Understanding Credits
in AI for SEO:
How They Work and How to Use Them Efficiently
Whether you’re just getting started with AI for SEO or already using it to power your content strategy, understanding how Credits work is essential. Credits are at the core of how the plugin delivers value, they fuel the AI that generates your metadata, image attributes, and more. But how exactly do they work? What determines how many Credits are used? And how can you make sure you’re getting the most value out of them?
In this blog post, we’ll walk you through everything you need to know about Credits: what they are, how they’re used, where to manage them, and how to optimize your workflow to get the best return on every single one.
What Are Credits?
Credits are the internal system that powers all AI-driven tasks within the AI for SEO plugin. Each time you ask the plugin to generate metadata or media attributes, such as meta titles, descriptions, alt text, or image captions, Credits are consumed. You can think of Credits like fuel: each task uses a specific amount depending on what you’re generating.
The Credits system makes the plugin flexible and accessible for everyone. Whether you’re running a small blog with a few dozen posts or a large WooCommerce shop with thousands of products and images, Credits ensure that you only pay for what you actually use.
Why We Use a Credit System
We chose to build AI for SEO on a Credits-based system for several reasons:
- Transparency: You have full visibility into how many Credits each task will use before you run it.
- Flexibility: Use as many or as few Credits as you like, depending on your current workload and priorities.
- Fairness: You’re only charged when the AI does actual work, manual edits and saved metadata don’t consume anything.
- Scalability: Whether you’re managing one website or fifty, the system adjusts to your needs.
Compared to flat-rate pricing models where you may pay for unused capacity or face strict limits, the Credit model gives you freedom and control over your SEO workflow.
How Are Credits Used?
Each generation task within the plugin consumes a specific number of Credits based on the fields you choose to generate. For example, generating a meta title and meta description will use more Credits than generating just a single alt text field for an image.
Importantly, not all fields use the same amount of Credits. Some are more complex to generate and will require more. However, you don’t need to remember how much each individual field costs, the plugin shows you exactly how many Credits will be consumed before you generate anything.
When you click any Generate with AI button, whether it’s for metadata or media attributes, you’ll see a visible display indicating how many Credits the current action will use. This ensures complete clarity and helps you make smart decisions before committing.
Managing Active Fields
Since Credits are charged based on what’s being generated, you have full control over your Credit usage by managing which fields are active in the plugin settings.
To adjust this:
- Go to Settings → Active Meta Tags to manage meta tag generation
- Go to Settings → Active Media Attributes to configure which media attributes (alt text, title, caption, etc.) you want to generate
By disabling unused fields, you reduce unnecessary Credit consumption and focus your AI efforts on the fields that matter most to your site’s SEO performance.
Where to Get Credits
There are multiple ways to acquire Credits, depending on your preferred workflow and usage volume:
1. Daily Free Credits
All users, including those on the free version, receive 5 free Credits every day, if your balance falls below 100 Credits. These refresh automatically and are ideal for testing the plugin or making small adjustments.
2. Subscription Plans
If you need more Credits consistently, our subscription plans offer a monthly allowance at a discounted rate:
- Basic Plan: Ideal for small websites
- Pro Plan: For growing content-driven businesses
- Premium Plan: Designed for agencies and power users
Each plan includes access to premium features and a bundle of monthly Credits that renew automatically. Unused Credits roll over to the next month, so you never lose what you’ve paid for.
3. Credits Packs
Need a one-time boost? Credits Packs are one-time purchases that add extra Credits to your account without any subscription. Great for one-off bulk generations or seasonal content updates.
4. Pay-As-You-Go
If you prefer full automation, you can enable Pay-As-You-Go in your account. When your balance gets low, a refill will automatically trigger based on your preferences, no manual action required.
Check out the full feature list on our pricing page.
How to Track Your Balance
You can view your current Credit balance directly from the plugin dashboard. This includes:
- Current balance
- Recent generation activity
- Refill status or Pay-As-You-Go status
Before launching a bulk generation task or using the SEO Autopilot, you’ll also see an estimate of how many entries will be processed and how many Credits that task will require.
Practical Tips to Use Credits Efficiently
1. Prioritize High-Impact Pages
Focus your Credit usage on the pages that matter most, such as your homepage, landing pages, product pages, or top-performing blog posts. These are the areas where optimized metadata can make the biggest difference.
2. Use the “Generate” Button Strategically
Each Generate button shows exactly how many Credits will be used. If the number seems higher than expected, check your active field settings to see if anything unnecessary is selected.
3. Run Autopilot in Stages
If you’re optimizing a large website, use SEO Autopilot in smaller chunks. You can limit it to certain post types, only entries missing metadata, or new content only, depending on your priorities.
4. Turn Off Unused Fields
Don’t need a Twitter description or an image caption? Just turn them off in the plugin settings. You can always enable them again later if needed.
5. Combine Free and Paid Credits
Use your daily free Credits for smaller tasks, and save your purchased Credits for large bulk actions or high-priority content.
6. Monitor Failed Generations
If a generation fails (due to a timeout, missing content, or other issue), Credits are not consumed. You can retry those entries safely once the issue is resolved.
Common Questions About Credits
Do you have any questions that are not listed below? No problem, just reach out to us via our contact page or the contact-button at the bottom of your screen.
Conclusion
Credits are a flexible, transparent way to power your SEO automation with AI for SEO. They put you in full control, allowing you to generate exactly the content you need, when you need it, with clear insight into how your resources are used.
With the new per-field structure, and clear usage indicators built into every generate button, you never have to guess. Combined with smart settings, daily free Credits, and multiple refill options, you can confidently build a scalable SEO workflow that fits your website and budget.
Ready to take control of your SEO automation? Check your plugin settings, review your Credit balance, and start optimizing smarter, one field at a time.
