How to get cited by Claude
Claude cites sources it retrieves through web search, so being cited means having a crawlable, clearly written page that answers the question authoritatively. The fundamentals mirror other answer engines: extractable answers, clean structure, freshness, and corroboration across trusted sources.
How does Claude source citations?
When Claude uses web search, it retrieves and reads pages, then attributes claims to the sources it relied on. It rewards clarity and authority — content that states the answer plainly and is backed up elsewhere on the web.
What to optimize
Allow ClaudeBot and Claude-Web, put the answer in server-rendered HTML, write in clear declarative sentences, and build presence on the third-party pages that already get cited for your topic.
Frequently asked questions
When it uses web search it surfaces the sources it retrieved; the clearer and more authoritative your page, the likelier it is to be among them.
The fundamentals are shared — crawlability, extractable answers, freshness, and off-site corroboration apply across engines.