domain-authority-auditor

# Domain Authority Auditor

> Based on [CITE Domain Rating](https://github.com/aaron-he-zhu/cite-domain-rating). Full benchmark reference: [references/cite-domain-rating.md](https://github.com/aaron-he-zhu/seo-geo-claude-skills/blob/main/references/cite-domain-rating.md)
This skill evaluates domain authority across 40 standardized criteria organized in 4 dimensions. It produces a comprehensive audit report with per-item scoring, dimension and weighted scores by domain type, veto item checks, and a prioritized action plan.

**Sister skill**: [content-quality-auditor](https://github.com/aaron-he-zhu/seo-geo-claude-skills/blob/main/cross-cutting/content-quality-auditor/SKILL.md) evaluates content at the page level (80 items). This skill evaluates the domain behind the content (40 items). Together they provide a complete 120-item assessment.

> **Namespace note**: CITE uses C01-C10 for Citation items; CORE-EEAT uses C01-C10 for Contextual Clarity items. In combined 120-item assessments, prefix with the framework name (e.g., CITE-C01 vs CORE-C01) to avoid confusion.

## When This Must Trigger

Use this when domain credibility or citation trustworthiness is in question — even if the user doesn't use audit terminology:

- User asks "how trustworthy is my site" or "is my domain credible"
- When backlink-analyzer finds toxic link ratio above 15%, its handoff summary recommends this gate check
- Evaluating domain authority before a GEO campaign
- Benchmarking your domain against competitors
- Assessing whether a domain is trustworthy as a citation source
- Running periodic domain health checks or after link building campaigns
- Identifying manipulation red flags (PBNs, link farms, penalty history)
- Cross-referencing with content-quality-auditor for full 120-item assessment

## What This Skill Does

1. **Full 40-Item Audit**: Scores every CITE check item as Pass/Partial/Fail
2. **Dimension Scoring**: Calculates scores for all 4 dimensions (0-100 each)
3. **Weighted Totals**: Applies domain-type-specific weights for CITE Score
4. **Critical Issue Detection**: Flags critical manipulation signals that cap the score
5. **Priority Ranking**: Identifies Top 5 improvements sorted by impact
6. **Action Plan**: Generates specific, actionable improvement steps
7. **Cross-Reference**: Optionally pairs with CORE-EEAT for combined diagnosis

## Quick Start

Start with one of these prompts. Finish with a citation-trust verdict and a handoff summary using the repository format in [Skill Contract](https://github.com/aaron-he-zhu/seo-geo-claude-skills/blob/main/references/skill-contract.md).

### Audit Your Domain

```
Audit domain authority for [domain]
Run a CITE domain audit on [domain] as a [domain type]
```

### Audit with Domain Type

```
CITE audit for example.com as an e-commerce site
Score this SaaS domain against the 40-item benchmark: [domain]
```

### Comparative Audit

```
Compare domain authority: [your domain] vs [competitor 1] vs [competitor 2]
```

### Combined Assessment

```
Run full 120-item assessment on [domain]: CITE domain audit + CORE-EEAT content audit on [sample pages]
```

## Skill Contract

**Gate verdict**: **TRUSTED** (no critical issues, scores above threshold) / **CAUTIOUS** (issues found but none critical) / **UNTRUSTED** (a critical trust issue failed — see "Critical Issue to Fix" in the report). Always state the verdict prominently at the top of the report using plain language, not item IDs.

**Expected output**: a CITE audit report, a citation-trust verdict, and a short handoff summary ready for `memory/audits/domain/`.

- **Reads**: the target domain, supporting authority signals, and comparison domains.
- **Writes**: a user-facing authority report plus a reusable summary that can be stored under `memory/audits/domain/`.
- **Promotes**: veto items and domain risks to `memory/hot-cache.md` (auto-saved). Authority context to `memory/audits/domain/`. Results feed into entity-optimizer as authority input for brand's canonical profile.
- **Done when**: all 40 CITE items are scored or marked N/A with a named source, a TRUSTED/CAUTIOUS/UNTRUSTED verdict is stated, and any veto (T03/T05/T09) is surfaced with a fix.
- **Primary next skill**: use the `Next Best Skill` below once the trust picture is clear.

## Data Sources

> See [CONNECTORS.md](https://github.com/aaron-he-zhu/seo-geo-claude-skills/blob/main/CONNECTORS.md) for tool category placeholders.

> **Note:** All integrations are optional. This skill works without any API keys — users provide data manually when no tools are connected.

**With ~~link database + ~~SEO tool + ~~AI monitor + ~~knowledge graph + ~~brand monitor connected:**
Automatically pull backlink profiles and link quality metrics from ~~link database, domain authority scores and keyword rankings from ~~SEO tool, AI citation data from ~~AI monitor, entity presence from ~~knowledge graph, and brand mention data from ~~brand monitor.

**With manual data only:**
Ask the user to provide:
1. Domain to evaluate
2. Domain type (if not auto-detectable): Content Publisher, Product & Service, E-commerce, Community & UGC, Tool & Utility, or Authority & Institutional
3. Backlink data: referring domains count, domain authority, top linking domains
4. Traffic estimates (from any SEO tool or SimilarWeb)
5. Competitor domains for comparison (optional)

Proceed with the full 40-item audit using provided data. Note in the output which items could not be fully evaluated due to missing access (e.g., AI citation data, knowledge graph queries, WHOIS history).

## Decision Gates

When stopping to ask, always: (1) state the specific value and threshold, (2) offer numbered options with outcomes.

**Stop and ask the user when:**
- The domain is not resolvable or its type cannot be detected — state what you found and confirm the domain type before scoring
- No backlink / referring-domain data is provided and none is inferable — offer: (1) provide an export, (2) score the observable CITE i