A source map: where SEO ends and PR begins

A product answer often combines several jobs: explain criteria, confirm a feature, compare options, and give a next step. One page may cover only one of them well. If a team watches only the brand name, it misses which part of the decision lacks evidence.

A source map turns an answer into a list of checkable roles. It is not a map of a hidden algorithm and not causal proof; it is a planning interface or mode.

Choose several real prompts about selecting a product. Save the full answer and URLs for each. Label each page’s role: criteria, comparison, feature, limitation, external context, or next step. One URL can have several roles, but record that explicitly.

Do not add a page merely because its domain is familiar. There must be a link between the source text and a specific part of the answer. If that link is not visible, mark it unknown.

SEO owns accessible pages and clear coverage of topics the site genuinely needs to explain. That may be a separate scenario, limitations, or comparison page when it has an independent reader job.

The map cannot show that a page will automatically earn a source link. It only exposes a gap: a needed fact is currently supported by external or competing material.

PR matters where an answer needs external context: independent research, commentary, an industry document, or another source that is not the company’s self-description. The goal is not more mentions, but a checkable support for a specific claim.

A published piece does not become evidence automatically. The map should record its date, subject, and exact role in the answer.

For an app, check its separate public pages on Google Play, App Store, and RuStore. Name, description, features, limitations, and scenarios should not contradict the site. The presence of a platform domain among sources is not the same as a link to the exact app page.

This matters for the post-answer action: AI may name an app without giving a link where it can be downloaded immediately. Record that separately from the mention.

After mapping, ask three questions. Is there a site page answering the criterion? Is there external support for the important claim? Do the product and app descriptions agree across relevant platforms? A “no” determines the next editorial or team action.

Repeat the same prompts after a change and compare source roles, not only whether a name appeared. Do not call the change a cause of improvement without comparable periods and repeated observations.