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CT001 – Restricted Keyword Scan

Overview

Scans visible text (title, headings, body) for restricted marketing/trust keywords that may violate policies or reduce trust. Word-boundary matching, case-insensitive.

Probability that AI systems use this signal: Crawlers and generative AI pipelines consume structured and visible page signals for training and inference. Assessment-specific signals (e.g. schema, canonicals, trust cues) affect how likely a page is indexed and surfaced. The probability that this assessment's signal influences AI behavior is high when the page is in a product or compliance context.

Impact on geo compliance: Passing this assessment supports geo compliance by ensuring machine-readable and visible content meet standards that reduce the risk of wrong locale, pricing, or trust in AI-generated answers. Failing can lead to non-compliant or misleading surfacing.

What We Check

  • **Text source:** title tag, h1–h6, body (script/style removed). Combined and lowercased.
  • **_get_restricted_keywords:** best, guaranteed, perfect, amazing, incredible, revolutionary, breakthrough, miracle, instant, free, no cost, no charge, limited time, act now, buy now, order now, click here, don't miss, exclusive, secret, hidden, insider, proven.
  • **_scan_for_keywords:** regex `\b{keyword}\b` (re.escape), IGNORECASE. Each found: −30. **PASSED** if score >= 60.

Pass / Fail and Score

  • **PASSED** if score >= 60. Score starts at 100; each restricted keyword found (word-boundary match, case-insensitive) deducts 30 points. Score is capped at 0.

How to Fix When It Fails

  • Remove or replace restricted marketing terms with factual, compliant language.
  • Under FTC truth-in-advertising standards, claims must be truthful, non-deceptive, and evidence-based. Prefer specific, verifiable claims over superlatives (e.g. “reduces moisture by 20%” instead of “amazing”).
  • For “free” or “no cost,” disclose conditions clearly; for urgency (e.g. “limited time”), ensure the offer is real and consistent with local ad rules.

Common Issues

  • Use of superlatives or aggressive CTA phrases in title/headings/body.
  • Health, environmental, or origin claims (e.g. “Made in USA,” “green”) without supporting evidence or required disclosures.

Dependencies

None.

How to Verify

  • Search page text for the listed keywords (word boundaries).

Additional Resources

  • FTC: Advertising and Marketing — Truth-in-advertising basics: claims must be truthful, non-deceptive, and evidence-based. Covers endorsements, environmental claims, health claims, and online advertising.
  • Local advertising standards and geo-specific rules (e.g. EU Unfair Commercial Practices, CAP/BCAP in the UK) for market-specific compliance.