Network disclosure
All ten sites in this network are published by Bay Area AEO. They cover answer engine optimization in the Bay Area from ten angles and link to one another so readers can move between related topics.
SIGNAL
5 OF 5
Trusted mentions
SOURCES
OUTSIDE
Sites the business does not own
NICHE RULES
9
Mention types named on niche pages
WINDOW
2–4 MO
Mentions build over months
The signal
Trusted mentions are the fifth AEO signal: local press and guides, along with directories, mention the business by name. AI assistants weigh these as outside confirmation that a business is what it says it is and does what it says it does. Bay Area AEO's Citations & Reviews service pursues them in the publications and directories AI trusts.
What the index measures
The index has two columns. The first lists the outside sources that name the business: guides, roundups, directories, association pages, partner sites. The second marks which of those sources the assistants in the panel cite, for this business or for its competitors. The overlap is the part that matters. A mention in a source the assistants read for the business's questions is worth more than a mention they never consult.
The sources-cited and competitors-named readings feed the second column every month, so the index stays current with what the assistants are reading in each niche and place.
Mention types by niche
| Niche | Mention the page describes |
|---|---|
| Restaurants | We pitch you to the Bay Area food lists, neighborhood guides and roundups that AI engines cite most often. |
| Bars & Lounges | Bar guides and nightlife roundups carry a lot of weight in AI answers. We pitch your bar to the outlets assistants cite. |
| Breweries & Taprooms | Inclusion in regional brewery guides, ale trails and tourism sites that AI pulls into itinerary answers. |
| Wineries & Tasting Rooms | Regional tourism boards, wine guides and travel writers are top AI sources for wine country. We pursue those mentions. |
| Catering | Accurate profiles on wedding and corporate catering platforms, plus mentions on venue preferred-vendor lists. |
| Food Trucks | Breweries, office parks and markets that host you, listed on their sites with a link back, which AI treats as confirmation. |
| Physical Therapy | Relationships with surgeons, sports teams and gyms that show up on partner sites. |
| Architects | Features, awards and publications that AI uses as signals of quality. |
| Staffing Agencies | Industry awards and association memberships that AI treats as credibility signals. |
Bay Area sources
Bay Area AEO's principles stress local knowledge of the neighborhoods and sources AI leans on here. The San Francisco page names coverage in the local guides and publications AI cites as one of its three levers, alongside neighborhood relevance and consistent listings. In wine country the relevant sources are tourism boards and wine guides; on the Peninsula and in the South Bay they include partner sites for the clinics and venues that host or refer a business.
Earned, never bought
The mention types on the niche pages are earned: a guide that includes a bakery because its croissants are good, a brewery that lists the food truck it hosts, a surgeon's site that names the physical therapy clinic it refers patients to. The coffee shop page describes helping a cafe earn a place in neighborhood blogs and local guides, and the boba page talks about being genuinely mentioned where AI looks. The index treats these as the measure of trust they are.
How long mentions take
Third-party mentions sit in the slower half of the published timeline, building over two to four months with content and reviews. The index is read across that window, and the sources-cited reading shows the moment a new mention starts appearing beside the business's name.
Choosing which mentions to pursue
The index ranks outside sources by how often the panel's assistants cite them for the business's questions. A neighborhood guide cited in half the restaurant answers for a district comes first; a national list the assistants never cite for local questions comes later. The competitors-named reading adds a second filter: sources that already carry the businesses AI names instead are the places where a new mention is most likely to change the list.
RelatedSources cited · Competitors named · North Bay market report · Answer timelines