Foundational pillar / check buyer-question-coverage

Buyer question coverage

Our usefulness methodology, not a Google rule: for your industry, we list the questions buyers usually ask before they call, and check whether the pages we read answer each one in plain words.

By Shimon Carroll, Founder, SEO for AI Agents · Last updated

What this check measures

For each industry we keep a list of 10 or 11 questions buyers usually ask, four of them marked core (for a law firm: what cases you handle, where you are licensed, what it costs, how to book). We read the main content of the pages we crawled. A question counts as answered when a section heading names the topic (Pricing, Contact us) and real text follows it, or when a sentence pairs two of the question's ideas or uses a clear phrase (free consultation); one word in passing never counts. We mark each question answered (with the page and the exact words that answer it), partial (a heading names it but nothing under it answers), or not found. Questions about how to reach or find you can also be answered by your navigation or footer. On paid plans, core questions we could not match go to one bounded AI read of the same text, which can only mark a question answered when it quotes your page word for word; it can never mark an answered question as unanswered. Free audits make no AI call. The free audit reads your homepage only.

Why it matters

Google's helpful content guidance asks: "After reading your content, will someone leave feeling they've learned enough about a topic to help achieve their goal?" Bing's Webmaster Guidelines say URLs focused on a primary topic "are more likely to be selected for grounding results" and ask sites to place essential information near the top. A buyer who cannot find the price, the service area or how to book leaves, and an answer engine asked the same question cannot quote you. Some questions changed with the market: after the 2024 NAR settlement, MLS participants working with buyers need a written agreement before touring a home, so how a buyer agreement and compensation work is now a question buyers ask agents.

How we score it

A MEDIUM finding when many of the core questions have no answer on the pages we read; LOW when a smaller part of them is missing; an info pass when every core question is answered. The other questions are reported and never change the severity. The finding never goes above medium and never takes the first action-plan slot while a measured defect exists. The words we match on are our methodology and are not published; the questions and the answers we found are shown in full.

Confidence-flag rules

MEDIUM confidence. The question lists are written by us for each industry; they are a methodology, not measured buyer demand. Matching reads words, not meaning: a page can answer a question in words we do not expect, which is why paid plans add a word-for-word AI read. Answers on pages we did not crawl are not seen.

Common mistakes

  • Putting the answer only in a PDF, an image or a chat widget, where a reader skimming the page and an answer engine cannot see it.
  • Answering "it depends" without saying what it depends on or giving a range.
  • Hiding prices or terms entirely. Even a range or "free first consultation" answers the question.

How to fix it

Answer each missing question in plain words on the page buyers land on, under a heading that asks it. A short FAQ section on the homepage or service page works well; keep each answer to a few sentences with the specific fact first.

Primary sources

Changelog

  • · Matching tightened after review: a single word in passing, such as "started" in a founder story or "costs" in a tax tip, no longer counts as an answer. An answer now needs a section whose heading names the topic, or a sentence that pairs two of the question's ideas or uses a clear phrase such as "free consultation".
  • · First published, with question lists for law firms, accounting firms, medical practices, real estate agents, business funding providers, AI agencies and general businesses.
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