Merge PR #232: add directory-submissions skill

Resolves marketplace.json conflict (strips ./ prefix, adds directory-submissions, updates count to 37).

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.6 <noreply@anthropic.com>

.claude-plugin/marketplace.json

@@ -12,46 +12,47 @@
   "plugins": [
     {
       "name": "marketing-skills",
-      "description": "36 marketing skills for technical marketers and founders: ASO, CRO, copywriting, cold email, SEO, AI SEO, paid ads, ad creative, churn prevention, pricing strategy, referral programs, revenue operations, sales enablement, customer research, site architecture, and more",
-      "source": "./",
+      "description": "37 marketing skills for technical marketers and founders: ASO, CRO, copywriting, cold email, SEO, AI SEO, paid ads, ad creative, churn prevention, pricing strategy, referral programs, revenue operations, sales enablement, customer research, site architecture, and more",
+      "source": ".",
       "strict": false,
       "skills": [
-        "./skills/ab-test-setup",
-        "./skills/ad-creative",
-        "./skills/ai-seo",
-        "./skills/analytics-tracking",
-        "./skills/aso-audit",
-        "./skills/churn-prevention",
-        "./skills/cold-email",
-        "./skills/community-marketing",
-        "./skills/competitor-alternatives",
-        "./skills/content-strategy",
-        "./skills/copy-editing",
-        "./skills/copywriting",
-        "./skills/customer-research",
-        "./skills/email-sequence",
-        "./skills/form-cro",
-        "./skills/free-tool-strategy",
-        "./skills/launch-strategy",
-        "./skills/lead-magnets",
-        "./skills/marketing-ideas",
-        "./skills/marketing-psychology",
-        "./skills/onboarding-cro",
-        "./skills/page-cro",
-        "./skills/paid-ads",
-        "./skills/paywall-upgrade-cro",
-        "./skills/popup-cro",
-        "./skills/pricing-strategy",
-        "./skills/product-marketing-context",
-        "./skills/programmatic-seo",
-        "./skills/referral-program",
-        "./skills/revops",
-        "./skills/sales-enablement",
-        "./skills/schema-markup",
-        "./skills/seo-audit",
-        "./skills/signup-flow-cro",
-        "./skills/site-architecture",
-        "./skills/social-content"
+        "skills/ab-test-setup",
+        "skills/ad-creative",
+        "skills/ai-seo",
+        "skills/analytics-tracking",
+        "skills/aso-audit",
+        "skills/churn-prevention",
+        "skills/cold-email",
+        "skills/community-marketing",
+        "skills/competitor-alternatives",
+        "skills/content-strategy",
+        "skills/copy-editing",
+        "skills/copywriting",
+        "skills/customer-research",
+        "skills/directory-submissions",
+        "skills/email-sequence",
+        "skills/form-cro",
+        "skills/free-tool-strategy",
+        "skills/launch-strategy",
+        "skills/lead-magnets",
+        "skills/marketing-ideas",
+        "skills/marketing-psychology",
+        "skills/onboarding-cro",
+        "skills/page-cro",
+        "skills/paid-ads",
+        "skills/paywall-upgrade-cro",
+        "skills/popup-cro",
+        "skills/pricing-strategy",
+        "skills/product-marketing-context",
+        "skills/programmatic-seo",
+        "skills/referral-program",
+        "skills/revops",
+        "skills/sales-enablement",
+        "skills/schema-markup",
+        "skills/seo-audit",
+        "skills/signup-flow-cro",
+        "skills/site-architecture",
+        "skills/social-content"
       ]
     }
   ]

README.md

@@ -67,6 +67,7 @@ See each skill's **Related Skills** section for the full dependency map.
 | [copy-editing](skills/copy-editing/) | When the user wants to edit, review, or improve existing marketing copy, or refresh outdated content. Also use when the... |
 | [copywriting](skills/copywriting/) | When the user wants to write, rewrite, or improve marketing copy for any page — including homepage, landing pages,... |
 | [customer-research](skills/customer-research/) | When the user wants to conduct, analyze, or synthesize customer research. Use when the user mentions "customer... |
+| [directory-submissions](skills/directory-submissions/) | When the user wants to submit their product to startup, SaaS, AI, agent, MCP, no-code, or review directories for backlinks, domain rating, and discovery. Covers Product Hunt prep, Reviews playbook, GEO, and destination pages strategy. |
 | [email-sequence](skills/email-sequence/) | When the user wants to create or optimize an email sequence, drip campaign, automated email flow, or lifecycle email... |
 | [form-cro](skills/form-cro/) | When the user wants to optimize any form that is NOT signup/registration — including lead capture forms, contact forms,... |
 | [free-tool-strategy](skills/free-tool-strategy/) | When the user wants to plan, evaluate, or build a free tool for marketing purposes — lead generation, SEO value, or... |

skills/directory-submissions/SKILL.md

@@ -0,0 +1,375 @@
+---
+name: directory-submissions
+description: When the user wants to submit their product to startup, SaaS, AI, agent, MCP, no-code, or review directories for backlinks, domain rating, and discovery. Also use when the user mentions "directory submissions," "submit to directories," "backlinks from directories," "list my product," "submit to Product Hunt," "BetaList," "TAAFT," "Futurepedia," "G2 listing," "Capterra listing," "AlternativeTo," "SaaSHub," "AI directories," "MCP registry," "agent directory," "dofollow backlinks," "launch directories," or "directory tracker." Use this whenever someone is planning the directory layer of a product launch or an ongoing backlink campaign. For the broader launch moment, see launch-strategy. For programmatic SEO pages that should live behind these backlinks, see programmatic-seo. For AI citation optimization, see ai-seo.
+metadata:
+  version: 1.0.0
+---
+
+# Directory Submissions
+
+You are an expert in directory-driven distribution for software products. Your goal is to help the user build a compounding backlink + discovery foundation by submitting to the right directories, in the right order, with the right positioning — and to make sure that foundation actually produces leads instead of vanity backlinks.
+
+## Before Starting
+
+**Check for product marketing context first:**
+If `.agents/product-marketing-context.md` exists (or `.claude/product-marketing-context.md` in older setups), read it before asking questions. Use that context and only ask for information not already covered or specific to this task.
+
+---
+
+## Core Philosophy
+
+Directory submissions are the **foundation layer** of distribution — never the whole strategy. They do three things well:
+
+1. **Pass dofollow backlinks** from high domain-rating sites into your marketing pages. This raises your DR, which makes your entire site easier to rank for competitive keywords.
+2. **Create discovery surface area** — people browsing AI/SaaS directories are in-market buyers, not random traffic.
+3. **Get cited by AI engines** — ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, and Google AI Overviews all pull heavily from high-DR directories when answering "what's the best [category]?" queries. AI-referred traffic converts **6–27× higher** than traditional search traffic.
+
+But directories alone will not generate meaningful leads. They exist to pass link equity into the pages that DO generate leads — template galleries, comparison pages, alternative pages, blog posts. **Build the destination pages first, then submit to directories so the link equity has somewhere useful to land.**
+
+The full directory catalog lives in `references/directory-list.md`. The positioning variant library lives in `references/positioning-variations.md`. The submission tracker template lives in `references/submission-tracker-template.csv`.
+
+---
+
+## The Three Hard Rules
+
+### Rule 1: Foundation before submission
+Never submit to a directory until the landing page it will link to is live, indexed, and has:
+- A single `<h1>` and sequential heading hierarchy — pages with clean hierarchy have **2.8× higher AI citation rates**, and 87% of ChatGPT-cited pages use a single H1.
+- A real pricing page (even "free while in beta" counts — most Tier 1 directories require one).
+- Privacy policy + terms.
+- Logo assets in PNG + SVG + square 1024×1024 + favicon.
+- 5–8 real product screenshots at 1920×1080 (not marketing mockups).
+- A 60–90 second demo video — products with video on Product Hunt get **2.7× more upvotes**.
+- FAQ schema markup (AI engines heavily weight `FAQPage` JSON-LD for answer extraction).
+- Structured data: `Organization`, `Product`, `SoftwareApplication`.
+
+### Rule 2: Destination pages before directories
+Directories are the *source* of link equity. You need *destinations* that can convert the resulting traffic. Minimum destinations before submitting to anything:
+- 3–5 competitor alternative pages (`/alternatives/[competitor]`) targeting "[competitor] alternative" keywords. Comparison/alternative pages convert at **5–15%** vs 0.5–2% for generic content.
+- 3–5 use-case pages (`/for/[audience]` or `/use-cases/[use-case]`).
+- Template gallery with 20+ entries (if applicable — this was Typeform's largest SEO growth driver, generating 30K non-branded signups and $3M/year LTV).
+- 1 "best of" blog post you wrote yourself about your own category, including honest coverage of competitors.
+
+### Rule 3: Positioning varies by directory type
+Never copy-paste the same description everywhere. AI engines penalize duplicate content, and each directory audience responds to different framing. See `references/positioning-variations.md` for the full variant library. Short version:
+
+| Surface | Lead with | Why |
+|---|---|---|
+| Startup directories | **Outcome** | Audience is other founders. They care what it does. |
+| SaaS directories | **Alternative framing** | People search "[competitor] alternative" — meet them there. |
+| AI directories | **AI-first architecture** | TAAFT/Futurepedia audiences explicitly want AI tools. |
+| Agent/MCP directories | **Agent/MCP angle** | Niche but high-intent. A real moat. |
+| No-code directories | **Ease + power** | Audience values speed-to-build over depth. |
+| Dev directories | **Technical depth** | Dev audiences reward technical substance. |
+| B2B review sites | **ROI + use case** | Buyers want outcomes and case studies. |
+
+---
+
+## Workflow
+
+### Step 1: Readiness assessment (Phase 0)
+
+Ask the user these 9 questions. If any are "no", they're not ready — help them build the missing piece first.
+
+1. Is the product publicly accessible (no password wall)?
+2. Is there a pricing page (even "free while in beta")?
+3. Are privacy policy + terms live?
+4. Logo assets in PNG + SVG + square + favicon?
+5. 5–8 real screenshots + 60–90s demo video?
+6. Landing pages GEO-ready (single H1, sequential hierarchy, FAQ schema, structured data)?
+7. At least 3 alternative pages and 3 use-case pages live and indexed?
+8. Template gallery or lead magnet asset (if applicable to category)?
+9. At least 20 beta/early users who could leave a review on G2?
+
+A "no" on any of 1–7 is a hard block. A "no" on 8–9 is a soft block: you can launch but will lose Tier 2 review value and Typeform-style compounding.
+
+### Step 2: Choose the tiers
+
+Full catalog in `references/directory-list.md`. Summary:
+
+| Tier | When | Examples | Typical count |
+|---|---|---|---|
+| **Tier 1 — Flagship launch** | Launch week only | Product Hunt (anchor), BetaList, HN Show HN, Fazier, DevHunt | ~15 |
+| **Tier 2 — Startup/SaaS** | Week 1 + rolling | AlternativeTo, SaaSHub, G2, Capterra, F6S, SourceForge, Slashdot | ~15 |
+| **Tier 3 — AI directories** | Week 1–3 | TAAFT, Futurepedia, Toolify, Future Tools, aitools.inc, AIStage | ~25 |
+| **Tier 4 — Agent/MCP registries** | Week 1–3 (if MCP) | Glama, APITracker, LF MCP Registry, AI Agents List | ~10 |
+| **Tier 5 — No-code directories** | Week 1–3 (if no-code) | NoCodeFinder, No Code MBA, We Are No Code | ~6 |
+| **Tier 6 — "Best of" listicles** | Rolling outreach | Cold outreach to DR 40+ blog posts | ~10 inclusions |
+| **Tier 7 — Integration marketplaces** | When integrations ship | Zapier, HubSpot, Slack, Airtable, Notion | ~5 |
+
+**Triage rule:** Only submit where the product is a genuine fit. Forcing a listing into the wrong category burns the first-submission advantage and gets rejected by moderators.
+
+### Step 3: Prepare asset variations
+
+For each tier, prep a distinct description variant (pulled from `references/positioning-variations.md`):
+- **Tagline** under 10 words
+- **Short description** at 60 chars
+- **Long description** at 150 words
+- **5–8 category tags**
+- **Logo** assets
+- **Screenshots** + demo video URL
+- **Founder story** (2–3 sentences)
+
+**Critical:** Don't copy-paste the same long description into every directory. Vary the opening sentence, the feature emphasis, and the audience framing per tier. AI engines cross-reference and down-weight duplicate content.
+
+### Step 4: Batch submit
+
+Set up the tracker spreadsheet (`references/submission-tracker-template.csv`). Work left-to-right through it. 2–3 hours per batch is realistic.
+
+Per submission:
+1. Copy the tier-appropriate positioning variant.
+2. Fill in the form.
+3. Upload assets.
+4. Submit.
+5. Log: date, URL, status, moderator notes.
+6. Once live, verify the backlink exists and is dofollow: `curl -sIL https://directory.com/your-listing | grep -i rel=`. If absent, the link is dofollow.
+
+---
+
+## Product Hunt Deep Dive (The Anchor Event)
+
+Product Hunt is the single highest-leverage submission but also the most easily wasted. The 2026 PH algorithm weights **comment quality** more than upvote count — a post with 50 upvotes + 30 genuine comments ranks above one with 200 upvotes + 5 comments. **80% of failed launches** fail because they launched without a warm audience OR asked for upvotes instead of feedback.
+
+### 3-week prep timeline
+
+- **Day -21 to -14:** Warm up hunter account. Upvote + thoughtfully comment on 3 launches/day. Follow 100+ active makers. Build history so your account looks real to the algorithm.
+- **Day -14:** Create "Upcoming" page on PH. Drive traffic to it to collect "notify on launch" subscribers.
+- **Day -10:** (Optional) book a hunter. Don't pay cash — trade a feature, shoutout, or intro. A known hunter adds ~15% to day-one momentum but isn't required.
+- **Day -7:** Draft launch-day assets: gallery images (1270×760), tagline, 260-char description, first comment from you, first comment from a customer.
+- **Day -3:** Email list warm-up. "We're launching Tuesday. Here's what to expect. Reply if you want a heads up."
+- **Day -1:** Final check — product works in incognito, video autoplays, CTA goes to signup, PH listing preview looks right.
+
+### Launch day execution
+
+- **Launch at 12:01 AM Pacific Time.** Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday only — weekend launches get 60–70% less traffic. The 12:01 AM PT start maximizes your 24-hour window.
+- **First 2 hours are everything.** Need 50+ supporters in the first 2 hours to trigger algorithmic distribution.
+- **Post the first comment yourself** with the story: why you built it, what's different, what to try first.
+- **Reply to every comment** in under 30 minutes. PH measures maker responsiveness.
+- **Share the link to:** Twitter/X thread, LinkedIn long-form post, personal Slack/Discord communities, your email list, Indie Hackers, every power user via DM.
+- **Never ask for upvotes.** Ask for **feedback**. "Would love your honest take on the positioning" converts 3× better than "support us!" and doesn't trigger the algorithm's anti-manipulation filters.
+- **Don't message strangers.** The community flags this and moderators will hide your post.
+
+### Post-launch
+
+- Write a launch recap blog post with numbers + lessons. Honest, not bragging. Publish on day 2.
+- Cross-post the recap to Indie Hackers and r/SaaS (where promotion is allowed).
+- Only submit to Show HN if you have a *technical* angle to share (architecture, DSL, novel approach). A generic "we launched a SaaS" post will get flagged to death.
+
+---
+
+## Reviews Playbook (G2 / Capterra / TrustRadius)
+
+G2 and Capterra (now owned by G2 as of Feb 2026) listings are **worthless without reviews**. 10 reviews is the magic threshold for Grid appearance. Run the 10-in-30 protocol during launch month.
+
+### The 10-in-30 protocol
+
+1. **Day 1 post-launch:** Identify 20 users who have completed a meaningful action with the product.
+2. **Send each a personal email** with a direct review URL (reduces friction by ~70%). No forms, no landing pages — direct link.
+3. **Offer a modest thank-you.** G2 and TrustRadius explicitly allow small incentives like a $25 Amazon gift card.
+4. **Follow up once** after 5 days. Don't follow up twice — it becomes annoying and damages the relationship.
+5. **Target:** 50% conversion → 10 reviews from 20 asks.
+
+### Critical deadlines
+
+- **G2 Summer reports:** cut off ~April 28. Plan review drives to land before this.
+- **G2 Fall reports:** cut off ~July 28.
+- Missing a cutoff means waiting 3 months for the next grid update.
+
+### Badges and paid plans
+
+- **"Users Love Us" badge** is still free: requires 20 reviews at 4.0+ average.
+- **Grid, Momentum, Index, and Award badges** require a paid G2 plan ($2,999+/year starting Summer 2025).
+- **Do not spend on paid G2 in year one.** The free listing + Users Love Us badge is sufficient.
+
+### Cross-platform
+
+- TrustRadius follows similar mechanics but smaller volume.
+- Capterra auto-syncs from Gartner Digital Markets in some categories — may populate without direct action.
+
+---
+
+## Destination Pages Strategy (What the Backlinks Point At)
+
+Directories are useless if the backlinks land on a generic homepage. Build these destination pages *before* submitting:
+
+### 1. Alternative pages (highest ROI)
+
+Competitor alternative pages convert at **5–15%**, often hitting 15–30% for bottom-of-funnel queries. One page per top competitor:
+
+- `/alternatives/[competitor-1]`
+- `/alternatives/[competitor-2]`
+- `/alternatives/[competitor-3]`
+- `/alternatives/[competitor-4]`
+
+Each page needs: honest feature comparison table, "when to choose X over us," "when to choose us over X," pricing comparison, 3–5 use-case examples, strong FAQ with schema.
+
+**Critical:** Be honest. AI engines cross-reference competitor feature claims and de-rank pages that lie.
+
+### 2. Use-case / ICP pages
+
+Every ICP gets a dedicated landing page:
+- `/for/[audience]` — coaches, agencies, ecommerce, SaaS, consultants, etc.
+- `/use-cases/[use-case]` — lead qualification, onboarding, product recommendations, etc.
+
+### 3. Template / asset gallery (if applicable)
+
+Typeform's template library generated **30,000 non-branded organic signups and $3M/year LTV**. The pattern:
+- One indexable page per template at `/templates/[slug]`.
+- H1 with the keyword, 150+ word description, screenshot, "when to use this," "use this template" CTA.
+- Related templates at the bottom of each page (internal linking = SEO compounding).
+- 100 templates by day 30, 300 by day 90 is the realistic target.
+
+### 4. "Best of" listicles you wrote yourself
+
+Write honest roundups of your own category: `/blog/best-[category]-tools-2026`. Include yourself + 10 competitors with real reviews. These rank for category queries AND serve as canonical references AI engines cite.
+
+### 5. Integration pages (when integrations ship)
+
+Every integration = one landing page at `/integrations/[partner]`. Follows the Zapier playbook: Zapier gets **~2.6M monthly organic visits** from programmatic integration pages (~15% of their total organic traffic).
+
+---
+
+## GEO (Generative Engine Optimization)
+
+In 2026, 30–50% of "research a tool" queries happen inside ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, or Google AI Overviews without ever touching a traditional search page. Directories matter here too — AI engines pull heavily from high-DR directories when generating answers. But the *destination pages* also need to be GEO-optimized.
+
+### Tactics that get pages cited
+
+1. **One H1 per page, sequential heading hierarchy.** 2.8× higher citation rate. 87% of cited pages use a single H1.
+2. **Dense, factual content with citable stats.** AI engines prefer specific numbers ("3× faster than X") over vague claims.
+3. **FAQ schema on every landing page.** AI engines heavily weight `FAQPage` JSON-LD for answer extraction.
+4. **Comparison tables.** Extractable, structured — exactly what an AI answer needs.
+5. **Explicit "what it is" paragraph in the first 100 words.**
+6. **Get cited on Reddit and Hacker News.** Claude and Perplexity index these heavily. Genuine mentions on r/SaaS and HN count as training fuel.
+7. **Publish original research.** "We analyzed 10,000 [things] and found X" becomes the primary citation for anyone writing about that topic.
+8. **Claim Crunchbase, LinkedIn company page, and Wikidata entries.** All three feed AI training corpora.
+9. **If applicable, list on MCP registries with A/B grades** (Glama in particular). LLMs pull from these when answering MCP questions.
+
+### Measurement
+
+Manually check monthly: ask ChatGPT, Claude, and Perplexity "what are the best [category] tools?" and log where the product appears. Free GEO tracking tools (GeoTracker, llmrefs) automate this.
+
+---
+
+## Community & Ongoing Distribution
+
+Directories are one-shot. Community is ongoing. Both feed the same funnel.
+
+### Reddit (90/10 rule)
+
+90% of activity must be genuinely helpful; only 10% promotional. Violating this gets shadowbanned.
+
+**High-value subs (ranked):**
+- **r/SideProject** (200K+) — friendly to promo, launch announcements welcome.
+- **r/SaaS** (300K+) — "Share Your SaaS" threads are explicit promo windows.
+- **r/startups** (1.7M) — Feedback Friday thread.
+- **r/Entrepreneur** (3.5M) — weekly promo thread.
+- **r/nocode**, **r/IndieHackers**, **r/alphaandbetausers** — friendly.
+- **r/webdev**, **r/artificial**, **r/LocalLLaMA** — strict, technical only.
+
+**What wins:** real numbers (MRR, signups, churn), screenshots, "what I tried / what happened / what I'd do differently" structure, mini case studies with a clear lesson. **What fails:** hype, vague claims, "check out my new tool" posts, asking for upvotes.
+
+### LinkedIn (B2B primary channel)
+
+80% of B2B social leads come from LinkedIn. Cadence: **3–5 posts/week** — fewer loses momentum, more causes fatigue.
+
+Content types ranked by 2026 engagement:
+1. Personal stories with business lessons (1.5–2× avg engagement)
+2. Original data / research (1.3–1.5×)
+3. Contrarian industry takes (1.2–1.5×)
+4. Document carousels with 8–12 slides (1.3–1.8×)
+
+### Twitter/X (indie hacker + dev channel)
+
+Build-in-public threads on architecture, revenue, decisions. Technical deep-dives get indexed by Google + Claude + Perplexity → indirect GEO.
+
+### Indie Hackers
+
+- Launch a build-in-public thread on PH launch day.
+- Post weekly updates: revenue, ships, lessons. Zero-revenue posts work if the lesson is honest.
+- Comment 10× more than you post to build karma before your own links.
+
+### Dev.to + Hashnode
+
+Every substantial technical post = dofollow backlink + dev audience reach. Cross-post with canonical URL back to main blog.
+
+---
+
+## KPIs & Tracking
+
+Track weekly. If a number isn't moving, investigate — don't just submit more directories.
+
+| Metric | Day 0 | Day 30 target | Day 90 target |
+|---|---|---|---|
+| Domain Rating (DR) | 0 | 20 | 30+ |
+| Referring domains | 0 | 30 | 80+ |
+| Indexed pages | — | 50 | 200+ |
+| Organic clicks/day | 0 | 30 | 200+ |
+| Directory listings live | 0 | 50 | 70+ |
+| G2 reviews | 0 | 10 | 25 |
+| Capterra reviews | 0 | 5 | 15 |
+| AI citations (manual check) | 0 | 3 | 15+ |
+| Signups from directory referrals | 0 | 50 | 300 |
+| Signups from alt/use-case pages | 0 | 20 | 300 |
+
+---
+
+## What NOT to Do
+
+1. **Don't pay for directory submission services** ($60–$200 packages). The whole point is these are free. It's an afternoon of copy-paste.
+2. **Don't submit to spam directories** (DR under 10, no traffic, no editorial quality). They dilute your backlink profile and Google's spam detection can penalize you.
+3. **Don't submit with the wrong positioning.** Re-read the positioning table per tier. Generic descriptions waste the listing.
+4. **Don't treat directories as your entire GTM.** They're the foundation. Content + community + reviews are what actually convert.
+5. **Don't skip reviews on G2/Capterra.** Zero-review listings are dead. Run the 10-in-30 protocol or don't submit.
+6. **Don't ask for upvotes on Product Hunt.** The 2026 algorithm penalizes it. Ask for **feedback**.
+7. **Don't amend old directory listings every week.** Submit once, check quarterly.
+8. **Don't submit before the destination page exists.** Link equity needs a destination.
+9. **Don't duplicate descriptions across directories.** AI engines penalize duplicate content.
+10. **Don't lie on comparison pages.** AI engines cross-reference and de-rank lies.
+11. **Don't over-index on launch-day spike.** The flywheel is templates + alternatives + reviews + ongoing content — not one day of PH.
+12. **Don't forget Crunchbase, LinkedIn company page, and Wikidata.** These feed AI training corpora and matter for GEO.
+
+---
+
+## Task-Specific Questions
+
+1. **What are you launching?** (Category changes tier mix — AI vs traditional SaaS vs no-code vs dev tool.)
+2. **When is launch day?** (Phase 0 assets need 7 days of prep.)
+3. **Do you have destination pages built?** (Alternatives, use cases, templates — if not, build first.)
+4. **Product Hunt hunter lined up?** (Optional but adds ~15% day-one lift. 3-week warm-up required regardless.)
+5. **How many beta users can you ask for reviews?** (Need 20 to hit 10.)
+6. **Do you have an MCP or agent angle?** (If yes, Tier 4 registries are a real moat.)
+7. **Existing integrations?** (If yes, Tier 7 marketplaces are the highest-DR backlinks available.)
+8. **Email list size?** (Needed for PH launch day warm traffic — 100+ is the minimum.)
+9. **Current DR and referring domain count?** (Baseline for measuring the compounding effect.)
+
+---
+
+## Output Format
+
+When the user asks for a directory plan, return:
+
+1. **Readiness assessment** — which Phase 0 items are missing, which block submission
+2. **Tier selection** — which tiers apply, which to skip, why
+3. **Submission order** — week 1 / week 2 / week 3 batches
+4. **Destination page list** — what to build first if missing
+5. **Positioning variants** — the actual copy per tier (from `references/positioning-variations.md`)
+6. **PH 3-week prep timeline** — mapped to calendar dates if launch day known
+7. **Reviews 10-in-30 plan** — who to ask, when, how
+8. **Weekly targets** — directories submitted, reviews, DR movement
+9. **Tracker** — link to or include the CSV from `references/submission-tracker-template.csv`
+
+Keep the plan actionable. Every item should be something the user can do today.
+
+---
+
+## Related Skills
+
+- **launch-strategy** — broader launch moment, ORB framework, five-phase approach
+- **programmatic-seo** — destination pages (alternatives, integrations, templates) that backlinks should flow into
+- **competitor-alternatives** — `/alternatives/[tool]` page pattern
+- **ai-seo** — GEO optimization for AI citation
+- **content-strategy** — editorial content that attracts "best of" listicle inclusions
+- **free-tool-strategy** — lead magnets for destination pages
+- **community-marketing** — Reddit, Indie Hackers, Slack community mechanics
+- **schema-markup** — FAQ + Product + Organization JSON-LD for GEO

skills/directory-submissions/references/directory-list.md

@@ -0,0 +1,181 @@
+# Directory List — Full Reference
+
+Canonical list of directories organized by tier. DR values are approximate and drift over time — verify via Ahrefs or Moz before building a plan around them.
+
+**Column legend:**
+- **DR** — Domain Rating (Ahrefs). Higher = more link equity passed.
+- **Dofollow** — Whether the backlink passes SEO value. Nofollow listings still matter for referral traffic and brand signals.
+- **Cost** — Free unless noted.
+
+---
+
+## Tier 1 — Flagship Launch Platforms
+
+Submit only during launch week. These are time-sensitive with limited re-submission windows.
+
+| Directory | DR | Dofollow | Cost | Notes |
+|---|---|---|---|---|
+| **Product Hunt** | 91 | Yes | Free | The anchor event. Requires 3-week warm-up. 2026 algorithm weights comment quality over upvotes. Launch Tue/Wed/Thu at 12:01 AM PT. |
+| **Hacker News (Show HN)** | 91 | Nofollow | Free | Only if you have a genuine technical angle. Post title format: "Show HN: [Product] — [hook]". Moderator death penalty for hype. |
+| **BetaList** | 64 | Yes | Free (paid expedite ~$99) | Best for pre-launch waitlist building. Submission → 2–4 week queue unless expedited. |
+| **Launching Next** | ~30 | Yes | Free | Editorial curation — needs a compelling story. |
+| **Fazier** | ~30 | Yes | Free | Daily ranking with much lower competition than PH. Achievable #1. |
+| **Uneed** | ~40 | Yes | Free | Curated, smaller audience, quality backlink. |
+| **Microlaunch** | ~30 | Yes | Free | Month-long visibility vs one-day spike. |
+| **OpenHunts** | ~25 | Yes | Free | Indie-maker friendly, reports 14%+ conversion rates. |
+| **DevHunt** | ~35 | Yes | Free | Dev-focused. Best fit for developer tools and technical products. |
+| **PeerPush** | ~25 | Yes | Free | Similar to Fazier. Low competition. |
+| **LaunchVault** | ~20 | Yes | Free | Anti-VC positioning. Good for bootstrapped narrative. |
+| **What Launched Today** | ~20 | Yes | Free | Guaranteed visibility on launch day regardless of votes. |
+| **Firsto** | ~25 | Yes | Free tier | Sustained discovery, not one-day spike. |
+| **GetByte** | ~20 | Yes | Free | Lightweight listing + promotional support. |
+| **Best of Web** | ~30 | Yes | Free | Easy fast submission, free dofollow. |
+| **Tiny Launch** | ~20 | Yes | Free | Lightweight, fast approval. |
+| **PitchWall** | ~25 | Yes | Free | Indie-hacker friendly. |
+
+---
+
+## Tier 2 — Startup / SaaS / Software Directories
+
+Submit during launch week and continue rolling submissions thereafter.
+
+| Directory | DR | Dofollow | Cost | Notes |
+|---|---|---|---|---|
+| **AlternativeTo** | 79 | Nofollow | Free | Massive SEO value despite nofollow. Submit as alternative to your top 4 competitors. |
+| **SaaSHub** | 77 | Yes | Free | Ranks well for "[tool] alternatives" queries. High intent. |
+| **G2** | 92 | Yes | Free listing | 10 reviews required for Grid appearance. Paid badges start at $2,999/yr. |
+| **Capterra** | 93 | Yes | Free listing | Owned by G2 (acquired Feb 2026). Reviews drive everything. |
+| **GetApp** | 78 | Yes | Free | Auto-syncs from Capterra in some cases. Owned by G2. |
+| **SourceForge** | 92 | Yes | Free | Legacy but still high DR. Trivial to list. |
+| **Slashdot** | ~88 | Yes | Free | Legacy but high DR. Company profile submission. |
+| **Startup Stash** | ~50 | Yes | Free | Curated, organized by startup need. |
+| **SideProjectors** | ~35 | Yes | Free | Discovery + marketplace. Community-driven. |
+| **F6S** | 65 | Yes | Free | Startup platform used by accelerators. |
+| **Stackshare** | ~60 | Yes | Free | Dev-centric. Show your tech stack. |
+| **Resource.fyi** | ~40 | Yes | Free | Curated for designers/devs/marketers. |
+| **Shipybara** | ~30 | Yes | Free | Shows which companies use your tool. |
+| **TrustRadius** | 72 | Yes | Free | Smaller but respected B2B review platform. |
+| **Crozdesk** | ~55 | Yes | Free | Feeds into Gartner ecosystem. |
+
+---
+
+## Tier 3 — AI Tool Directories
+
+Relevant only for AI-native products. Submit during weeks 1–3.
+
+### Tier 3A — Flagship AI directories
+
+| Directory | DR | Monthly Traffic | Notes |
+|---|---|---|---|
+| **There's An AI For That (TAAFT)** | 76 | 2M+ | Largest AI directory. Task-based search. Worth the effort to list well. |
+| **Futurepedia** | 70 | 1M+ | 5,000+ tools, 54 categories. Matt Wolfe YouTube (2M+ subs) drives traffic. |
+| **Toolify.ai** | 71 | 500K+ | 26K+ tools, 450+ categories. Tracks traffic trends. |
+| **Future Tools (futuretools.io)** | 69 | 400K+ | Curated by Matt Wolfe. Smaller but influential. |
+| **AI Tools Neilpatel** | 91 | n/a | Highest DR free AI directory. |
+| **Good AI Tools** | 66 | n/a | Curated, quality over quantity. |
+| **NewTools.site** | 51 | n/a | Dofollow backlink for every approved submission. |
+
+### Tier 3B — Mid-tier AI directories
+
+| Directory | Est. DR | Notes |
+|---|---|---|
+| **aitools.inc** | ~66 | "10x your output" positioning. |
+| **AIStage** | ~66 | Includes open source + news. |
+| **AItrendytools** | ~69 | Comprehensive listing. |
+| **Grabon AI Directory** | ~70 | High DR, broad audience. |
+| **TopAI.tools** | ~60 | Task-based search similar to TAAFT. |
+| **Supertools** | ~61 | Clean interface, good categorization. |
+| **AI Tools Directory** (aitoolsdirectory.com) | ~55 | Curated; featured placement available. |
+| **AI Tools Love** | ~25 | Comparison-focused. |
+| **AIChief** | ~35 | Business-focused. |
+| **LogicBalls** | ~40 | 3,500+ verified tools. |
+| **SaasAITools** | ~30 | SaaS + AI crossover. |
+| **PoweredByAI** | ~35 | Growing directory with newsletter reach. |
+| **TheAISurf** | ~30 | Newer, actively promoting submissions. |
+| **Aixyz** | ~30 | 1,500+ tools, smart filters. |
+| **AI Pedia Hub** | ~40 | "Largest directory, updated daily." |
+| **Dofollow.Tools** | ~30 | Explicitly free dofollow backlinks. |
+| **AIBacklinkList** | ~25 | Aggregated list of 2500+ AI backlink opportunities. |
+| **AI Scout** | ~25 | Emerging, less competition. |
+| **AiMatchPro** | ~20 | Use-case search. |
+
+---
+
+## Tier 4 — AI Agent & MCP Server Registries
+
+Relevant only if the product exposes agent capabilities or MCP servers. These are a real moat for AI-native tools — traditional SaaS products cannot list here.
+
+| Directory | Category | Notes |
+|---|---|---|
+| **AI Agents List (aiagentslist.com)** | Agents | Hosts the 593+ MCP server directory. |
+| **Glama.ai MCP servers** | MCP | 20K+ security-graded MCP servers. A/B/C/F grades matter — optimize for a good grade. |
+| **APITracker MCP directory** | MCP | 110+ servers, 90 official integrations. |
+| **Linux Foundation MCP Registry** | MCP | Canonical registry (PR-based submission, low volume but high signal). Anthropic donated MCP to LF in Dec 2025. |
+| **AI Agent Store** | Agents | Compare agents, platforms, frameworks. |
+| **AI Agents Base** | Agents | All-in-one directory. |
+| **AI Agents Directory** | Agents | Specialized, updated daily. |
+| **AI Agents Verse** | Agents | Curated directory. |
+| **AgentHunter** | Agents | "Discover the best AI agents." |
+| **Add AI Directory** | Agents | Catalogs agents + tools. |
+| **AI Agents Live** | Agents | Discovery + sharing. |
+| **AI Agents Marketplace** | Agents | Organized by 300+ human role equivalents. |
+
+---
+
+## Tier 5 — No-Code Directories
+
+Relevant for no-code platforms and builder tools.
+
+| Directory | Est. DR | Notes |
+|---|---|---|
+| **NoCodeFinder** | ~45 | Accepts submissions. |
+| **No Code MBA Tools Directory** | ~55 | Categorized by project type. |
+| **We Are No Code Tools Repository** | ~40 | Curated. |
+| **NoCodeList** | ~30 | — |
+| **NoCodeDevs** | ~25 | — |
+| **NoCode.Tech** | ~35 | — |
+
+---
+
+## Tier 6 — "Best of" Listicles (Editorial Outreach)
+
+Not directories per se — these are blog posts on high-DR domains that you get included in via cold outreach. Often more valuable than directories because they combine a dofollow backlink with editorial trust + in-market buyer traffic + AI citation weight.
+
+**Search patterns to find opportunities:**
+- `"best [category] tools" 2026`
+- `"best [competitor] alternative"`
+- `"top AI [category]"`
+- `"[category] tools review"`
+
+**Outreach template (short):**
+> Hey [name], saw your post on [best X tools]. We launched [product] recently — thought it might be worth a mention. Happy to give you a free account + credits for readers. Here's a 60s demo: [link]. No worries if not a fit.
+
+**Target:** 10 inclusions in 30 days. Each = dofollow backlink from DR 40–70 + referral traffic + AI citation fuel.
+
+---
+
+## Tier 7 — Integration Marketplaces
+
+Only relevant once the product has integrations. These are the highest-DR backlinks available — worth engineering effort just to land them.
+
+| Directory | DR | Notes |
+|---|---|---|
+| **Zapier App Directory** | 91 | Requires working Zapier integration. |
+| **HubSpot App Marketplace** | 93 | Requires HubSpot app. |
+| **Slack App Directory** | 89 | Requires Slack integration. |
+| **Airtable Marketplace** | 82 | Requires Airtable integration. |
+| **Notion Integrations Gallery** | 88 | Requires Notion integration. |
+| **Make (Integromat)** | ~70 | Requires Make module. |
+| **Pipedream** | ~70 | Requires Pipedream action. |
+
+---
+
+## Verification
+
+After any submission goes live, verify the backlink exists and is dofollow. You can:
+
+1. **Manual:** Open the listing, right-click your product link, "Inspect" → check for `rel="nofollow"` or `rel="ugc"`. If absent, the link is dofollow.
+2. **curl:** `curl -sIL https://directory.com/your-listing | grep -i link`
+3. **SEO tools:** Ahrefs Site Explorer → Backlinks → filter by this directory's domain.
+
+**Re-verify quarterly.** Directories sometimes change all outbound links to nofollow without warning — if DR stops moving, check whether your biggest inbound links have silently flipped.

skills/directory-submissions/references/positioning-variations.md

@@ -0,0 +1,232 @@
+# Positioning Variations Library
+
+Directory audiences respond to different framings. Never copy-paste the same description everywhere — AI engines penalize duplicate content, and each directory type rewards a different opener.
+
+Use this library to generate per-tier variants. Swap `[product]`, `[category]`, `[competitors]`, `[use-case]`, and `[audience]` with the real values.
+
+---
+
+## Framework: Lead Sentence Varies by Tier
+
+| Tier | Lead sentence pattern | Why |
+|---|---|---|
+| Startup / launch | "[Product] is the easiest way to [outcome] for [audience]." | Founders scan for outcome clarity. |
+| SaaS directory | "[Product] is the [differentiator] alternative to [competitors]." | Catches "[competitor] alternative" search intent. |
+| AI directory | "[Product] uses [AI capability] to [outcome]." | TAAFT/Futurepedia audiences explicitly want AI. |
+| Agent / MCP | "[Product] is an MCP-native / agent-native [category]." | Niche but high-intent. Ruling-out competitors. |
+| No-code | "[Product] lets you build [output] without code." | Audience values speed, not technical depth. |
+| Dev tool | "[Product] is a [technical category] with [differentiator]." | Devs want substance upfront. |
+| B2B review | "[Product] helps [audience] [measurable business outcome]." | Reviewers want ROI language. |
+
+---
+
+## Template: Startup / Launch Directories
+
+**Target:** Product Hunt, BetaList, Fazier, Uneed, DevHunt, Microlaunch, OpenHunts, LaunchVault, Firsto, PitchWall
+
+**Tagline (under 10 words):**
+> The [differentiator] way to [outcome] for [audience].
+
+**Short description (60 chars):**
+> [Outcome-focused one-liner with product name]
+
+**Long description (150 words):**
+> [Product] is the easiest way to [outcome] for [audience]. Built for teams who [pain point], [product] removes [friction] by [how].
+>
+> Unlike [competitor category], [product] [key differentiator 1] and [key differentiator 2]. You can [action 1] in under [timeframe], [action 2] without [limitation], and [action 3] that would normally require [cost or technical skill].
+>
+> We built [product] because [founder origin story in one sentence]. It's now used by [audience examples] to [use case examples].
+>
+> Try it free at [url]. No credit card, no setup.
+
+**Tags:** [product category], [audience type], [use case 1], [use case 2], [differentiator], [tech]
+
+---
+
+## Template: SaaS / Software Directories
+
+**Target:** AlternativeTo, SaaSHub, G2, Capterra, GetApp, SourceForge, Slashdot, Startup Stash, F6S
+
+**Tagline:**
+> The [differentiator] alternative to [top competitors].
+
+**Long description:**
+> [Product] is a [differentiator] alternative to [competitor 1], [competitor 2], and [competitor 3] — built for [audience] who need [gap the competitors don't fill].
+>
+> Where [competitor 1] [limitation 1] and [competitor 2] [limitation 2], [product] [solves]. You get [feature 1], [feature 2], and [feature 3] in a single workspace, at [pricing relative to competitors].
+>
+> Key features:
+> • [Feature 1] — [benefit]
+> • [Feature 2] — [benefit]
+> • [Feature 3] — [benefit]
+> • [Feature 4] — [benefit]
+> • [Integration 1], [Integration 2], [Integration 3] integrations
+>
+> Trusted by [audience examples]. Start free at [url].
+
+**Tags:** [competitor] alternative, [category], [audience], [differentiator], [top 3 features]
+
+---
+
+## Template: AI Directories
+
+**Target:** TAAFT, Futurepedia, Toolify, Future Tools, aitools.inc, AIStage, LogicBalls, SaasAITools
+
+**Tagline:**
+> AI-powered [category] for [audience].
+
+**Long description:**
+> [Product] is an AI-powered [category] that [core AI capability]. It uses [specific models / techniques] to [outcome] — so [audience] can [job to be done] in a fraction of the time.
+>
+> What makes it AI-first:
+> • [AI feature 1] — [what it does] using [model/approach]
+> • [AI feature 2] — [what it does]
+> • [AI feature 3] — [what it does]
+> • [AI feature 4] — [what it does]
+>
+> [Product] is built on [tech stack] and supports [models/providers]. Use cases: [use case 1], [use case 2], [use case 3], [use case 4].
+>
+> Free tier available. No API keys required to start.
+
+**Tags:** AI [category], [AI capability 1], [AI capability 2], AI for [audience], [use case 1], [use case 2], [LLM provider], [differentiator]
+
+---
+
+## Template: Agent / MCP Registries
+
+**Target:** Glama, APITracker, Linux Foundation MCP Registry, AI Agents List, AI Agent Store, AgentHunter
+
+**Tagline:**
+> MCP-native [category] for AI agents.
+
+**Long description:**
+> [Product] is an MCP-native [category] that lets AI agents [capability]. It exposes [MCP server capabilities] via the Model Context Protocol, so agents in Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor, and any MCP-compatible client can [actions].
+>
+> MCP capabilities:
+> • [Tool 1] — [what the agent can do]
+> • [Tool 2] — [what the agent can do]
+> • [Tool 3] — [what the agent can do]
+> • [Resource 1] — [context surfaced]
+> • [Prompt 1] — [pre-built prompt]
+>
+> Authentication: [auth method]. Transports: stdio, HTTP, SSE. Security: [security posture].
+>
+> Installation: [one-line install command]. Docs: [docs URL].
+
+**Tags:** MCP, MCP server, AI agent, agent [category], Claude integration, Model Context Protocol, [domain], [auth type]
+
+---
+
+## Template: No-Code Directories
+
+**Target:** NoCodeFinder, No Code MBA Tools Directory, We Are No Code, NoCode.Tech
+
+**Tagline:**
+> Build [output] without code.
+
+**Long description:**
+> [Product] lets you build [output] without writing code. Drag, drop, or describe what you want and [product] handles the rest — [technical concept 1] and [technical concept 2] are automatic.
+>
+> What you can build:
+> • [Example project 1] — built in [timeframe]
+> • [Example project 2] — built in [timeframe]
+> • [Example project 3] — built in [timeframe]
+>
+> No-code friendly features:
+> • [Visual feature 1]
+> • [Visual feature 2]
+> • [AI-assisted feature]
+> • [Pre-built templates]
+>
+> Start free. No credit card. Templates included.
+
+**Tags:** no code, no-code [category], visual [tool], drag and drop, [output type], [audience type]
+
+---
+
+## Template: Dev / Technical Directories
+
+**Target:** DevHunt, Stackshare, GitHub, Dev.to, Hacker News Show HN
+
+**Tagline:**
+> [Technical category] with [technical differentiator].
+
+**Long description:**
+> [Product] is a [technical category] built on [tech stack]. It solves [technical problem] by [technical approach].
+>
+> Architecture:
+> • [Component 1] — [tech used]
+> • [Component 2] — [tech used]
+> • [Component 3] — [tech used]
+>
+> Why it's different: [technical insight or novel approach]. We chose [trade-off] because [reason].
+>
+> Open source: [yes/no/partial]. Self-hostable: [yes/no]. License: [license].
+>
+> API: [REST / GraphQL / MCP / gRPC]. SDKs: [languages]. Docs: [url].
+
+**Tags:** [language], [framework], [category], open source, API, [tech stack component], [architecture approach]
+
+---
+
+## Template: B2B Review Platforms
+
+**Target:** G2, Capterra, TrustRadius, GetApp, Gartner Digital Markets, Crozdesk
+
+**Tagline:**
+> [Business outcome] for [audience].
+
+**Long description:**
+> [Product] helps [audience] [achieve measurable business outcome]. Teams use it to [use case 1], [use case 2], and [use case 3] — reducing [metric] by [percentage] and increasing [metric] by [percentage].
+>
+> Key benefits:
+> • [Business benefit 1] with [how measured]
+> • [Business benefit 2] with [how measured]
+> • [Business benefit 3] with [how measured]
+>
+> Integrations: [enterprise integrations — HubSpot, Salesforce, Slack, etc.]
+>
+> Security: [SOC 2 / GDPR / compliance posture]. Support: [support tier]. Pricing: [pricing range].
+>
+> Trusted by [customer logos / company size]. Case studies at [url].
+
+**Tags:** [business use case], [vertical], [audience role], [compliance], enterprise [category], [integration 1]
+
+---
+
+## Category Tag Library
+
+Pull 5–8 tags per submission from the relevant sections. Never repeat the exact same tag set across two directories in the same tier.
+
+### Universal
+[category], [audience], [differentiator], [use case], AI, no-code, SaaS, [tech stack]
+
+### Industry
+B2B, B2C, DTC, ecommerce, fintech, edtech, healthtech, martech, devtools, productivity, creator tools, agency tools
+
+### Job-to-be-done
+lead generation, lead qualification, customer onboarding, product recommendation, sales enablement, marketing automation, survey, assessment, calculator, quiz, intake form
+
+### AI-specific
+AI agent, LLM, generative AI, conversational AI, RAG, MCP, agent framework, AI form, AI quiz, AI assistant, AI automation
+
+### Technical
+open source, self-hosted, API-first, webhook, Zapier, no-code, low-code, embeddable, white-label, multi-tenant, SSO, SAML
+
+---
+
+## Do / Don't Quick Reference
+
+**DO:**
+- Vary the opening sentence across tiers
+- Use real numbers and specific differentiators
+- Match tone to audience (technical for devs, business for G2, excited for PH)
+- Include a founder/origin angle in startup directories
+- Lead with the AI-first angle in AI directories
+
+**DON'T:**
+- Copy-paste the same 150-word description everywhere
+- Use vague claims ("blazing fast", "game-changing")
+- Mention every feature — pick 3–5 per tier and rotate them
+- Lie about competitor features (AI engines cross-reference and de-rank)
+- Skip the tag list — it's how moderators route you to the right category

skills/directory-submissions/references/submission-tracker-template.csv

@@ -0,0 +1,80 @@
+Directory,Tier,URL,Category,DR,Dofollow,Submission Date,Status,Live URL,Backlink Verified,Positioning Variant Used,Tags Used,Account Email,Notes
+Product Hunt,1,https://producthunt.com/posts/new,Launch,91,Yes,,Draft,,,Startup,,,
+Hacker News (Show HN),1,https://news.ycombinator.com/submit,Launch,91,No,,Draft,,,Dev,,,
+BetaList,1,https://betalist.com/submit,Launch,64,Yes,,Draft,,,Startup,,,
+Fazier,1,https://fazier.com/submit,Launch,30,Yes,,Draft,,,Startup,,,
+DevHunt,1,https://devhunt.org/submit,Launch,35,Yes,,Draft,,,Dev,,,
+Uneed,1,https://uneed.best/submit-a-tool,Launch,40,Yes,,Draft,,,Startup,,,
+Microlaunch,1,https://microlaunch.net/submit,Launch,30,Yes,,Draft,,,Startup,,,
+OpenHunts,1,https://openhunts.com/submit,Launch,25,Yes,,Draft,,,Startup,,,
+LaunchVault,1,https://launchvault.com/submit,Launch,20,Yes,,Draft,,,Startup,,,
+What Launched Today,1,https://whatlaunchedtoday.com,Launch,20,Yes,,Draft,,,Startup,,,
+Launching Next,1,https://launchingnext.com/submit,Launch,30,Yes,,Draft,,,Startup,,,
+PeerPush,1,https://peerpush.net/submit,Launch,25,Yes,,Draft,,,Startup,,,
+Firsto,1,https://firsto.co/submit,Launch,25,Yes,,Draft,,,Startup,,,
+GetByte,1,https://getbyte.co/submit,Launch,20,Yes,,Draft,,,Startup,,,
+Best of Web,1,https://bestofweb.io/submit,Launch,30,Yes,,Draft,,,Startup,,,
+Tiny Launch,1,https://tinylaunch.com/submit,Launch,20,Yes,,Draft,,,Startup,,,
+PitchWall,1,https://pitchwall.co/submit,Launch,25,Yes,,Draft,,,Startup,,,
+AlternativeTo,2,https://alternativeto.net/software/_/add/,SaaS,79,No,,Draft,,,SaaS,,,
+SaaSHub,2,https://saashub.com/submit,SaaS,77,Yes,,Draft,,,SaaS,,,
+G2,2,https://my.g2.com/sellers/welcome,SaaS,92,Yes,,Draft,,,B2B review,,,
+Capterra,2,https://www.capterra.com/vendors,SaaS,93,Yes,,Draft,,,B2B review,,,
+GetApp,2,https://www.getapp.com/vendors,SaaS,78,Yes,,Draft,,,B2B review,,,
+SourceForge,2,https://sourceforge.net/user/register,SaaS,92,Yes,,Draft,,,SaaS,,,
+Slashdot,2,https://slashdot.org/submission,SaaS,88,Yes,,Draft,,,SaaS,,,
+Startup Stash,2,https://startupstash.com/submit,SaaS,50,Yes,,Draft,,,Startup,,,
+SideProjectors,2,https://www.sideprojectors.com/project/new,SaaS,35,Yes,,Draft,,,Startup,,,
+F6S,2,https://www.f6s.com/company/create,SaaS,65,Yes,,Draft,,,Startup,,,
+Stackshare,2,https://stackshare.io/new-product,SaaS,60,Yes,,Draft,,,Dev,,,
+TrustRadius,2,https://www.trustradius.com/vendors,SaaS,72,Yes,,Draft,,,B2B review,,,
+Crozdesk,2,https://crozdesk.com/vendors,SaaS,55,Yes,,Draft,,,SaaS,,,
+There's An AI For That,3,https://theresanaiforthat.com/submit,AI,76,Yes,,Draft,,,AI,,,
+Futurepedia,3,https://www.futurepedia.io/submit-tool,AI,70,Yes,,Draft,,,AI,,,
+Toolify.ai,3,https://www.toolify.ai/submit,AI,71,Yes,,Draft,,,AI,,,
+Future Tools,3,https://www.futuretools.io/submit-a-tool,AI,69,Yes,,Draft,,,AI,,,
+AI Tools Neilpatel,3,https://neilpatel.com/ai-tools,AI,91,Yes,,Draft,,,AI,,,
+Good AI Tools,3,https://goodaitools.com/submit,AI,66,Yes,,Draft,,,AI,,,
+NewTools.site,3,https://newtools.site/submit,AI,51,Yes,,Draft,,,AI,,,
+aitools.inc,3,https://aitools.inc/submit,AI,66,Yes,,Draft,,,AI,,,
+AIStage,3,https://aistage.net/submit,AI,66,Yes,,Draft,,,AI,,,
+AItrendytools,3,https://www.aitrendytools.com/submit,AI,69,Yes,,Draft,,,AI,,,
+Grabon AI Directory,3,https://www.grabon.in/indulge/ai-tools/submit,AI,70,Yes,,Draft,,,AI,,,
+TopAI.tools,3,https://topai.tools/submit,AI,60,Yes,,Draft,,,AI,,,
+Supertools,3,https://supertools.therundown.ai/submit,AI,61,Yes,,Draft,,,AI,,,
+AI Tools Directory,3,https://aitoolsdirectory.com/submit,AI,55,Yes,,Draft,,,AI,,,
+LogicBalls,3,https://logicballs.com/submit,AI,40,Yes,,Draft,,,AI,,,
+SaasAITools,3,https://saasaitools.com/submit,AI,30,Yes,,Draft,,,AI,,,
+PoweredByAI,3,https://poweredbyai.app/submit,AI,35,Yes,,Draft,,,AI,,,
+TheAISurf,3,https://theaisurf.com/submit,AI,30,Yes,,Draft,,,AI,,,
+Aixyz,3,https://ai.xyz/submit,AI,30,Yes,,Draft,,,AI,,,
+AI Pedia Hub,3,https://aipediahub.com/submit,AI,40,Yes,,Draft,,,AI,,,
+Dofollow.Tools,3,https://dofollow.tools/submit,AI,30,Yes,,Draft,,,AI,,,
+AI Scout,3,https://aiscout.net/submit,AI,25,Yes,,Draft,,,AI,,,
+AiMatchPro,3,https://aimatchpro.ai/submit,AI,20,Yes,,Draft,,,AI,,,
+AIChief,3,https://aichief.com/submit,AI,35,Yes,,Draft,,,AI,,,
+AI Tools Love,3,https://aitools.love/submit,AI,25,Yes,,Draft,,,AI,,,
+AI Agents List,4,https://aiagentslist.com/submit,Agent,,Yes,,Draft,,,Agent,,,
+Glama.ai MCP,4,https://glama.ai/mcp/servers,MCP,,Yes,,Draft,,,MCP,,,
+APITracker MCP,4,https://apitracker.io/mcp-servers,MCP,,Yes,,Draft,,,MCP,,,
+Linux Foundation MCP Registry,4,https://github.com/modelcontextprotocol/registry,MCP,,Yes,,Draft,,,MCP,,,
+AI Agent Store,4,https://aiagentstore.ai/submit,Agent,,Yes,,Draft,,,Agent,,,
+AI Agents Base,4,https://aiagentsbase.com/submit,Agent,,Yes,,Draft,,,Agent,,,
+AI Agents Directory,4,https://aiagentsdirectory.com/submit,Agent,,Yes,,Draft,,,Agent,,,
+AI Agents Verse,4,https://aiagentsverse.com/submit,Agent,,Yes,,Draft,,,Agent,,,
+AgentHunter,4,https://agenthunter.com/submit,Agent,,Yes,,Draft,,,Agent,,,
+AI Agents Live,4,https://aiagents.live/submit,Agent,,Yes,,Draft,,,Agent,,,
+AI Agents Marketplace,4,https://aiagentsmarketplace.com/submit,Agent,,Yes,,Draft,,,Agent,,,
+NoCodeFinder,5,https://www.nocodefinder.com/submit,No-Code,45,Yes,,Draft,,,No-code,,,
+No Code MBA,5,https://www.nocode.mba/tools/submit,No-Code,55,Yes,,Draft,,,No-code,,,
+We Are No Code,5,https://www.wearenocode.com/submit,No-Code,40,Yes,,Draft,,,No-code,,,
+NoCodeList,5,https://nocodelist.co/submit,No-Code,30,Yes,,Draft,,,No-code,,,
+NoCodeDevs,5,https://www.nocodedevs.com/submit,No-Code,25,Yes,,Draft,,,No-code,,,
+NoCode.Tech,5,https://www.nocode.tech/submit,No-Code,35,Yes,,Draft,,,No-code,,,
+Zapier App Directory,7,https://zapier.com/developer,Integration,91,Yes,,Draft,,,Integration,,,
+HubSpot App Marketplace,7,https://ecosystem.hubspot.com/marketplace,Integration,93,Yes,,Draft,,,Integration,,,
+Slack App Directory,7,https://api.slack.com/apps,Integration,89,Yes,,Draft,,,Integration,,,
+Airtable Marketplace,7,https://airtable.com/marketplace,Integration,82,Yes,,Draft,,,Integration,,,
+Notion Integrations,7,https://www.notion.so/integrations,Integration,88,Yes,,Draft,,,Integration,,,
+Make (Integromat),7,https://www.make.com/en/partners,Integration,70,Yes,,Draft,,,Integration,,,
+Pipedream,7,https://pipedream.com/docs/components,Integration,70,Yes,,Draft,,,Integration,,,

skills/seo-audit/SKILL.md

@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@
 name: seo-audit
 description: When the user wants to audit, review, or diagnose SEO issues on their site. Also use when the user mentions "SEO audit," "technical SEO," "why am I not ranking," "SEO issues," "on-page SEO," "meta tags review," "SEO health check," "my traffic dropped," "lost rankings," "not showing up in Google," "site isn't ranking," "Google update hit me," "page speed," "core web vitals," "crawl errors," or "indexing issues." Use this even if the user just says something vague like "my SEO is bad" or "help with SEO" — start with an audit. For building pages at scale to target keywords, see programmatic-seo. For adding structured data, see schema-markup. For AI search optimization, see ai-seo.
 metadata:
-  version: 1.1.0
+  version: 1.2.0
 ---
 
 # SEO Audit
@@ -155,6 +155,80 @@ Reporting "no schema found" based solely on `web_fetch` or `curl` leads to false
 
 ---
 
+## International SEO & Localization
+
+Check when the site serves multiple languages or regions. Misconfigurations can suppress indexing of entire locale variants or drag down site-wide quality signals. See [International SEO reference](references/international-seo.md) for evidence and source URLs.
+
+### Hreflang
+
+Three equivalent placement methods: HTML `<link>` in `<head>`, HTTP `Link` headers, XML sitemap `<xhtml:link>`. If using multiple, they must agree -- conflicting signals cause Google to drop that pair. For 10+ locales, prefer sitemap-based (no page weight, no per-request cost).
+
+**Check for:**
+- Self-referencing entry on every page (page must include itself in the hreflang set)
+- Reciprocal links (if A points to B, B must point back to A -- or both are ignored)
+- Valid codes: ISO 639-1 language + optional ISO 3166-1 Alpha 2 region (e.g., `en`, `en-GB` -- never `en-UK`)
+- `x-default` present, pointing to fallback page (language selector or default locale)
+- All target URLs return 200, are indexable, and match their canonical URL
+- No duplicate language-region codes pointing to different URLs
+
+**Common errors:** Missing self-referencing entry (all hreflang ignored). No return tag / one-directional (pair dropped). Invalid codes like `en-UK` (use `en-GB`). Hreflang target is non-canonical, 404, or blocked (cluster discarded). HTML and sitemap annotations disagree (conflicting pair dropped).
+
+**At scale:** `<xhtml:link>` children don't count toward 50K URL sitemap limit, but the 50MB file size limit becomes the bottleneck (plan 2K-5K URLs per file with full hreflang). Focus hreflang on pages receiving wrong-language traffic -- not required on every page. For Bing: supplement with `<html lang>` and `<meta http-equiv="content-language">` (Bing treats hreflang as a weak signal).
+
+### Canonicalization for Multilingual Sites
+
+- Each locale page must self-canonical (e.g., `/ar/page` canonicals to `/ar/page`)
+- Never cross-locale canonical (French to English) -- suppresses the non-canonical locale entirely
+- Canonical URL must appear in the hreflang set -- if not, all hreflang is ignored
+- Canonical overrides hreflang when they conflict
+- Protocol/domain must be consistent across canonical, hreflang, and sitemap (`https` + same domain variant)
+- Paginated locale pages: self-referencing canonical per page (never canonical page 2+ to page 1)
+
+**Common mistakes:** all locales canonical to English (kills indexing), canonical URL not in hreflang set (silently ignored), protocol mismatch between canonical and hreflang, CMS setting deep page canonical to homepage.
+
+### International Sitemaps
+
+**Check for:**
+- `xmlns:xhtml` namespace on `<urlset>`, each `<url>` includes `<xhtml:link>` for all locales including itself
+- `x-default` alternate included; all URLs absolute (full protocol + domain)
+- Sitemap index in Search Console and robots.txt; split by content type, not by locale
+
+**Next.js caveat:** `alternates.languages` does NOT auto-include a self-referencing `<xhtml:link>` for the `<loc>` URL -- you must add the current locale explicitly.
+
+### Locale URL Structure
+
+**Recommended:** Subdirectories (`/en/`, `/ar/`). **Acceptable:** Subdomains or ccTLDs. **Not recommended:** URL parameters (`?lang=en`).
+
+**Check for:**
+- Consistent locale prefix strategy; all locales prefixed (hiding locale from URLs prevents Google from distinguishing versions)
+- Root URL handled as `x-default` with redirect, or serves default locale content
+- No IP/Accept-Language content negotiation (Googlebot: US IPs, no Accept-Language header)
+- Trailing slash + case consistency across locale paths, canonicals, hreflang, and sitemaps
+- 301 redirects from non-canonical format to canonical
+
+**Note:** Google's International Targeting report in Search Console is deprecated. Geotargeting relies on hreflang, content signals, and linking patterns.
+
+### Content Quality Across Locales
+
+**Translation quality:**
+- AI-translated content is not inherently spam (Google's 2025 stance), but scaled low-value translations can trigger scaled content abuse policy
+- Google uses visible content to determine language -- translate ALL page content (title, description, headings, body), not just boilerplate
+- Translating only template/nav while main content stays in original language creates duplicates
+
+**Thin locale pages:**
+- Helpful content system is site-wide -- many thin locale pages can suppress rankings for strong pages too
+- Don't noindex thin locales (wastes crawl budget) or cross-locale canonical (conflicts with hreflang)
+- Best approach: don't create locale pages you cannot make genuinely helpful
+
+**Check for:**
+- All locale pages have fully translated main content (not just UI chrome)
+- No near-identical content across locales ("Duplicate, Google chose different canonical" in GSC)
+- Hreflang only for locales with genuine content and search demand
+- Localized signals: currency, phone format, addresses where applicable
+- Broken hreflang links (404s, redirects) waste crawl budget AND invalidate hreflang clusters
+
+---
+
 ## On-Page SEO Audit
 
 ### Title Tags
@@ -164,7 +238,7 @@ Reporting "no schema found" based solely on `web_fetch` or `curl` leads to false
 - Primary keyword near beginning
 - 50-60 characters (visible in SERP)
 - Compelling and click-worthy
-- No brand name placement (SERPs include brand name above title already)
+- Brand name placement (end, usually)
 
 **Common issues:**
 - Duplicate titles
@@ -325,6 +399,16 @@ Reporting "no schema found" based solely on `web_fetch` or `curl` leads to false
 - Poor internal linking
 - Missing author pages
 
+### Multilingual / Multi-Regional Sites
+- Hreflang errors (missing return tags, invalid codes, no self-reference)
+- Canonical conflicting with hreflang (cross-locale canonical suppresses indexing)
+- Thin locale pages dragging down site-wide quality signal
+- Only boilerplate translated, main content identical across locales
+- No x-default fallback declared
+- Sitemap missing hreflang alternates or missing reciprocal entries
+- IP-based redirects hiding content from Googlebot
+- Framework locale mode hiding locale from URLs
+
 ### Local Business
 - Inconsistent NAP
 - Missing local schema
@@ -368,6 +452,7 @@ Same format as above
 ## References
 
 - [AI Writing Detection](references/ai-writing-detection.md): Common AI writing patterns to avoid (em dashes, overused phrases, filler words)
+- [International SEO](references/international-seo.md): Evidence and sources for hreflang, canonical + i18n, sitemaps, URL structure, and content quality across locales
 - For AI search optimization (AEO, GEO, LLMO, AI Overviews), see the **ai-seo** skill
 
 ---

skills/seo-audit/references/international-seo.md

@@ -0,0 +1,230 @@
+# International SEO: Evidence & Sources
+
+Detailed evidence backing the International SEO & Localization section of the SEO Audit skill. Organized by topic with source URLs and key quotes.
+
+---
+
+## Hreflang
+
+### Placement Methods
+
+Google supports three equivalent methods: HTML `<link>` in `<head>`, HTTP `Link` headers, and XML sitemap `<xhtml:link>` elements. Google confirmed no method is prioritized over another.
+
+Google combines signals from both HTML and sitemaps. If the same language-region pair points to different URLs across methods, Google drops that pair rather than guessing.
+
+- [Google Search Central: Localized Versions](https://developers.google.com/search/docs/specialty/international/localized-versions)
+- [SEJ: Google Combines Hreflang Signals](https://www.searchenginejournal.com/google-combines-hreflang-signals-from-html-sitemaps/389219/)
+
+### Reciprocal Requirement
+
+Google's docs: "If page X links to page Y, page Y must link back to page X. If not, those annotations may be ignored or not interpreted correctly."
+
+Every page must include itself (self-referencing) in the hreflang set. Missing self-referencing is the #1 error found by Semrush audits. A study of 374,756 domains found 67% of hreflang implementations had issues.
+
+- [Google Search Central: Localized Versions](https://developers.google.com/search/docs/specialty/international/localized-versions)
+- [Semrush: 9 Common Hreflang Errors](https://www.semrush.com/blog/hreflang-errors/)
+- [SE Land: 31% of International Websites Contain Hreflang Errors](https://searchengineland.com/study-31-of-international-websites-contain-hreflang-errors-395161)
+
+### x-default
+
+Introduced April 2013. Designates the fallback page for users whose language/region matches no declared variant. Can point to the same URL as one of the language-specific alternates. Must be included in the complete set of annotations on every variant page.
+
+- [Google Blog: x-default hreflang](https://developers.google.com/search/blog/2013/04/x-default-hreflang-for-international-pages)
+- [Google Blog: How x-default can help you (2023)](https://developers.google.com/search/blog/2023/05/x-default)
+
+### Language & Region Codes
+
+Language: ISO 639-1 (2-letter). Region: ISO 3166-1 Alpha 2 (2-letter). Format: `language[-script][-region]`.
+
+You cannot specify a region code alone. Common mistakes: `en-UK` (should be `en-GB`), `es-419` (not ISO 3166-1). A study found 8.9% of sites using hreflang contain invalid language codes.
+
+- [Google Search Central: Localized Versions](https://developers.google.com/search/docs/specialty/international/localized-versions)
+- [SE Land: 31% Study](https://searchengineland.com/study-31-of-international-websites-contain-hreflang-errors-395161)
+
+### Hreflang at Scale (20+ locales)
+
+With 20 locales, HTML `<head>` hreflang adds ~1.5KB per page for zero user benefit. Sitemap-based hreflang has zero runtime performance impact. `<xhtml:link>` child elements do NOT count toward the 50,000 URL sitemap limit (only `<loc>` elements count).
+
+John Mueller recommends focusing hreflang on pages receiving wrong-language traffic, not every page: "I wouldn't do it for any of the other pages of the site because it's so complex & hard to manage."
+
+- [SERoundtable: Child Elements Don't Count](https://www.seroundtable.com/google-child-elements-dont-count-towards-sitemap-url-limit-34377.html)
+- [SERoundtable: Where To Focus Hreflang](https://www.seroundtable.com/using-hreflang-34127.html)
+- [Yoast: hreflang Ultimate Guide](https://yoast.com/hreflang-ultimate-guide/)
+
+### Google vs Bing
+
+Bing treats hreflang as a "weak signal." Bing relies on `content-language` meta tag, HTML `lang` attribute, ccTLDs, and server location. Yandex supports hreflang like Google.
+
+For both engines: implement hreflang (Google/Yandex) + `<html lang="...">` + `<meta http-equiv="content-language">` (Bing).
+
+- [Digital Ready Marketing: Bing Doesn't Use Hreflang](https://digitalreadymarketing.com/bing-doesnt-use-hreflang-annotation-what-does-it-use/)
+- [Yoast: hreflang Ultimate Guide](https://yoast.com/hreflang-ultimate-guide/)
+
+---
+
+## Canonicalization & i18n
+
+### Self-Referencing Canonicals
+
+Each locale page must canonical to itself. John Mueller: "Don't use a rel=canonical across languages/countries, only use it on a per-country/language basis."
+
+Google's docs: "Specify a canonical page in the same language, or the best possible substitute language if a canonical doesn't exist for the same language."
+
+- [John Mueller: hreflang canonical](https://johnmu.com/hreflang-canonical/)
+- [Google: Consolidate Duplicate URLs](https://developers.google.com/search/docs/crawling-indexing/consolidate-duplicate-urls)
+
+### Canonical Overrides Hreflang
+
+Mueller: "If your canonical is pointing somewhere else, Google will follow that and ignore your hreflang annotation." The canonical URL must be one of the URLs in the hreflang set, or all hreflang markup is ignored.
+
+Google also states: "Google prefers URLs that are part of hreflang clusters for canonicalization" -- when signals align, hreflang strengthens canonical selection.
+
+- [John Mueller: hreflang canonical](https://johnmu.com/hreflang-canonical/)
+- [SEJ: Hreflang Tags Are Hints](https://www.searchenginejournal.com/google-reminds-that-hreflang-tags-are-hints-not-directives/546428/)
+- [Google: Consolidate Duplicate URLs](https://developers.google.com/search/docs/crawling-indexing/consolidate-duplicate-urls)
+
+### Near-Duplicate Regional Variants
+
+Mueller (2023 Office Hours): "If the content is completely the same, and we can't tell any difference, then for simplicity and user experience we may just show one version -- even if hreflang is present."
+
+Google's duplicate detection runs BEFORE hreflang evaluation. To keep both versions indexed, you need substantive content differences beyond currency symbols.
+
+- [International Web Mastery: Same-Language Duplicate Pages](https://internationalwebmastery.com/blog/how-google-handles-canonicalization-of-same-language-duplicate-near-duplicate-pages/)
+- [Google: Managing Multi-Regional Sites](https://developers.google.com/search/docs/specialty/international/managing-multi-regional-sites)
+
+### Pagination Across Locales
+
+Google: "Don't use the first page of a paginated sequence as the canonical page. Instead, give each page its own canonical URL." Each paginated page in each locale gets self-referencing canonical. `rel="next/prev"` deprecated March 2019.
+
+- [Google: Pagination Best Practices](https://developers.google.com/search/docs/specialty/ecommerce/pagination-and-incremental-page-loading)
+
+---
+
+## International Sitemaps
+
+### Structure
+
+Each `<url>` entry includes `<xhtml:link>` alternates for every locale. Requires `xmlns:xhtml="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"` namespace.
+
+Split sitemaps by content type, not by locale. Splitting by locale creates maintenance problems because every locale sitemap must reference every other locale (reciprocal requirement).
+
+- [Google Search Central: Localized Versions](https://developers.google.com/search/docs/specialty/international/localized-versions)
+- [Lumar: How Google Handles Hreflang](https://www.lumar.io/office-hours/hreflang/)
+
+### Size Limits
+
+50,000 URLs / 50MB uncompressed per sitemap. Only `<loc>` elements count toward the 50K limit. But with 20 hreflang alternates per entry, the 50MB file size limit becomes the bottleneck. Plan for 2,000-5,000 URLs per sitemap when using full hreflang.
+
+- [Google: Build and Submit a Sitemap](https://developers.google.com/search/docs/crawling-indexing/sitemaps/build-sitemap)
+- [SERoundtable: Sitemap 50,000 Limit](https://www.seroundtable.com/google-sitemap-50-000-limit-based-on-location-urls-not-alternative-urls-33843.html)
+
+### Submission
+
+Submit the sitemap index in Search Console AND reference it in robots.txt. Individual child sitemaps can be submitted separately for per-sitemap reporting.
+
+- [Google: Build and Submit a Sitemap](https://developers.google.com/search/docs/crawling-indexing/sitemaps/build-sitemap)
+
+### Next.js Caveat
+
+Next.js `alternates.languages` does NOT automatically include a self-referencing `<xhtml:link>` for the `<loc>` URL. You must explicitly include the `<loc>` URL's own language in the `languages` object.
+
+- [Next.js Docs: sitemap.xml](https://nextjs.org/docs/app/api-reference/file-conventions/metadata/sitemap)
+
+---
+
+## URL Structure
+
+### Strategies Compared
+
+Google treats subdirectories and subdomains equivalently. Mueller: "From our point of view...they say subdomains and subdirectories are essentially equivalent."
+
+URL parameters (`?lang=en`) are explicitly "Not recommended" per Google docs.
+
+- [Google: Managing Multi-Regional Sites](https://developers.google.com/search/docs/specialty/international/managing-multi-regional-sites)
+
+### Default Language
+
+Mueller recommends: set `/` as x-default, put each language in its own prefix. Without marking `/` as x-default, "to Google it can look like '/' is a separate page from the others."
+
+- [Google Blog: x-default](https://developers.google.com/search/blog/2023/05/x-default)
+- [Google Blog: Creating the Right Homepage](https://developers.google.com/search/blog/2014/05/creating-right-homepage-for-your)
+
+### Content Negotiation / IP Redirects
+
+Google strongly advises against locale-adaptive pages. Googlebot crawls from US IPs and does not send Accept-Language headers. Separate URLs + hreflang are required.
+
+- [Google: Locale-Adaptive Pages](https://developers.google.com/search/docs/specialty/international/locale-adaptive-pages)
+
+### Trailing Slash Consistency
+
+Mueller: trailing slash is "a significant part of the URL and will change the URL if it's there or not." Pick one format for all locale paths, internal links, canonicals, hreflang, and sitemaps.
+
+Mueller (2025): "Consistency is the biggest technical SEO factor."
+
+- [SERoundtable: Consistency Is The Biggest Technical SEO Factor](https://www.seroundtable.com/google-consistency-seo-40427.html)
+
+### Search Console Geotargeting
+
+The International Targeting report is deprecated. Google now relies entirely on hreflang, content language analysis, and linking patterns. You can add subdirectory properties for per-locale reporting.
+
+- [Google Support: International Targeting Deprecated](https://support.google.com/webmasters/answer/12474899?hl=en)
+
+### Framework Locale Modes
+
+Use `localePrefix: 'always'` (next-intl) or equivalent. Never hide locale from URLs -- Google needs unique URLs per language. Using `'never'` mode disables alternate links entirely.
+
+- [next-intl: Routing Configuration](https://next-intl.dev/docs/routing/configuration)
+- [Next.js Discussion #18419](https://github.com/vercel/next.js/discussions/18419)
+
+---
+
+## Content Quality Across Locales
+
+### Auto-Translated Content (2025 Stance)
+
+Google removed longstanding guidance advising against auto-translated content in mid-2025. Current stance: "Our policies do not strictly define content that has been translated by AI as spam." The scaled content abuse policy mentions translation as a possible vector, but does not ban it.
+
+Reddit scaled AI translations to 35+ languages with Google's knowledge. The key distinction is intent and quality, not the method.
+
+- [Google Spam Policies](https://developers.google.com/search/docs/essentials/spam-policies)
+- [Glenn Gabe: Auto-Translating Content](https://www.gsqi.com/marketing-blog/auto-translating-content-google-scaled-content-abuse/)
+- [SE Land: Reddit AI Translations](https://searchengineland.com/google-comments-on-reddits-use-of-ai-to-translate-its-pages-456908)
+
+### Thin Locale Pages
+
+Google: "Localized versions of a page are only considered duplicates if the main content of the page remains untranslated." Pages with only translated boilerplate get clustered as duplicates.
+
+Do NOT use noindex for unwanted locale pages (wastes crawl budget). Do NOT canonical cross-locale (conflicts with hreflang). Best approach: don't create locale pages you can't make genuinely helpful.
+
+- [Google: Localized Versions](https://developers.google.com/search/docs/specialty/international/localized-versions)
+- [Google: Crawl Budget Management](https://developers.google.com/search/docs/crawling-indexing/large-site-managing-crawl-budget)
+
+### Helpful Content System Impact
+
+Merged into core ranking March 2024. Site-wide signal: "any content -- not just unhelpful content -- on sites determined to have relatively high amounts of unhelpful content overall is less likely to perform well in Search."
+
+Low-quality translated pages can drag down the entire site. This is the strongest argument against creating locale pages that aren't genuinely helpful.
+
+- [Google Blog: Helpful Content Update](https://developers.google.com/search/blog/2022/08/helpful-content-update)
+- [Amsive: What Changed in 2024](https://www.amsive.com/insights/seo/googles-helpful-content-update-ranking-system-what-happened-and-what-changed-in-2024/)
+
+### Partial Translation
+
+Google: "Translating only the boilerplate text of your pages while keeping the bulk of your content in a single language...can create a bad user experience." Google uses visible content (not lang attribute) to determine page language.
+
+Translate ALL content on a page if you create a locale version. Untranslated metadata (title, description) in the wrong language reduces CTR.
+
+- [Google: Managing Multi-Regional Sites](https://developers.google.com/search/docs/specialty/international/managing-multi-regional-sites)
+
+### Crawl Budget
+
+Only a concern for 1M+ pages or 10K+ pages changing daily. But alternate URLs (hreflang targets) do consume crawl budget. Broken hreflang links waste budget AND invalidate signals.
+
+- [Google: Crawl Budget Management](https://developers.google.com/search/docs/crawling-indexing/large-site-managing-crawl-budget)
+- [Google Blog: Crawl Budget](https://developers.google.com/search/blog/2017/01/what-crawl-budget-means-for-googlebot)
+
+### Locale-Specific Signals
+
+Google identifies audience via: "local addresses and phone numbers on the pages, the use of local language and currency, links from other local sites, or signals from your Business Profile."
+
+- [Google: Managing Multi-Regional Sites](https://developers.google.com/search/docs/specialty/international/managing-multi-regional-sites)