How we grade a brand

How we know

Public sources

The brand's website, the Meta Ad Library, Google Shopping (branded product searches combining the brand name and a product), and public Instagram posts and comments.

Update schedule

Updated weekly on Sundays. Google Shopping listings are updated every 4 weeks.

Benchmarks

The brand's own historical baseline and peer brands in the same category.

Scope and boundaries

The Graybridge Data Company measures public activity only. The report does not cover revenue, margins, unit sales, wholesale or in-store retail, Amazon, Walmart or other marketplaces, or anything behind a login. The Graybridge Data Company never estimates ad spend. Counts can differ by location and by day.

How a grade is set

1. We measure one thing per section, from public data, every week.
2. The measure falls in a band. The band sets the grade: A, B, C, D or F.
3. Each warning sign listed under a section moves the grade down one step (A, A-, B, B-, C, C-, D, D-, F). Good news never raises a grade.
4. With too little data, a section is not graded. We do not guess.

Section 1: Search Listing Position

Measure: Share of Google Shopping results from the brand's own store when shoppers search for its products. Graded from at least 10 listings.

Grade	Rule	Our recommendation
A	70% or more	Hold. The brand controls its own Google Shopping listings.
A-	60% to 70%	Hold, and review the top third-party seller's listing share each quarter.
B	50% to 60%	Monitor the top 2 third-party sellers' listing share every month.
C	25% to 50%	Audit who supplies the top 3 third-party sellers.
D	10% to 25%	Win back its own search results: fix the Google Shopping product feed, then review reseller terms if other sellers hold the rest.
F	Under 10%	The brand's own store is a small part of what shoppers see when they search for its products. Fix the product feed first, then check who takes the rest: other sellers of its products, or unrelated products.

One step down when: 1 in 3 or more sellers of the same product price it below the brand.

Check it yourself: Search the brand's top product on Google Shopping and count the listings sold directly by the brand.

Section 5: Social Comments and Interactions

Measure: Share of Instagram comments with a negative tone over the last 4 weeks. Graded from at least 20 comments.

Grade	Rule	Our recommendation
A	Under 2%	Maintain current community management and feature positive comments as social proof.
B	2% to 5%	Reply to negative comment threads within 24 hours to contain customer friction.
C	5% to 8%, with at least 5 negative comments	Group negative comments by topic and resolve the top customer complaint to protect brand goodwill.
D	8% to 12%, with at least 5 negative comments	Resolve the top customer complaint before scaling ad spend to avoid amplifying negative sentiment.
F	12% or more, with at least 5 negative comments	Pause ads tied to the most common customer complaint and resolve the underlying issue before resuming spend.

One step down when: recent post interactions are 40% or more below the brand's baseline.

Check it yourself: Open the brand's Instagram posts from the last 4 weeks and read the comments.

Not graded yet

• Section 2: Demand Signals & Momentum: Graded once 12 weeks of Meta ads exist.