Is It Out of Scope? — SEO & marketing
Is auditing a client's app instead of their website out of scope for an SEO retainer?
Yes. App store optimization (ASO) is a related but distinct discipline from web SEO, with its own ranking factors and platforms.
"You already audit our search presence" sometimes gets extended to the app, but organic web SEO and app store optimization are different disciplines — different ranking systems (Google/Bing vs. the App Store/Play Store algorithms), different signals entirely.
Is it out of scope?
Yes. ASO uses different ranking factors, platforms, and tooling than web SEO — it's adjacent, not the same work under a different name.
Clause typically implicated
Clause typically implicated
Exclusions clause→ — The retainer covers web SEO; app store optimization is a related but distinct discipline excluded from it.
Example contract wording
Example contract wording (illustrative, not legal advice)
The retainer covers web search — the app would fall under app store optimization, which uses a different ranking system and toolset. I can put together a separate scope for that if it's something you want to pursue.
How MarginFlow flags it
MarginFlow checks the platform named in a request against the contract's defined scope (web vs. app store) and flags an app-focused request as outside_scope on a web-SEO retainer.