In short: SerpDad settles every call the search results can settle. Only real ties and changes reach the review queue, each with the evidence for every option. Your answers are recorded and kept on every later run.
What the review queue is
The review queue is the one list of decisions that need a person. Open Plan > Review in a project. The Review row in the sidebar shows how many calls are open.
Each keyword or page stays where SerpDad suggested until you answer. The plan is usable while calls are open. In the default workflow, the run does not wait for review answers.
The kinds of call
Every card shows the kind of call, a question, what your answer changes, the stakes, and what Google shows for the keyword. Each answer lists its facts. SerpDad's pick says why it was picked. Other answers say when to pick them instead.
Keyword placement: "Which page should this keyword join?"
When: a keyword's top 10 results overlap two pages equally.
| Answer | What it changes |
|---|---|
| The suggested page | The keyword stays on that page, and that page's article covers it |
| The other page | The keyword moves to the other page. The first page leaves it out. |
| Make it its own page | The keyword gets a new page |
Page shape: "What shape should this page take?"
When: the top 10 results are split between formats, so SerpDad has no pick.
The answers are List, How-to, Comparison and Landing. Each shows how many of the top 10 use that shape. The shape you pick sets how the brief and the article are laid out.
Own page: "Should this be its own page?"
When: a page's results differ from nearby pages, but only just.
| Answer | What it changes |
|---|---|
| Keep it as its own page | The page keeps its own brief and article |
| Mark page as junk (under See evidence) | The page and its keywords leave the plan and all future runs |
Pinned keyword: "Keep this keyword where you pinned it?"
When: you moved a keyword to a page, and its results now point to another page.
| Answer | What it changes |
|---|---|
| The pinned page | SerpDad keeps your choice |
| Where its results now point | The keyword moves there, or to a page of its own |
Page title: "Which phrase should this page be built around?"
When: the next keyword on a page is at least 90% as important as the focus keyword, or a focus keyword you chose no longer holds. The second case reads "Keep building this page around this phrase?".
The phrase you pick becomes the page title, H1 and URL. The other phrase stays on the same page. Nothing is lost either way. The plan keeps SerpDad's choice until you switch.
Your existing pages: "Which of your pages should SerpDad improve?"
When: two or more of your site's URLs earn clicks for one planned page, and none clearly leads.
| Answer | What it changes |
|---|---|
| One of your URLs | SerpDad plans changes to that page. Your other pages stay as they are. |
| Write a new page | None of these pages changes, and a new page is planned |
Signed article: "Does the signed article still fit this page?"
When: a re-run changed what a page covers, and the page has a signed article.
| Answer | What it changes |
|---|---|
| Keep it signed | Nothing changes. SerpDad never changes a signed article on its own. |
| Send it back to the writer | The sign-off is removed, so the article needs signing again before it exports |
Stakes
Each card shows a stakes pill, based on the searches a month the call moves.
| Pill | Searches a month |
|---|---|
| Low stakes | Under 100 |
| Worth a look | 100 to 999 |
| Changes traffic | 1,000 or more |
Calls SerpDad settles itself
Some small calls never reach the queue. SerpDad settles them with its own pick and keeps each in the history with a receipt. By default:
- A page title call when the two phrases get fewer than 100 searches a month together, or when every word of one phrase is in the other and they get fewer than 1,000 together.
- A keyword placement call when the keyword gets fewer than 50 searches a month.
- A page shape call when the top 10 clearly leans one way.
To see them, open the settled view: What SerpDad settled.
Answer calls
- Open Review.
- Read the question, the stakes and the evidence. Select See evidence for the full top 10, marked by which answer each result supports.
- Pick an answer and select Save answer.
- Or select Skip for now. Where SerpDad has a pick, skipping keeps it.
To accept every suggestion at once, select Accept SerpDad's pick for all. The button shows how many calls it settles.
Keyboard shortcuts
| Key | Action |
|---|---|
| 1 | Choose SerpDad's pick |
| 2 | Choose the alternative |
| O | Open or close the receipt |
| J or P | Next card |
| K | Previous card |
Every card has Report a wrong call.
What happens after you answer
- Each answer records who answered and when, and keeps the previous state.
- Answers survive re-runs.
- An answer that changes what a page is (its format, scope or focus keyword) queues a brief rebuild. Moving a keyword does not.
- When every call is settled, the queue reads "Nothing to review".
Who can answer
| Call | Who can answer |
|---|---|
| Calls about the plan | Owner, Admin, Manager |
| Signed article calls | Owner, Admin, Manager, Editor |
Writers can read the queue but cannot answer.