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hidden-signals.md
78 lines · skills/reverse-engineer-marketing/references/hidden-signals.md at 88c79f6
Most marks come from matching words in the file, so treat them as pointers.
1# Hidden Signals
3Stage 5 in full: evidence most teardowns never look at. Infrastructure, archives, and third-party footprints show moves the company never announced, often with exact dates. Most of it is free.
Hidden Signals
Stage 5 in full: evidence most teardowns never look at. Infrastructure, archives, and third-party footprints show moves the company never announced, often with exact dates. Most of it is free.
Raw lines 1 to 45## Contents
6- Infrastructure
7- Archives
8- Paid promotion
9- Growth counters off the website
10- How they see the market
12---
Contents
- Infrastructure
- Archives
- Paid promotion
- Growth counters off the website
- How they see the market
Raw lines 5 to 13
14## Infrastructure
16| Signal | Command or source | What it shows |
17|---|---|---|
18| **DNS records** | `teardown.mjs dns <domain>` | Email senders from SPF and MX (HubSpot, Customer.io, SendGrid), domain verifications for connected tools (Meta Business, TikTok, Stripe, AI vendors), and the platforms behind `go.`, `help.`, `docs.`, `community.` and other marketing subdomains |
19| **Certificate logs** | `teardown.mjs subdomains <domain>` | Every subdomain with the date its first certificate was issued, usually days before launch: free tools, showcases, creator programs, campaigns, enterprise pages, new products |
20| **Page scripts** | `teardown.mjs stack <domain>` | Ad pixels, analytics, A/B testing, affiliate and lifecycle tools, dated from archived homepages |
21| **UTM parameters** | Links in their posts, ads, emails, and partner pages | How they name campaigns (`utm_source=newsletter_sponsor`, `utm_campaign=q3_creator`), which shows how they organize channels and which partners they track |
22| **robots.txt and llms.txt** | `target.com/robots.txt`, `/llms.txt` | Which AI crawlers they allow, and whether they publish an AI-readable summary or agent files (see **ai-seo**) |
24Each new subdomain, verification, and mail tool is a candidate move. Date it, label it Inferred, and confirm it with a second source where you can: a new `creators.` subdomain plus a creator program page is Observed.
Infrastructure
| Signal | Command or source | What it shows |
|---|---|---|
| DNS records | teardown.mjs dns <domain> | Email senders from SPF and MX (HubSpot, Customer.io, SendGrid), domain verifications for connected tools (Meta Business, TikTok, Stripe, AI vendors), and the platforms behind go., help., docs., community. and other marketing subdomains |
| Certificate logs | teardown.mjs subdomains <domain> | Every subdomain with the date its first certificate was issued, usually days before launch: free tools, showcases, creator programs, campaigns, enterprise pages, new products |
| Page scripts | teardown.mjs stack <domain> | Ad pixels, analytics, A/B testing, affiliate and lifecycle tools, dated from archived homepages |
| UTM parameters | Links in their posts, ads, emails, and partner pages | How they name campaigns (utm_source=newsletter_sponsor, utm_campaign=q3_creator), which shows how they organize channels and which partners they track |
| robots.txt and llms.txt | target.com/robots.txt, /llms.txt | Which AI crawlers they allow, and whether they publish an AI-readable summary or agent files (see ai-seo) |
Each new subdomain, verification, and mail tool is a candidate move. Date it, label it Inferred, and confirm it with a second source where you can: a new creators. subdomain plus a creator program page is Observed.
26## Archives
28| Signal | Command or source | What it shows |
29|---|---|---|
30| **Headline history** | `teardown.mjs hero <domain> --months 24` | Every change to the homepage H1, title, and meta description. Positioning shifts dated against the curve. Keyword-led changes ("Build something" → "AI App Builder") mean search started driving positioning |
31| **Pricing history** | `teardown.mjs history <url>/pricing` | When prices and plans changed |
32| **Sitemap growth** | `teardown.mjs sitemap-growth <domain>` | Sitemap size by month and when each page family first appeared: the dated rollout of programmatic and content pages |
33| **Customer logo wall** | Open the captures from `hero` | Who they landed and when. A shift from startup logos to enterprise logos dates a move upmarket |
34| **Case studies** | Wayback of `/customers` | How the ideal customer changed: industry, size, use case |
35| **Old landing pages** | Wayback CDX for `target.com/lp/*`, `/go/*`, `/try/*` | Retired campaign pages and the offers they ran |
Archives
| Signal | Command or source | What it shows |
|---|---|---|
| Headline history | teardown.mjs hero <domain> --months 24 | Every change to the homepage H1, title, and meta description. Positioning shifts dated against the curve. Keyword-led changes ("Build something" → "AI App Builder") mean search started driving positioning |
| Pricing history | teardown.mjs history <url>/pricing | When prices and plans changed |
| Sitemap growth | teardown.mjs sitemap-growth <domain> | Sitemap size by month and when each page family first appeared: the dated rollout of programmatic and content pages |
| Customer logo wall | Open the captures from hero | Who they landed and when. A shift from startup logos to enterprise logos dates a move upmarket |
| Case studies | Wayback of /customers | How the ideal customer changed: industry, size, use case |
| Old landing pages | Wayback CDX for target.com/lp/*, /go/*, /try/* | Retired campaign pages and the offers they ran |
37## Paid Promotion
39Who the company pays to talk about it. These are dated moves that never show in an ad library.
41| Signal | How to find it |
42|---|---|
43| **Newsletter sponsorships** | Search `"sponsored by [company]"`, `"presented by [company]"`, and `"[company]" sponsor` with newsletter platforms (`site:beehiiv.com`, `site:substack.com`), plus the archives of the category's big newsletters |
44| **Podcast ads** | Search transcripts and show notes for `"brought to you by [company]"` and `"[company].com/[show]"` vanity URLs |
45| **YouTube sponsorships** | Video descriptions with the company's link and #ad, sponsored, or partner wording; ScrapeCreators YouTube search |
46| **Affiliates** | Search the company's domain with `?via=`, `?ref=`, `?aff=`, `?fpr=`, or `/go/` links; affiliate pages on review and comparison sites |
47| **Coupon and deal sites** | Search `"[company] coupon"`, `"[company] promo code"`, AppSumo, and lifetime-deal listings. Heavy presence means discount-led acquisition |
48| **Conferences and events** | Sponsor pages of the category's main events; the company's own events page and `events.` subdomain |
49| **Influencer and creator programs** | `creators.`, `ambassadors.`, or `/partners` pages, plus the creator videos found in stage 2 |
51For each: the date, the placement, the offer or code, and the landing page. Vanity URLs and codes tell you which placements they kept buying.
Paid Promotion
Who the company pays to talk about it. These are dated moves that never show in an ad library.
| Signal | How to find it |
|---|---|
| Newsletter sponsorships | Search "sponsored by [company]", "presented by [company]", and "[company]" sponsor with newsletter platforms (site:beehiiv.com, site:substack.com), plus the archives of the category's big newsletters |
| Podcast ads | Search transcripts and show notes for "brought to you by [company]" and "[company].com/[show]" vanity URLs |
| YouTube sponsorships | Video descriptions with the company's link and #ad, sponsored, or partner wording; ScrapeCreators YouTube search |
| Affiliates | Search the company's domain with ?via=, ?ref=, ?aff=, ?fpr=, or /go/ links; affiliate pages on review and comparison sites |
| Coupon and deal sites | Search "[company] coupon", "[company] promo code", AppSumo, and lifetime-deal listings. Heavy presence means discount-led acquisition |
| Conferences and events | Sponsor pages of the category's main events; the company's own events page and events. subdomain |
| Influencer and creator programs | creators., ambassadors., or /partners pages, plus the creator videos found in stage 2 |
For each: the date, the placement, the offer or code, and the landing page. Vanity URLs and codes tell you which placements they kept buying.
Raw lines 37 to 5253## Growth Counters off the Website
55Public numbers that move with growth and are dated:
57| Counter | Where |
58|---|---|
59| Review count and velocity | G2, Capterra, Trustpilot, app stores. Sudden spikes usually mean a review campaign, which is a move |
61| Developer adoption | GitHub stars and contributors over time, npm or PyPI downloads, Docker pulls |
62| Browser extensions | Chrome Web Store user counts (Wayback has old counts) |
63| Community size | Discord and Slack member counts on invite pages, subreddit subscribers, forum member counts |
64| Marketplace listings | Zapier, Slack, HubSpot, Shopify, Salesforce, Atlassian, and Chrome marketplaces: when each listing appeared, and install counts where shown |
65| Open metrics | Public revenue or traffic dashboards some companies publish. These are Observed numbers, not estimates |
66| AI referral traffic | Similarweb referrals from chatgpt.com and perplexity.ai |
67| AI visibility over time | The prompt tracker from stage 2, as share of voice by month |
69Add a counter to the timeline when it has dates. A review spike, a marketplace launch, or a jump in GitHub stars is a move.
Growth Counters off the Website
Public numbers that move with growth and are dated:
| Counter | Where |
|---|---|
| Review count and velocity | G2, Capterra, Trustpilot, app stores. Sudden spikes usually mean a review campaign, which is a move |
| App store rank and ratings | App Store and Google Play history (see aso) |
| Developer adoption | GitHub stars and contributors over time, npm or PyPI downloads, Docker pulls |
| Browser extensions | Chrome Web Store user counts (Wayback has old counts) |
| Community size | Discord and Slack member counts on invite pages, subreddit subscribers, forum member counts |
| Marketplace listings | Zapier, Slack, HubSpot, Shopify, Salesforce, Atlassian, and Chrome marketplaces: when each listing appeared, and install counts where shown |
| Open metrics | Public revenue or traffic dashboards some companies publish. These are Observed numbers, not estimates |
| AI referral traffic | Similarweb referrals from chatgpt.com and perplexity.ai |
| AI visibility over time | The prompt tracker from stage 2, as share of voice by month |
Add a counter to the timeline when it has dates. A review spike, a marketplace launch, or a jump in GitHub stars is a move.
Raw lines 53 to 7071## How They See the Market
73- **Which competitors they target:** the companies named in their `/vs`, `/compare`, and `/alternatives` pages, and in their paid search ads. That's who they believe they're fighting.
74- **Which segments they pay for:** landing pages behind their ads, by audience or industry.
75- **What their chat bot and sales team say** about competitors (from stage 3).
76- **Which partners they co-market with:** integration pages, joint webinars, partner directories.
78Use this in the gap stage: if they're targeting the user directly, plays should include the user's own comparison pages (see **competitors**).
How They See the Market
- Which competitors they target: the companies named in their
/vs,/compare, and/alternativespages, and in their paid search ads. That's who they believe they're fighting. - Which segments they pay for: landing pages behind their ads, by audience or industry.
- What their chat bot and sales team say about competitors (from stage 3).
- Which partners they co-market with: integration pages, joint webinars, partner directories.
Use this in the gap stage: if they're targeting the user directly, plays should include the user's own comparison pages (see competitors).
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