Domain Authority Auditor

This skill should be used when the user asks to "audit domain authority", "domain trust score", "CITE audit", "how authoritative is my site", "domain credibi...

Security Scan

The skill's instructions match a legitimate domain-audit purpose, but it references automatic SEO/link-tool integrations without declaring required connectors or credentials and the package source/homepage is missing — proceed with caution.

Purpose & Capability

The SKILL.md describes a 40-item CITE domain audit and producing reports — that is coherent with an instruction-only skill. However the docs repeatedly mention automatic pulls from "link database", "SEO tool", "AI monitor", and an optional "MCP network access" for integrations but the skill declares no required environment variables, connectors, or credentials. Full automation will therefore require external API keys and connectors that are not declared here; the skill as-published appears designed to run manually or rely on platform-provided connectors.

Instruction Scope

The runtime instructions are prose describing audit steps, inputs to request from the user, and example outputs. They do not direct the agent to read arbitrary system files, environment variables, or other unrelated data. No vague 'gather whatever context you need' directives are present.

Install Mechanism

This is instruction-only with no install spec and no code files, which minimizes on-disk risk. The SKILL.md suggests an optional 'npx skills add' command for installing the author's skill bundle — that would execute external code if run, but the skill itself does not force installation of anything.

Credentials

The skill declares no required credentials, which is fine for a manual audit. But it explicitly references integrating with third-party SEO/link tools (e.g., backlink databases, Moz/Ahrefs-like tools) and an optional MCP network; those integrations will require API keys or connector tokens at runtime. The skill does not list or document which env vars or scopes it would request if connectors are enabled, so users may be asked to supply sensitive API credentials later without upfront transparency.

Persistence & Privilege

The skill does not request permanent presence (always:false) and there is no install script or behavior that modifies other skills or system-wide agent settings. Normal autonomous invocation is allowed by the platform default; nothing in the SKILL.md requests elevated platform privileges.

What to consider before installing

This skill appears to be a legitimate, instruction-only domain-audit workbook, but there are two things to watch: (1) it promises automatic pulls from backlink/SEO tools yet declares no connector credentials — full automation will require API keys (Ahrefs/Moz/SEMrush, Google APIs, etc.) that the skill does not enumerate up front; only provide tokens with the minimum scope and to a trusted skill/source. (2) The registry entry lists no homepage or source repository; the author name is present but there's no linked repo to review. If you plan to use the skill, prefer manual mode (provide backlink exports, reports, or paste required data) rather than granting live connector access until you can verify the publisher's source code and connector behavior. Avoid running suggested commands like 'npx skills add ...' from an unverified author, and when connecting third-party tools prefer read-only, scoped API tokens and revoke them after testing.

Based on CITE Domain Rating. Full benchmark reference: references/cite-domain-rating.md

SEO & GEO Skills Library · 20 skills for SEO + GEO · Install all: npx skills add aaron-he-zhu/seo-geo-claude-skills

<details> <summary>Browse all 20 skills</summary>

Research · keyword-research · competitor-analysis · serp-analysis · content-gap-analysis

Build · seo-content-writer · geo-content-optimizer · meta-tags-optimizer · schema-markup-generator

Optimize · on-page-seo-auditor · technical-seo-checker · internal-linking-optimizer · content-refresher

Monitor · rank-tracker · backlink-analyzer · performance-reporter · alert-manager

Cross-cutting · content-quality-auditor · domain-authority-auditor · entity-optimizer · memory-management

</details>

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 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 to Use This Skill

• 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. Veto Detection: Flags critical manipulation signals (T03, T05, T09)
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

How to Use

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]

Data Sources

See CONNECTORS.md for tool category placeholders.

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).

Instructions

When a user requests a domain authority audit:

Step 1: Preparation

### Audit Setup

**Domain**: [domain]
**Domain Type**: [auto-detected or user-specified]
**Dimension Weights**: [from domain-type weight table below]

#### Domain-Type Weight Table

> Canonical source: `references/cite-domain-rating.md`. This inline copy is for convenience.

| Dim | Default | Content Publisher | Product & Service | E-commerce | Community & UGC | Tool & Utility | Authority & Institutional |
|-----|:-------:|:-:|:-:|:-:|:-:|:-:|:-:|
| C | 35% | **40%** | 25% | 20% | 35% | 25% | **45%** |
| I | 20% | 15% | **30%** | 20% | 10% | **30%** | 20% |
| T | 25% | 20% | 25% | **35%** | 25% | 25% | 20% |
| E | 20% | 25% | 20% | 25% | **30%** | 20% | 15% |

#### Veto Check (Emergency Brake)

| Veto Item | Status | Action |
|-----------|--------|--------|
| T03: Link-Traffic Coherence | ✅ Pass / ⚠️ VETO | [If VETO: "Audit backlink profile; disavow toxic links"] |
| T05: Backlink Profile Uniqueness | ✅ Pass / ⚠️ VETO | [If VETO: "Flag as manipulation network; investigate link sources"] |
| T09: Penalty & Deindex History | ✅ Pass / ⚠️ VETO | [If VETO: "Address penalty first; all other optimization is futile"] |

If any veto item triggers, flag it prominently at the top of the report. CITE Score is capped at 39 (Poor) regardless of other scores.

Step 2: C + I Audit (20 items)

Evaluate each item against the criteria in references/cite-domain-rating.md.

Score each item:

• Pass = 10 points (fully meets criteria)
• Partial = 5 points (partially meets criteria)
• Fail = 0 points (does not meet criteria)

### C — Citation

| ID | Check Item | Score | Notes |
|----|-----------|-------|-------|
| C01 | Referring Domains Volume | Pass/Partial/Fail | [specific observation] |
| C02 | Referring Domains Quality | Pass/Partial/Fail | [specific observation] |
| ... | ... | ... | ... |
| C10 | Link Source Diversity | Pass/Partial/Fail | [specific observation] |

**C Score**: [X]/100

### I — Identity

| ID | Check Item | Score | Notes |
|----|-----------|-------|-------|
| I01 | Knowledge Graph Presence | Pass/Partial/Fail | [specific observation] |
| ... | ... | ... | ... |

**I Score**: [X]/100

Step 3: T + E Audit (20 items)

Same format for Trust and Eminence dimensions.

### T — Trust

| ID | Check Item | Score | Notes |
|----|-----------|-------|-------|
| T01 | Link Profile Naturalness | Pass/Partial/Fail | [specific observation] |
| ... | ... | ... | ... |

**T Score**: [X]/100

### E — Eminence

| ID | Check Item | Score | Notes |
|----|-----------|-------|-------|
| E01 | Organic Search Visibility | Pass/Partial/Fail | [specific observation] |
| ... | ... | ... | ... |

**E Score**: [X]/100

Note: Some items require specialized data (C05-C08 AI citation data, I01 knowledge graph queries, T04-T05 IP/profile analysis). Score what is observable; mark unverifiable items as "N/A — requires [data source]" and exclude from dimension average.

Step 4: Scoring & Report

Calculate scores and generate the final report:

## CITE Domain Authority Report

### Overview

- **Domain**: [domain]
- **Domain Type**: [type]
- **Audit Date**: [date]
- **CITE Score**: [score]/100 ([rating])
- **Veto Status**: ✅ No triggers / ⚠️ [item] triggered — Score capped at 39

### Dimension Scores

| Dimension | Score | Rating | Weight | Weighted |
|-----------|-------|--------|--------|----------|
| C — Citation | [X]/100 | [rating] | [X]% | [X] |
| I — Identity | [X]/100 | [rating] | [X]% | [X] |
| T — Trust | [X]/100 | [rating] | [X]% | [X] |
| E — Eminence | [X]/100 | [rating] | [X]% | [X] |
| **CITE Score** | | | | **[X]/100** |

**Score Calculation**: CITE Score = C × [w_C] + I × [w_I] + T × [w_T] + E × [w_E]

**Rating Scale**: 90-100 Excellent | 75-89 Good | 60-74 Medium | 40-59 Low | 0-39 Poor

### Per-Item Scores

| ID | Check Item | Score | Notes |
|----|-----------|-------|-------|
| C01 | Referring Domains Volume | [Pass/Partial/Fail] | [observation] |
| C02 | Referring Domains Quality | [Pass/Partial/Fail] | [observation] |
| ... | ... | ... | ... |
| E10 | Industry Share of Voice | [Pass/Partial/Fail] | [observation] |

### Top 5 Priority Improvements

Sorted by: weight × points lost (highest impact first)

1. **[ID] [Name]** — [specific modification suggestion]
   - Current: [Fail/Partial] | Potential gain: [X] weighted points
   - Action: [concrete step]
2. **[ID] [Name]** — [specific modification suggestion]
   - Current: [Fail/Partial] | Potential gain: [X] weighted points
   - Action: [concrete step]
3–5. [Same format]

### Action Plan

#### Quick Wins (< 1 week)
- [ ] [Action 1]
- [ ] [Action 2]
#### Medium Effort (1-4 weeks)
- [ ] [Action 3]
- [ ] [Action 4]
#### Strategic (1-3 months)
- [ ] [Action 5]
- [ ] [Action 6]

### Cross-Reference with CORE-EEAT

For a complete assessment, pair this CITE audit with a CORE-EEAT content audit:

| Assessment | Score | Rating |
|-----------|-------|--------|
| CITE (Domain) | [X]/100 | [rating] |
| CORE-EEAT (Content) | [Run content-quality-auditor on sample pages] | — |

**Diagnosis Matrix**:
- High CITE + High CORE-EEAT → Maintain and expand
- High CITE + Low CORE-EEAT → Prioritize content quality
- Low CITE + High CORE-EEAT → Build domain authority
- Low CITE + Low CORE-EEAT → Start with content, then domain

### Recommended Next Steps

- For domain authority building: focus on top 5 priorities above
- For content improvement: use [content-quality-auditor](../content-quality-auditor/) on key pages
- For backlink strategy: use [backlink-analyzer](../../monitor/backlink-analyzer/) for detailed link analysis
- For competitor benchmarking: use [competitor-analysis](../../research/competitor-analysis/) with CITE scores
- For tracking progress: run `/seo:report` with CITE score trends

Validation Checkpoints

Input Validation

• Domain identified and accessible
• Domain type confirmed (auto-detected or user-specified)
• Backlink data available (at minimum: referring domains count, DA/DR)
• If comparative audit, competitor domains also specified

Output Validation

• All 40 items scored (or marked N/A with reason)
• All 4 dimension scores calculated correctly
• Weighted CITE Score matches domain-type weight configuration
• All 3 veto items checked first and flagged if triggered
• Top 5 improvements sorted by weighted impact, not arbitrary
• Every recommendation is specific and actionable (not generic advice)
• Action plan includes concrete steps with effort estimates

Example

See references/example-report.md for a complete CITE audit of cloudhosting.com showing veto check, dimension scores, top 5 improvements, action plan, and cross-reference with CORE-EEAT.

Tips for Success

1. Start with veto items — T03, T05, T09 can invalidate the entire score
2. Identify domain type first — Different types have very different weight profiles
3. AI citation items (C05-C08) matter most for GEO — Test by querying AI engines with niche-relevant questions
4. Some items need specialized tools — Knowledge graph queries, AI citation monitoring, and IP diversity analysis may require manual research if tools aren't connected
5. Pair with CORE-EEAT for full picture — Domain authority without content quality (or vice versa) tells only half the story

Reference Materials

• CITE Domain Rating — Full 40-item benchmark with dimension definitions, scoring criteria, domain-type weight tables, and veto items
• references/example-report.md — Complete CITE audit example with scored dimensions, top 5 improvements, action plan, and CORE-EEAT cross-reference

Related Skills

• content-quality-auditor — Page-level content audit (CORE-EEAT 80 items) — the sister skill
• backlink-analyzer — Deep-dive into backlink profile (feeds C dimension data)
• competitor-analysis — Compare CITE scores across competitors
• performance-reporter — Track CITE score trends over time
• entity-optimizer — Entity presence audit; complements CITE I dimension