Clickbait Auditor (Marketing)

A tabby cat in full blown Sherlock Holmes outfit, including deer stalker hat and Victorian coat, is working at a desk in a cottage, surrounded by books, plants and a steaming up of tea. The cat looks through a magnifying glass at a computer screen.

Clickbait Auditor (Marketing)

This idea emerged in a chat with the other half, as I was complaining about so much nonsense advertisement and the fake urgency in these ads puts me off. He suggested to come up with a clickbait score.

I went one step further, you can simply put a URL into the textbox into Gemini Gem and it will assess the URL based on the following score:

https://gemini.google.com/gem/1ukXy9sdf7y0g8ZgzTBb9uqUSWeVNKwPw?usp=sharing

Here is a proposed “Predatory Marketing Scale” (1-10) based on direct response marketing tactics and information transparency.

Zone 1: The “What You See Is What You Get” (Score 1-3)

1 – Academic/Direct: “Here is the study/product. Here is the price. Here is exactly what it does.” (e.g., A textbook or a gov.uk health page).
2 – Standard Retail: “This vacuum cleaner sucks up dust. Buy it here.” Clear features, clear price.
3 – Enthusiastic Promotion: The creator is hyped, uses exclamation marks, but clearly tells you what they are selling (e.g., “My new course on Python programming is out!”).

Zone 2: The “Hype” Zone (Score 4-6)

4 – The “Storyteller”: Uses a long personal story to sell, but eventually gets to the point. You know what you are buying, even if the sales page is long.
5 – The “Bundle”: “Valued at £5,000, yours for £47!” This is classic marketing fluff. It’s annoying, but usually, the product exists and has some value.
6 – The “Curiosity Gap” (Your previous estimate): They use headlines like “The #1 Mistake You’re Making.” They withhold some info to get the click, but the content on the other side is usually decent or at least relevant.

Zone 3: The “Predatory” Zone (Score 7-9)

7 – The “Mechanism Hider”: They talk endlessly about “The Method” or “The System” but refuse to name it or explain how it works until you pay. (e.g., “The 3-Step Neural Reset”).
- Why it’s here: If the method was revolutionary, they’d say what it was. Hiding it usually means it’s something basic (like “breathing”) repackaged.
8 – The “Pain Agitator”: The copy focuses 90% on how broken you are (“Do you feel lazy? Do you fail your family?”) and only 10% on the solution. This is emotional manipulation designed to bypass logic.
9 – The “Pseudo-Science”: Uses scientific-sounding words that mean nothing (“Quantum Neural Bridging,” “Dopamine Hacking”) to sell generic advice. Claims to “cure” or “permanently fix” complex conditions like ADHD or Depression in a short timeframe.

Zone 4: The “Scam” Zone (Score 10)

10 – The “Dark Pattern”: Fake countdown timers that reset when you refresh, fake “Sally from Ohio just bought this” pop-ups, impossible claims (“Earn £10k in 2 hours”), or billing you without consent.

Base Score: 1
Max Score: 9
10 is reserved for literal theft/fraud