{
  "schema_version": "1.0",
  "as_of": "2026-08-31",
  "dataset_scope": {
    "category_records": 438,
    "categories": 15,
    "source_references": 1262,
    "note": "Counts describe provider-category records, not necessarily unique legal entities. Provider identity reconciliation remains in progress."
  },
  "insights": [
    {
      "id": "two-trust-systems",
      "title": "Marketing agencies self-rank while platform agencies rely on official badges",
      "status": "publishable",
      "findings": [
        {"label": "SEO agencies that self-rank", "value": 14, "denominator": 20},
        {"label": "Content listicles that place their publisher first", "value": 8, "denominator": 8},
        {"label": "Paid media agencies that place themselves first", "value": 7},
        {"label": "CMS and martech agencies that self-rank", "value": 0, "denominator": 18}
      ],
      "buyer_implication": "Ranking evidence should change by market. Official vendor directories are stronger evidence for platform partners than agency-authored listicles.",
      "source_files": [
        "../research/07-seo-agencies.md",
        "../research/08-content-agencies.md",
        "../research/09-paid-media-agencies.md",
        "../research/18-cms-martech-agencies.md"
      ]
    },
    {
      "id": "partner-directory-verification",
      "title": "Official partner directories are the strongest claim-checking source in the dataset",
      "status": "publishable_after_flag_review",
      "findings": [
        {"label": "Provider-category records with official-directory verification", "value": 101},
        {"label": "HubSpot partner records verified", "value": 12, "denominator": 12},
        {"label": "Known tier claims requiring human review", "value": 5, "minimum": true},
        {"label": "HubSpot Elite partners", "value": 49, "denominator": 6255, "percentage": 0.8}
      ],
      "buyer_implication": "Display the agency claim and official directory result separately. A review flag is not an allegation; it is a prompt for a dated human comparison.",
      "source_files": [
        "../research/10-email-retention-agencies.md",
        "../research/11-hubspot-salesforce-partners.md",
        "../research/12-shopify-webflow-agencies.md",
        "../research/15-commerce-platform-agencies.md",
        "master-provider-category-tracker.jsonl"
      ]
    },
    {
      "id": "agency-consolidation",
      "title": "Ownership changes make many live recommendation lists stale",
      "status": "publishable_with_methodology_note",
      "findings": [
        {"label": "Ownership and mortality events in the verified registry", "value": 93},
        {"label": "Dead or absorbed brands found in live recommendation lists", "value": 9},
        {"label": "Enterprise boutiques found to be owned by major consultancies", "value": 50, "unit": "approximate_percent"}
      ],
      "buyer_implication": "Profiles should distinguish independent, acquired-but-operating, absorbed and inactive providers, and show a dated parent-company field.",
      "source_files": [
        "../research/21-consolidation-index.md",
        "../research/16-enterprise-systems-partners.md",
        "../research/17-cloud-data-consultancies.md",
        "master-provider-category-tracker.jsonl"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "editorial_commercial_boundary": {
    "never_sold": ["organic rank", "score", "evidence confidence", "ownership status", "official badge verification", "correction outcomes"],
    "commercial_options": ["labelled sponsor units outside rankings", "enhanced profiles", "lead generation", "sponsored reports with editorial independence", "data licensing", "alerts and change feeds"]
  }
}