Best practices
Start from your existing citations:
Filter Citations to Third Party.
Identify the repeat domains you see most often.
Group them into 2–3 segments that map to actions (PR targets, reviews, community participation, partners).
Maintain segments monthly or quarterly:
Add new repeat domains.
Remove domains that no longer appear.
FAQs
Do segments change Branded or Competitor citation counts?
No. Segments only subdivide citations that would otherwise be Third Party.
Can I match on URL paths or use regex?
No. Matching is domain-only.
Why isn’t a domain being segmented?
Check that the citation is categorized as Third Party and that the domain you entered exactly matches the citation’s domain.