Which Surmado Product Should I Use?

Quick answer: AI Visibility diagnoses AI visibility, Site Audit fixes technical website issues, Strategy validates strategic decisions. Most businesses start with AI Visibility ($50) to understand AI visibility gaps, then use Site Audit ($50) to fix technical SEO, or Strategy ($50) to stress-test strategy.

Reading time: 17 minutes

What you’ll learn:

• The decision framework: “Are AI platforms recommending us?” → AI Visibility, “Why isn’t our website ranking?” → Site Audit, “Should we do X or Y?” → Strategy
• Seven common scenarios with specific product recommendations: local service business (AI Visibility + Site Audit), e-commerce (Site Audit + AI Visibility quarterly), B2B SaaS (AI Visibility + Site Audit + Strategy quarterly), agency managing clients (AI Visibility monthly + Site Audit quarterly)
• Why Surmado uses clean pricing ($50) instead of psychological pricing ($49, $99): clean multiples reflect honest value for commoditized insights
• Frequency recommendations backed by use cases: AI Visibility monthly if AI is primary acquisition channel, quarterly for most businesses, Site Audit quarterly to prevent tech debt, Strategy as-needed for strategic decisions
• The product comparison table showing time (10-30 min), price ($50), output format, and best use cases for each

---

Decision Framework

Start Here: What’s Your Primary Problem?

Problem 1: “Are AI platforms recommending us to customers?” → Use AI Visibility ($50, 10-15 minutes)

Problem 2: “Why isn’t our website ranking or converting?” → Use Site Audit ($50, 15-30 minutes)

Problem 3: “Should we do X or Y? Which strategy is smarter?” → Use Strategy ($50, 15-20 minutes)

---

When to Use AI Visibility

You Should Use AI Visibility If…

Scenario 1: AI visibility unknown

• You don’t know if ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity recommend you
• Customers are using AI search but you’re not tracking it
• Competitors might be dominating AI platforms (you don’t know)

Scenario 2: Content strategy unclear

• You’re creating content but unsure what resonates in AI
• You want to reverse-engineer competitor content strategies
• You need to validate messaging before spending on ads

Scenario 3: Competitive benchmarking needed

• You want to compare your AI Presence Rate vs competitors
• You’re entering new markets and need competitive landscape analysis
• You’re losing deals and suspect AI recommendations favor competitors

Scenario 4: Brand positioning validation

• You’re rebranding and want to track AI adoption of new name
• You’re launching a product and need to validate category positioning
• You’re in crisis mode and need to monitor AI reputation

Example use case:

Local HVAC company spending $5K/month on Google Ads. Zero idea if AI platforms recommend them when customers search “emergency AC repair Phoenix.” Run AI Visibility → discover 22% Presence Rate (low) → fix content strategy → re-run AI Visibility 90 days later → 58% Presence Rate.

AI Visibility tells you: What AI platforms say about you, how often you’re mentioned, how you compare to competitors, and which personas you dominate vs lose.

AI Visibility does NOT tell you: Why your website is slow, whether you’re ADA compliant, or which strategic decision to make (use Site Audit or Strategy for those).

---

When to Use Site Audit

You Should Use Site Audit If…

Scenario 1: Website not ranking

• Google Search Console shows impressions but no clicks
• Competitors rank higher for same keywords
• You’ve done SEO work but haven’t seen ranking improvements

Scenario 2: Website feels slow

• Bounce rate high (over 60%)
• Users complain about performance
• Core Web Vitals failing in Google Search Console
• Page load time over 3 seconds

Scenario 3: Pre-launch or post-migration audit

• About to launch new website (catch issues before going live)
• Just migrated to new CMS (validate nothing broke)
• Redesigned site (verify technical SEO held up)

Scenario 4: Accessibility compliance needed

• ADA compliance requirements (healthcare, education, government)
• Worried about accessibility lawsuits
• Want to expand addressable market (15% of users have disabilities)

Scenario 5: Buying or selling website

• Acquiring website, need technical due diligence
• Selling website, want to fix issues before listing
• Valuing website, need technical debt assessment

Example use case:

E-commerce site with high traffic but low conversions. Run Site Audit → discover 890 images missing alt text, LCP 6.2 seconds (target: 2.5s), 67 WCAG violations → fix hero image compression, add alt text, improve accessibility → conversions increase 24%.

Site Audit tells you: Technical SEO issues, Core Web Vitals performance, accessibility violations, security gaps, mobile optimization problems, and browser compatibility issues.

Site Audit does NOT tell you: What AI platforms say about you, or which strategic decision to make (use AI Visibility or Strategy for those).

---

When to Use Strategy

You Should Use Strategy If…

Scenario 1: Strategic decision paralysis

• Team disagrees on roadmap priorities
• Founder stuck between Option A and Option B
• You need external perspective without hiring consultant

Scenario 2: High-stakes decision validation

• Considering pricing change (raise or lower?)
• Evaluating partnership deal (fair terms or trap?)
• Planning market expansion (which city to enter?)
• Hiring decision (AE vs engineer?)

Scenario 3: Stress-testing assumptions

• Building financial model, want to validate assumptions
• Creating investor pitch, need to anticipate questions
• Launching product, want to validate positioning

Scenario 4: Arbitrating team conflicts

• Marketing wants X, Sales wants Y, Product wants Z
• Leadership team has conflicting OKRs
• Need neutral third party to weigh perspectives

Scenario 5: Rapid strategic analysis

• Can’t afford $5K-15K consultant
• Don’t have time for 2-week engagement
• Need analysis in 15 minutes, not 2 weeks

Example use case:

SaaS founder considering freemium launch. Competitor just launched freemium. Should we follow? Submit to Strategy → CFO AI flags cannibalization risk, Market Realist AI questions viral growth assumptions, Game Theorist AI suggests competitor might be desperate (not smart) → decide NOT to launch freemium → avoided economic trap.

Strategy tells you: Strategic recommendations from 6 AI perspectives (CFO, COO, Market Realist, Game Theorist, Chief Strategist, Wildcard), prioritized action plans (HIGH/MEDIUM/LOW urgency), and stress-tested assumptions.

Strategy does NOT tell you: What AI platforms say about you, or whether your website has technical issues (use AI Visibility or Site Audit for those).

---

Product Comparison Table

Feature	AI Visibility	Site Audit	Strategy
What it diagnoses	AI visibility gaps	Technical website issues	Strategic decision quality
Time to complete	10-15 minutes	15-30 minutes	15-20 minutes
Price	$50	$50	$50
Output	Presence Rate, Authority Score, Ghost Influence, competitor rankings	Overall score (0-100), prioritized fix list, effort estimates	6-AI debate, prioritized recommendations (HIGH/MEDIUM/LOW)
Use when	Need to understand AI visibility	Need to fix technical SEO, performance, accessibility	Need to validate strategic decision
Frequency	Monthly or quarterly	Quarterly or pre-launch	As-needed for major decisions
Intelligence Token	Yes (JSON export)	Yes (JSON export)	Yes (JSON export)
Best for	SMBs, agencies, local businesses, consultants	E-commerce, SaaS, agencies, pre-launch sites	Founders, executives, product leaders

---

How Products Work Together

The Surmado Flywheel

Step 1: Run AI Visibility (diagnose AI visibility gaps)

• Discover: 22% Presence Rate, Ghost Influence at 42%
• Insight: AI platforms describe your features but recommend competitors

Step 2: Run Site Audit (fix technical foundation)

• Discover: Missing schema markup, broken links, slow Core Web Vitals
• Fix: Add schema, fix links, compress images

Step 3: Run Strategy (validate strategy)

• Question: “Should we focus on ‘emergency’ or ‘maintenance’ positioning?”
• Recommendation: Emergency positioning (higher margin, faster close)

Step 4: Implement changes (schema, performance, content strategy)

Step 5: Re-run AI Visibility (measure improvement)

• Result: 22% → 58% Presence Rate (164% improvement)
• Ghost Influence: 42% → 18% (57% reduction)

Intelligence Tokens connect all three: Use JSON exports to track trends over time, build dashboards, automate reporting.

---

Common Scenarios and Recommendations

Scenario: Local Service Business (HVAC, plumbing, law firm)

Recommended: AI Visibility ($50) + Site Audit ($50)

Why:

• AI Visibility: Local businesses compete heavily in AI search (“best HVAC Phoenix”)
• Site Audit: LocalBusiness schema, mobile optimization, Core Web Vitals critical for map pack rankings
• Skip Strategy: Most local businesses have straightforward strategies (emergency + maintenance). Strategic complexity low.

ROI: $75 investment → discover AI visibility gaps, fix technical SEO → increase leads 15-30%.

---

Scenario: E-commerce (Shopify, WooCommerce)

Recommended: Site Audit ($50) + AI Visibility ($50) quarterly

Why:

• Site Audit: E-commerce has 100+ pages (products, collections, checkout). Need audit covering performance, accessibility, SEO, security, and mobile.
• AI Visibility: Product discovery increasingly happens via AI (ChatGPT, Perplexity). Track category positioning.
• Skip Strategy initially: Focus on execution (fix technical issues, improve AI visibility). Use Strategy when facing major decisions (pricing change, new category launch).

ROI: $100/quarter → fix Core Web Vitals, improve AI product visibility → increase conversion rate 10-20%.

---

Scenario: B2B SaaS (Startup or Scaleup)

Recommended: AI Visibility ($50) + Site Audit ($50) + Strategy ($50) quarterly

Why:

• AI Visibility: B2B customers use AI for software research. Track competitive positioning.
• Site Audit: Technical SEO and performance affect organic acquisition (20-40% of leads).
• Strategy: High-stakes strategic decisions (pricing, hiring, market expansion) require validation.

ROI: Comprehensive visibility assessment, validated strategy → reduce bad decisions, improve acquisition efficiency.

---

Scenario: Agency Managing 5-10 Clients

Recommended: AI Visibility ($50/client) monthly + Site Audit ($50/client) quarterly

Why:

• AI Visibility monthly: Track client AI visibility improvements, show ROI in client reports
• Site Audit quarterly: Catch technical issues before they hurt rankings
• Strategy as-needed: When client faces strategic decision (rebrand, pricing change)

Agency pricing: Agencies can clean-label reports (contact sales@surmado.com for bulk pricing).

ROI: $50/client/month → demonstrate measurable improvements, increase retention, justify fees.

---

Scenario: Solo Consultant or Personal Brand

Recommended: AI Visibility ($50) monthly

Why:

• AI Visibility: Track how AI platforms describe your expertise. Personal brand = AI visibility.
• Skip Site Audit: Personal websites typically simple (blog, contact page). Less technical complexity.
• Strategy as-needed: Use for major career decisions (niche pivot, pricing change, partnership evaluation).

ROI: $50/month → ensure AI recommends you when prospects research your category → increase inbound leads 20-40%.

---

Scenario: Pre-Launch Startup

Recommended: Site Audit ($50) before launch + AI Visibility ($50) 30 days after launch

Why:

• Site Audit before launch: Catch technical issues before customers see them. Fix Core Web Vitals, accessibility, schema.
• AI Visibility after launch: Give AI platforms 30 days to index content, then test visibility.
• Strategy before launch: Validate positioning, pricing, go-to-market strategy before spending.

ROI: $150 total → launch with clean technical foundation, validated strategy, initial AI visibility reading → avoid costly rework.

---

Pricing Philosophy

Why Surmado uses clean pricing ($50, $100):

Traditional pricing: $49, $99, $149 (psychological pricing) Surmado pricing: $50, $100 (clean multiples)

Reason: Surmado reports are commoditized insights, not hand-crafted artisan analysis. No reason to use psychological tricks. Clean pricing reflects honest value.

---

How to Decide

Decision Tree

Question 1: Do you know if AI platforms recommend you?

• No → Run AI Visibility ($50)
• Yes, and we’re doing well → Skip AI Visibility (or run quarterly for monitoring)
• Yes, and we’re doing poorly → Run AI Visibility + investigate why

Question 2: Is your website ranking well and converting?

• No → Run Site Audit ($50) to diagnose technical issues
• Yes → Skip Site Audit (or run quarterly for maintenance)

Question 3: Do you have a major strategic decision to make?

• Yes → Run Strategy ($50) to validate
• No → Skip Strategy (use as-needed)

Question 4: Are you unsure where to start?

• Yes → Start with AI Visibility ($50) for a quick diagnostic
• No → Pick specific product based on primary problem

---

Frequency Recommendations

How often should you run each product?

AI Visibility Frequency

Monthly: If AI visibility is primary acquisition channel (consultants, local businesses, competitive B2B) Quarterly: If tracking improvements or competitive landscape (most businesses) As-needed: After major content updates, rebrand, crisis events

Cost: $50/month = $600/year or $50/quarter = $200/year

---

Site Audit Frequency

Pre-launch: Before site goes live (catch issues early) Quarterly: Prevent technical debt accumulation (most businesses) Post-migration: After CMS change, redesign, major updates As-needed: When rankings drop, performance degrades, or compliance needed

Cost: $50/quarter = $100-200/year

---

Strategy Frequency

As-needed: Major strategic decisions arise (not recurring) Quarterly planning: Validate OKRs, roadmap priorities (leadership teams) Monthly: High-frequency decision-making environments (agencies, consultants advising multiple clients)

Cost: $50/decision (variable)

---

The Bottom Line

Choose based on your primary problem:

AI visibility gap → AI Visibility ($50) Technical website issues → Site Audit ($50) Strategic decision validation → Strategy ($50) Most businesses start with AI Visibility to understand AI visibility, then add Site Audit or Strategy based on what gaps emerge.

Products work together: AI Visibility diagnoses → Site Audit fixes → Strategy validates → Re-run AI Visibility to measure. Intelligence Tokens let you track improvements over time.

---

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I use just one product, or do I need all three?

You can use one. Each product is standalone:

• AI Visibility works without Site Audit or Strategy
• Site Audit works without AI Visibility or Strategy
• Strategy works without AI Visibility or Site Audit

But they’re better together. Example:

• AI Visibility reveals AI visibility gap
• Site Audit explains why (missing schema, slow site)
• Strategy validates which fix to prioritize first

Recommendation: Start with one (usually AI Visibility), add others as gaps emerge.

Which product has the best ROI?

Depends on your constraint:

If AI visibility is unknown: AI Visibility has highest ROI (reveals 10-100x opportunities for $50) If website is broken: Site Audit has highest ROI (fixes conversion-killing issues for $50) If making high-stakes decision: Strategy has highest ROI (avoids $10K-100K mistakes for $50)

On average: Businesses report 10-50x ROI on first Surmado report (any product).

What if I buy the wrong product?

Contact us: hi@surmado.com within 7 days of purchase.

We’ll help you:

• Understand what your report reveals
• Recommend next steps
• Job your purchase toward different product if truly wrong fit

In practice: Most “wrong” purchases still reveal valuable insights. AI Visibility might uncover unexpected AI visibility gaps. Site Audit might find critical technical issues you didn’t know existed.

Can I run multiple products on the same day?

Yes. All products run independently:

• AI Visibility tests AI platforms (no interaction with your website)
• Site Audit crawls your website (no interaction with AI)
• Strategy analyzes your question (no interaction with website or AI)

How do I know which product to start with?

Ask yourself:

“Are customers finding us via AI search?”

• Don’t know → AI Visibility
• Yes → Skip AI Visibility (or run quarterly)
• No → AI Visibility

“Is our website technically sound?”

• Don’t know → Site Audit
• Yes → Skip Site Audit
• No → Site Audit

“Do we need to validate a strategic decision?”

• Yes → Strategy
• No → Skip Strategy

Still unsure? → Start with AI Visibility ($50) for a quick diagnostic.

Do products work for international businesses?

Yes, all three products support global businesses:

AI Visibility: Tests 50+ languages. Submit personas in any language (Spanish, German, Japanese, etc.). Site Audit: Tests websites globally. Works with any domain, any country. Strategy: Analyzes international strategies (pricing in EUR, market entry in APAC, etc.).

Can I use these for competitor analysis?

Yes:

AI Visibility: Run on competitor’s business to reverse-engineer their AI strategy Site Audit: Run on competitor’s website to find technical weaknesses Strategy: Analyze competitor’s public moves (pricing change, freemium launch)

Legal: All use public data (ethical, standard competitive intelligence).

Cost: $50-100 per competitor for analysis across 7 AI platforms vs $10K-25K traditional research.

Are there bundles or subscriptions?

Current pricing:

• PAYG: $50/job (AI Visibility, Site Audit, or Strategy)
• Pro: $100/mo for 4 jobs
• Portfolio: $500/mo for 20 jobs (agencies)

Agency/bulk pricing: Contact sales@surmado.com for volume discounts.

Which product should agencies use for client reporting?

Recommended: AI Visibility ($50) monthly per client

Why:

• Demonstrates measurable AI visibility improvements
• Easy to explain to clients (Presence Rate trending up = good)
• Intelligence Tokens automate client report generation
• Monthly cadence shows ongoing value

Add Site Audit quarterly to catch technical issues before they hurt client rankings.

Add Strategy as-needed when client faces strategic decision (rebrand, pricing, expansion).

Agency pricing: Clean-label reports available (contact sales@surmado.com).

---

Still not sure which product to use? Email hi@surmado.com with your specific situation and we’ll recommend the best starting point.

Ready to start? Try Surmado | Work with Scout

→ Related: Getting Started | Choosing the Right Tool | Complete Beginner’s Guide | Pricing