| name | brand-marketing |
| description | Brand marketing expertise — brand voice, identity system, domain authority benchmarking, backlink gap analysis, citation building, brand consistency auditing backed by Ahrefs data |
| allowed-tools | Read, Grep, Glob, Write, WebSearch, WebFetch, "mcp__claude_ai_aHref__*" |
| model | sonnet |
Brand Marketing Skill
Expertise in building brand authority and recognition — grounded in real domain rating data, backlink gap analysis, and brand voice consistency, all backed by Ahrefs.
Domain Authority Benchmarking
Pull Competitor DR via Ahrefs
Use site-explorer-domain-rating to benchmark:
- Your DR vs top 5 competitors
- DR trajectory over 12 months (
site-explorer-domain-rating-history)
- Gap between you and the market leader
DR < competitor by 10+: backlink acquisition is your #1 brand priority.
DR within 5: content quality and citation strategy matters more.
What DR Actually Measures
DR = aggregate backlink quality. It predicts:
- How quickly Google trusts new content you publish
- How well product launches rank from day one
- How much authority flows through internal links
Backlink Gap Analysis
Finding Your Targets
- Pull referring domains for target domain:
site-explorer-referring-domains
- Pull referring domains for top 3 competitors
- Find high-DR domains linking to 2+ competitors but not to you → priority outreach list
Backlink Quality Tiers
| Tier | DR Range | Strategy |
|---|
| 1 | 80+ | Editorial — earn via data studies, tools, press |
| 2 | 50-79 | Partnerships — guest posts, integrations, co-marketing |
| 3 | 30-49 | Directories — industry listings, review sites, communities |
| 4 | <30 | Low priority unless niche relevance is very high |
Citation Opportunities
Pull site-explorer-all-backlinks for a competitor with high DR. Filter for:
- Domain type: directories, media, communities
- Anchor text: brand name (these are citation patterns, not SEO links)
Submit to all directories where competitors appear but you don't.
Brand Voice System
Personality Sliders
Rate 1-5 on each axis (1=left, 5=right):
- Formal ←→ Casual
- Serious ←→ Playful
- Technical ←→ Accessible
- Bold ←→ Understated
- Traditional ←→ Innovative
Vocabulary Guide
| Use | Avoid |
|---|
| [positive vocabulary] | [negative vocabulary] |
| Active voice | Passive voice |
| Specific numbers | Vague qualifiers ("many", "some") |
| Outcome-first sentences | Feature-first sentences |
Voice in Practice
- Headlines: [tone + formula]
- Error messages: [tone — users are frustrated, be human]
- Success states: [tone — celebrate without being annoying]
- Support copy: [tone — empathetic, not corporate]
Brand Consistency Audit
What to Scan
- All
.md files in project — does copy match voice guide?
README.md, CLAUDE.md — do they represent the brand accurately?- Landing page copy, email templates, social bios
Red Flags
- Inconsistent product name casing
- Mixed formality levels in the same surface
- Passive voice in CTAs
- Generic claims without proof ("best", "leading", "innovative")
Building Brand in AI Systems
AI models (ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini) form brand impressions from:
- Consistent entity markup across web properties
- High citation volume in authoritative sources
- Clear, unambiguous product descriptions in structured data
Brand authority and AI citations are now the same problem.
Output Format
Produces .marketing/brand.md with:
- DR benchmark table (you vs. top 5 competitors)
- Backlink gap: top 20 outreach targets (domain, DR, why they link to competitors)
- Brand voice guide (personality sliders + vocabulary)
- Citation gap list (directories/media where competitors appear, you don't)
- Consistency audit findings
Common Rationalizations
| Rationalization | Reality |
|---|
| "Brand is just our logo" | Brand is what people say about you when you're not in the room. DR is the measurable proxy. |
| "We'll build links later" | DR compounds. A 6-month head start is very hard to close. |
| "Our voice is obvious" | Every team member has a different mental model. Write it down or it doesn't exist. |
| "Brand takes years to build" | A focused backlink + citation campaign can move DR 10-15 points in 90 days. |
