Article generation stalled or slow
A few minutes is normal. SEOBetter researches your keyword on the live web before it writes, then generates the article section by section. A 2,000-word article runs through roughly 13 to 27 steps, and the progress panel shows which step you are on ("Step 8 of 14"). Listicles have the most steps because each list item is its own section.
What normal looks like
- The progress bar and the step counter both move, even if slowly.
- The timer keeps counting.
- Total time is usually 2 to 5 minutes. Longer articles and listicles sit at the top of that range.
If the step counter is still advancing, the job is fine. Let it run.
If it stops with "Server busy"
The plugin retries rate-limited requests on its own, up to 5 times with growing waits. You will see "Server busy — retrying in 12s (attempt 3/5)". Most of the time this recovers by itself.
If all 5 retries fail, an error appears with a Retry button. The job is not lost. Retry resumes from the step where it stopped; it does not start over, and it does not use another article from your allowance. Wait a minute or two, then click Retry.
Rate limits are counted per hour, so a limit you hit now clears within the hour. If Retry keeps failing, wait and try again later.
Don't close the tab
Generation runs from your browser tab. The tab sends each step request and collects the result, so closing it mid-generation abandons the job. Keep the tab open until the Save Draft button appears at the bottom of the result screen. That is the signal the article is done and safe.
If it is always slow
- Shared hosting with tight PHP limits can slow every step. The plugin will tell you if it thinks your hosting is the bottleneck.
- Very high word counts mean more sections and more steps. If you do not need 3,000 words, ask for fewer.
- Free cloud articles run on a shared pool, so busy periods can add wait time. Your own API key (BYOK) avoids the shared queue.