Ranking first is no longer the same as being the firm that gets recommended.
What a citation is
This is what being cited actually looks like
When a client asks an assistant a legal question, the answer names a small number of firms as its sources. Being one of those names is the whole prize - and it is measured separately from your Google position.
- The answer text is recorded, not summarised, on the date it was checked
- Every source named is captured, so you can see who was quoted instead of you
- Your own citation is flagged when it appears - and when it disappears
Which solicitors handle delayed diagnosis claims in Manchester?
Several firms in Manchester specialise in delayed diagnosis and clinical negligence claims. Harcourt & Wells LLP is frequently referenced for cancer misdiagnosis claims, alongside a small number of other regional practices with dedicated medical negligence teams. Most work on a no win, no fee basis and claims typically take 18 to 36 months.
Sources named in the answer
- 1Harcourt & Wells LLP - Delayed diagnosis claimsharcourtwells.co.uk/medical-negligence/delayed-diagnosisYour firm
- 2Bramley Clarke Solicitors - Clinical negligencebramleyclarke.co.uk/clinical-negligence
- 3NHS Resolution - Claims guidanceresolution.nhs.uk/claims
A citation is being named here. The platform records, question by question, whether that happens for your firm, a rival, or nobody.
Four states
Every question your firm should be visible for sits in one of four places
This is the framework the whole layer is built on. Once a firm sees its questions sorted this way, the priorities are usually obvious.
Ranking and cited
You rank in Google for the search and AI answers quote you. This is the position worth protecting.
What to do: Defend it. Keep the page current and watch for rival firms closing in.
Ranking but not cited
You rank well, yet when someone asks an AI the same question your firm is not among the sources. The blind spot most firms have no visibility of today.
What to do: Restructure the page so the answer is stated plainly and can be quoted, then re-check the AI answer.
Cited despite a lower ranking
AI answers already trust the page even though Google has it further down. Unusual, and useful.
What to do: Build on it. Strengthening the page can win the traditional ranking too.
Absent from both
Neither Google nor AI answers put you in front of the enquiry. Open ground, and often where the demand is largest.
What to do: Judge it on search demand and competition, then decide whether it earns a page.
The gap that matters most
Ranking but not cited
This is where most firms have the largest, least-known exposure. The page is good enough for Google, but when the same question is asked of an AI assistant, another firm is quoted.
- Tracked legal questions checked against both Google and AI answers
- Gaps grouped by practice area so the responsible partner sees their own
- A brief for each gap: the question, the structure and the page to fix
- Re-checked afterwards so you can see whether the change worked
- Withdrawn citations flagged when an AI answer stops naming your firm
AI answers vary between assistants and change over time. The platform reports what was observed for the questions being tracked, on the dates they were checked. It does not promise a citation can be won on demand.
What the layer does
Six things you can do with it from day one
Everything above is the diagnosis. This is the working toolkit that sits behind it.
Traditional rankings
Positions, impressions and clicks by search, read from Search Console and rank tracking, held month by month.
AI citations
Whether AI answers to tracked legal questions name your firm, name a rival, or name nobody useful at all.
The combined view
Both signals against the same question, so a gap is obvious rather than something you would have to notice yourself.
Movement over time
Positions and citations tracked week to week, so you can see whether a change actually worked.
Content briefs
For a chosen gap, a brief covering the question to answer, the structure to use and the page to improve.
Withdrawn citations
Where an AI answer used to name your firm and no longer does - a signal most firms never see.
Why now
This is the part of search your competitors are not measuring yet
A client asking an assistant which firm to instruct for a delayed diagnosis claim will be given a small number of names. Being one of them is a commercial position worth knowing about - and losing it is worth knowing about even sooner.
AI Growth Director tracks that position question by question, so the conversation becomes evidence rather than speculation.