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Content format · Content Strategy

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Definition

Original data is research, survey results, measurements, or analysis produced and owned by the publishing brand — not sourced from third parties. It is primary source material that no other publisher has access to before publication. Original data is the highest-value citation asset a brand can produce. When an AI system cites a specific statistic, it needs a source — and if your brand is the source of that statistic, your brand is highly likely to be cited when that statistic appears in AI-generated answers. Original data creates citation dependencies: other publishers reference it, which creates co-citation signals, which compounds the original data’s authority over time. For brands without the resources for large-scale research, even small original surveys, proprietary benchmarks, or documented client outcomes qualify as original data.

Information gain

Content moat

Proprietary data

Factual density

Citable claim

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