--- language: en title: "Share of sources" description: "Share of sources describes how much of the sources in answers belongs to a domain. Occurrences, unique URLs, and domains require distinct counting bases." canonical: "https://tropk.ai/en/resources/glossary/share-of-sources" last_modified: "2026-10-12T16:12:14.873Z" --- # Share of sources Reviewed on 2026-10-06. ## What it means Share of sources expresses the portion of sources attributed to a domain in analyzed answers. The name alone does not determine the counting method. If the stated unit is unique URLs, the numerator counts distinct URLs from that domain and the denominator counts all eligible distinct URLs. An occurrence-based methodology requires a different counting basis. ## Why it matters for marketing Marketing decisions depend on this choice. Counting unique URLs helps assess the variety of materials on a property; counting occurrences reveals how often it appears in answers. Confusing the counting bases can make a single recurring document seem like a broad collection. A report should explain which question it aims to answer before comparing vendors or allocating editorial investment. ## Example in practice Suppose an industrial kitchen association examines sources about ventilation. After deduplicating URLs across the set, four of the twenty unique sources belong to its domain: 20%. Those four generate thirty of the sixty [citation](/en/resources/glossary/ai-citation) occurrences: 50%. The team keeps both figures, with different labels, and investigates which manuals account for the references, without treating 20% as a decline. ## How to apply or verify Ask for the field definition and the export used in the calculation. Record whether deduplication happens per answer or across the entire set, as well as how parameters, redirects, and subdomains are handled. Rebuild the source list and check which property each URL belongs to. If the tool does not explain the unit, treat the result as methodologically undefined. ## Important distinctions There is no universal distinction in which share of sources always counts unique sources and [citation share](/en/resources/glossary/citation-share) always counts occurrences. Profound's taxonomy records overlapping usage of the terms without specifying deduplication. The percentage of URLs from a domain also differs from the percentage of distinct domains. Sources shown do not necessarily reveal all material retrieved. ## Sources and references - [The AI Search Glossary: A definition of 300+ terms]() — Profound - [Profound glossary]() — Profound Help Center ## Continue a leitura - [Citation source chain]() - [Cited domain]() - [Citation share]() ## About the author [Luiz Gardelin]() Luiz Gardelin is the founder of Tropk.ai and works in GEO/AEO, product vision, strategy, and growth, helping brands understand and improve their presence in AI responses. --- [All pages in Markdown]()