Many people new to SEO might interpret the task as 'find a few keywords, then write a few articles.' These two things are indeed important, but they only answer 'what to write,' not 'whether the website can be found, whether the page can convince users, whether traffic actually generates business, and whether things get better after changes.'
This article avoids complex jargon and instead uses real business scenarios to explain what else SEO involves, mapping the existing capabilities of SEO Agent's Phase 1 and Phase 2 into each scenario. Think of it as a checklist that takes you from spotting problems to validating outcomes.
Scenario 1: After launching a new website, why is there no traffic even though you wrote articles?
Suppose you have just launched a CRM software website for small businesses, and you have written an article titled 'CRM software suitable for small businesses,' but Google rarely indexes it, and users can't find it. At this point, continuing to write articles is usually not the first priority.
The 8 types of tasks to complete first in Phase 1
| Task | Beginner explanation | What SEO Agent can do for you |
|---|---|---|
| Technical SEO | Can the search engine open, crawl, and index the page? | Audit status codes, robots.txt, sitemap, canonical, noindex, mobile, and page speed, and list remediation tasks in order of priority. |
| Site architecture | Are products, categories, guides, and FAQs clearly distinguished from each other? | Analyze URL hierarchy, orphan pages, duplicate topics, and internal linking opportunities to avoid multiple pages competing for the same keyword. |
| On-page optimization | When users open the page, can they tell at a glance what it solves? | Check whether Title, Meta, H1/H2, image Alt, structured data, FAQ, CTA, and page type match search intent. |
| Content operations | It's not about writing as much as possible, but prioritizing the pages with the highest value. | Using keywords, SERP, competitors, and existing pages, determine whether to update, merge, or create new content, and schedule a 30-day task list. |
| Backlinks and brand | Are other trustworthy websites willing to mention you? | Analyze backlink risks, identify which industry sites mention competitors, and find actionable directions for partnerships and content PR. |
| Real business data | Did rankings and traffic ultimately bring in inquiries, sign-ups, or orders? | Connect GSC and GA4 to view impressions, clicks, CTR, landing pages, engagement, and conversion events. |
| Local SEO | If you serve a specific city, can nearby customers find you? | Analyze local search results, service area pages, business profiles, reviews, and map visibility. |
| GEO / AI Search | When users ask tools like ChatGPT or Gemini, does the AI recognize and cite your brand? | Check signals like brand mentions, citable facts on pages, AI crawler access, Schema, and llms.txt. |
How to do it in SEO Agent: You can tell Codex: "Please audit mycrm.com through SEO Agent. First, identify the top three issues affecting crawling and indexing, then check the site architecture and internal links on product pages, and finally give me a prioritized fix list sorted by P0, P1, P2." The goal of the first phase is not to fix the entire site at once, but to first obtain a list that is evidence-based and actionable.
Scenario 2: Once you know what to do, how do you turn a topic into a complete page?
Continuing with the example of "CRM software for small businesses." The real task is not to repeat keywords throughout the article, but to first understand what searchers want to compare, how competitor pages are structured, and what genuine advantages your product has, then create a page that can generate business.
- Research needs: Query keywords, related terms, search intent, and SERP page types to confirm whether users want guides, product lists, comparisons, or trial entries.
- Check existing pages: Confirm whether the website already has similar pages to avoid new articles and product pages competing with each other.
- Prepare content: Have Codex generate a first draft of the article based on the research results, clarifying which content comes from your actual materials and which parts need your input.
- Manual review: Verify pricing, features, customer cases, commitments, and compliance information. AI can organize and draft, but cannot confirm facts on your behalf.
“Help me create an SEO article workflow, with the topic 'CRM software for small businesses', targeting US English users. First, query keywords and SERP, then generate a draft article, check titles, structure, FAQ, internal links, and factual risks. After completion, pause first and wait for my confirmation, do not publish directly.”
This is the new feature added in phase two: automatic workflow creation via natural-language chat: You don't need to understand interfaces or buttons first; just state the goal, and the system will automatically establish the stages of “Research → Writing → Check → Approval → Publish → Monitor”.
Scenario 3: The article is already written. How do I safely edit and publish it?
SEO Agent does not, by default, overwrite live pages with AI-generated content. After research, writing, and review are complete, the workflow pauses at "Awaiting confirmation." You can review the article first, then send: "I approve this article. Please publish it to WordPress, and set the status to draft first."
If you use local HTML or Markdown files, the workflow can modify files within the permitted publishing directory; if you connect WordPress or another CMS, it writes to the page via the publishing adapter. After publishing, it returns the page ID, status, and URL, and validates that the URL is accessible when necessary.
See the WordPress connection guide: "WordPress Connection to SEO Agent: A Publishing Tutorial Even Beginners Can Follow" We recommend publishing as a draft the first time. After confirming the format, images, internal links, and CTA, you can change it to a formal publication.
Scenario 4: Traffic has dropped. How can SEO Agent help you?
A drop in rankings isn't necessarily because "not enough keywords were written." It could be that the page speed has slowed, the title doesn't match search intent, competitors have updated their content, there are technical errors on the page, or actual conversion events aren't being tracked correctly.
After connecting GSC and GA4, you can simply say: "Help me check the pages with traffic declines over the last 28 days, separate confirmed facts from unverified causes, give me fix recommendations, and don't modify the live pages yet." The monitoring workflow will run in the following order:
- Read GSC clicks, impressions, CTR, average ranking, and content decay signals.
- Read GA4 channels, landing pages, sessions, engagement, and key events.
- Merge the data into a diagnosis, highlighting the issues most worth addressing first.
- Pause at "Fix approval," and wait for your confirmation before modifying local pages or CMS pages.
- After changes, re-verify that the content is written, and schedule the next monitoring check.
In simple terms, what are the fees and notifications in Phase 2?
Stage-based billing
Each stage that calls external data or models is billed separately: keyword/SERP research is billed per tool call, article generation is billed by actual model tokens, and GSC/GA4 monitoring is billed per data diagnosis. The system first estimates and reserves a balance, then settles based on actual usage after completion. Over-reserved amounts are refunded, and if actual usage is higher, the difference is charged. Approvals, status workflows, and local file operations themselves do not incur additional data-call fees.
Scheduled monitoring and notifications
You can set a daily, weekly, or custom schedule. When the time arrives, the system automatically creates a monitoring workflow. If it detects issues with traffic, rankings, CTR, or content decay, it generates on-site notifications. After configuring SMTP, it can also send emails. Fixes that require human decisions are paused and will not silently change production pages.
The shortest route that beginners can follow
- First, tell Codex your product, customers, country/language, and website address.
- Have SEO Agent perform a technical SEO, site architecture, and page opportunity check.
- Choose a real topic, create an article workflow, researching first, then writing.
- Have a human verify facts, publish as draft first; complete the connection if WordPress is needed.
- Connect GSC/GA4, set a monitoring schedule, and check the notifications and data once a week.