Is It Out of Scope? — SEO & marketing
Is building a mobile app version out of scope for a SEO / marketing project?
Yes, on two counts: it's development work, and it's not really SEO's discipline in the first place — app store visibility works on different mechanics (app store optimization) than the organic search ranking an SEO retainer is scoped around.
A client planning to launch a mobile app sometimes assumes their existing SEO team can just extend what they're doing to "the app version" — the same instinct that treats SEO as a general "make us more visible online" service rather than a specific discipline around organic web search. But visibility for an app is governed by an entirely different system: app store algorithms, ratings and reviews, install and retention metrics — collectively app store optimization (ASO), which shares some conceptual DNA with SEO but isn't the same skill set or platform.
Is it out of scope?
Yes, for two separate reasons. Building the app itself is development work an SEO retainer never covered. And even the visibility question — helping the app get discovered — is a different discipline (ASO) with its own keyword research, ranking factors, and optimization tactics distinct from organic web search SEO, so it's not simply an extension of the existing retainer even conceptually.
Clause typically implicated
Clause typically implicated
Exclusions clause→ — Scopes the retainer to organic web search visibility — app store optimization and app development are both outside that, as different disciplines and different work entirely.
Example contract wording
Example contract wording (illustrative, not legal advice)
Our retainer covers organic search visibility for the website — app store visibility works differently (app store optimization, not traditional SEO) and building the app itself is development work, so both are outside our current scope. Happy to talk through how the two strategies could complement each other, or point you toward a specialist for the ASO side.
How MarginFlow flags it
MarginFlow flags mobile app requests outside_scope on an SEO contract regardless of whether the client frames it as a build request or a visibility question, since neither maps to the extracted deliverables for an organic search retainer — the explanation calls out the ASO-vs-SEO distinction specifically, since that nuance is often what the account manager needs to explain back to the client.