Troubleshooting

Frequently Asked Questions

What Is the Difference Between SEO, AEO, and GEO?

SEO (Search Engine Optimization) covers the signals that affect how a page ranks in traditional search results: keyword placement, header structure, link authority, and page quality. AEO (Answer Engine Optimization) covers how content needs to be structured for AI assistants (ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity, and others) to cite your brand when answering questions. GEO (Generative Engine Optimization) focuses on the authority signals those AI engines use when deciding which sources to quote: citation density, schema markup, named authors, and primary-source references. Marketing SEO covers all three and scores them separately so you know which dimension to work on.

Does Marketing SEO Make Changes to Client Websites?

No. Marketing SEO analyses and recommends. Changes to published pages are handled by Marketing Content (for body copy and meta), Marketing Web (for technical and structural fixes), or Marketing HubSpot Builder (for HubSpot-specific pages). Keeping the analysis and the publishing separate means every change is reviewed before it goes live.

How Does the On-Page Score Connect to Marketing Brand Guard?

When Marketing Brand Guard reviews a draft, it runs its own SEO component as part of the brand review. If that component drags the score below the approval threshold, the draft can be routed to Marketing SEO for a standalone on-page audit with specific revision guidance. You review the revision list and send it back to whoever is editing the draft. Once the revisions are applied, re-request the audit and check the score before routing the draft back to brand review.

Do I Need to Run Keyword Research Every Time?

No. Keyword research is most valuable before a new post is commissioned. For a refresh or a minor update to an existing post, an on-page audit of the current page is usually enough: it tells you whether the existing keyword is still properly embedded and where the gaps are.

How Often Should I Run AI Visibility Checks?

Once a quarter is a reasonable starting point for most clients. Running one before a campaign planning session with Marketing Strategist is particularly useful: the gap list translates directly into content brief inputs. If a client's competitive landscape is changing quickly, running a check before and after a content push shows whether the campaign moved the needle.

Why Does Keyword Intent Matter More Than Search Volume?

A keyword with high volume but the wrong intent sends traffic that does not convert. A keyword with moderate volume and strong commercial intent reaches buyers who are actively evaluating. Marketing SEO leads every keyword recommendation with the intent classification so you can make that call before briefing Marketing Content. Volume sizes the opportunity; intent decides whether the opportunity is worth taking.

Common Issues

The Keyword Brief Came Back with Very Low Volume Numbers

1. Some B2B and niche industry keywords have genuinely low reported volume but high commercial value. Do not dismiss them based on volume alone: check the intent classification. A transactional keyword with 80 monthly searches and low competition can be worth more than an informational keyword with 5,000 searches.
2. Ask the agent to suggest long-tail variations. These often have more data and reveal the same intent with a different phrasing.
3. If the numbers look wrong for a well-known topic, try rephrasing the target keyword to match how buyers actually search. Industry jargon and the terms buyers use are sometimes different.

The On-Page Audit Returned a "blocker" Verdict and the Score Seems Harsh

1. Check the component breakdown first. A blocker score usually means two or three components failed together, not ten. Focus on the components with the most weight: keyword in title and meta description (12 points each), internal link suggestions (12 points), header structure (10 points), and keyword in first 100 words (10 points). Fixing those four will often move the score above 60.
2. If the meta description is the main issue, the fix is quick: rewrite it to 140-160 characters with the target keyword in the first ten words.
3. Paste the revised sections back as a follow-up and ask the agent which components still need work.

The AI Visibility Score Is Low Even After Publishing New Content

AI assistants update their knowledge on different schedules. Published content does not immediately appear in AI-generated answers. Typical propagation takes several weeks to a few months, depending on the engine and how the content is distributed.

In the meantime, focus on the signals that speed up propagation: citation density (other authoritative sites linking to or referencing the content), schema markup on the published page, and named bylines with verifiable credentials. These are the inputs AI engines weight most heavily when deciding what to cite.

If a competitor is consistently appearing and the brand is not, the issue is usually authority rather than recency. Request an AI visibility check and look at the E-E-A-T score: that component points to the specific authority signals missing from the brand's content.

The Agent Could Not Fetch the URL During an On-Page Audit

1. Check that the URL is publicly accessible. Pages behind a login, in staging environments, or on password-protected sites cannot be fetched.
2. Try again once. Temporary fetch failures resolve on a retry most of the time.
3. If the URL is not publicly accessible, paste the page body as text instead:

@Agenteous audit this draft for [target keyword]:
[paste content here]

The audit runs on the pasted body exactly as it would on a fetched URL.

A Re-Score After Revisions Is Not Showing Improvement

1. Confirm the revisions were applied to the version being re-audited. If you are auditing a URL, the page must be published with the changes. If you are pasting a draft, paste the revised version.
2. Check which components are still failing in the new breakdown. Sometimes fixing one component reveals a second one that was not the bottleneck before.
3. If the E-E-A-T component is holding the score down: check whether the author byline is present, whether external citations link to primary sources (research reports, official documentation, industry publications rather than blog posts), and whether the post contains specific, verifiable claims rather than general statements.