# Autobrand Skills

\---

name: autobrand\
description: Autonomous brand optimization loop. Use when the user asks to audit their brand, improve performance, diagnose content issues, find opportunities, run their brand, optimize their strategy, or asks "what should I do next" for their content/SEO/social/AI visibility. This skill provides the decision framework - the brain behind the tools.

***

## AutoBrand: Self-Improving Brand Loop

This skill teaches you HOW to interpret brand performance data and WHAT actions to take. It's the decision framework on top of Cuppa's 65+ tools (see `brand-engineering` skill for tool reference).

Inspired by Karpathy's autoresearch: modify strategy → execute → measure → learn → repeat.

### The Loop

```
1. MEASURE   → Pull performance data
2. DIAGNOSE  → Compare against benchmarks, find problems
3. PRESCRIBE → Choose specific actions for each problem
4. EXECUTE   → Run the tools
5. REPEAT    → Wait for signals, measure again
```

### Step 1: Measure

Always start by pulling the full picture:

```
get_brand (site_id)             → Brand DNA, competitors, industry
get_brand_performance (site_id) → KPIs + Visibility Score + Quick Wins
get_content_health (site_id)    → Top pages, decay, cannibalization
get_ai_visibility (site_id)     → LLM citations, gaps
get_backlinks (site_id)         → DR, referring domains
get_social_analytics (site_id)  → Live social analytics: impressions, engagements, reach, followers, best times, content decay, top posts
```

### Step 2: Diagnose

Use the brand context (industry, stage, competitors) to interpret the numbers. The Brand DNA tells you WHO the brand is. The benchmarks below tell you WHERE they should be.

#### Organic Search Benchmarks

| Metric                     | Poor   | Okay   | Good   | Great                  |
| -------------------------- | ------ | ------ | ------ | ---------------------- |
| Avg CTR (all positions)    | < 1.5% | 1.5-3% | 3-5%   | > 5%                   |
| CTR for position 1-3       | < 5%   | 5-15%  | 15-30% | > 30%                  |
| Striking distance keywords | 0-5    | 5-15   | 15-50  | 50+ (huge opportunity) |
| Content grade avg          | < 50   | 50-65  | 65-80  | 80+                    |
| Pages with decay (14d)     | > 30%  | 15-30% | 5-15%  | < 5%                   |

#### Domain Authority Benchmarks (by stage)

| Brand Stage            | Expected DR | Action If Below                               |
| ---------------------- | ----------- | --------------------------------------------- |
| New (< 6 months)       | 5-15        | Normal. Focus on content first.               |
| Early (6-18 months)    | 15-30       | Build links. Guest posts + marketplace.       |
| Growing (18-36 months) | 30-50       | Accelerate links. Expert reviews for E-E-A-T. |
| Established (3+ years) | 50-70       | Maintain. Focus on content quality.           |
| Market leader          | 70+         | Defend. Monitor competitors.                  |

#### AI Visibility Benchmarks

| Metric                          | Invisible | Emerging | Visible | Strong |
| ------------------------------- | --------- | -------- | ------- | ------ |
| Total LLM citations             | 0-2       | 3-10     | 10-50   | 50+    |
| Citation gaps vs top competitor | > 20      | 10-20    | 5-10    | < 5    |
| Unique prompts you appear in    | 0-5       | 5-20     | 20-50   | 50+    |

#### Social Benchmarks

| Metric               | Low      | Average  | Good     | Excellent |
| -------------------- | -------- | -------- | -------- | --------- |
| Avg engagement rate  | < 0.5%   | 0.5-2%   | 2-5%     | > 5%      |
| Impressions per post | < 500    | 500-2K   | 2K-10K   | 10K+      |
| Consistent posting   | < 2/week | 2-3/week | 4-5/week | Daily     |

#### Brand Visibility Score

| Score  | Meaning                             | Priority                           |
| ------ | ----------------------------------- | ---------------------------------- |
| 0-20   | Invisible. Start from scratch.      | Content volume + brand DNA         |
| 20-40  | Early stage. Foundations need work. | Fix content quality + start links  |
| 40-60  | Growing. Visible but gaps remain.   | Optimize existing + fill gaps      |
| 60-80  | Strong. Fine-tuning needed.         | Defend positions + expand channels |
| 80-100 | Dominant. Maintain and defend.      | Monitor competitors + experiment   |

### Step 3: Prescribe

Match each diagnosis to specific actions. Work top to bottom (highest impact first).

#### Priority 1: Fix What's Broken

| Signal                           | Diagnosis                | Action                                                                  |
| -------------------------------- | ------------------------ | ----------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Pages losing > 20% traffic (14d) | Content decay            | `optimize_content` on each decaying page, then `publish_content`        |
| Keyword cannibalization detected | Multiple pages competing | Consolidate: pick winner, redirect or merge losers, `add_internal_link` |
| Content grade < 60 on key pages  | Below SERP quality       | `grade_content` → `optimize_content` → `grade_content` loop until 70+   |
| Broken CMS publish               | Integration issue        | Check integration settings, re-publish                                  |

#### Priority 2: Capture Quick Wins

| Signal                                                      | Diagnosis                 | Action                                                        |
| ----------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Striking distance keywords (pos 4-20) with existing content | Almost ranking            | `optimize_content` on those articles, focus on target keyword |
| High impressions / low CTR (pos 1-5)                        | Bad title or meta         | `update_article` with better title/meta description           |
| Striking distance with NO content                           | Missing content           | `create_content` targeting that keyword                       |
| High-performing social format                               | Winning format identified | Double down: more of that format (carousel, video, hook type) |

#### Priority 3: Build Authority

| Signal                   | Diagnosis            | Action                                                           |
| ------------------------ | -------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------- |
| DR below stage benchmark | Weak link profile    | Link Marketplace: target DR 40+ sites, dofollow, your niche      |
| Low E-E-A-T signals      | No expert validation | Expert Reviews for pillar articles                               |
| Few referring domains    | Narrow link profile  | Diversify: different link sources, categories                    |
| No AI citations          | LLMs don't know you  | `create_knowledge` with structured FAQ, comparison, product data |

#### Priority 4: Expand Reach

| Signal                       | Diagnosis                            | Action                                                            |
| ---------------------------- | ------------------------------------ | ----------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Citation gaps vs competitors | Competitors cited, you're not        | Create content targeting those exact prompts/topics               |
| Social reach plateaued       | Audience capped on current platforms | Test new platform: `generate_social` on untried platform          |
| No video content             | Missing video channel                | `generate_video_script` + `create_video` for top topics           |
| No newsletter                | Email channel unused                 | `generate_newsletter` + `update_content_strategy` (enable weekly) |
| Content gaps from GSC        | Audience searching, you're not there | `create_content` for each gap topic                               |

#### Priority 5: Optimize and Compound

| Signal                             | Diagnosis            | Action                                                               |
| ---------------------------------- | -------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Top-performing articles            | Winners identified   | `generate_social_multi` to amplify, `generate_carousel` for LinkedIn |
| High-grade articles without images | Missing visual layer | `generate_images_bulk` with brand colors                             |
| Published articles without social  | Under-distributed    | `generate_social_multi` for each, `schedule_social` across week      |
| Articles without internal links    | Orphan content       | `add_internal_link` to connect to pillar pages                       |

### Step 4: Execute

Run the prescribed actions using the tools. See `brand-engineering` skill for full tool reference and syntax.

Key execution patterns:

**Content quality loop:**

```
grade_content → check score
  If < 70: optimize_content → grade_content again
  If >= 70: proceed to publish
```

**Full content pipeline:**

```
create_content → poll get_content_status → grade_content
→ optimize_content (if needed) → generate_images_bulk
→ publish_content → generate_social_multi → schedule_social
```

**Authority building:**

```
get_backlinks → check DR vs benchmark
→ Link Marketplace (UI) for guest post opportunities
→ Expert Reviews (UI) for pillar articles
→ create_knowledge for AI visibility
→ refresh_link_sitemaps after publishing
```

### Step 5: Repeat

#### Feedback timing

| Signal Type       | Available After | What To Check                         |
| ----------------- | --------------- | ------------------------------------- |
| Content grade     | Immediate       | Did optimize\_content improve score?  |
| Social engagement | 24-48 hours     | Which platforms/formats got traction? |
| GA4 sessions      | 24-48 hours     | Is new content getting traffic?       |
| GSC rankings      | 3-14 days       | Are positions improving?              |
| AI citations      | 7-30 days       | Are LLMs starting to cite you?        |
| DR changes        | 30-60 days      | Is link building working?             |

#### What to check each cycle

```
get_brand_performance → Is Visibility Score trending up?
get_content_health → Are fewer pages decaying?
get_ai_visibility → Are citation gaps closing?
get_social_analytics → Is engagement rate improving?
get_backlinks → Is DR growing?
```

#### When to change strategy

* **3 cycles with no Visibility Score improvement** → Re-examine priorities. You may be optimizing the wrong channel.
* **Content grades improving but traffic flat** → SEO quality isn't the bottleneck. Focus on links or distribution.
* **Social engagement high but organic traffic low** → Content resonates but isn't ranking. Focus on SEO optimization.
* **DR growing but traffic flat** → Links are there but content doesn't match intent. Refresh content.
* **AI citations growing but organic flat** → AI visibility and organic search are separate channels. Both are working, continue.

### Brand Type Modifiers

Adjust priorities based on brand type:

**SaaS / Software:**

* Highest priority: AI visibility (your buyers ask ChatGPT)
* Key content: comparison pages, alternatives pages, how-to guides
* Social focus: LinkedIn, X (Twitter)
* DR target: 40+ within 18 months

**E-commerce / DTC:**

* Highest priority: Organic traffic (direct purchase intent)
* Key content: product guides, buying guides, reviews
* Social focus: Instagram, Pinterest, TikTok
* DR target: 30+ within 12 months

**Agency / Services:**

* Highest priority: E-E-A-T (trust signals)
* Key content: case studies, thought leadership, methodology
* Social focus: LinkedIn
* DR target: 50+ (credibility critical)

**Local Business:**

* Highest priority: Local SEO + Google Business
* Key content: location pages, service pages, local guides
* Social focus: Facebook, Instagram
* DR target: 20+ (local competition is lower)

**Media / Publisher:**

* Highest priority: Content volume + freshness
* Key content: news, analysis, trending topics
* Social focus: X (Twitter), Threads
* DR target: 60+ (competing with media sites)

### Example Diagnosis

Agent receives this data for a SaaS brand (18 months old):

```
Visibility Score: 34
Organic clicks: 890/month (↓8%)
CTR: 1.8%
DR: 22
AI citations: 2
Social reach: 3,200/month
Striking distance keywords: 31
Content decay: 12 pages losing > 20%
Citation gaps: 18 prompts where competitors cited, you're not
Avg content grade: 62
```

Agent should reason:

1. **Visibility Score 34** → "Early stage, foundations need work" (benchmark: 20-40)
2. **DR 22 at 18 months** → Below benchmark (should be 30+). Link building is critical.
3. **CTR 1.8%** → Below average (benchmark: 1.5-3% is "okay"). Titles/metas need work.
4. **AI citations: 2** → Invisible to LLMs. Need knowledge base content.
5. **31 striking distance keywords** → Huge opportunity (benchmark: 15-50 is "good"). Prioritize optimizing existing content over creating new.
6. **12 decaying pages** → Fix these FIRST before creating new content.
7. **Avg grade 62** → Below "good" (65-80). Content quality is a bottleneck.
8. **18 citation gaps** → Competitors are visible in AI, you're not. Create structured content.

Prescribed action plan:

```
IMMEDIATE (this week):
1. optimize_content on 12 decaying pages → grade until 70+
2. optimize_content on top 10 striking distance articles

NEXT WEEK:
3. create_content for 5 striking distance keywords with no article
4. create_knowledge with FAQ + comparison data (for AI citations)
5. generate_social_multi for all refreshed articles

ONGOING:
6. Link Marketplace: target 3-5 guest posts/month (DR 40+ sites)
7. Expert Reviews: submit 2 pillar articles for review
8. generate_newsletter weekly from published content
```