Common Issues

Quick solutions to the most frequently encountered problems when using Forest SEO. Find answers to common questions about content generation, authentication, billing, and more.

🔐 Authentication & Access

Issue: "Failed to login" or "Invalid credentials"

Symptoms:

• Login page shows error after entering credentials
• Redirected back to login immediately after attempting to sign in
• "Authentication failed" message

Common Causes & Solutions:

# Verify you're using the correct email
✓ Email must be verified (check your inbox)
✓ Password is case-sensitive
✓ No extra spaces before/after email

Settings → Privacy → Clear browsing data → Cookies and cached files

Settings → Privacy → Clear Data → Cookies and Cache

Safari → Preferences → Privacy → Manage Website Data → Remove All

Issue: "Session expired" message appears frequently

Symptoms:

• Logged out unexpectedly while working
• Need to re-login multiple times per day
• "Session expired, please log in again"

Causes:

• Token expiration (default: 7 days)
• Browser not storing cookies
• Private/Incognito browsing mode

Solutions:

1. Enable Cookies

   ✓ Allow cookies for /dash
   ✓ Disable "Block all cookies" in browser settings
   ✓ Add forestseo.com to allowed sites

2. Use Regular Browsing Mode

   • Avoid Incognito/Private mode for regular work
   • Sessions don't persist in private browsing

3. Check Browser Extensions

   • Privacy extensions may block authentication cookies
   • Try disabling ad blockers temporarily
   • Whitelist forestseo.com domains

📝 Content Generation

Issue: Content generation fails or gets stuck

Symptoms:

• Generation starts but never completes
• "Generation failed" error
• Status shows "processing" for hours

Solutions:

Check Wallet Balance

1. Insufficient Wallet Balance

Check Balance:

1. Go to Billing → Wallet
2. Verify balance > $0
3. Each article costs ~$3 (token-based)

Solution:

• Add funds: Top Up Wallet button
• Minimum: $50 (5 articles)
• Recommended: $200+ for continuous operation

2. No Keyword Cluster Selected

Symptoms:

• Generation starts but immediately fails
• "No keywords available" error

Solution:

1. Go to Keywords → Clusters
2. Create or import a keyword cluster
3. Ensure cluster has at least 10 terms
4. Retry content generation with selected cluster

3. Daily Quota Exceeded

Plans have generation limits:

Solution:

• Wait until tomorrow for quota reset (00:00 UTC)
• Upgrade plan for higher limits
• Use Content Schedules to spread generation

4. Language Not Supported

Symptoms:

• Generation fails with unsupported language error

Solution:

• Check supported languages in Multi-Language guide
• Tier 1 languages: English, Spanish, German, French, Italian
• Tier 2: Portuguese, Dutch, Polish, etc.
• Tier 3: Russian, Chinese, Japanese, Arabic, etc.

Issue: Generated content quality is poor

Symptoms:

• Articles are too short or too long
• Content is off-topic or irrelevant
• Grammar/spelling errors
• Doesn't match brand voice

Solutions:

1. Improve Keyword Clusters

Quality inputs = Quality outputs

Bad Cluster:
❌ "shoes, boots, sandals, slippers" (too generic)

Good Cluster:
✓ "best running shoes for flat feet 2024"
✓ "how to choose running shoes for beginners"
✓ "top marathon running shoes reviews"

Best Practices:

• Use long-tail keywords (4-6 words)
• Group semantically related terms
• Include user intent (how to, best, review, guide)

2. Set Content Preferences

Configure in Project Settings:

Title Style: [Question-based | How-to | Listicle]
Content Length: [Short (500-800) | Medium (1000-1500) | Long (2000+)]
Tone of Voice: [Professional | Conversational | Technical | Casual]
Target Audience: [Beginners | Professionals | General]

Location:

1. Project Settings → Content Preferences
2. Adjust settings
3. Generate new content with preferences applied

3. Use Manual Editing

For critical content:

1. Generate draft
2. Open in Content Editor
3. Refine title, meta description, sections
4. Add custom images/examples
5. Publish edited version

4. Try Different Language Models

If available in your plan:

• GPT-4: Higher quality, more context-aware
• GPT-3.5-turbo: Faster, more economical
• Claude: Better for technical content

🔗 Integration Issues

Issue: WordPress integration not connecting

Symptoms:

• Connection test fails
• "Invalid credentials" error
• Articles not appearing on WordPress site

Solutions:

Required:
✓ Site URL: https://yourblog.com (no trailing slash)
✓ Username: WordPress admin username (not email)
✓ Application Password: Generated from WP admin

# Visit in browser (replace your-site.com)
https://your-site.com/wp-json/wp/v2/posts

# Should return JSON, not 404 error

Issue: Published content not appearing on website

Symptoms:

• Publication status shows "Published"
• Article not visible on website
• 404 error when visiting article URL

Troubleshooting:

1. Check Publication Status

Dashboard → Publications → Find your article
Status should show: ✓ Published

2. Verify Integration Status

Integrations → [Your Integration] → Status: Active
Last Sync: [Recent timestamp]

3. Clear Website Cache

If using caching plugin:

• WP Rocket: Clear cache
• W3 Total Cache: Purge all caches
• WP Super Cache: Delete cache
• Cloudflare: Purge everything

4. Check Post Status in CMS

WordPress/Ghost:

• Article might be published as "Draft"
• Check post status in CMS admin
• Manually set to "Published" if needed

💳 Billing & Payments

Issue: Payment failed or card declined

Symptoms:

• "Payment failed" error during top-up
• Card declined message
• Transaction shows as failed

Common Causes:

1. Insufficient Funds

• Check card balance
• Try different payment method

2. International Transaction Blocked

• Contact bank to allow international payments
• Inform bank of charges from "Forest SEO" or "Stripe"

3. 3D Secure Verification Failed

• Ensure SMS/app 2FA is working
• Check for bank verification popup (disable popup blockers)

4. Card Details Incorrect

Common mistakes:
❌ Wrong CVV code
❌ Expired card
❌ Wrong billing ZIP code
❌ Name doesn't match card

Solutions:

• Double-check all card details
• Use alternative payment method:
  • Different credit/debit card
  • Bank transfer (Enterprise plans)
  • PayPal (if available in your region)

Issue: Subscription not activating after payment

Symptoms:

• Payment successful but plan shows "Free"
• Features not unlocked
• Generation limits not increased

Solutions:

1. Hard refresh: Ctrl+Shift+R (Windows) or Cmd+Shift+R (Mac)
2. Check Billing → Subscription
3. Status should show: Active
4. Plan should show: [Your Plan Name]

📊 Analytics & Tracking

Issue: Analytics showing no data

Symptoms:

• Graphs are empty
• Visitor count shows 0
• No traffic data for published articles

Solutions:

1. Check Integration Setup

Requirements:

• Google Analytics 4 connected (Settings → Integrations → Analytics)
• Or Google Search Console connected
• At least 1 article published
• 24-48 hours wait time for initial data

2. Verify Tracking Code

For WordPress:

1. Visit your published article
2. View page source (Ctrl+U)
3. Search for: "gtag" or "google-analytics"
4. Should find GA4 tracking code

If missing:

• Install GA4 plugin on WordPress
• Add tracking code to site header
• Ensure tracking code matches your GA4 property

3. Check Date Range

Default view shows last 30 days:

• Adjust date range to include publication date
• New sites take 24-48h to show first data

⚙️ Technical Issues

Issue: Slow dashboard performance

Symptoms:

• Pages take long to load
• Interface feels sluggish
• Timeouts when generating content

Solutions:

1. Browser Performance

✓ Use modern browser (Chrome, Firefox, Edge, Safari)
✓ Update to latest version
✓ Clear cache and cookies
✓ Disable unnecessary extensions
✓ Close unused tabs (memory management)

2. Check Internet Connection

# Run speed test
Minimum recommended:
- Download: 5 Mbps
- Upload: 1 Mbps
- Latency: <100ms

3. Large Projects

If you have 1000+ articles:

• Use filters to narrow results
• Paginate through content
• Consider archiving old content

Issue: Content editor not loading

Symptoms:

• Blank screen when opening editor
• Editor stuck on loading spinner
• "Failed to load editor" error

Solutions:

1. Ctrl+Shift+Delete (Windows) or Cmd+Shift+Delete (Mac)
2. Select "Cached images and files"
3. Clear data
4. Reload page

1. Press F12 to open DevTools
2. Go to Console tab
3. Reload page
4. Screenshot any red errors
5. Send to [email protected]

🔄 Content Schedules

Issue: Scheduled generation not running

Symptoms:

• Schedule shows "Enabled" but not executing
• No new content generated at scheduled time
• Schedule history shows no executions

Troubleshooting:

1. Verify Schedule Configuration

Required Settings:
✓ Status: Enabled (toggle ON)
✓ Cron Expression: Valid syntax
✓ Generation Count: > 0
✓ Keyword Source: Cluster or Terms selected
✓ Wallet Balance: Sufficient funds

Check Schedule:

1. Go to Features → Schedules
2. Click on your schedule
3. Verify all required fields
4. Check "Next Run" timestamp

2. Validate Cron Expression

Common cron patterns:

Test your expression:

• Use crontab.guru to validate
• Ensure timezone is UTC (schedule runs in UTC)

3. Check Execution History

Schedule Details → History Tab
Look for:
- Last execution timestamp
- Status (Success / Failed)
- Error messages if any

Common errors:

• "Insufficient balance" → Top up wallet
• "No keywords available" → Check keyword cluster
• "Daily limit exceeded" → Upgrade plan or wait

🌐 Multi-Language Issues

Issue: Generated content in wrong language

Symptoms:

• Selected English but got Spanish
• Mixed languages in same article
• Wrong language code applied

Solutions:

1. Check Language Selection

Content Generation Form:
✓ Language dropdown: Correct language selected
✓ Language code: Matches target (en, es, de, etc.)
✓ Project default language: Check in Project Settings

2. Verify Keyword Language

Keywords determine content language:

• English keywords → English content
• Spanish keywords → Spanish content

Best Practice:

• Create separate clusters per language
• Name clusters clearly: "Keywords - EN", "Keywords - ES"

3. Language Tier Availability

Some languages require higher plans:

📚 Related Documentation

🆘 Still Having Issues?