{"id":2061,"slug":"interactive-tools-citation-need-threshold","title":"The decisive variable for tool linkability — citable PUBLIC output, not code quality","kind":"reference","scope":"business","status":"current","audiences":["kevin","candid-team"],"topics":["interactive-tools-as-linkable-assets"],"reference_body":"**Claim:** Practitioner analysis stresses that tools built around a **public number other writers need to quote** earn links, whereas \"the overwhelming majority of free calculators published this year will finish their first year with single-digit referring domains.\"\n\n**Source:** Link-building vendor analysis. Flagged as vendor-originated but directionally credible precisely because it documents the FAILURE base rate.\n\n**Confidence:** Single-source / Directional.\n\n**Why this matters for Candid:** Threshold below which Tier 3 is not worth building — if the tool does not produce a uniquely citable, reusable output that fills a real \"citation need,\" it will not earn links. This matches the existing KB rule [[rule-build-for-citation-not-just-utility]] (the R4 rule from the earlier interactive-tool-mechanisms brief).","rationale_body":null,"metadata":null,"links":{"outgoing":[],"incoming":[{"slug":"research-brief-smb-widget-difficulty-to-work-june-2026","title":"Research brief: SMB widget difficulty-to-work mapping — three tiers of work for three sizes of gap (June 2026)","kind":"reference","scope":"business","link_type":"relates-to"},{"slug":"tier-3-data-and-interactive-tools","title":"Tier 3 — Data intelligence + interactive tools (LARGE GAP)","kind":"reference","scope":"business","link_type":"depends-on"}]},"created_at":"2026-06-23T19:16:02.742Z","updated_at":"2026-06-23T19:16:02.742Z"}