Frequently Asked Questions

Generally yes. Duplicates split your reviews, confuse Google about which listing is authoritative, and can trigger a suspension on both. Merging or removing duplicates is a standard part of GBP cleanup - it's usually fixable, but it does require access to both listings, so if you're not sure who set up the second one, that's the first thing to establish.

It's a fair question — Google's own John Mueller has publicly warned that the more urgently someone pushes a new AI-optimization acronym, the more likely it's spam dressed up as a service. Here's the honest distinction: the technical foundation genuinely overlaps by roughly half with SEO — a fast, crawlable, well-structured site is required for both. What's different is the emphasis: entity consistency across every place you're listed, structured data as a primary input rather than a nice-to-have, and content written so a machine can lift a clean answer from the first sentence. If an agency's "GEO service" is just their existing SEO retainer with the word swapped, that's the rebrand Mueller is warning about — ask what specifically is different in the deliverables.

Entity mapping comes first in our process precisely because generic tactics don't work here — schema and content built on top of an inconsistent or vague brand identity just encodes that inconsistency at scale. The first deliverable in any engagement is specific to how your business is actually described across your site, your Google Business Profile, and third-party listings, not a template applied uniformly across clients.

Sometimes, and sometimes not quickly. AI systems build a picture of who's credible in a category over time, drawing on structured data, consistency, and independent mentions. If a competitor already has a strong, well-corroborated presence, displacing them takes longer than starting from a blank slate — but in most local NZ/AU categories, most businesses haven't started at all, which is a real advantage while it lasts.

Yes, mainly around corroboration. A national brand needs broad third-party mentions across many sources; a local business benefits disproportionately from a smaller number of the right local signals — a complete Google Business Profile, local directory consistency, and genuine local reviews — because the competitive set an AI assistant is choosing between is much smaller.

Verification gets you a live listing, not visibility. The most common causes we see: incomplete profile information, a category that's too broad or slightly wrong for what you actually do, a review count or rating that's weaker than competitors in the same pack, or NAP (name, address, phone) inconsistency between your website and your listing that quietly undermines trust signals. We check all four before touching anything else.

It means one of two things: a genuine policy issue (commonly an address problem — residential or virtual addresses are against GBP guidelines unless you can prove a staffed, dedicated office - or a category or name that doesn't match what Google can verify), or a false suspension notice, which does happen. We check which situation you're actually in before filing anything, because panic-editing a listing mid-review can make a real suspension worse.

Yes - GBP allows public "suggest an edit" contributions, and not everyone uses that honestly, including occasionally competitors. If you spot unauthorised changes, the first fix is correcting them yourself via "Suggest an edit" on your own profile; if it's repeated or malicious, Google has a separate redressal complaint process for that. We monitor for this as part of ongoing GBP management so it gets caught within days, not months.

Yes - we set up or manage listings under your ownership, not ours, and add ourselves as a manager rather than the primary owner. You should never have to fight an agency to get access back to your own listing; if an agency insists on keeping admin control, that's worth treating as a red flag with any provider, not just us.

You own all of it. Ad accounts, GA4, CRM data, and the website itself are set up under your business, not ours, from day one. This matters more than most of the marketing checklist combined - we've heard directly from businesses who paid another agency for a year and then couldn't get their own ad account back when they left. If any provider insists on building things under their own login, ask why before you sign anything.

You keep it. Because monthly services are month-to-month with no lock-in, and everything is built under your own accounts, leaving doesn't mean starting over - it means the work stops, not that it disappears.

Monthly reporting is tied to what you can actually act on: qualified leads, ranking movement on terms that matter to your business, and (for GEO) whether AI assistants are naming you and how. We're wary of reports built around impressions or reach alone, because those numbers can look great while producing nothing - if a KPI doesn't connect to leads or revenue, we'll say so rather than pad the report with it.

Worth asking any agency directly, including us, before signing - a common frustration is being sold by senior staff and then handed to someone with far less experience once the contract starts. We're upfront about who's doing the work during the scoping call, because it shapes what you should expect from the relationship.

No. Month-to-month terms exist specifically so results, not a contract, are what keeps you paying. If something isn't working, the honest move is adjusting the approach or telling you directly rather than continuing to bill for it - a strategy that isn't producing anything after a reasonable window should change, not just continue on autopilot.

It can be, in the wrong hands - aggressive referral loops, purchased traffic, and viral stunts have a real track record of bringing in high volumes of low-quality, low-loyalty users who churn fast. Used properly, it just means fast, cheap, data-driven experimentation rather than one big campaign bet. The distinction is whether the tactic is tested against real conversion and retention numbers, or just optimised for a vanity metric like signups or impressions.

They can, if they're deployed carelessly - a chatbot that clearly can't understand a real question is worse than no automation at all. The way we avoid this: automation handles the routine, high-volume parts (booking confirmations, FAQ-style enquiries, initial lead capture) and hands off to a real person the moment a conversation needs judgment. AI content gets a human review pass before it goes out under your name, specifically so it doesn't read as generic.

Largely yes. Growth and automation tactics amplify what's already working — they don't create demand for a business that hasn't found product-market fit yet. If you don't yet have a steady baseline of customers finding and choosing you through normal channels, that's usually a signal to fix the fundamentals (a clear website, a complete GBP, a couple of consistent lead sources) before layering automation on top of something that isn't proven yet.

Some risk is real and we won't pretend otherwise - testing means some tests don't work. What limits the downside: we scope experiments small and time-boxed rather than committing a full budget to an untested channel, and every test is measured against a defined goal agreed before it starts, so a failed test produces a clear answer ("this channel isn't right for you") rather than just a spent budget and a shrug.

Purchased engagement is a fast way to look good on a dashboard and produce nothing for the business - the leads or followers usually aren't real prospects, and platforms increasingly detect and penalise it. Everything in our packages is built to bring people who are actually looking for what you sell, whether that's through search visibility, targeted ads, or AI citation - slower, but it's the version that still matters in six months.

No — if anything the opposite. Most AI systems, including ChatGPT and Google's own AI Overviews, still lean heavily on the same search index SEO is built for. A site that's invisible to Google is usually invisible to AI assistants too, because many of them retrieve from search results rather than an independent index. SEO is not being replaced; it's being joined by a second layer (GEO) that reads the same technical foundation differently.

We'd rather give you honest phases than a single number. Technical fixes (broken metadata, slow load times, missing schema) are usually resolved within the first weeks, and Google picks them up quickly. Content work — new pages, rewritten copy — typically takes one to three months to show movement. Authority — the backlinks, mentions and reviews that convince Google you're credible — is the slowest part and the most valuable, and it's realistically months of consistent work, not weeks. Anyone promising page-one rankings inside 30 days is selling something that doesn't exist.

Usually, yes, but it depends what caused it. We start by identifying whether it's algorithmic (a ranking drop from an update, which is not a "penalty" in the technical sense and is fixed by improving the site) or a manual action (a specific notice in Search Console, usually tied to spammy links or content). The fix and the timeline are different for each, and we'll tell you honestly which one you're dealing with before quoting anything.

Technical fixes and structured content you've already published generally hold — Google doesn't undo work that's live on your site. What tends to fade without ongoing attention is competitive ranking in contested terms, since competitors keep publishing and building authority while you pause. Rankings in low-competition, local terms are usually more durable than rankings in a crowded category.

You are not left on your own. Website packages include your first year of hosting and domain. On Velora, hosting, maintenance, updates, and support are all covered by the flat monthly fee. For other projects we hand over all files, assets, and documentation — and we are available for ongoing work whenever you need it.

We are based in New Zealand and price our services in NZD. Most of our work is delivered remotely, so we can work with businesses across New Zealand and beyond — all you need is an internet connection and a bit of time for calls and feedback.

Terms are confirmed in your proposal before you commit to anything, so you always know exactly what you are signing up for. Monthly services are designed to keep earning their place — our aim is that you stay because of the results and the monthly reporting, not because of a contract.

Yes. Website migration starts from NZD 500 and covers content migration, database transfer, and SEO preservation, with a zero-downtime approach so your site stays live throughout. We migrate between platforms like WordPress, Webflow, and modern frameworks such as Next.js.

It depends on the service. The Velora restaurant platform can be live in days once we have your menu and branding. Our AI marketing system takes about three weeks to set up. Websites, branding, and automation projects vary with scope — we agree on a timeline during the initial brief, and you will always know the plan before we start.

Use the contact page and tell us what you are trying to do — plain language is fine, no technical brief required. We read every message and reply with straight answers, not a sales script.

Mostly small and medium businesses: local services, hospitality, retail, and growing companies that need professional design, marketing, or software quality without hiring a full in-house team. Our restaurant platform, Velora, is purpose-built for cafés and restaurants.

AEO (answer engine optimisation) and GEO (generative engine optimisation) are about being visible when people ask AI tools — like ChatGPT, Perplexity, or Google AI — instead of doing a classic search. More customers find businesses that way every month. We treat it as part of one visibility strategy alongside traditional SEO, not a separate add-on you have to figure out.

Mostly at the start and at review points. We begin with a structured brief to align on goals, audience, and direction, then present concepts for your feedback before any high-fidelity work. After that, your involvement is reviewing and approving — we handle the build, and you are never left guessing where things are at.

Customer payments are processed securely through Stripe, with support for Stripe Connect so money is routed directly to your restaurant account. Checkout is transparent with itemised fees. You pay Velora a flat monthly fee for the platform — we do not take a commission on your orders.

Some probably are, and your analytics may be hiding it. Visits from ChatGPT, Perplexity, and similar tools show up in Google Analytics as ordinary referrals, lumped in with everything else — and some arrive as "direct" traffic with no source at all, so the real number is higher than what you can see. The quick check: in Google Analytics, open your traffic acquisition report and search the source column for chatgpt, perplexity, or copilot. We have a step-by-step guide on the blog ("How to See ChatGPT and Perplexity Visitors in Google Analytics"), and setting this up properly is part of our monthly marketing service.

It depends on the type of work, and we would rather give you honest ranges than a promise: - Technical fixes (structure, schema, broken metadata, speed issues) are usually done within the first weeks, and crawlers pick them up quickly. - Content improvements typically take one to three months to show in search and AI answers. - Authority — being mentioned, linked, and reviewed elsewhere — is the slowest part, and the most valuable. That is months of steady work, not weeks. Anyone promising first-page rankings or AI recommendations in days is selling something that does not exist. Our marketing services are month-to-month precisely so you can judge the results as they come.

Depending on the plan: SEO (keyword research, on-page work, Google Business profile, monthly reporting), AI search visibility (AEO/GEO), social media content that is written, designed, and scheduled for you, and paid campaign management where you set the budget. There is also a combined bundle — SEO, AEO/GEO, and social together — which saves NZD 399/mo compared to buying them separately.

A proof-of-concept gives you a working foundation, not a slide deck: around five of your most important test cases automated with tools like Playwright or Cypress, scripts integrated into your CI/CD pipeline, and detailed reports. Web automation POCs start from NZD 5,000 and API automation POCs from NZD 3,000. From there you can expand coverage if the results justify it.

Yes. We design mobile and web application interfaces — user flows, wireframes, prototypes, and developer-ready assets — and can build the product too, depending on your package. We use proven components where it makes sense (for example Stripe for payments) and custom work where your business genuinely needs it.

Honestly: nobody can guarantee that, and you should be cautious of anyone who promises it. AI assistants decide what to recommend based on their training data and live web searches, and neither of those can be bought or directly controlled. What we can do is fix the things AI systems demonstrably read: clear page structure, structured data (schema), up-to-date content, consistent business details, and mentions of your business on other reputable sites. Businesses that get these right are far more likely to appear in AI answers than businesses that do not — that is the honest version of this service, and it is what our marketing work focuses on.

The audit at codifyany.com/audit runs three groups of checks on any public website: 1. Web Presence — the basics: HTTPS, server response time, robots.txt and sitemap, social sharing tags, and a Google Safe Browsing check. 2. SEO — on-page signals like titles, meta descriptions, heading structure, image alt text, and Core Web Vitals from Google PageSpeed Insights. 3. GEO (AI visibility) — whether AI systems can read and cite your site: Organization and FAQ schema, clear business identity, content clarity, and trust signals like an about page and contact details. You get a scored report by email. It is genuinely free, with no obligation — we run it because some businesses that see their report choose to work with us, and the rest still leave with a useful to-do list.

Usually not. Most of what AI systems read — heading structure, structured data, clear descriptions of what you do and where, visible dates, contact details — can be fixed on your existing website. A rebuild only becomes the sensible option when the current site actively blocks that work: for example, content that only appears after JavaScript runs (many AI crawlers never see it), or a platform you cannot edit properly. We will tell you which situation you are in before any work starts, and if a cheap fix on the current site is enough, that is what we will recommend.