Yaystack Score Variance Buffer

Yaystack's own pricing notes a 67 ± 10 variance range, so the same client URL can return materially different scores between runs. Agencies that sell AEO retainers on a fixed number ("we will get you to 80") inherit that variance as a delivery risk. The buffer model reframes the deliverable: sell the direction of travel across the six categories (structured data, content clarity, E-E-A-T, entity authority, citation potential, conversational queries) rather than a single target score. A practical setup: run the free audit first to baseline, then on Standard at CHF 25/mo track up to 10 URLs and 10 competitors per domain, and report a 90-day rolling average instead of a point-in-time figure. The Yaystack AEO Starter Audit at $499/mo with 8h setup and 2h/mo maintenance only holds margin if the monthly deliverable is a trend summary, not a re-audit scramble every time the score dips.