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Foundational public methodology for the first open public ranking of brand visibility in AI search results (ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini, Claude). This release establishes the framework — no rankings have been computed or published yet. First scan cycle: late May 2026 (private validation). First public ranking publication target: August 2026, after 3 validation cycles. Includes: - methodology.json: machine-readable formulas, weights, policies - README.md: human-readable overview + open/closed boundary - CHANGELOG.md: versioning policy + v1.0.0 release notes - taxonomy.md: tier system + 11 PL pilot categories - LICENSE: MIT - .gitignore: closed operational data (exact prompts, anti-gaming thresholds) - prompts/README.md: 6-stage prompt curation process - prompts/example-swiece-sojowe-pl.md: illustrative framework for first category Strategic principles: - Algorithm-first, no advisory board - Open methodology + closed exact prompts (Goodhart's Law defense) - No retroactive changes (FIDE 2024 lesson) - No pay-to-play, hard rule (Moody's / Forbes 30 Under 30 lessons) - Subjective opinion disclaimer (Gartner v. NetScout 2020 First Amendment shield) Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.7 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
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6.4 KiB
Citee Index Taxonomy
Category list, tier system, and scan cadence per tier. Live document — updated as new categories are added or existing ones are reclassified.
Last updated: 2026-05-03 (v1.0.0)
Tier system
Categories are classified by market depth (number of visible brands) and GMV (PLN annual e-commerce volume in category).
| Tier | Criteria | Scan cadence | Brands tracked per cycle |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tier 1 — Large | >1000 brands visible, >100M PLN GMV | Monthly | 100 |
| Tier 2 — Medium | 100–1000 brands, 10–100M PLN GMV | Quarterly | 50–100 |
| Tier 3 — Niche | <100 brands, <10M PLN GMV | Semi-annual | 20–50 |
Cross-cutting categories (e.g., "Polish DTC brands Top 100", "Polish handmade Top 100") are published annually as flagship reports.
Country coverage
| Country | Status | First publication |
|---|---|---|
| PL (Poland) | Pilot — 11 categories | August 2026 |
| DE (Germany) | Planned Q4 2026 | — |
| AT (Austria) | Planned with DE | — |
| CH (Switzerland) | Planned with DE | — |
| CZ (Czech Republic) | Planned Q1 2027 | — |
| SK (Slovakia) | Planned Q1 2027 | — |
| HU (Hungary) | Planned Q2 2027 | — |
| RO (Romania) | Planned Q2 2027 | — |
| DK / SE / NO / FI (Nordic) | Planned Q3 2027 | — |
| FR / ES / IT | Year 2 | — |
| UK / US (English-speaking) | Not in roadmap. Heavy competition (Profound, Otterly, AthenaHQ). Citee focuses on markets where local language and brand knowledge create defensible moat. | — |
PL — pilot categories (Tier 2)
All 11 launch categories scan quarterly. Selection criteria: each ranked brand is a potential Citee Pro customer (DTC consumer brands or service businesses with marketing budgets), zero overlap with B2B SaaS competitors of LMW Commerce.
| # | Category slug | Display name | Sample brands | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | kosmetyki-naturalne-pl |
Kosmetyki naturalne | Resibo, Tołpa, Yope, Bielenda, Dr Irena Eris, Vianek, Lirene | Premium DTC, brand-conscious vendors |
| 2 | suplementy-nutricosmetyki-pl |
Suplementy / nutricosmetyki | Olimp, Trec, OstroVit, Allnutrition, Health Labs Care, NaturDay, Pharmovit | DTC growth segment, marketing-heavy |
| 3 | diety-pudelkowe-pl |
Diety pudełkowe / catering dietetyczny | Maczfit, Nice To Fit You, Fit&Easy, BistroBox, Light Box | Subscription DTC, high LTV |
| 4 | premium-pet-food-pl |
Premium pet food / akcesoria | Brit Care, Acana, Animonda, Royal Canin, Josera, Belcando, Pies Pisany | Loyal customers, premium pricing |
| 5 | kawa-specialty-pl |
Kawa specialty / gourmet | Coffee Plant, Bonjour Cafe, Etno Cafe, Hard Beans, Coffeedesk, Cafezal | Vocal community, Reddit-rich |
| 6 | czekolada-rzemieslnicza-pl |
Czekolada rzemieślnicza / premium | Manufaktura Czekolady, Mount Blanc, Wawel premium, Ujejski, Wedel exclusive | Premium DTC lifestyle |
| 7 | kursy-programowania-bootcampy-pl |
Kursy programowania / IT bootcampy | Kodilla, Coders Lab, Boring Owl, Future Collars, SDA, WSB Online, Akademia Górska | High-LTV edutech, growing 2026 |
| 8 | kliniki-estetyczne-dermo-pl |
Kliniki estetyczne / dermatologia premium | Klinika La Perla, Medilumi, Klinika Holistic, Estetica, Dermika | Service business, leadgen-driven |
| 9 | fitness-studios-premium-pl |
Fitness studios / personal training | Calypso, Pure Jatomi, Fabric Health Club, niche premium studios | Subscription model, vocal community |
| 10 | kosmetyki-meskie-pl |
Kosmetyki dla mężczyzn / męska pielęgnacja | Bartholomew, Chytry Lis, Onlomen, Ziaja Yego, Nivea Men premium, Lirene Men | Growing 2026 segment, new DTC entrants |
| 11 | swiece-sojowe-pl |
Świece sojowe | JAKULO, Naturaodpauli, Bookiet, Triny, Aromatowo, Yush, Oskiknot, LemonGlas, Paleta Smaków, Bennovate | Pilot test bed + LMW founder pet category |
Excluded from pilot — explicit rationale
| Category | Why excluded |
|---|---|
| Wino / alkohol PL | Polish "Ustawa o wychowaniu w trzeźwości" art. 13¹ restricts alcohol advertising — regulatory risk too high |
| Rękodzieło / handmade / Etsy crowd | Margins 20-30%, micro-businesses won't pay 449 PLN/mo for visibility tools |
| B2B SaaS (CRM, marketing automation, e-commerce platforms) | LMW Commerce competes in adjacent space — these vendors won't pay Citee competitor; also they have own visibility tools |
| Hosting / domeny | Vendors with own marketing teams, low conversion to Pro SaaS |
| Banki / ubezpieczenia / fintech B2B | Buyers of reports (agencies) but ranked brands won't buy Pro — banks have enterprise marketing tools |
Q3-Q4 2026 expansion candidates (Tier 1, monthly scan)
To be added after pilot validation:
- Kosmetyki ogólne (mainstream, not just naturalne) — mega rynek
- Odzież dziecięca DTC
- Dom & ogród / wyposażenie wnętrz
- Elektronika audio premium
- Akcesoria biurowe / papiernicze B2B-light
Cross-cutting flagship reports (annual)
- "Citee Index — Polski DTC e-commerce Top 100" (year-end)
- "Citee Index — Polski handmade Top 50" (year-end)
- "Citee Index — Polski D2C lifestyle ecosystem" (mid-year)
These reports cut across categories to identify the strongest brand presences in AI search overall, regardless of vertical.
Adding a new category — checklist
Before adding a category to active scan, the following must be true:
- Market depth — at least 20 brands with internet presence visible in PL e-commerce
- AI search demand — Google Trends data confirms users search for category-related queries
- Buyer profile — ranked brands fit potential Citee Pro customer persona OR clear agency/media buyer for reports
- No regulatory risk — category is not subject to advertising restrictions (alcohol, gambling, prescription pharma, etc.)
- Prompt curation feasible — buyer personas identifiable, decision factors articulable, expert reviewer available if outside founder's domain knowledge
- Category integrated with brand catalog — minimum 30 brands cataloged with normalized names (handling variations: "JAKULO" vs "Jakulo" vs "jakulo.pl")
When all 6 are true, category enters the pilot validation cycle (3 cycles minimum before public publication).
Versioning
Changes to this taxonomy are tracked in CHANGELOG.md. Adding a new category, reclassifying tier, or removing a category constitutes a MINOR version bump. Adding a new country or fundamentally revising the tier system is a MAJOR version bump.