Navigational prompt
A navigational prompt is a question to an AI platform from someone trying to reach a particular brand, website or page, like "Fernhill Coffee login".
A navigational prompt is a question from someone who already knows where they want to go. "Fernhill Coffee login," "Kestrel Roasters customer service number" and "Harrow & Pine opening hours" are navigational. The person has picked the brand. They want the way in.
There may not be many of them, but they come from your own customers, or people about to become one. The answer should send them straight to you.
What can go wrong
You'd expect the platforms to get these right every time. They can still:
- Give an old phone number, address or opening hours
- Link to a reseller, a directory or a review site instead of your own site
- Mix you up with another business that shares your name
- Point to a page that no longer exists
For example, someone asks "how do I cancel my Fernhill Coffee subscription?" The answer gives steps from Fernhill's old website, and links to a help page that's since moved. The customer gets an error, can't cancel, and leaves a one-star review.
How to keep them right
Make the pages people look for easy to find and clearly labelled: contact, opening hours, account, help and returns. Keep the details the same everywhere they appear, including directories and your Google Business Profile. When you move a page, redirect the old address.
Navigational prompts in AnswerOrbit
A navigational prompt names you, so treat it as a branded prompt. Keep it in its own topic or give it a tag, so it doesn't lift your visibility on the questions where you have to win. Claims checks what the answers say about you, like your hours or prices, against your facts.