` tag to your OG Image in Next.js, and using ScreenShotOne's API to generate the image below it. Here is the code for this: ```jsx

A great example of a title

``` ### What Else Can You Do With ScreenshotOne? You can use ScreenshotOne for a lot more than just generating social link previews. Here are some other use cases: - **Archiving** screenshots of my tutorials and blog posts - **Generating screenshots** as part of a SEO report at my [SEO agency](https://magicspace.agency) - **Automating screenshots** to use together with a cold email outreach campaign - **Creating screenshots** for a website monitoring tool ## Conclusion The use cases are endless. Anywhere you need fresh, high-quality website screenshots, ScreenshotOne delivers. Their API takes care of all the complexity so you can focus on building your application. I highly recommend giving ScreenshotOne a try if you haven't already. It's one of those developer tools that feels like cheating because it makes hard things easy. And it has the reliability and support of a premium product, at an indie developer friendly price. ]]> me@il.ly (Ilias Ism) https://il.ly/marketing/pas-framework pas-framework Wed, 29 Nov 2023 00:00:00 GMT Legendary direct response copywriter Dan Kennedy called PAS "the most reliable copywriting formula for sales ever invented." During his long and storied career, Kennedy tested countless approaches and landed on PAS as the best performing framework for triggering conversions. While conceptually simple, excellent execution of PAS takes skill. Each component plays a crucial role. **Below is guidance on structuring the core elements:** ### P - Present the Problem Your goal here is to have readers nodding their heads in agreement, thinking **_"Yes, this is an issue I wrestle with."_** Describe the problem or frustration your market faces in clear, relatable terms. ### A - Agitate the Problem Here you transition from factual description to emotional intensification. The focus shifts from the logical to the visceral. Your words provoke readers to physically feel the problem's unpleasant impacts. This is where vivid storytelling comes into play. Share specific stories of the problem interfering with lives. Paint a picture of the real-world consequences readers experience. Invoke frustration, anxiety, overwhelm, etc. so they deeply desire relief. ### S - Present the Solution After emotionally agitating the problem, readers will keenly feel a gap between their uncomfortable reality and desire for relief. You now bridge that gap by introducing your product or service as the clear solution. Describe how your offering eliminates the problem and creates positive outcomes in readers' lives. Focus on benefits over features. Clearly convey how purchasers will achieve the relief they now so desperately crave after you amplifed their pain points. ## PAS Examples Now that you understand the PAS framework, let's look at some ten examples of how the PAS framework can be used in social media posts: ### Fitness App - Struggling to keep up with your fitness goals? - It's easy to lose motivation when you don't see immediate results. - Our app provides personalized workout plans and tracks your progress to keep you motivated. ### Online Course Platform - Want to learn a new skill but don't have the time? - Traditional classes can be time-consuming and inflexible. - Our platform offers a variety of online courses that you can take at your own pace. ### Meal Delivery Service - Too busy to cook healthy meals? - Eating out frequently can be unhealthy and expensive. - Our meal delivery service provides nutritious, chef-prepared meals right to your doorstep. ### E-commerce Store - Tired of your outdated wardrobe? - Shopping in physical stores can be time-consuming and exhausting. - Browse our online store for the latest fashion trends and have them delivered to your home. ### Digital Marketing Agency - Struggling to increase your website's visibility? - Without proper SEO, your website might get lost in the sea of search results. - Our agency offers comprehensive SEO services to boost your website's ranking. ### Productivity Software - Having trouble managing your tasks and deadlines? - Missed deadlines can lead to stress and poor performance. - Our software helps you organize your tasks and stay on top of your deadlines. ### Travel Agency - Dreaming of a vacation but overwhelmed by the planning? - Planning a trip can be stressful and time-consuming. - Our travel agency takes care of all the details, so you can enjoy a stress-free vacation. ### Mental Health App - Feeling stressed and anxious? - Ignoring your mental health can lead to serious issues down the line. - Our app offers guided meditations and mindfulness exercises to help you manage stress and anxiety. ### Online Grocery Store - Running out of groceries but don't have time to go shopping? - Grocery shopping can be time-consuming and inconvenient. - Order from our online grocery store and have fresh produce delivered to your home. ### Freelance Platform - Need to hire freelancers but don't know where to start? - Finding reliable freelancers can be a daunting task. - Our platform connects you with skilled freelancers in various fields, making the hiring process easy and efficient. ## PAS Best Practices For copywriters seeking to improve their persuasiveness, analyzing whether your writing hits the PAS marks is instructive. **Ask yourself these questions as you review your copy:** - Does my copy present a problem my audience relates to? - Does it intensify readers' awareness of the unpleasantness of this problem? - Will the agitated state motivated readers to seek relief? - Is my product clearly positioned as the solution to their problem? - Does my copy provide a clear transition from negative problem to positive solution? Any area coming up short represents an opportunity to refine your copy to increase conversion potential. ## PAS Framework in Marketing The PAS framework is particularly effective across various marketing channels: ### Email Marketing - Perfect for nurture sequences - Ideal for promotional campaigns - Effective in re-engagement emails ### Landing Pages - Captures attention above the fold - Maintains engagement through scroll depth - Drives conversions at call-to-action points ### Social Media Ads - Works well in limited character counts - Effective for carousel ads - Perfect for video ad scripts ### Sales Pages - Builds compelling arguments - Creates emotional connection - Drives purchase decisions ### Product Descriptions - Highlights pain points effectively - Emphasizes unique benefits - Converts browsers to buyers ### Email Marketing Examples Here's how PAS works specifically in email marketing: #### Welcome Email Example Subject: **"Tired of complicated project management?"** ``` Hey [Name], Keeping track of your team's tasks shouldn't feel like herding cats. Every missed deadline, forgotten update, and confused team member is costing you precious time and money. Your stress levels are rising, and your clients are getting impatient. That's why we created [Product]. Our intuitive project management tool helps you: - Track all tasks in one place - Automate status updates - Never miss a deadline again Start your free trial today → ``` #### Re-engagement Email Example Subject: **"Still struggling with [problem]?"** ``` Hi [Name], We noticed you haven't been making progress with your [goal]. Every day without a proper [solution] means: - Lost opportunities - Continued frustration - Falling behind competitors Let us help you get back on track with our special comeback offer: [Offer details] Ready to solve this once and for all? [CTA Button] ``` ## PAS vs Other Frameworks While PAS is powerful, it's important to understand how it compares to other copywriting frameworks: ### AIDA (Attention, Interest, Desire, Action) - More focused on the customer journey - Less emphasis on pain points - Better for aspirational products ### BAB (Before-After-Bridge) - Similar to PAS but less emotional - More focused on transformation - Good for visual products ### 4Ps (Promise, Picture, Proof, Push) - More focused on benefits - Includes social proof element - Better for established brands PAS stands out for its: - Strong emotional triggers - Clear problem-solution structure - Versatility across channels ## Conclusion In closing, the PAS copywriting framework, consisting of problem, agitation, and solution, offers an proven model to make your copy more compelling. Keeping PAS structure in mind when crafting landing pages and sales letters will serve you well in creating high converting copy. This simple yet powerful three step formula is used by seasoned copywriters for good reason - because it works. Give it try and watch your conversions rise. Also, check out our blog post on [Black & White Idea Framework](https://magicspace.agency/blog/black-white-idea) to learn the art of viral copywriting. ## Additional Resources To help you implement the PAS framework effectively: 1. Download our PAS Framework Template [PDF] 2. Use our PAS Copy Analyzer Tool 3. Join our copywriting community for feedback Ready to master the PAS framework? Start with the template above and practice with your own copy. ]]> me@il.ly (Ilias Ism) https://il.ly/marketing/social-proof social-proof Tue, 28 Nov 2023 00:00:00 GMT ## Examples of Social Proof 1. **Customer Testimonials**: Sharing positive experiences from satisfied customers can help build trust and credibility for your products or services. 2. **Online Reviews**: Displaying reviews from customers on your website or third-party platforms can influence potential customers' decisions. 3. **Social Media Followers**: A large number of followers on social media platforms can indicate popularity and trustworthiness. 4. **Expert Endorsements**: When industry experts or influencers recommend your products or services, it can boost your brand's credibility. 5. **Case Studies**: Showcasing successful implementations of your products or services can demonstrate their effectiveness and value. 6. **Viral Content**: Creating shareable meme content using tools like [MagicMeme](https://magicmeme.com/) can generate social proof through organic shares and engagement. Popular templates like [Spiderman Pointing](https://magicmeme.com/meme/spiderman-pointing-at-spiderman) and [Vince McMahon Reaction](https://magicmeme.com/meme/Mr-McMahon-reaction) can help your brand go viral. ## A Beginner's Guide to Social Proof ### Senja.io: A Tool for Social Proof [Senja](https://www.senja.io/?via=illy) is a platform that helps businesses collect, manage, and share testimonials. At our [SEO agency](https://magicspace.agency), we use [Senja](https://www.senja.io/?via=illy) to gather social proof and showcase it on our website. This helps us build trust with potential clients and demonstrate the value of our services. ### How to Collect Testimonials To effectively leverage social proof for your startup or website, follow these steps: 1. **Collect Testimonials**: Use tools like Senja to collect testimonials from satisfied customers. 2. **Display Reviews**: Showcase customer reviews on your website or third-party platforms. 3. **Leverage Expert Endorsements**: Collaborate with industry experts or influencers to endorse your products or services. 4. **Share Success Stories**: Create case studies to demonstrate the effectiveness of your products or services. 5. **Promote Social Media Presence**: Encourage customers to follow and engage with your brand on social media platforms. By implementing these strategies, startups and website owners can harness the power of social proof to build credibility, establish trust, and ultimately grow their businesses. ]]> me@il.ly (Ilias Ism) https://il.ly/seo/link-building-for-beginners link-building-for-beginners Mon, 27 Nov 2023 00:00:00 GMT - [What link building is](#what-is-link-building) - [Best sources for new sites](#best-backlink-sources-for-new-sites) - [Link building strategies](#link-building-strategies) - [Mistakes to avoid](#common-link-building-mistakes-to-avoid) - [Monitor your backlinks](#monitoring-and-analyzing-your-backlink-profile) Whether you want to rank a new site or revive an old one, backlinks are still one of the strongest levers. For the rest of the toolkit, see my [SEO tools guide](/blog/seo-tools) and [SEO strategy guide](/blog/strategy). ## What is Link Building? [Link building](https://linkdr.com/blog/link-building) refers to the process of acquiring backlinks from external websites to your own website or webpages. In [SEO](https://linkdr.com/blog/seo), the main goal of link building is to improve search rankings by getting high-quality backlinks pointing to your site. These backlinks signal to search engines like Google that your content is valuable, credible, and useful. ### Why is Link Building Important for SEO? Backlinks are one of the most important ranking factors used by Google. The more high-quality backlinks your pages have, the higher they will rank in search results. Essentially, backlinks act as "votes" vouching for your content. So building backlinks is key for SEO success. Here are some key reasons why link building is crucial: 1. **Improved Search Engine Rankings**: Search engines view backlinks as endorsements. The more quality backlinks you have, the more likely you are to rank higher in search results. 2. **Increased Organic Traffic**: Higher rankings lead to more visibility in search results, which can significantly increase your organic traffic. 3. **Faster Indexing**: Search engines discover new content by following links. Backlinks can help search engines find and index your content faster. 4. **Brand Building**: Getting mentioned and linked to by reputable sites can boost your brand's visibility and credibility. 5. **Relationship Building**: The process of link building often involves reaching out to other site owners and bloggers, which can lead to valuable partnerships and collaborations. ## Best Backlink Sources for New Sites When you're just starting out, it's important to focus on building high-quality backlinks from authoritative websites. These backlinks will have the most impact on your search rankings. - [90+ Places to Promote Your Startup](https://launchpedia.co/places-to-promote-your-startup/) ### 1. Social Media Profiles Create profiles on platforms like **Twitter, LinkedIn, Medium, Pinterest**, and others to gain backlinks. These profiles are easy to set up and can be a great source of backlinks. It also helps to have a presence on social media platforms where your target audience hangs out. You can link to your social media profiles from your website and blog posts. People who search for your brand name will find these profiles and visit them, see what you're up to, and follow you. 1. [Twitter](https://x.com/) 2. [LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/) 3. [Medium](https://medium.com/) 4. [Pinterest](https://www.pinterest.com/) 5. [Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/) 6. [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/) 7. [YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/) 8. [Reddit](https://www.reddit.com/) 9. [Wellfound](https://wellfound.com/) (formerly AngelList) 10. [Crunchbase](https://www.crunchbase.com/) ### 2. Social Bookmarking Sites Community sites like **Reddit, Hacker News, and Product Hunt** let you share content with people who care about your topic. The links themselves are usually `nofollow`, so their value is not the link. It is the traffic and the other sites that discover and link to your content from there. Share genuinely useful work, follow each community's self-promotion rules, and take part in discussions before you post your own links. 1. [Reddit](https://www.reddit.com/) 2. [Hacker News](https://news.ycombinator.com/) 3. [Product Hunt](https://www.producthunt.com/) 4. [Indie Hackers](https://www.indiehackers.com/) ### 3. Friends and Network Reach out to your friends who have websites or blogs and ask them to link to your content. This is a simple and effective way to get backlinks. Just make sure the content you're asking them to link to is relevant and valuable. Expand your network by: - Attending industry events and conferences - Joining professional associations - Participating in online forums and communities related to your niche ### 4. Get listed #### 4.1. Product Hunt Submit your site to [Product Hunt](https://www.producthunt.com/) to get backlinks and traffic. Product Hunt is a community of tech enthusiasts who love discovering new products. It's a great place to get your site noticed. #### 4.2. My picks - https://uneed.best/ - https://1000.tools/ #### 4.3 AI Directory - https://theresanaiforthat.com/ There are many directories that list AI startups. Here are a few services that do the listing for you: - https://www.submitchecklist.com/ - https://www.srbooster.com/ - https://www.submitjuice.com/ - https://www.startupranking.com/booster ### 5. Local SEO Leveraging [location-based SEO](/blog/location-based-seo): For businesses with a local presence, getting listed in local directories and engaging with local community sites can be valuable. Like [Google Business Profile](https://www.google.com/business/). Other local SEO strategies include: - Getting listed in local business directories - Encouraging customer reviews on Google, Yelp, and other platforms - Participating in local events and sponsorships - Creating location-specific content on your website ### 6. Guest posts Write high-quality articles for blogs in your niche and include links back to your site. This strategy not only helps you build backlinks but also establishes you as an authority in your field. Tips for successful guest posting: - Research the target blog thoroughly to understand their audience and content style - Pitch unique and valuable content ideas - Follow the blog's guest posting guidelines strictly - Include a compelling author bio with a link to your website - Promote your guest post on your own social media channels ## Link Building Strategies ### 1. Content Creation and Promotion Develop content that naturally attracts backlinks. This includes original research, comprehensive guides, infographics, and engaging blog posts. Regularly updating your content also keeps it relevant, increasing the likelihood of earning backlinks. Content types that tend to attract backlinks: - Industry surveys and reports - Ultimate guides and how-to tutorials - Infographics and data visualizations - Expert roundups - Thought leadership articles ### 2. Outreach [Backlink outreach](/blog/backlink-outreach) is a great way to get backlinks from authoritative sites. Engage with influencers, bloggers, and other website owners in your niche. Build relationships before asking for links. Share their content, comment on their posts, and offer value before making any requests. ### 3. Cold Email [Send cold emails](https://linkdr.com/blog/cold-email-for-link-building) to bloggers and journalists in your niche to ask for backlinks. Personalize your emails and clearly explain the value you're offering. Tips for effective cold emailing: - Research your prospects thoroughly - Personalize each email - Keep your message concise and to the point - Clearly state the value proposition - Follow up politely if you don't receive a response ### 4. HARO and journalist request platforms Journalist request platforms send you questions from reporters who need expert sources. Answer quickly and specifically, and you can earn links from news sites and industry publications. - **[HARO](https://www.helpareporter.com/):** shut down by Cision in December 2024, then bought and relaunched by Featured.com in April 2025. It is back to free email digests of journalist queries, now with stricter spam filtering. - **[Source of Sources](https://www.sourceofsources.com/):** free, HARO-style digest from HARO's original founder, Peter Shankman. - **[Qwoted](https://www.qwoted.com/):** a paid platform with vetted journalists. The free plan allows 2 pitches a month; Pro is $149/month. - **#JournoRequest on X:** journalists post requests directly, and fast replies win. Pitch only where you have real expertise. These platforms now filter out generic AI-written answers. ### 5. Broken Link Building [Broken link building](https://linkdr.com/blog/broken-backlinks) involves finding broken links on other websites and suggesting your content as a replacement. Find outdated resources and create updated content to replace them, then reach out to websites linking to the old resources and suggest they link to your updated content. Steps for broken link building: 1. Find relevant websites in your niche 2. Use tools to identify broken links on these sites 3. Create content that could replace the broken link 4. Reach out to the website owner, informing them about the broken link and suggesting your content as a replacement ### 6. Skyscraper Technique Create high-quality, in-depth content that stands out and attracts backlinks from authority sites. The Skyscraper Technique involves: 1. Finding popular content in your niche 2. Creating something even better 3. Reaching out to sites that linked to the original content ### 7. Link Roundups Find and participate in link roundups in your niche to gain backlinks. Many blogs regularly publish roundups of the best content in their industry. Getting featured in these roundups can provide valuable backlinks. ### 8. Resource Page Link Building Identify resource pages in your niche and reach out to the website owners to suggest including your content. Resource pages are collections of helpful links on a specific topic, making them excellent targets for link building. ### 9. Digital PR Leverage digital PR techniques to gain backlinks from news sites and industry publications. This can include: - Creating newsworthy content - Sending press releases - Building relationships with journalists - Offering expert commentary on industry trends ### 10. Competitor Backlink Analysis Analyze your competitors' backlink profiles to identify potential linking opportunities. If a website is linking to your competitor, they might be interested in linking to you as well. ## Use SEO Tools Use [SEO tools](/blog/seo-tools) like Ahrefs, Moz, and Semrush to find high-quality backlink opportunities. These tools can help you find relevant websites that are likely to link to your content. ### Backlink Gap Analyze your competitors' backlink profiles to identify potential linking sites. Understand the strategies they are using and adapt them for your site. For example, using the [backlink gap](https://semrush.sjv.io/backlink-gap) tool from Semrush, you can compare your backlink profile with that of your competitors. This will help you identify sites that are linking to your competitors but not to you. ### Backlink outreach I use [Philipp Keller's](https://x.com/philkellr) backlink outreach tool [backl.io](https://backl.io?ref=illy) to find relevant websites and reach out to them for backlinks. Here is how: 1. Find a list of 100 pages linking to a Wikipedia article 2. Insert them into [backl.io](https://backl.io?ref=illy) 3. It finds emails and you can use an AI template to write and send emails ## Common Link Building Mistakes to Avoid 1. **Ignoring User Intent**: Ensure that the backlinks you acquire are relevant to your content and target audience. 2. **Overusing Exact Anchor Text**: Vary your anchor text to avoid over-optimization penalties. 3. **Creating Low-Quality Content**: Create high-quality content that stands out and attracts backlinks from authority sites. 4. **Link farming**: Avoid link farms and other black hat SEO tactics that can get your site penalized by Google. 5. **Buying Links**: Purchasing links is against Google's guidelines and can result in penalties. 6. **Neglecting Internal Linking**: While focusing on external links, don't forget the importance of a strong internal linking structure. 7. **Ignoring Nofollow Links**: While dofollow links are more valuable for SEO, nofollow links can still drive traffic and lead to other linking opportunities. 8. **Not Tracking Results**: Failing to monitor your link building efforts makes it impossible to know what's working and what isn't. ## Monitoring and Analyzing Your Backlink Profile Regularly monitoring your backlink profile is crucial for maintaining a healthy SEO strategy. Here's how to do it effectively: 1. **Use Backlink Analysis Tools**: Utilize tools like Ahrefs, SEMrush, or Moz to track your backlinks. 2. **Monitor New and Lost Links**: Keep an eye on new backlinks you've gained and any you've lost. 3. **Analyze Link Quality**: Assess the quality of your backlinks based on factors like domain authority, relevance, and traffic. 4. **Check for Toxic Links**: Identify and disavow any potentially harmful links that could negatively impact your SEO. 5. **Track Competitor Backlinks**: Monitor your competitors' backlink profiles to identify new opportunities. 6. **Set Up Alerts**: Use Google Alerts or similar tools to get notified when your brand is mentioned online, which could lead to linking opportunities. For a comparison of tools that alert you when links disappear, see my guide to [backlink monitoring tools](/blog/backlink-monitoring). ## Advanced Link Building Techniques For those who have mastered the basics, here are some advanced link building techniques: 1. **Ego Bait**: Create content that features industry influencers, encouraging them to share and link to your content. 2. **Newsjacking**: Capitalize on trending news stories by creating relevant content quickly and reaching out to journalists covering the story. 3. **Podcasting**: Start a podcast or appear as a guest on others' podcasts to earn backlinks from show notes and podcast directories. 4. **Create Linkable Assets**: Develop tools, calculators, or interactive content that naturally attracts links. 5. **Scholarship Link Building**: Create a scholarship and reach out to educational institutions for .edu backlinks. 6. **Reverse Image Search**: Find websites using your images without attribution and request backlinks. 7. **Unlinked Brand Mentions**: Identify instances where your brand is mentioned but not linked, and reach out to request a link. ## The Role of SEO Audits in Link Building An often overlooked aspect of link building is the importance of regular SEO audits. [SEO Audit](https://seoroast.com) offers professional search engine optimization (SEO) audits that can significantly enhance your link building efforts. Here's how: 1. **Identifying Link Opportunities**: An SEO audit can reveal gaps in your backlink profile and suggest potential opportunities for new links. 2. **Assessing Link Quality**: SEO Audit's experts can evaluate the quality of your existing backlinks, helping you focus on building high-quality links that will have the most impact. 3. **Competitor Analysis**: Their full-service SEO audit includes a comprehensive analysis of your competitors' link building strategies, providing valuable insights for your own efforts. 4. **Technical SEO Improvements**: By addressing technical SEO issues, you can make your site more attractive to potential linkers and improve the effectiveness of your link building campaigns. 5. **Content Strategy Recommendations**: SEO Audit can provide actionable insights on creating link-worthy content that naturally attracts backlinks. 6. **Penalty Risk Assessment**: Their audits can identify any risky link building practices that might lead to penalties, helping you maintain a clean and effective backlink profile. [SEO Audit](https://seoroast.com) offers various types of audits to suit different needs and budgets: - Public Video Audit ($250): A 15-20 minute video audit that's publicly visible. - Private Video Audit ($550): A 15-20 minute video audit kept private for your eyes only. - Full-Service SEO Audit ($3,735): A comprehensive SEO audit and strategy, including in-depth link building recommendations. By incorporating regular SEO audits into your link building strategy, you can ensure that your efforts are focused, effective, and aligned with best practices. ## Conclusion Link building is an essential part of SEO success. Use this comprehensive guide to get your first 100 backlinks and beyond, starting your journey to climbing the search rankings. Remember, **link building is a long-term strategy**; consistency in applying these techniques is crucial. Patience is key as results from link building efforts may take time to materialize. As you progress, an [SEO audit by Ilias Ism](/blog/seo-audit-service) can show which pages deserve links first and which technical issues would waste them. Keep learning, stay updated with the latest SEO trends, and continuously refine your link building strategies. With persistence and the right approach, you'll see your website's authority grow and your search rankings improve over time. ### Should you hire a link building agency or service? If you do not have time for outreach, outsourcing is reasonable, as long as you vet the provider. Disclosure: I run the first two. - **[LinkDR](https://linkdr.com):** buy individual placements on vetted sites with real traffic, priced per link (from $160 at DR 30+), with tracking after placement. - **[MagicSpace SEO](https://magicspace.agency):** my agency, for monthly SEO that includes content and link building. Whoever you hire, ask to see example placements, check that the linking sites get real organic traffic, avoid anyone promising hundreds of links a month, and track every link you pay for. ]]> me@il.ly (Ilias Ism) https://il.ly/seo/website-indexing-tools website-indexing-tools Sat, 25 Nov 2023 00:00:00 GMT Google's Indexing API is officially only for pages with `JobPosting` or livestream `BroadcastEvent` structured data. Using it to push regular blog posts works for many people, but it is outside Google's guidelines, and Google has warned it may act on misuse. Use it at your own risk, and never for large volumes of low-quality pages. ## 5. Bing Webmaster Tools [Bing Webmaster Tools](https://www.bing.com/webmasters) is Microsoft's free tool for Bing search. Don't ignore Bing: it powers Yahoo and DuckDuckGo results, Copilot, and parts of ChatGPT search. **Why it matters:** Bing has about 5% of search traffic (StatCounter, September 2026). That's still millions of searches. If you're not indexed there, you're missing potential visitors. ### What you get - **Free URL submission:** Submit pages to Bing - **Sitemap import:** Copy your Google Search Console sitemaps - **Performance tracking:** See how you rank on Bing - **Index reports:** Find indexing problems ### Who it's for - Sites targeting Bing/Yahoo traffic - Multi-engine SEO strategies - Anyone who wants free Bing indexing **Pro tip:** After you set up Google Search Console, import your sitemaps to Bing. It takes 2 minutes and covers both search engines. **Pricing:** Free ## 6. IndexNow [IndexNow](https://www.indexnow.org/) is a free, open protocol that lets you tell search engines the moment a page is added, updated, or deleted. Bing, Yandex, Naver, Seznam, and Yep all support it, and a ping to one is shared with the others. ### What you get - **Instant notification:** Engines learn about changes right away instead of waiting for a crawl - **Free and official:** Supported directly by the search engines - **Easy automation:** Many CMS platforms and SEO plugins support it out of the box, and Cloudflare can send pings automatically ### Who it's for - Anyone who publishes or updates pages often - Sites that want fast Bing indexing (and the AI search tools that use Bing) **The catch:** Google does not support IndexNow. Pair it with Google Search Console for Google. **Pricing:** Free ## Which Tool Should You Choose? Here's how to pick the right tool for your situation: **Choose Rapid Indexer if:** - You need speed (under 2 minutes) - You manage many URLs - You want the fastest option - Budget isn't tight ($0.02 to $0.10 per URL) **Choose Foudroyer if:** - You target multiple search engines - You want SEO analytics too - You're okay with complex setup - You need an all-in-one solution **Choose Google Search Console if:** - You want free - You're okay waiting days/weeks - You need official Google data - You're just starting out **Choose Google Indexing Script if:** - You're a developer - You want free automation - You like open-source tools - You can handle technical setup **Choose Bing Webmaster Tools if:** - You want free Bing indexing - You already use Google Search Console - You target Bing/Yahoo traffic ## Common Questions ### What is a website indexing tool? An indexing tool submits your URLs to search engines. It tells Google "this page exists, please crawl it." This moves your pages higher in the crawl queue. **Why use one?** Google finds pages eventually through sitemaps and links. But that can take weeks. Indexing tools speed this up to hours or days. ### Why does indexing matter? **If Google doesn't index your page, it doesn't exist in search results.** You get zero traffic. Your content investment is wasted. You miss revenue opportunities. **Stat:** According to Google Search Console data, millions of pages sit in "Discovered - Currently Not Indexed" status for months without help. ### How fast can I get indexed? - **Rapid Indexer VIP queue:** Under 2 minutes - **Rapid Indexer standard:** 24-48 hours - **Google Search Console:** usually a day or so, up to a week or two - **Natural discovery:** Weeks or months ### Can I re-index updated pages? Yes. When you update important pages, you should re-index them. Use Google Search Console for single pages. Use Rapid Indexer for bulk re-indexing. ### Are these tools safe? Yes. Mostly, but note that Google says its Indexing API is only for job posting and livestream pages, and abuse can get access revoked. Search Console is the safe default. **Avoid tools that:** - Create fake backlinks - Use black-hat tricks - Submit URLs too aggressively ### Do I need tools if I have a sitemap? Sitemaps help, but they're not enough. Google may discover your URLs but still delay indexing. Indexing tools add an importance signal that speeds things up. **Best practice:** Use both. Submit sitemaps in Google Search Console AND use indexing tools for important pages. ## Final Thoughts Getting indexed fast matters in 2026. Google's crawl budget is stretched thin. Millions of pages compete for attention. Waiting weeks means missing traffic and revenue. **Here's what to do:** 1. **Start with Google Search Console.** It's free and essential. Every site needs it. 2. **Add Rapid Indexer for speed.** If you need fast indexing, pay $0.02 to $0.10 per URL. It's worth it for important pages. 3. **Use Foudroyer for multi-engine.** If you target Bing, Yandex, or Naver, Foudroyer handles everything. 4. **Try the free script.** Developers can automate indexing for free with the Google Indexing Script. Remember: Indexing is just step one. After your pages are indexed, focus on [quality SEO](https://storychief.io/blog/seo-tools) and [building backlinks](/blog/link-building-for-beginners). But without indexing, none of that matters. Pick the tool that fits your needs. Start getting your content indexed faster today. ]]> me@il.ly (Ilias Ism) https://il.ly/seo/programmatic-seo programmatic-seo Wed, 22 Nov 2023 00:00:00 GMT ### How It Works At its core, programmatic SEO follows a simple formula: ``` Data Source + Templates + Automation = Thousands of Valuable Pages ``` Let's break down each component: 1. **Data Sources**: The foundation of your [SEO strategy](/blog/strategy) - Public APIs - User-generated content - Structured datasets - Scraped data (when appropriate) - Your own product/service data 2. **Templates**: Your content blueprints - Dynamic page structures - Variable content blocks - [Schema markup](/blog/strategy#dont-neglect-technical-seo) templates - Meta tag frameworks 3. **Automation**: The scaling engine - Dynamic routing - Automated page generation - Intelligent internal linking - Bulk optimization processes ### Real-World Example Imagine you're building a recipe website. Instead of writing each recipe page manually, you could: 1. Create a database of ingredients, cooking times, and instructions 2. Build a template that generates SEO-optimized pages for each recipe 3. Automatically create pages like: - `/recipe/chicken-pasta` - `/recipe/vegetarian-curry` - `/ingredients/tomatoes/recipes` ### Key Difference from Traditional SEO **Traditional SEO** often means: - Writing individual blog posts - Manual keyword research - One-off page optimizations **Programmatic SEO** instead focuses on: - Building systems that scale - Using AI to generate content - Serving specific search intents at scale ### Think Like a Developer For technical founders, programmatic SEO is like building an API for search engines: ```javascript // Traditional SEO const blogPost = getArticleFromCMS('best-chicken-recipe') // Programmatic SEO const recipePages = recipes.map(async (recipe) => { const title = `${recipe.name} recipe` const description = `Learn how to make ${recipe.name} with these simple steps` const instructions = await generateWithAI(recipe.ingredients) return generateRecipePage(title, description, instructions) }) ``` The power lies in creating systems that can generate thousands of valuable pages while maintaining quality and relevance. It's about working smarter, not harder, in the SEO space. ## Why is Programmatic SEO Important? Programmatic SEO represents a unique opportunity in the crowded world of search optimization. While traditional SEO strategies like blog posts and backlink building remain valuable, programmatic SEO opens up entirely new possibilities for technical teams. ### A Blue Ocean Strategy Unlike saturated SEO approaches, programmatic SEO allows you to: - **Target untapped search intent** by creating thousands of valuable pages that serve specific user needs - **Scale automatically** without the constant content creation treadmill of traditional blogging - **Leverage your technical skills** to build systems that generate SEO value programmatically ### Perfect for Technical Founders If you're a developer or technical founder, programmatic SEO aligns perfectly with your skillset: - **Use your coding expertise** to build automated systems rather than writing endless blog posts - **Apply data structures** to organize and generate content systematically - **Create scalable architectures** that grow your SEO presence automatically ### Competitive Advantages Programmatic SEO offers unique benefits that traditional strategies can't match: - **First-mover advantage** in underserved niches where bulk content creation is needed - **Technical barriers to entry** that make your SEO moat harder to replicate - **Data-driven optimization** opportunities through automated testing and iteration ### Compound Growth Potential Unlike one-off content pieces, programmatic SEO systems can: - **Generate exponential value** as you add more data sources and templates - **Improve automatically** through built-in optimization loops - **Scale horizontally** into new markets and keyword spaces with minimal additional effort The key difference? Traditional SEO often scales linearly with effort—more content means more work. Programmatic SEO can scale exponentially once you build the right systems. ## Programmatic SEO Tools Having the right tools in your programmatic [SEO toolkit](/blog/seo-tools) is crucial. - **Google Sheets**: This free tool can be used to collect data from various sources, such as Google Analytics, Google Search Console, and Google Trends. - **[Claude AI](https://claude.ai)**: You need a good AI to generate content with. Anthropic's Claude is one of the best. - **[Next.js](https://nextjs.org/docs/app/api-reference/file-conventions/dynamic-routes)**: This React framework can be used to create dynamic web pages that target specific keywords and [locations](https://il.ly/blog/personalization). - **[OG image generator](https://ogimage.org)**: Create automatic Open Graph images for your web pages, improving their appearance on social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter. - **[MagicMeme](https://magicmeme.com/)**: For content sites focused on viral content, meme templates can be a powerful programmatic SEO strategy. Create pages for popular meme templates like [Spiderman Pointing](https://magicmeme.com/meme/spiderman-pointing-at-spiderman-1686) and [Vince McMahon Reaction](https://magicmeme.com/meme/vince-mcmahon-escalating-reaction-1279). - **[SEMrush](https://semrush.sjv.io/eKe4bX)**: Get keyword ideas, track rankings, and analyze competitors with this all-in-one SEO tool. - **Screaming Frog**: Once you have these pages, you can use this tool to crawl them and check for errors and set up internal linking for each page to create internal links. ## Real-World Programmatic SEO Examples Let me share some concrete examples from our client work at MagicSpace SEO, as well as other successful implementations I've analyzed: ### Client Success Stories **Here are 3 examples of programmatic SEO implementations that our team has personally executed and scaled:** #### MagicBuddy's ChatGPT Examples [MagicBuddy](https://magicbuddy.ai) is a Telegram chatbot that can talk about anything. It uses [ChatGPT](https://chatgpt.com) to generate responses to user messages right inside Telegram. A good use case from one of our [projects](https://magicspace.agency/customers) at MagicSpace, we created thousands of pages dynamically when the user clicks on a ChatGPT example they like. We even create pages in the city the user is visiting from by using geolocation, using user-generated content. - `/ai/:topic`: For example [What is ChatGPT](https://magicbuddy.ai/blog/what-is-chatgpt) or [ChatGPT in Russian](https://magicbuddy.ai/blog/%D1%80%D1%83%D1%81%D1%81%D0%BA%D0%B8%D0%B9). - Each page will have a unique title, description and conversation. - At the bottom we show **3 more examples**, that are only generated if the user clicks on them. - **[Show all AI examples](https://magicbuddy.ai/blog)**. #### WorkbookPDF's language workbooks [WorkbookPDF](https://workbookpdf.com) is a website that offers language workbooks for language learners, each workbook is a PDF file that is personalized to each student depending on their level and topic they are interested in. Marc hired our [programmatic SEO agency services](https://magicspace.agency/contact) and they have hundreds of dynamic pages for each language, level and topic. We help them with their blog, improving their content and link building. A great programmatic SEO strategy and page template. - `/:language/level/:level`: For example [Korean workbooks for grade 11](https://workbookpdf.com/korean/level/grade-11) or [German workbooks for beginners](https://workbookpdf.com/german/level/beginner). - `/:language/topic/:topic`: For example [Korean workbooks about animals](https://workbookpdf.com/korean/topic) or [French workbooks about wine](https://workbookpdf.com/french/topic/wine). #### GradientPage's UI Gradients A great programmatic SEO case study, [GradientPage](https://gradient.page) offers gradient wallpapers for designers. To launch their SEO efforts and be found by designers, developers and indie hackers, they created free tools to generate CSS gradients and UI gradients. Our web developers created **500+ pages** of CSS UI gradients that designers can use in their projects. Each gradient links to a color and a hex code, offering **millions of potential pages.** - `/css/ui-gradients/:color`: For example [after-the-rain](https://gradient.page/css/ui-gradients/after-the-rain) or [instagram](https://gradient.page/css/ui-gradients/instagram). - `/hex/:code`: For example [yellow orange (#FFA647)](https://gradient.page/hex/FFA647) or [spring green (#00FF7F)](https://gradient.page/hex/00FF7F) ### Other Notable Examples While we haven't worked directly with these companies, their programmatic SEO implementations offer valuable lessons: 1. **Nomad List**: Ever wondered where the best places to live and work remotely are? Nomad List has the answer for digital nomads! This platform uses programmatic SEO to create and optimize thousands of pages, each targeting specific keywords and user search intents. The result? A treasure trove of data on cities worldwide! 2. **TripAdvisor**: TripAdvisor is a travel enthusiast's best friend. Using programmatic SEO, the platform generates thousands of pages targeting various travel-related keywords. This strategy helps TripAdvisor rank well on Google and attract millions of visitors from organic search. 3. **Yelp**: Looking for the best restaurants? Yelp has got you covered! Yelp uses programmatic SEO to create pages for all business searches, helping the website reach its target audience and rank well on search engines. 4. **Zapier**: Zapier is the ultimate online automation tool that connects various applications and services. The platform uses user-generated content to create pages for almost all "integration" keywords, making it easier for users to find and set up integrations between different tools. 5. **UserPilot**: UserPilot, a user onboarding software, has built a database of tools in their industry and generated a variety of articles using programmatic SEO. This approach has allowed the company to scale its content creation and target long-tail keywords effectively. These examples showcase the power of programmatic SEO in driving organic traffic and scaling online presence. By leveraging automation and data, businesses can create and optimize a large number of web pages targeting specific keywords and user intents, ultimately boosting their online visibility and revenue. ### Programmatic SEO Course There are various resources available to learn programmatic SEO, including online courses, blogs, and tutorials. Some of the best courses and resources to learn programmatic SEO are: 1. **[MagicSpace Programmatic SEO Course](https://magicspace.agency/courses/programmatic-seo)**: A comprehensive course that teaches you how to implement programmatic SEO from scratch, including keyword research, template creation, and automation strategies. 2. **No-Code Programmatic SEO Course**: This online course teaches programmatic SEO using Octoparse, Airtable, and Webflow. 3. **Learn Programmatic SEO by Preetam Nath**: This course offers a methodical approach to finding keywords, understanding user intent, and creating hundreds of landing pages. 4. **Free Programmatic SEO Course by PageFactory**: This course covers the basics of keyword research, building pages in Shopify and WordPress, and provides access to curated videos. 5. **Practical Programmatic by Ian Nuttall**: This course has around 3 hours of recorded videos explaining how to research keywords, find and clean data, create pages, and get everything indexed. ## How to Implement Programmatic SEO After implementing this for numerous clients, here's our proven process that consistently delivers results: ### 1. Strategic Planning **Keyword Research & Analysis** - Use tools like [SEMrush](https://semrush.sjv.io/QjK7bA) or Ahrefs to identify your main keyword clusters - Look for patterns in search intent and user needs - **Pro tip**: Focus on keywords with clear commercial or informational intent that can be templated **Content Structure** - Design your URL structure (e.g., /city/:name or /product/:category/:item) - Plan your template variables and dynamic elements - Map out your [internal linking strategy](/blog/strategy#implement-on-page-seo-best-practices) ### 2. Data Foundation **Database Setup** - Choose your data source (SQL, MongoDB, or even spreadsheets for smaller projects) - Structure your data to match your URL patterns - Clean and normalize your data for consistency **Content Generation** - Create your base templates - Consider using an LLM to help generate unique variations - **Important**: Always review AI-generated content for accuracy and value ### 3. Technical Implementation **Development Framework** - We recommend Next.js for its excellent SEO capabilities - Set up dynamic routing to match your URL structure - Implement proper meta tags and Schema markup **Quality Control** - Set up automated checks for duplicate content - Implement canonical tags where needed - Monitor page quality metrics ### 4. Launch & Scale **Indexing Strategy** - Submit your sitemap to Google Search Console - Use indexing tools to get pages discovered faster - Monitor indexing progress and adjust as needed **Performance Monitoring** - Track rankings for key terms - Monitor user engagement metrics - Adjust templates based on performance data Need help getting started? **[Book an SEO audit](https://seoroast.com)** with our team. We'll review your current setup and provide actionable tips for implementing programmatic SEO in your business. Remember: The key to successful programmatic SEO isn't just creating many pages - it's creating valuable pages that serve real user needs. In our experience working with dozens of clients, the businesses that focus on quality over quantity consistently see the best results. ## Conclusion Programmatic SEO stands as a powerful tool in the modern SEO toolkit. Leveraging automation and data, it offers a cost-effective way to manage SEO strategies at a large scale. As we move forward in the digital age, the role of programmatic SEO is set to become even more vital, promising an avenue of growth and scalability for businesses globally. ### Ready to Get Started with Programmatic SEO? If you're looking to implement programmatic SEO for your business, we offer two ways to help: 1. **[Book a Free 15-Minute SEO Audit](https://cal.com/team/seo/audit)** - Get personalized advice for your specific situation - Review your current SEO setup - Discuss potential programmatic SEO opportunities - Receive actionable next steps 2. **[Join Our Programmatic SEO Course](https://magicspace.agency/courses/programmatic-seo)** - Learn our complete implementation framework - Get access to production-ready code templates - Follow step-by-step video tutorials - Join a community of technical SEO practitioners At [MagicSpace](https://magicspace.agency), we've helped numerous businesses implement successful programmatic SEO strategies. Our approach focuses on: - Creating scalable, high-quality content systems - Building technical foundations that last - Optimizing for both search engines and users - Measuring and improving performance ]]> me@il.ly (Ilias Ism) https://il.ly/seo/strategy strategy Tue, 21 Nov 2023 00:00:00 GMT Here are a few key reasons: - **Cost-effective customer acquisition** - Compared to paid advertising, SEO provides an affordable way to drive consistent traffic and leads over the long-term. This is especially important for startups with limited budgets. - **Compounding growth** - The results of SEO compound over time as you build authority and rankings. Within 6-12 months, SEO can become your top channel for new signups. - **Builds brand awareness and credibility** - Ranking at the top of search results for relevant keywords makes your brand more visible and positions you as a leader in your space. - **Helps you understand market demand** - Keyword research reveals the problems your target customers are trying to solve and the solutions they are searching for. This insight is invaluable for product development and marketing. - **Enhances all your other marketing efforts** - High-ranking SEO content can be repurposed for social media, email marketing, sales enablement, and more. It makes all your other marketing more effective. Now that we've established the importance of SEO for SaaS, let's look at how to create an SEO strategy that gets results. ## Understand Your Audience and Set the Right Goals Every effective SEO strategy starts with a deep understanding of your target customers. Who are your ideal users? What are their key use cases, pain points, and jobs to be done? What types of solutions are they searching for? Develop detailed buyer personas and map out the typical customer journey and marketing funnel. Identify the main stages your customers go through, from initial problem awareness to solution research to vendor evaluation and selection. This exercise will help you determine the types of keywords to target and content to create at each stage. It ensures your SEO strategy aligns with the real needs and search behaviors of your audience. Next, define the right goals and KPIs for your SEO program. The ultimate goal is usually revenue growth, but you'll want to measure leading indicators like organic traffic, keyword rankings, backlinks, and signups. Choose 3-5 core metrics to focus on and establish aggressive but realistic targets. Make sure to get buy-in from key stakeholders on these goals. ## Conduct Extensive Keyword Research With your audience and goals defined, it's time for keyword research. This is the process of identifying the search queries your target customers use to find solutions like yours. Start by brainstorming an initial list of keywords, focusing on your product's core features and benefits. Put yourself in the shoes of your ideal customer. What would you search for? Use keyword research tools like Ahrefs, SEMrush, and Google Keyword Planner to expand your list and get search volume and difficulty scores. Look for relevant keywords with high search volume but low to medium competition. In addition to "head" keywords that define your product category, go after long-tail keywords that align with specific use cases, features, and customer pain points. While these have lower search volume individually, they can really add up. Categorize your keywords by intent, such as informational, navigational, commercial investigation, and transactional. Match these to the appropriate stages of the marketing funnel. Competitive research is also key. Analyze the keywords your top competitors are targeting to find gaps and opportunities. Tools like Ahrefs allow you to see any website's top organic keywords. ## Create a Content Strategy and Calendar With your keyword research complete, map out a content strategy and calendar to target those terms. Your content strategy should include: - **Product and feature pages** - Dedicate pages to your core product, key features, and major use cases. Optimize these for your most important commercial keywords. - **Blog posts and articles** - Create informative, valuable content that targets your informational and top-of-funnel keywords. The goal is to attract your target audience and build authority. - **Guides and tutorials** - Develop comprehensive resources and how-to content to rank for "commercial investigation" keywords. Help potential customers understand how to solve their problems. - **Case studies and proof** - Showcase successful customers and data-driven results to build credibility for bottom-of-funnel searches. Prove the value of your solution. - **Comparisons and reviews** - Target "[your product] vs [competitor]" and "[your product] reviews" keywords with honest, objective content. Provide third-party validation. Prioritize your content based on keyword priority and create a calendar to keep you on track. Aim to publish new optimized content at least 1-2 times per week. ## Implement On-Page SEO Best Practices As you create content, make sure to follow on-page SEO best practices: - Include your target keyword in the title, [meta description](https://seoroast.com/tools/meta-description), URL, and H1 tag - Use short, descriptive URLs - Optimize your title tag and meta description for clicks - Use your keyword and variations naturally throughout the copy - Break up text with keyword-rich headings and subheadings - Optimize images with descriptive alt text - Link internally to other relevant pages on your site - Improve page load speed and mobile friendliness A tool like Yoast SEO can help you optimize individual pages and posts. Perform an SEO audit of existing content and make updates as needed. ## Earn High-Quality Backlinks Backlinks from other authoritative websites are a key Google ranking factor. They act as "votes of confidence" that show your site is trustworthy and relevant. However, not all backlinks are created equal. Focus on earning links from high-quality, relevant websites in your industry. Avoid spammy tactics that could get you penalized. Some effective link building strategies for SaaS startups include: - **Guest blogging** - Contribute content to respected publications and blogs in your space. Include a natural link back to your site in the author bio or body copy. - **Digital PR** - Pitch newsworthy data and stories to journalists and media outlets. If they cover it, they'll often link back to you as the source. - **[Broken link building](https://seoagency.tools/blog/broken-backlinks)** - Find relevant broken links on other sites, then ask them to replace the dead link with a link to your content. - **Partnerships and co-marketing** - Team up with complementary brands to create co-branded content, research, tools, or events. Promote and link to each other. - **Original research and data** - Publish original studies, surveys, and data reports. These tend to earn a lot of natural backlinks. Focus on quality over quantity when it comes to [link building](https://seoagency.tools/blog/link-building). A few high-value links will do more for your SEO than dozens of low-quality ones. ## Don't Neglect Technical SEO Technical SEO ensures your website can be properly crawled and indexed by search engines. Some key technical SEO considerations for SaaS sites include: - **Site architecture** - Organize your site hierarchy in a logical way and use a flat site structure. Make sure all important pages are linked to and can be found within 3 clicks from the homepage. - **Navigation and internal linking** - Implement clear navigation menus and use keyword-rich anchor text for your internal links. Create a sitemap to help search engines find all your pages. - **Duplicate content** - Avoid duplicate versions of the same content. Use 301 redirects, rel=canonical tags, or parameter handling to consolidate. - **Site speed** - Optimize your code, leverage caching, compress images, and use a CDN to improve page load times. Site speed is a ranking factor. - **Mobile optimization** - Make sure your site is responsive and optimized for mobile devices. Google now uses mobile-first indexing. - **Structured data** - Implement Schema markup to help search engines better understand your content. This can enable rich snippets that improve click-through rates. - **HTTPS** - Install an SSL certificate and migrate your site to HTTPS. This is a small ranking factor and is important for security. Use tools like Google Search Console, Screaming Frog, and DeepCrawl to audit your technical SEO and identify issues to fix. Prioritize any problems that are hindering indexation. ## Promote Your Content and Drive Engagement Creating optimized content is only half the battle. You also need to promote that content to drive engagement and earn social signals and backlinks. Share your content across all your social media channels, both organically and using paid promotion. Engage in relevant online communities like Reddit, Quora, and Facebook/LinkedIn groups. Build an email list and send new content to your subscribers. Encourage them to share, comment, and link to it. Reach out directly to influencers and publications in your space to share your content. A mention or share from a prominent figure can really amplify your reach. Consider repurposing your content into other formats like videos, infographics, and slide decks. This allows you to promote it on additional channels. Track your content's performance using tools like Google Analytics. Look at metrics like organic traffic, bounce rate, time on page, and conversions. Use these insights to optimize and improve your content over time. ## Measure, Iterate, and Scale Finally, continuously measure and analyze your SEO performance using tools like Google Analytics, Google Search Console, and Ahrefs. Track your target keywords, organic traffic growth, backlink profile, and conversions. Identify your top-performing content and look for opportunities to update, expand, or repurpose it. See which keywords are driving the most traffic and conversions, and find ways to rank for more related terms. Perform regular technical SEO audits to find and fix any issues. Monitor your site's speed, mobile friendliness, and crawlability on an ongoing basis. As you start to see SEO success, reinvest the additional revenue into creating more optimized content, earning more high-quality backlinks, and scaling your efforts. SEO is a long-term, iterative process. But with the right strategy, tactics, and commitment, it can become your most powerful growth channel. ## Get Expert Help with SEO Audit While implementing these strategies can significantly improve your SEO, sometimes it's valuable to get an expert outside perspective. This is where [professional SEO audit services](/blog/seo-audit-service)—such as those from **[SEO Roast](https://seoroast.com/)**—can be incredibly helpful. [SEO Audit](https://seoroast.com/) offers various levels of SEO analysis, from quick video audits to comprehensive full-service audits. Their team of experts can provide: - In-depth analysis of your current SEO performance - Identification of critical issues and hidden opportunities - Actionable recommendations to improve your search rankings - Insights into competitor strategies For busy founders and marketers, these professional audits can save time and provide valuable insights that might be missed in an internal review. SEO Audit's services range from $180 for a public video audit to $3,735 for a full-service SEO audit and strategy, making it accessible for startups at different stages of growth. By combining your ongoing SEO efforts with periodic professional audits, you can ensure you're on the right track and maximize your organic search potential. ## SaaS SEO Case Studies To illustrate these strategies in action, here are a few examples of SaaS companies that have used SEO to drive impressive growth: ### Zapier Zapier, a popular automation tool, has built a massive organic presence in a competitive space. They've done it by: - Creating comprehensive guides and tutorials on automation and productivity - Targeting long-tail keywords related to connecting different apps - Building a free tool that recommends Zaps based on your tech stack - Earning backlinks from major publications like Forbes and Entrepreneur Today, Zapier gets an estimated 1.8M organic visits per month and ranks for over 400,000 keywords. ### Ahrefs Ahrefs, an SEO tool suite, has used its own product to fuel its SEO growth. Their strategy involves: - Publishing in-depth, data-driven blog posts and guides - Developing free tools like a backlink checker and website authority checker - Partnering with influencers on content like roundups and interviews - Promoting content to their 200k+ email subscribers and social media followers Ahrefs now generates over 500k monthly organic visits and ranks in the top 100 for highly competitive terms like "SEO" and "backlinks". ### Intercom Intercom, a customer messaging platform, has focused on creating content for every stage of the funnel. They've grown their organic presence through: - Ranking for informational keywords with educational blog content - Targeting commercial keywords with product pages, guides, and case studies - Creating an extensive library of video content and webinars - Guest posting and partnering with SaaS blogs and publications Intercom's organic traffic has grown steadily year over year and now accounts for a significant portion of their new user signups. These are just a few examples, but they demonstrate the power of a comprehensive SEO strategy for SaaS growth. ## Conclusion SEO is a critical growth lever for SaaS startups. By understanding your audience, targeting the right keywords, creating valuable content, earning high-quality backlinks, and optimizing for technical SEO, you can drive sustainable organic traffic and signups. The key is to approach SEO holistically and invest in it for the long-term. Don't expect overnight results, but know that the compounding effects of SEO can be transformative for your business. Start implementing these SEO strategies today and make organic search a core part of your SaaS growth engine. With the right approach and consistent execution, the results will follow. ]]> me@il.ly (Ilias Ism) https://il.ly/seo/rank-and-rent rank-and-rent Sun, 12 Nov 2023 00:00:00 GMT - **What it is:** you build and rank a local lead generation site, like "emergency plumber in [city]", then rent the leads or the whole site to a local business. - **How you earn:** a monthly rent (often a few hundred dollars per site), a fee per lead or call, or a revenue share. - **Best niches:** urgent, high-ticket local services such as locksmiths, towing, HVAC, and roofing. - **2026 reality check:** Google's spam policies now target expired-domain abuse and thin scaled pages, so build real, useful local sites. Want to grow your [SEO agency](https://magicspace.agency) revenue? Rank and Rent SEO lets you build profitable lead generation assets. Create [geo-targeted](https://il.ly/blog/personalization) websites, rank them in search results, and rent them to local businesses. Here's what you'll learn: - [What rank and rent is](#what-is-rank-and-rent-seo) - [What changed in 2026](#rank-and-rent-in-2026-what-changed) - [Best niches](#best-rank-and-rent-niches) - [Build the site](#build-a-basic-one-page-rank-and-rent-site) - [Find renters](#find-buyers-for-your-rank-and-rent-sites) - [FAQ](#rank-and-rent-faq) This guide shows you how to build a Rank and Rent SEO business step-by-step. Learn how to create assets that generate passive income through local lead generation. Let's get started. ## What is Rank and Rent SEO? Rank and Rent SEO is a **lead generation model** where you **rank a website** for a **local keyword** and **rent it out** to a business in that niche. The model offers the perfect **low-cost, high-return business model** to diversify revenue streams. Renting out sites you've ranked for localized keywords provides benefits such as: - **Low Barrier to Entry:** Ranking a single one-pager site with minimal content investment is much easier than ranking full-fledged affiliate sites. - **Quick Monetization:** Sites start earning within weeks of launching, unlike waiting months or years with typical SEO clients. - **Hands-off Revenue:** Rent out the site and let the renter manage monetization while you focus on scaling traffic. - **Scalability:** Replicate this SEO model across all geographies and keywords. - **Risk Mitigation:** Multiple income streams instead of 1-2 big SEO clients. - **Beginner-Friendly Model**: A great way to learn SEO as a beginner and build a portfolio of sites. - **Ownership**: You control the website and domain, and the site's value increases over time. While client SEO retains **higher lifetime value**, Rank and Rent is an ideal **cash flow money machine**. The extra passive income can fund your other projects. It also provides lead flow to convert into long-term SEO contracts. As a bonus, it shows your SEO abilities in action to prospects. The model only thrives with a good SEO strategy. Let's break down how to start **Rank and Rent SEO** the right way. ## Rank and rent in 2026: what changed The model still works, but three things are different from the playbooks you will find from 2023: 1. **Google's spam policies got stricter.** Since March 2024, Google explicitly targets *expired domain abuse* (buying old domains mainly to manipulate rankings) and *scaled content abuse* (mass-produced thin pages). Sites built on those shortcuts can drop out of the index overnight. 2. **The Map Pack takes more clicks.** For local service searches, Google Business Profiles often sit above organic results. Your site competes with them, not just with other websites. 3. **AI answers take informational clicks, not urgent ones.** Someone locked out of their car still calls a number. That is why urgent local services remain the best rank and rent niches. The takeaway: build fewer, better sites with real local information, reviews, and working phone numbers, and treat each one like a small business, not a doorway page. ## Best Keywords and Locations for Rank and Rent Choosing the **right keywords** and locations is crucial for Rank and Rent success. Here is what to look out for when looking for keywords to rank and rent: - **[Keyword Difficulty](#keyword-difficulty):** The keyword should be easy enough to rank a minimally optimized page but maintain **high commercial intent**. Use tools like the **Google Keyword Planner** to find keywords with low competition but sufficient search volume. - **[Location Size](#target-locations):** The ideal city size is around **100k to 500k population**. Large metro areas have excessive competition. But very tiny towns don't generate enough search volume. - **[Business Type](#business-type):** Home services like **plumbing, HVAC, and roofers** work best. People search these in **emergencies** and contact every lead. Other options are **lawyers, contractors, cleaning services**. - **[Customer Lifetime Value](#best-rank-and-rent-niches):** Work with businesses that offer **recurring services**, not one-time purchases. - **[Monetization Potential](#validate-rank-and-rent-niches)**: Some niches like **towing** and **locksmiths** monetize at **$50+ per call**. Others like **home cleaning** might only pay **$10 per lead**. Factor **ROI** into niche selection. Let's break down each of these criteria in more detail with actionable insights. ### Keyword Difficulty To identify low-hanging fruit, here are some factors that indicate a good SEO difficulty score: **Low Keyword Competitiveness:** Target keyword difficulty (KD) scores under 30. You can check metrics like search volume, CPC, and competition on [tools](https://linkdr.com/) like [**Ahrefs**](https://ahrefs.com/keyword-difficulty) and [SEMrush](https://semrush.sjv.io/eKe4bX). **No Industry Leaders Ranking:** If major brands and aggregators like Yelp **don't rank** for the term, it signals **opportunity**. They dominate the rankings for **ultra-competitive keywords**. **Lengthy Local Keywords** with 3-4 words are easier SEO targets than shorter, broader queries. **Low Word Count of Ranking Pages:** If top results have skimpy content under **1000 words**, you can likely **out-optimize** them without massive content efforts. **Spotty Local Optimization:** Many low-competition locations lack **sophisticated SEO**. If you see inconsistent **NAPs (Name + Address + Phone),** **linking** issues, and other **local optimization opportunities**, **capitalize** on them. ### Target Locations Shoot for cities with roughly **100k to 500k residents**. This "**not too big, not too small**" approach optimizes for volume and achievable rankings. At under **100k population**, the searches don't provide enough volume for local businesses to convert well. But metro areas over **500k have excessive competition** from national brands. **Medium-sized cities** let you operate **under the radar**. Industry leaders neglect the long tail of **[location-based SEO](/blog/location-based-seo)**. But even **300 searches a month can convert into $1000s in profit**. You can use tools like [SEMrush](https://semrush.sjv.io/eKe4bX) to filter keywords by city size, volume and niche selection. ### Business Type The ideal renter is **small businesses** and **service companies** in profitable niches with **ongoing customer retention** and **repetitive sales**. Selecting service companies in the right keywords and niches is key. Some top options include: - Plumbers - Roofers - Lawn Care - HVAC Companies - Locksmiths - Appliance Repair - Pest Control - House Cleaners - Garage Door Companies - Tree Services Home services provide **emergency help** in their local area, so **customers contact every lead**. And issues like clogged pipes and AC repairs come back **regularly**, creating **recurring business**. Other renter targets like lawyers, contractors, electricians, and auto shops also work well. **Avoid renting to "one and done" businesses like furniture sales or event planning**. ### Best Rank and Rent Niches Understanding the average profit per service in different niches is crucial to maximizing ROI in your rank and rent strategy. Here are some examples of the average profit per service in different niches: **Locksmith Services:** - **Lockout Assistance**: Typically charges around $110. - **Automotive Services**: Such as transponder key programming average $140, with complex jobs up to $240. - **High-Tech Lock Installations**: Range from $200 to $230, while advanced systems like vertical rod exit devices can cost about $372. - **Automatic Door Installations**: Can peak at $410. **Towing Services:** - **Average Profit**: About $28 per service call, with total service costs averaging $70 after overhead. **Home Cleaning Services:** - **Example Rate**: $225 for a service, with 60% covering costs, leads to a 40% profit margin, or $90 per job. **HVAC Services:** - **Repairs**: Range from $160 to $400. - **Installations**: New units start around $2,500. - **Maintenance**: A steady income, averaging $75 to $200 per visit. **Pest Control Services:** - **Initial Visits**: Average $150 to $300. - **Follow-up Treatments**: Generally cost less. - **Annual Contracts**: Provide predictable revenue, ranging from $400 to $1,000. **Electrical Services:** - **Hourly Rates**: Electricians charge between $50 to $100. - **Service Calls**: Cost between $150 to $400. - **Large Projects**: Like rewiring or panel upgrades, can significantly increase profits. By assessing the profitability of services like locksmithing, towing, home cleaning, HVAC, pest control, and electrical work, you can identify the most lucrative niches to target for your Rank and Rent properties. ### Validate Rank and Rent Niches To validate niches, run **detailed audits of existing sites** ranking for your target keywords. **Create spreadsheets** tracking: - **Onpage optimization** - page speed, technical issues, H1/title tags - **Link profiles** - quantity, quality, anchor text, type (directory vs. editorial) - **Local signals** - Business Profile, schema markup, citations - **Penalties** - manual actions, unnatural links Look for **quick SEO wins** like: - **Fixing technical errors** for an easy rankings boost - Beating competitors with **more authoritative links** - Claiming **unoptimized geo-intent keywords** around a metro area - Leveraging **underutilized semantics** like **People Also Ask** Regularly run this exercise across different locations and keywords. Soon, you'll have a pipeline of **low-hanging SEO fruit**. ## Use Aged Domains for Backlinks The fastest way to rank new sites is acquiring an **existing aged domain**, a [backlink strategy](/blog/link-building-for-beginners) that provides immediate authority to outpace competitors. Watch for expired domain names that used to rank for similar keywords. However, avoid domains with **toxic backlinks** or previous spam. Google's expired domain abuse policy (March 2024) targets old domains bought to rank content unrelated to their history. An aged domain is only safe when you keep it on the same topic, for example a former plumbing site reused for plumbing leads. Repurposing an unrelated domain is a risk to the whole site. Here are strategies to secure high-quality digital real estate and become a digital landlord, with domains costing $50-500 on auction sites: ### Filter by Previous Keyword Rankings Tools like [**ExpiredDomains.net**](https://ExpiredDomains.net) and [**GoDaddy Auctions**](https://auctions.godaddy.com/) let you find and sort by digital real estate - domains that previously ranked well but have since dropped off. Often, the domains expire due to forgetful owners. But the site still retains rankings equity you can recapture for rent SEO. ### Review Backlink Audits Analyze backlinks pointing to the domain using [**Ahrefs**](https://ahrefs.com/backlink-checker) or [SEMRush](https://semrush.sjv.io/eKe4bX). Avoid domains with suspicious links from past violations. Watch for obvious red flags: - Excessive web 2.0 spam links - Comment spam links - Toxic link networks - Pay-per-post links Quality previous links from aged directories and niche edits are ideal. You want "squarely white hat" domains. ### Check Website Authority Use [**Moz's Domain Analysis**](https://moz.com/domain-analysis) and [**Majestic's Trust Flow**](https://majestic.com/) data to check the [website authority](https://storychief.io/blog/website-authority). Higher DA, DR, and TF scores generally equal quicker rankings velocity. But always manually review link profiles first. ## Build a Basic One-Page Rank and Rent Site With an aged domain in hand, now it's time to launch your starter Rank and Rent site. The goal is to create a **conversion-focused single page**: No need for fancy templates or expansive content. **Optimize the site** for lead captures over engagement. ### Use SEO Keywords in the Content For the page's body content, research competitor pages and use [SEO tools](/blog/seo-tools) like [**StoryChief**](/blog/storychief) to assist with content creation optimized around your target keyword quickly. Focus on useful, local content rather than generic filler. Pack sections with your main keywords like **"Services Offered in \[City\]"** and **"Why Hire a Professional \[Service\] Company"** with semantic keywords. **Over-optimize** to beat the thin content ranking. But avoid overt keyword stuffing that raises spam suspicions. ### Create a Call-to-Action **The most valuable real estate is above the fold**, where users **first look**. Place your CTA form front and center with high-quality content above the fold to immediately capture clicks. For home service rentals, use a **contact form** allowing visitors to request quotes or schedule service. Lawyer site rentals work well with a **case review form**. Or add a generic "**Contact Us**" form if the business offer varies. Make sure the form is mobile-friendly for optimal conversions. Services like [Tally](https://tally.so/) connect to Google Sheets, Notion, Airtable, and Slack, and to most CRMs through Zapier or Make. ### Add Location Schema Markup Since Rank and Rent targets [location-based SEO](/blog/location-based-seo), proper schema markup with your specific keywords is essential. Follow Google's guidelines for [**LocalBusiness schema data**](https://developers.google.com/search/docs/appearance/structured-data/local-business). At minimum, include marked-up data for: - Business name - Full address - Phone number - Price range - Images This helps Google understand the page's **geography-specific relevance**. As a bonus, the rich snippets can boost **CTR**. Site builders like **WordPress** have [plugins](https://yoast.com/) to auto-generate local schema markup. But adding it manually also works. ### Set Up Conversion Tracking Pixels Install Meta Pixel, Google Tag Manager, or LinkedIn Insights Tag to attribute conversions on your Rank and Rent sites. This allows accurate tracking of ROI from various monetization channels. When renting the site, provide conversion attribution instructions to partners. They can tag form submits and calls with UTM codes or URL query parameters. Now you've got a barebones yet high-converting Rank and Rent site ready to drive leads. Time to rank it! ## Link Building Campaigns **Creating and launching the site is easy**. The real **SEO sweat** comes from **scaling link acquisition** to grab those coveted page 1 ranking. Shoot for a tiered approach combining: **Tier 1: Manual outreach for featured guest posts on authority sites** - High domain authority targets: 50+ - Natural link integration - Topically relevant - Geographic diversity **Tier 2: Manual outreach to the directory and niche sites** - DA 20-50 - Location-specific - Optimized local business schema - Citation links **Tier 3: Automated low-authority links** - Web 2.0s - Blog comments - Forum profiles Let's break down strategies for each tier: ### Tier 1 Guest Posts Landing **featured guest posts** on **authority sites** related to your niche provides a **ranking rocket** boost. But **manual outreach** is required to earn these placements. Start by researching and compiling a target list. Identify sites that: - Rank for your keywords or relevant terms - Feature guest contributors - Publish posts with 50+ domain authority Outreach templates should highlight your expertise and how you can create a custom article tailored to your audience. But don't explicitly **request a link**. Offer to **mention their brand** to provide value. When they accept, **craft posts closely aligned with the site's niche and past content**. Then subtly link brand mentions to your site. Aim for one Tier 1 link per month as a starting goal. ### Local Directories and Niche Sites Local directories like **Chamber of Commerce sites** and **regional business journals** are strong bets for Tier 2 links. Also, search for niche sites tangentially related to the service you offer. For example, **real estate blogs** for your lawyer site rentals. **Focus link outreach on geo-specific directories first**. Then, broaden to loosely relevant blogs and resource pages where you can provide value. When placing these links, request they use proper **LocalBusiness schema markup**. Also, make sure they **pass authority and avoid nofollow tags**. **Shoot for ~5 new Tier 2 links weekly in different locations.** ### Tier 3 Links Web 2.0s, blog comments, social bookmarks, and profiles add ranking metrics. But avoid overusing these “**automated**” links. They often **raise spam suspicions** if **overdone**. Plus, Google discounts most as low-quality signals. Think of Tier 3 links as a seasoning that complements but doesn't overpower your overall strategy. Don't rely on them solely. ## Find Buyers for Your Rank and Rent Sites Once you secure the first rank on page 1, it's time to rent your site to potential customers. **This part requires _sales_ hustle.** Here are [strategies](/blog/strategy) and best practices to find the best way to monetize your Rank and Rent properties: ### Pitch Companies Already Bidding on Keywords Your best bet to close deals is by contacting companies already bidding on keywords through Google/Bing Ads or those trying to rank organically. 1. **Search** your target keywords. 2. **Note companies** spending on ads and aggressively optimizing their sites. 3. **Pitch them** on leads from your geo-optimized site They won't care it's a rented placeholder. **Most high-demand niches will gladly pay for quality traffic and leads.** ### Offer Free Trials **Many local business owners in niche markets won't understand Rank and Rent's value prop.** Offer a free 7-14 day trial sending exclusive leads to them. Once they see **conversions first-hand**, the next step is charging a monthly licensing fee for ongoing access to leads in their service area. ### Call Tracking and Attribution Install call trackers like [**CallRail**](https://www.callrail.com/) to attribute conversions from phone calls on your Rank and Rent sites. This builds credibility by showing **true ROI on traffic** and forms you deliver. **Businesses pay more when you quantify performance.** ### Outrank Competitors and Pitch Their Rivals **Research** what specific companies rank for your terms. Then explicitly **reach out** to their competitors. Competing website owners will eagerly rent your site if you secure high rankings and outrank a dominant regional plumber. Beating entrenched brands convinces new renters. ### All About Partnerships Explore **forums**, **associations**, **events**, and **networks** frequented by your **niche targets**. Build connections and share case studies before pitching them. Join relevant Facebook Groups and communities to connect with your target audience before promoting rentals. For example, join a regional **HVAC Facebook Group** to communicate with AC companies ### Business Brokers Instead of endlessly cold calling, work through business brokers already plugged into niches to maximize your passive income and rental fee. For example, [**BizBuySell**](https://www.bizbuysell.com/) and [**Quiet Light**](https://quietlight.com/), connect you with buyers happy to pay for a valuable asset like a site with proven traffic and leads. Working with business brokers is a great way to connect with buyers who are happy to pay for ranked sites with proven traffic and leads. ## Monetize Traffic Beyond renting out sites, here are a few options to **monetize Rank and Rent traffic** yourself: **Flip for a profit:** Once rankings are stable, list your site for sale on **EmpireFlippers, Acquire.com** or **FEInternational**. You get a lump sum payout. **Resell leads to networks:** Instead of renting the full site, send form leads to pay-per-lead networks. **Much less management.** **Upsell services:** Make site an effective **top-of-funnel play** to convince visitors to use your other services. For example, pitch consulting calls or access to [SEO tools](/blog/seo-tools). **Site traffic provides social proof.** **Retarget visitors:** Install **pixels** to build audiences, then promote other sites/offers through platforms like **Facebook and Google.** Test different options when launching a new website based on effort required versus profit generated. ## Track Everything As with any business, **analytics and financial tracking** are musts to **optimize profits**. Make sure you: - **Track keyword rankings** across sites in a centralized dashboard using rank trackers. - **Monitor organic traffic** growth from search engines via Google Analytics. - Use **call and form tracking** to record conversions by source. - Build a **rent revenue calculator** to monitor profits and benchmarks. - **Document processes** in a master playbook for easy training and repeatable success. Crunch numbers, **analyze KPIs, and constantly work** to increase efficiency. The overarching goal? **Maximize your effective hourly rate.** ## Start Your Rank and Rent SEO Business That wraps up our comprehensive guide to Rank and Rent SEO! **You have a complete game plan to find profitable keywords, launch high-converting sites, rank them swiftly, rent your properties for passive profits, and scale success.** The model does require hustle to find buyers and sustain momentum. But in time, your portfolio can blossom into **five and even six-figure months!** Or utilize Rank and Rent as a side income generator while you continue **client SEO work** and other projects, adding profit without excessive time burdens. Start with one site in one niche and one city. Once it ranks and a business pays for the leads, you have a template you can repeat. If you want a second opinion on a site before you pitch it, an [SEO audit by Ilias Ism](/blog/seo-audit-service) will show what is holding it back. ## Rank and rent FAQ ### Is rank and rent still profitable in 2026? Yes, in urgent local service niches where one lead is worth $50 or more to a business. It is less profitable than in 2020 because Google's Map Pack and spam policies make low-effort sites harder to rank. ### How much can you charge for a rank and rent site? Common deals are a flat monthly rent of a few hundred dollars per site, a fee per qualified call or lead, or a share of the revenue the leads produce. Price it below what the business would pay for the same leads from ads. ### Is rank and rent legal? Yes, as long as the site does not impersonate a business, uses real contact details for whoever fulfills the work, and follows local advertising rules. Be transparent with the business you rent to. ### How long does it take to rank a rank and rent site? Usually three to six months for a new site in a medium-sized city, faster with an on-topic aged domain and local citations. ### Is a rank and rent course worth it? Only if it teaches lead selling and client acquisition, not just ranking. The hard part of rank and rent is finding businesses that will pay every month. ]]> me@il.ly (Ilias Ism) https://il.ly/seo/seo-tools seo-tools Sun, 12 Nov 2023 00:00:00 GMT - **Best all-in-one platform:** [Ahrefs](#1-ahrefs). The biggest link index and the best keyword data, from $129/mo (free for your own sites). - **Best value all-in-one:** [SE Ranking](#3-se-ranking). Rank tracking, audits, and backlinks from $103/mo billed annually. - **Best technical crawler:** [Screaming Frog](#4-screaming-frog). Free up to 500 URLs, £199 a year after that. - **Best for content workflow:** [StoryChief](#9-storychief). SEO editor, Search Console data, and publishing in one place. - **Best free stack:** [Search Console, Ahrefs Webmaster Tools, and Screaming Frog](#free-seo-tools). Most "best SEO tools" lists put 40 tools in a row and leave you to guess. You do not need 40. You need one platform for data, one crawler, and a few free tools, plus something for the job you do most, whether that is content, links, or AI search. These are the tools I use across my own sites ([il.ly](/), [LinkDR](https://linkdr.com), [AI SEO Tracker](https://aiseotracker.com)) and client work, grouped by job, with September 2026 prices. *Disclosure: I run LinkDR and AI SEO Tracker. Semrush links are affiliate links.* - [All-in-one platforms](#all-in-one-seo-platforms) - [Technical SEO](#technical-seo-tools) - [Keyword research](#keyword-research-tools) - [Content](#content-seo-tools) - [Link building](#link-building-tools) - [AI search visibility](#ai-search-visibility-tools) - [Free SEO tools](#free-seo-tools) ## All-in-one SEO platforms Pick one. They overlap heavily, and paying for two is the most common way SEO budgets get wasted. ### 1. Ahrefs **[Ahrefs](https://ahrefs.com/)** is the platform I use most. Its link index is the deepest I have worked with, and Keywords Explorer, Site Audit, Rank Tracker, and Content Explorer cover nearly everything else. I also use its API through an AI agent to pull SERPs and Search Console data straight into my analysis, which saves hours of CSV exports. - **Best for:** backlink research, competitor analysis, keyword research - **Free option:** Ahrefs Webmaster Tools covers backlinks and site audits for sites you verify - **Pricing:** Starter $29/mo (limited), Lite **$129/mo**, Standard $249/mo, Advanced $449/mo ### 2. Semrush **[Semrush](https://semrush.sjv.io/eKe4bX)** matches Ahrefs on most jobs and goes further on PPC and competitive ad research. Its Site Audit and Backlink Audit (with toxic link scoring) are strong, and the free plan gives you 10 reports a day. Adobe completed its $1.9 billion acquisition in April 2026, so expect pricing and packaging to keep shifting. - **Best for:** teams that run SEO and paid search together - **Pricing:** SEO **$139/mo** ($117.33/mo billed annually). SEO + AI Search plans start at $199/mo, up to 17% less billed annually. ### 3. SE Ranking **[SE Ranking](https://seranking.com/)** is the value pick. Rank tracking, site audits, keyword research, backlink monitoring, and white-label reports are all included, and you pay for capacity rather than features. Its index is smaller than Ahrefs', which rarely matters for your own site. - **Best for:** agencies and small teams that need rank tracking and client reports - **Pricing:** Core **$129/mo** ($103.20/mo billed annually), Growth $279/mo. 14-day free trial. ## Technical SEO tools ### 4. Screaming Frog **[Screaming Frog SEO Spider](https://www.screamingfrog.co.uk/seo-spider/)** is still the standard crawler. It finds broken links, redirect chains, missing and duplicate titles, canonical and hreflang problems, and JavaScript rendering issues. Custom extraction lets you pull almost anything off every page. - **Pricing:** Free up to 500 URLs. A license is **£199 ($279) per year**, with no auto-renewal. ### 5. Sitebulb **[Sitebulb](https://sitebulb.com/)** crawls like Screaming Frog but explains what it finds. Its prioritized hints and crawl maps make it easier to hand a report to a client or developer. - **Pricing:** Lite from about $13.50/mo billed annually, Pro about $35/mo, cloud plans from $125/mo. 14-day free trial. ### 6. Conductor Monitoring (formerly ContentKing) **[Conductor Monitoring](https://www.conductor.com/platform/monitoring/)** watches your site around the clock instead of crawling on demand. If a deploy removes a canonical or noindexes a key page, you get an alert within minutes, not at your next audit. ## Keyword research tools ### 7. Keywords Everywhere **[Keywords Everywhere](https://keywordseverywhere.com/)** puts search volume, CPC, and related keywords right inside Google results. It is the cheapest way to check a keyword without opening a full platform. - **Pricing:** annual plans only. Bronze **$84/yr** (100,000 credits), Silver $168/yr, Gold $480/yr. Credits are valid for 12 months from purchase. ### 8. Google Keyword Planner **[Google Keyword Planner](https://ads.google.com/home/tools/keyword-planner/)** gives volume ranges straight from Google Ads data. It is free with a Google Ads account and best for sanity-checking volumes from third-party tools. ## Content SEO tools ### 9. StoryChief **[StoryChief](https://storychief.io/)** combines an SEO content editor with Google Search Console data, a [content audit tool](https://www.storychief.io/content-audit-tool), and multi-channel publishing. It is the tool I would pick for a content team that writes, reviews, and publishes in one workflow instead of passing Google Docs around. - **Best for:** content teams and agencies publishing across a blog and social channels ### 10. Frase and MarketMuse **[Frase](https://www.frase.io/)** builds content briefs from the pages that already rank, so writers know which subtopics and questions to cover. **[MarketMuse](https://www.marketmuse.com/)** works at the site level, showing which topics you have not covered yet to build topical authority. ### 11. ChatGPT and Claude AI assistants are now part of the SEO workflow, mostly for analysis rather than writing. What works: - **Search Console analysis:** export queries and pages, then ask it to cluster by intent, find pages with falling clicks, or flag two URLs competing for the same query. - **Bulk titles and meta descriptions:** give it the target query and current title, and ask for options under 60 characters. - **Crawl triage:** paste a Screaming Frog export and ask which issues matter most. My [ChatGPT prompts for SEO](/blog/chatgpt-prompts-seo) cover the prompts I reuse. ## Link building tools ### 12. LinkDR **[LinkDR](https://linkdr.com)** is the link building service I run. It places links on vetted sites with real traffic, from $160 per link at DR 30+ to $500 at DR 60+, and every price includes publisher outreach, the article, and tracking after placement. ### 13. Outreach and monitoring tools - **[Hunter](https://hunter.io/):** finds email addresses for any domain. - **[Respona](https://respona.com/) and [Pitchbox](https://pitchbox.com/):** manage outreach campaigns and follow-ups at scale. - **[Linkody](https://www.linkody.com/):** alerts you when a link you built disappears. More options in my guide to [backlink monitoring tools](/blog/backlink-monitoring). ## AI search visibility tools ### 14. AI SEO Tracker and alternatives Ranking in Google is no longer the whole picture. ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini, and Google's AI Overviews answer questions directly, and you want to be the brand they mention. - **[AI SEO Tracker](https://aiseotracker.com):** my tool for tracking how often and where your brand shows up in AI answers. - **Profound, Peec AI, and Otterly:** alternatives, with Profound aimed at enterprise teams. ## Free SEO tools You can do serious SEO without paying: - **[Google Search Console](https://search.google.com/search-console/about):** the only source of real Google clicks, impressions, and indexing data. Start here. - **[Ahrefs Webmaster Tools](https://ahrefs.com/webmaster-tools):** free backlink data and site audits for your verified sites. - **[Screaming Frog](https://www.screamingfrog.co.uk/seo-spider/):** free crawls up to 500 URLs. - **[PageSpeed Insights](https://pagespeed.web.dev/):** Core Web Vitals from real Chrome users. - **[Bing Webmaster Tools](https://www.bing.com/webmasters):** Bing data. ChatGPT search draws partly on Bing's index, so it matters more than it used to. - **[Google Keyword Planner](https://ads.google.com/home/tools/keyword-planner/) and [Google Trends](https://trends.google.com/):** search volumes and seasonality. ## Which SEO tools should you use? - **$0/month:** Search Console, Ahrefs Webmaster Tools, Screaming Frog free, and PageSpeed Insights. Enough for most sites under 500 pages. - **About $50/month:** add Keywords Everywhere and a Screaming Frog license for faster research and full crawls. - **About $150-$300/month:** add one all-in-one platform (Ahrefs, Semrush, or SE Ranking) once you are doing competitor and backlink research every week. Buy for the job you do most. If most of your work is content, a content tool beats a second data platform. If it is links, spend on link data and monitoring. ## FAQ ### What are the 5 best SEO tools? Google Search Console, Ahrefs, Semrush, Screaming Frog, and a keyword tool like Keywords Everywhere cover most SEO work. Add SE Ranking if you need affordable rank tracking. ### What is the best free SEO tool? Google Search Console. It is the only tool with real data on how Google sees and ranks your site. Pair it with Ahrefs Webmaster Tools for backlinks. ### Is SEO dead now with AI? No. AI answers pull from pages that already rank and are well linked, so classic SEO still feeds AI visibility. What changed is that you also need to track and optimize for mentions in AI answers, not just blue links. ### Can ChatGPT do an SEO audit? Partly. It can analyze Search Console exports and crawl data you give it, but it cannot crawl your site or see rankings on its own. See [what ChatGPT can and cannot audit](/blog/seo-audit-service#can-chatgpt-do-an-seo-audit). ### What is the 80/20 rule in SEO? A small share of pages drives most of your traffic, and a few fixes drive most of the gains. Find the pages ranking in positions 5-20 with the most impressions, improve those first, and ignore minor crawler warnings. ]]> me@il.ly (Ilias Ism) https://il.ly/marketing/twitter-marketing twitter-marketing Wed, 08 Nov 2023 00:00:00 GMT - [Why X marketing works](#why-is-twitter-marketing-important) - [Real examples](#twitter-marketing-examples) - [Best tools](#best-tools-for-twitter-marketing) - [Best practices](#twitter-marketing-best-practices) - [Analytics](#twitter-analytics) ## Why is Twitter Marketing Important? Some entrepreneurs underestimate Twitter because they don't see the value. But consider these compelling benefits: - **Reach a massive audience** - Twitter's hundreds of millions of Twitter users provide instant access to a huge market. - **Increase brand awareness** - Regularly posting content builds familiarity and mindshare with potential customers. - **Drive targeted traffic** - Tweets can send qualified visitors to your site and products. - **Generate leads** - Twitter is ideal for connecting with potential customers in your niche. - **Get real-time feedback** - The instant responses you'll get are invaluable for improving your offering. - **Customer service** - Twitter provides a public and transparent channel to support customers. - **Monitor conversations** - Use Twitter lists to keep a pulse on what people are saying about your brand and industry. Use a [Twitter bookmark manager](https://getxbase.com/blog/best-twitter-bookmark-manager-for-chrome-xbase) to keep track. - **Competitive analysis** - Follow rivals to analyze their positioning and strategy. - **Affordable marketing** - Twitter provides free tools to maximize your presence. For those with a budget, **Twitter ads** offer a way to amplify reach and target specific user demographics. - **Distributed network** - Content spreads rapidly, going beyond just your immediate followers. It is also a news-first platform. A [2021 Pew Research study](https://www.pewresearch.org/journalism/2021/11/15/majority-of-twitter-users-get-news-on-the-site-and-most-see-it-as-an-important-way-to-get-news/) found that **69% of US Twitter users get news on the platform**, which is why timely, opinionated posts about your industry travel so well. ## Twitter Marketing Examples Twitter may seem overwhelming at first. But these **real-world examples** show how **real indie hackers** and businesses have succeeded. See how they turned Twitter into a lead and growth engine for their ventures with [smart strategies](/blog/strategy). Let their **success stories** inspire your own approach. ### Ilias Ism **My own journey growing my Twitter account** [**@illyism**](https://x.com/illyism) **has proven Twitter's power firsthand.** I started with 0 Twitter followers this year. But by consistently sharing [SEO tips](https://x.com/illyism/status/1704072923651457170), engaging with my Twitter audience and proving myself as a thought leader, I've grown to over 1,400 Twitter followers! After my friend and bigger Indie Hacker [Marc Louvion](https://x.com/marclou) tweeted about my [SEO services](https://magicspace.agency/services) at MagicSpace, I received 20 solid leads in my direct messages almost overnight! It’s important to connect with the right people. For my [SEO agency](https://magicspace.agency/), **Twitter has become a top source of new business thanks to organic reach and word-of-mouth.** The platform's impact can scale up rapidly. We grew from $0 MRR to now $5000 MRR in less than a month! ### Nick Buzz [Nick](https://x.com/nickbakeddesign) leveraged Twitter to take his UI design business from struggling to over [$65k MRR in just 3 months](https://x.com/nickbakeddesign/status/1718570040994513131). He focused on sharing design process breakdowns and examples instead of self-promotion. Engaging "show and tell" content led to tweets consistently reaching 100k+ impressions. This built Nick's authority in his niche and showed him as a thought leader. It led to targeted leads organically finding and engaging with his posts. He took up to 10 calls a day from ideal prospects. The results prove the power of "[**building in public**](https://buildinpublic.community/)" on Twitter with tactical, value-driven content. His expertise attracted clients more effectively than any ads could. As Nick said [in a recent tweet](https://x.com/nickbakeddesign/status/1658715781671305216): > Share your progress with the community, and be present and active. Do not let this one slide! ### Marc Lou [Marc Lou](https://indiepa.ge/marclou) used Twitter to fuel the growth of his developer boilerplate [ShipFast](https://shipfa.st?via=illy). Since growing from 1k followers in July 2022, he grew to 45k+ followers, now a single announcement tweet for ShipFast reached **167,000 impressions**! His strategy of openly **sharing his journey building new projects** increased his Twitter following to over 45k in just a year! This enabled Marc to leverage the Twitter algorithm for greater visibility. Combining Twitter with Product Hunt gave ShipFast maximum exposure. Marc shows how you can build an audience on Twitter first before launching your product. **This social proof helps ensure a successful debut.** **Clearly, Twitter provides unparalleled opportunities for growth and visibility. But how exactly should small businesses without huge marketing budgets take advantage?** Looking back, here is how Marc said it [last year](https://x.com/marclou/status/1591058411138871296): > I spent 1 year in the dark building "the next Facebook" 🤑 > I launched and got 0 users. I was depressed, and couldn't work for 3 months 🙄 > I build in public since last year, shipping startups in under 2 weeks 🏗️ > I earn $1000/mo and never felt happier 🤩 Look at how far he has come now! **From $1k MRR to $50k MRR in just a year** all thanks to building in public on Twitter! ## Best tools for Twitter Marketing For small business owners looking for a successful **twitter marketing strategy**, the first step is using Twitter marketing tools purpose-built to make Twitter marketing easy and effective. Juggling a Twitter presence along with everything else can be challenging for resource-constrained solopreneurs and small teams. **AI Twitter tools pick up the slack by automating repetitive tasks, creating content, optimizing tweets, analyzing performance, and more.** For visual content like memes, tools like [MagicMeme](https://magicmeme.com/) help you create engaging memes quickly with AI templates and face swapping features. Let's explore the top AI Twitter tools and marketing tools available: ### Typefully [Typefully](/blog/typefully) focuses on helping users **write better tweets** and threads with AI writing aids and [prompts](/blog/chatgpt-prompts-seo). It provides an intuitive, minimalist interface to compose tweets without distractions. ### Tweethunter [Tweethunter](https://tweethunter.io/?via=ilias) utilizes powerful AI to generate engaging, viral-style tweets based on topics and styles you specify. It also offers automation for scheduling, analytics, and audience growth. ### StoryChief [StoryChief](/blog/storychief) provides AI writing aids but also acts as an all-in-one [content marketing platform](https://storychief.io/blog/content-marketing). It offers collaboration, multi-channel publishing, and built-in SEO optimization. ### PostEverywhere [PostEverywhere](https://posteverywhere.ai/) is a scheduler for posting the same content to X and 11 other networks from one calendar: Instagram, TikTok, LinkedIn, Facebook, YouTube, Threads, Pinterest, Bluesky, Discord, Telegram, and WordPress. It adapts each post to the platform, can bulk-schedule hundreds of posts from a CSV, and has an AI studio for captions, images, and short videos. It also has a REST API and a hosted MCP server, so an AI agent can draft and schedule posts for you. Plans start at $9 a month, with a 7-day free trial. ### Hypefury (no longer supports X) Hypefury used to be a popular X scheduler, but in 2026 it **dropped X support** and moved to LinkedIn, Threads, Bluesky, Instagram, TikTok, and Mastodon. Its X analytics tool, BlackMagic, shut down on July 1, 2026. If you post on X, use Typefully or Tweet Hunter instead. More in my [Typefully review](/blog/typefully#typefully-alternatives). **In summary: [Typefully](/blog/typefully) is best for writing and posting across X and LinkedIn, Tweet Hunter for AI content and growth on X, StoryChief for teams running content across many channels, and PostEverywhere for scheduling one post to X and 11 other networks.** For a full comparison with Buffer, Publer, Metricool, and Later, see my guide to the [best social media scheduling tools](/blog/social-media-scheduling-tools). **This list only scratches the surface.** There are dozens of [AI tools](https://linkdr.com/) out there to boost your Twitter productivity and results. **The key is picking one tailored to your needs and budget.** Many provide **free plans** to get started. Take advantage of trials and special offers before committing. Now let's explore some proven tactics to grow your audience and engage followers, with or without AI tools. ## Twitter Marketing best practices **Twitter is not just a social network, it's a community where you can establish yourself as an authority.** Growing an engaged audience is the foundation of succeeding with Twitter marketing. The larger your niche following, the more potential customers you can influence. Here are proven ways small businesses can build their tribe: ### Identify Your Niche - **Research** **hashtags and topics** relevant to your product and target audience. Discover existing conversations in your space. For example, use relevant hashtags like **#buildinpublic** - **Follow** industry experts, micro-influencers, competitors, and engaged users in your niche. - **Start posting** content and engage with these communities to establish yourself as an authority. ### Produce Valuable Content - **Share useful insights**, behind-the-scenes details, tips, actionable advice related to your niche. - **Post regularly** to stay top of mind and keep your Twitter feed dynamic and engaging. Vary content formats: threads, articles, infographics, quotes, Twitter polls, memes, etc. Tools like [MagicMeme](https://magicmeme.com/) make it easy to create engaging meme content. - **Ask questions** to spark discussion. Seek feedback to improve your offering. ### Optimize Your Twitter Profile - Craft an informative **Twitter bio** highlighting your expertise and products. - Include a **link** in your Twitter profile. - Include a few links in your bio to your projects or what you're working on. - **Pin an important tweet** like product launches or a summary of your best work. - Set your location. ### Engage With Your Audience - **Reply to questions and comments** from followers. This improves the algorithmic visibility of your tweets. - Join related conversations using hashtags like [#buildinpublic](https://x.com/search?q=%23buildinpublic). - **Like and retweet** relevant tweets from those in your community. - **Follow back** those who engage with your content. - **Send a nice DM** to new followers to thank them for following you. ### Partner With Micro-Influencers - **Find influencers** in your niche with engaged followings. Follow them and interact, reply to their tweets. - Offer value by **sharing their content** with your own following, tagging them or replying to their tweets. - **DM and offer** discounts or free products in exchange for reviews and endorsements. Consistency and persistence are key. You won't build a large, targeted audience overnight. But over time, these tactics will grow your tribe. Now let's look at ways to engage your followers and convert them into leads and customers. ## Twitter Marketing Strategies **Attracting followers is only half the battle.** You also need ways to actively engage your audience. This builds loyalty, generates leads, and increases conversions. Here are some **proven engagement tactics**: ### Host Twitter Chats or AMAs Twitter Spaces and chats are a **great way** to actively engage your audience. Hosting Twitter chats is one of the best ways to maintain active engagement with your followers. - **Set a time and date** for a Twitter Space where people can ask you anything. Promote it extensively beforehand. - **Tag major influencers** in your niche and request them to join or at least help spread the word. Offer them incentives. - **During the chat, focus on providing value.** Don't overly self-promote. Keep responses conversational. - **Maintain the chat momentum** with regular new questions and insights. - Later, **recap highlights** in a thread. Turn key insights into **blog posts**. ### Run Contests and Giveaways - Contests are a tried and true way to **spark engagement on social media**. - **Give away free products**, discounts, or access to premium content. - Require **contest entries** to follow you and retweet a post. - Consider **teaming up** with influencers in your niche to run joint contests to expand reach. ### Poll Your Followers - Ask **intriguing questions** related to your niche, products, or expertise. **Include images/video content when possible.** Memes from [MagicMeme](https://magicmeme.com/) can make your polls more engaging and shareable. - **Survey followers** to get ideas for new products, content, or features. Track responses in a spreadsheet. - **Follow up** on poll results in later tweets or aggregate findings into an in-depth report. ### Provide Exclusive Value - **Share coupon codes, discounts, early access**, and other perks reserved for your Twitter followers only. - **Give subscribers sneak peeks** of upcoming products and content. - Create **Twitter-exclusive content** like reviews, how-tos, case studies, and compilations. It's super important to **engage with your followers** and provide value. This will help you build a loyal following and show you as an authority in your niche. People will naturally turn to you when they need your product or refer you to others. ### Highlight User Wins - Ask followers to **share how your product helped them** solve a problem or achieve a goal. - **Showcase the most inspiring stories** as Twitter threads or testimonials on your site. - **Tag featured users** so they can share the spotlight with their own following. The goal of these tactics is to **demonstrate real value** to your followers. This establishes **trust and loyalty**. When they're ready to buy, they'll naturally think of your brand first. Next let's explore Twitter marketing tips for subtly promoting your product in between all the value you provide. ## Twitter Promotion Strategies The **key with Twitter marketing is avoiding overly promotional content.** Followers are quick to tune out hard sells. Instead, you want to **subtly** weave in mentions of your product among all the value you provide. Here are some ways to promote your offering: ### Share Product Updates - **Inform followers** about new features, releases, promotions related to your product. - **Explain** how new additions will help solve specific problems for them. - **Use images and video content** to showcase your product's capabilities using a dedicated [Twitter video tool](https://il.ly/blog/typeframes). ### Highlight Positive Reviews - **Ask satisfied users for feedback and testimonials.** Re-share the best ones on Twitter. - **Tag featured reviewers** so they can spread the word to their own following as well. - Turn especially **compelling stories** into Twitter threads. ### Respond to Mentions - Set up **search alerts** for your product name and handle. **Respond** to all customer feedback and questions. - Provide support publicly so other followers can see your responsiveness. Take conversations **private** if needed. ### Share Use Cases - **Demonstrate your product's value** with examples of real customers solving problems. - **Outline step-by-step use cases** showing how an ideal buyer would use your solution. - Weave mentions of your offering into industry analysis threads. Your product should **solve discussed issues.** The key is mixing in product mentions with all the other value you provide. Over time, followers will come to see your product as the go-to solution for their needs. Now let's move beyond just Twitter to maximize your impact across channels. ## Cross-Promotion Strategies While cultivating your Twitter audience is essential, you also want to repurpose and highlight your **top content elsewhere**. This expands your reach beyond just Twitter followers. It also strengthens your authority across your digital presence. Here are some ways to get more mileage from your top-performing tweets: ### Turn Threads Into Blog Posts - Transform your most in-depth threads into long-form guides on **your company blog**. - **Expand each tweet** into several paragraphs with actionable advice, images, examples etc. - **Link back** to the original thread so Twitter followers can share it. ### Share to LinkedIn - **Repost** your most insightful threads in relevant **LinkedIn groups** to spark discussion. - Use your profile to **highlight threads** related to your expertise and industry. - Ask colleagues and connections to **share your threads** they find valuable. ### Promote Launches on ProductHunt - When releasing a new product, **share it on ProductHunt** right as you announce on Twitter. - **Encourage followers to upvote your ProductHunt post** to gain more traction. - Later, **share your ProductHunt post** back on Twitter thanking those who upvoted it. ### Email Newsletter Excerpts - In your regular newsletter, **feature excerpts from top threads** along with related commentary and links to drive traffic back to Twitter. - Convert threads into **infographics** included in your email campaigns. - **Promote your Twitter** handle prominently in all [email newsletters](/growth). **Cross-promotion expands your reach** while showing different audiences your expertise across channels. This strengthens familiarity with your personal brand and products. Next let's dive into analytics so you can track the data and refine your marketing efforts. ## Twitter Analytics The final crucial piece is **analyzing metrics** to understand what content resonates best with your audience. Following best practices in monitoring tweet impressions can help you refine your Twitter strategy. This allows you to **double down on what works** and adjust what doesn't. Here are key analytics to track: - **Tweet impressions** - monitor which tweets get the most eyeballs. Find your best-performing content formats. - **Engagement rate** - measure likes, retweets, and replies to see which tweets spur the most interaction. - **Link clicks** - see which tweets driving the most traffic to your site and products. - **Top content** - use analytics to identify your most popular types of tweets based on engagement and clicks. - **Media performance** - track engagement on tweets with images, video content, gifs vs just text. - **Follower growth** - monitor new followers over time to see impact of marketing efforts. - **Demographics** - analyze the gender, interests, locations, and other traits of your followers. - **Peak times** - Determine the [best time](https://storychief.io/blog/best-times-to-post-social-media) when your followers are most active so you can schedule tweets accordingly. Many **Twitter analytics tools**, both free and paid, are available to provide these insights. Review them regularly and feed findings back into your strategy. The more you can make **data-driven decisions** about your Twitter presence, the faster you will see results. Tweak what works, eliminate what doesn't. Now let's tie all these strategies together into an actionable game plan. ## Conclusion Here is a step-by-step blueprint summarizing the [**Twitter marketing strategies**](https://storychief.io/blog/twitter-marketing-guide) covered to maximize your Twitter success: 1. **Set clear marketing goals** - define your targets for followers, engagement, clicks, conversions. Track progress to goals with analytics. 2. **Research your niche** - identify key hashtags, influencers, competitors, and conversations relevant to your product and target customers. 3. **Grow your audience** - consistently provide value by tweeting tips, insights, behind-the-scenes details. Follow and engage with your community. 4. **Promote strategically**\- share product updates, user reviews, use cases, etc. But avoid overt self-promotion. Weave in mentions subtly. 5. **Monitor notifications** - respond to all follower questions and mentions quickly and helpfully. Join related conversations. 6. **Engage followers** - host Twitter chats, run contests, poll your audience, provide exclusive perks. Highlight customer wins and stories. 7. **[Repurpose content](https://miro.pxf.io/seo)** - turn popular threads into blog posts, LinkedIn updates, and newsletter fodder to expand reach. 8. **Analyze data** - use available metrics to identify your best-performing content. Refine your strategy based on data. 9. **Automate where possible** - use AI tools to save time on repetitive tasks like scheduling, audience growth, and analyzing tweets. 10. **Be patient** - building an audience and seeing results takes time and consistency. Stick with the strategies that deliver. 11. **Content calendar** \- with a tool like [StoryChief](/blog/storychief) or [Typefully](https://il.ly/blog/typefully) plan your content and schedule your tweets ahead of time. **Track your progress, learn from data, and iterate over time.** Maintain a consistent presence focused on value. The results will come. Twitter may seem chaotic on the surface. **But with an effective twitter marketing strategy tailored to your business, it can drive major impact.** Now the power of Twitter marketing is unlocked. The only thing left is to **start tweeting**. Will we see you and your business on Twitter soon? Send us a tweet [@illyism](https://x.com/illyism) and let us know! ]]> me@il.ly (Ilias Ism) https://il.ly/seo/chatgpt-prompts-seo chatgpt-prompts-seo Mon, 06 Nov 2023 00:00:00 GMT - **Best use of ChatGPT for SEO:** analyzing your own data. Paste a Search Console export and ask for quick wins, cannibalization, and decaying pages. - **Good for:** outlines, briefs, titles and meta descriptions, schema, clustering, and outreach drafts. - **Bad for:** search volumes and keyword difficulty. ChatGPT makes those numbers up; get them from a real SEO tool. - **Works in Claude and Gemini too:** every prompt below is model-agnostic. - [Prompts for your Search Console data](#prompts-that-use-your-real-data) - [Core SEO prompts](#1-core-seo-tasks) - [SEO agent prompts](#2-specialized-seo-agents) - [Viral X prompts](#3-viral-twitterx-prompts) - [How to use them](#how-to-actually-use-these) ## prompts that use your real data The biggest mistake with ChatGPT for SEO is asking it for numbers it does not have. It cannot see search volumes, rankings, or your traffic, and it will confidently invent them. Give it real data instead. Export your queries and pages from Google Search Console (Performance, last 3 months, Export to CSV) and paste or upload the file. ### find quick wins (striking distance keywords) > "Here is my Google Search Console export. Find queries where my average position is between 5 and 20 and impressions are above [100]. Group them by page, and for each page suggest the 2-3 changes most likely to move it into the top 3: title, intro, a missing section, or internal links." ### spot keyword cannibalization > "In this Search Console export, find queries where two or more of my URLs get impressions. For each, tell me which URL should own the query and what to do with the others: merge, redirect, or re-target." ### fix low click-through rates > "From this export, list pages with at least [500] impressions and a CTR below [1%] while ranking in the top 10. For each, rewrite the title (under 60 characters) and meta description (under 155) to match the top queries better." ### find decaying content > "Compare these two Search Console exports: [last 3 months] and [the 3 months before]. List pages that lost more than 30% of their clicks, and for each suggest whether to refresh, expand, or consolidate it." ### triage a technical crawl > "Here is a Screaming Frog export of my site. Ignore cosmetic warnings. List the 10 issues most likely to hurt indexing or rankings, in order, with the fix for each." These five prompts are where ChatGPT saves the most time. For the full tool stack around them, see my [best SEO tools](/blog/seo-tools), and for when you want a human to prioritize, an [SEO audit by Ilias Ism](/blog/seo-audit-service). For keyword research prompts below, treat any volume or difficulty number ChatGPT gives you as a guess. Validate keywords in Ahrefs, Semrush, Google Keyword Planner, or Search Console before you write. ## 1. core seo tasks These prompts handle the grunt work. Use them to build out your content calendar and optimize pages without spending hours in Ahrefs. ### keyword research & clustering Stop guessing what people search for. This groups keywords by intent so you know exactly what to write. > "Act as a senior SEO strategist. For the seed keyword '[primary keyword]', generate 30 long-tail keywords with search intent (informational/commercial/transactional), estimated difficulty, and cluster them into 5–7 topical groups. Output as a table with columns: Keyword, Intent, Cluster, Opportunity Score." ### content gap analysis Steal your competitors' traffic by finding what they missed. > "Analyze competitor [competitor URL] vs my site [your URL] for the topic '[topic]'. Identify 10 content gaps (subtopics they cover well that I don't). Prioritize by search volume potential and suggest content formats." ### seo-optimized blog outline Never start with a blank page. This builds a skeleton based on what's already ranking. > "You are an expert SEO content strategist. Create a detailed outline for a [word count]-word article targeting '[primary keyword]'. Include H1–H4 structure, search intent coverage, semantic keywords, and places for internal links/CTAs. Base it on top-ranking pages." ### title tag & meta description generator Get more clicks without changing your content. > "Generate 5 SEO-optimized title tags (under 60 characters) and meta descriptions (under 155 characters) for a page about '[topic]' targeting '[primary keyword]'. Focus on CTR, uniqueness, and keyword placement. Explain why each works." ### on-page optimization audit Run your draft through this before hitting publish. > "Review this content for '[primary keyword]': [paste content]. Score it 1–10 on on-page SEO factors (keyword usage, headings, readability, semantic depth, internal linking). Give specific rewrite suggestions for each section." ### featured snippet optimization Steal the top spot on Google. > "Rewrite this section to target a featured snippet for '[keyword]': [paste content]. Make it 40–60 words, direct, scannable, and structured (paragraph, list, or table format)." ### technical seo recommendations Find out why Google hates your site. > "Act as a technical SEO expert. Given this site structure/crawl data [paste summary or URLs], identify crawl/indexing issues and provide a prioritized fix list with code/examples (robots.txt, canonicals, schema, sitemaps)." ### internal linking strategy Pass link juice to the pages that actually make you money. > "Suggest 10 high-value internal links for this article [paste content or URL] targeting these pages [list target URLs/topics]. Provide optimized anchor text and exact placement recommendations." ### content refresh & update Bring dead articles back to life. > "Review this article [paste content] for freshness. Identify outdated sections, suggest 5–7 updates with new data/examples, and rewrite the introduction + conclusion for better engagement and E-E-A-T signals." ### search intent & persona analysis Figure out who you're actually writing for. > "For the keyword '[keyword]', analyze search intent and create 3 buyer personas. Then generate 10 questions each persona would ask and map them to content sections." ## 2. specialized seo agents Turn ChatGPT into a custom GPT that does one job perfectly. Paste these into the "Instructions" box of a Custom GPT. ### full seo strategist agent > "You are a world-class SEO strategist with 15+ years experience at agencies like Ahrefs/SEMrush. Your goal is to create complete, data-driven SEO strategies. Always ask clarifying questions first, then deliver step-by-step plans with priorities, timelines, and KPIs. Never give generic advice." ### on-page seo audit agent > "You are an On-Page SEO Audit specialist. When given a URL, fetch/analyze metadata, headings, content depth, technical elements (canonicals, schema, redirects), and Open Graph. Output: Summary score, categorized issues (metadata/technical/content), prioritized recommendations, and follow-up questions. Use professional tone and actionable language." ### keyword research agent > "You are a keyword research specialist. For any niche or seed keyword, deliver clustered keyword lists with intent, volume estimates, difficulty, and content opportunity. Always include low-competition long-tails and a content calendar suggestion. Ask for target audience and goals first." ### content creation agent > "You are an elite SEO content writer. When given a keyword and brief, produce full outlines then full articles optimized for humans + search engines (E-E-A-T, readability, semantic SEO, featured snippets). Include schema suggestions and social hooks. Match specified tone and length." ### competitor analysis agent > "You are a competitive intelligence SEO expert. Analyze any competitor domain or page: top-ranking keywords, content gaps, backlink opportunities, technical strengths/weaknesses. Deliver a 'beat the competitor' action plan with specific tactics." ### technical seo fixer agent > "You are a technical SEO engineer. Diagnose issues from crawl data, logs, or descriptions and provide exact code/config fixes (robots.txt, .htaccess, schema JSON-LD, canonical implementation, Core Web Vitals). Explain impact and testing steps." ### link building outreach agent > "You are a link-building specialist. For a target page/keyword, suggest 20 outreach targets, craft personalized email templates (with value hooks), and create follow-up sequences. Focus on high-authority, relevant sites only." ### local seo agent > "You are a local SEO expert. Optimize for Google Business Profile, local keywords, citations, and reviews. When given a business type + location, deliver a complete local SEO roadmap including schema, content ideas, and review response templates." ### schema & structured data agent > "You are a schema markup specialist. For any page type (article, product, FAQ, local business), generate perfect JSON-LD schema code, explain which types to use, and show how to implement it. Include validation tips." ### full seo workflow agent > "You are my personal SEO project manager. Guide me through the entire process: keyword research → clustering → brief → outline → draft → optimization → technical fixes → publishing checklist. At each step, confirm before proceeding and save progress." ## 3. viral twitter/x prompts The ones that actually work, stripped of the engagement bait. ### the 4-prompt article chain Don't ask for an article in one prompt. Chain them. 1. Generate keyword clusters + intent + difficulty. 2. Build content brief (H1/H2s, meta, headlines). 3. Write the full 1,200–1,600 word article. 4. Add schema, E-E-A-T signals, social hooks, publish checklist. ### the consultant > "ChatGPT can be your best SEO consultant. Act as a senior SEO expert and give me a complete strategy for [niche/keyword] including keyword list, content plan, on-page checklist, and link-building ideas." ### meta title & description variations > "Write 10 click-worthy title tags and meta descriptions for [topic] under 60/155 characters. Make them unique from competitors and include power words + benefits." ### low-competition keyword finder > "Find 15 low-competition long-tail keywords for [niche] with buyer intent. Include search volume estimates and why they're easy to rank for." ### content brief + outline in one > "Create a professional SEO content brief for '[keyword]' including primary/secondary keywords, search intent, target length, H2/H3 structure, and internal linking opportunities." ### e-e-a-t booster > "Rewrite this section to add strong E-E-A-T signals: [paste content]. Add author expertise, data citations, real examples, and unique insights." ### competitor content gap > "Compare top 3 ranking pages for [keyword] and tell me exactly what subtopics and angles they're missing that I can cover better." ### schema + faq generator > "Generate FAQ schema + 8 natural questions + answers for [topic/page] that target People Also Ask and featured snippets." ### daily seo workflow > "Act as my SEO co-pilot. Today I want to [task]. Walk me through the best ChatGPT-powered process step-by-step with exact prompts I can copy." ## 4. youtube creator workflows The prompts behind the "how I grew my blog to 100k visitors" videos. ### content outline generator > "Create a detailed SEO content outline for [keyword]. Target [word count] words. Include H1, logical H2/H3s, semantic keywords, and questions to answer. Make it better than current top results." ### keyword research + intent > "Suggest 20 long-tail keywords for [topic] with high search intent. Categorize by funnel stage (top/middle/bottom) and note competition level." ### title optimization > "Write 8–10 YouTube/blog titles for [topic] optimized for both SEO and CTR. Mix styles: how-to, listicles, questions, numbers. Include primary keyword naturally." ### meta description + social snippets > "Write 5 meta descriptions (under 155 chars) and 3 Twitter/LinkedIn post variations for this article [title + summary]." ### full seo content writing > "Write a 1,500–2,000 word SEO-optimized blog post on [keyword]. Use conversational tone, short paragraphs, bullet points, and natural keyword placement. End with a strong CTA." ### competitor serp analysis > "Analyze the current top 5 Google results for [keyword] and tell me the common structure, word count, and unique angles I should use to rank higher." ### internal linking + pillar content plan > "Suggest a pillar + cluster content strategy for [main topic] with 8–10 supporting article ideas and internal linking map." ### technical seo quick wins > "Review this page summary [or URL] and list the top 10 technical SEO issues + exact fixes (headings, speed, mobile, schema, etc.)." ### featured snippet + paa targeting > "Optimize this content section to win featured snippets and answer People Also Ask questions for [keyword]. Provide both paragraph and list versions." ### end-to-end seo campaign > "Plan a complete SEO campaign for [business/niche]: keyword research, 5 content ideas, on-page checklist, technical audit points, link-building strategy, and 90-day timeline." ## how to actually use these Don't just copy-paste blindly. Add friction. Give ChatGPT your specific constraints: your niche, your target audience, your current rankings, and your tone. If it sounds like a robot wrote it, tell it to rewrite it like a human. Chain prompts together (take the output of the outline prompt and feed it into the writing prompt).]]> me@il.ly (Ilias Ism) https://il.ly/business/slickgpt slickgpt Sun, 29 Oct 2023 00:00:00 GMT Users could bring their own OpenAI **API key** and take advantage of features like persistent **local chat history**, easily **sharing** conversations, a prominent **context editor**, and built-in **team** capabilities. **SlickGPT** was also **open source** on **GitHub**, allowing the community to contribute to its development. Overall, **SlickGPT** aimed to be a highly **customizable** and **transparent** choice for interacting with **Chatbots** and AI. By leveraging **Vue's** reactive architecture, it provided a smooth user experience with excellent **latency** and **performance**. Whether working solo or with a group, **SlickGPT** gave users more control over their **conversational AI** workflows. ## Key Features SlickGPT Had **SlickGPT** offered a robust set of capabilities that enhanced the core **ChatGPT** experience: - **Persistent Chat History**: All conversations are saved locally by default, overcoming **ChatGPT's** limited message memory. Users can revisit contexts easily. - **Real-time Collaboration**: Built-in support for teams with shared channels and seamless messaging. - **Customizable Interface**: Choose light or dark themes, reorder channels, adjust settings like message density. - **Integrated Code Editor**: Write and run code snippets directly within conversations. Supports syntax highlighting for dozens of languages. - **Import/Export Conversations**: Easily transfer chat history between different systems with JSON export. - **Prompt Library**: Save and organize frequently used prompts for fast re-use. - **Context Viewer:** Quickly orient yourself when revisiting chats by glancing at the preserved context. - **Slash Commands**: Insert boilerplate text via simple slash commands, like /todo, /table, /header etc. - **Cost Tracking**: See real-time usage and cost estimates based on your account plan. Avoid surprise bills. - **API Key Management**: Add multiple API keys and seamlessly switch between them. Keep personal and work usage separate. - **Fast Performance**: Interface optimized for rapid responses and minimal latency thanks to **Vue**. With these robust capabilities, **SlickGPT** enhances **ChatGPT's** core functionalities for a superior user experience. ## Why SlickGPT is Better Than ChatGPT **SlickGPT** provides many advantages over the official **ChatGPT** interface: - **True Chat Persistence**: By preserving conversations locally, **SlickGPT** overcomes **ChatGPT's** 15-turn memory limit. You can always pick up where you left off. - **Open Source** Codebase: As an **open source** project built in **Vue**, **SlickGPT** is transparent and community-driven. Users can contribute and customize it. - **Real-time Collaboration**: Work fluidly with team members in shared channels with excellent latency. **ChatGPT** lacks collaboration. - **Cross-platform Availability**: Access **SlickGPT** via the web on mobile, desktop and tablets. **ChatGPT** only offers a web client. - **Structuring Conversations**: Topics are organized into channels with threaded replies, much like **Slack**. **ChatGPT's** interface is limiting. - **Developer Friendly**: Customize behaviors by forking the codebase. Integrate plugins and extensions. Host your own instance with full data ownership. - **Prompt Management**: Save and re-use prompts quickly thanks to the library. **ChatGPT** lacks this. - **Cost Tracking**: Get real-time usage metrics to avoid surprise bills. **ChatGPT** shows limited billing data. - **Latency Optimized**: Rapid interface interactions powered by **Vue's** reactive architecture. **ChatGPT** suffers some lag. - **Customizable Aesthetics**: Choose light/dark themes, tweak fonts and colors. **ChatGPT** offers no customization. With its transparent design, active open source development, and premium user experience, **SlickGPT** provides the best **ChatGPT** alternative available today. ## Alternative: Get Started With MagicBuddy Since **SlickGPT** is no longer available, we recommend **[MagicBuddy](https://magicbuddy.ai/)** as the best alternative for enhanced ChatGPT experiences: - **MagicBuddy** is available on **Telegram** - simply search for **@MagicBuddyBot** and start chatting immediately - No API keys required - **MagicBuddy** handles all the technical setup for you - **Free tier available** - you can start using it right away without any upfront costs - **Voice message support** - send voice messages and get text or voice responses back - **Multi-language support** - chat in multiple languages for global accessibility - **Group chat integration** - add **MagicBuddy** to your Telegram groups for team collaboration - **24/7 availability** - access your AI assistant anytime, anywhere through Telegram - **Regular updates** - actively maintained with new features and improvements **MagicBuddy** offers many of the collaboration and accessibility benefits that made **SlickGPT** popular, but with the convenience of working directly in Telegram - an app you likely already use daily. For more detail on what **SlickGPT** offered in practice, see [What was SlickGPT?](#what-was-slickgpt), [Key Features SlickGPT Had](#key-features-slickgpt-had), and [Why SlickGPT is Better Than ChatGPT](#why-slickgpt-is-better-than-chatgpt). ## What Happened to SlickGPT? **SlickGPT** was acquired in **2025**, marking the end of its journey as an open-source project. While it served as an innovative **ChatGPT** alternative with its **Slack-inspired** interface and **Vue.js** architecture, the acquisition means it's no longer available for new users or open-source contributions. The **SlickGPT** project demonstrated the demand for enhanced **ChatGPT** interfaces with features like persistent chat history, real-time collaboration, and customizable themes. These insights have influenced the development of new AI tools and platforms. For users who appreciated **SlickGPT's** vision of making **conversational AI** more accessible and collaborative, **[MagicBuddy](https://magicbuddy.ai/)** continues this mission by bringing powerful AI capabilities directly to Telegram, where millions of users already communicate daily. ## Conclusion While **SlickGPT** offered an exciting frontier for leveraging **conversational AI** with its **Slack**-inspired interface and enhancements like persistent **chat history** and **real-time collaboration**, it has been acquired and is no longer available as an open-source project. **SlickGPT** demonstrated the potential for improved **ChatGPT** interfaces, setting expectations for performance and **customization** when interacting with powerful **natural language models**. Its **Vue.js** architecture and self-hosting capabilities showed users what transparency and control could look like in AI tools. For users who appreciated **SlickGPT's** vision of accessible and collaborative **conversational AI**, **[MagicBuddy](https://magicbuddy.ai/)** carries forward this mission. Available on **Telegram**, **MagicBuddy** provides many similar benefits - persistent conversations, team collaboration through group chats, and an intuitive interface - all without the complexity of API keys or self-hosting. Whether you're an individual exploring **AI** for the first time or a team seeking enhanced **conversational capabilities**, **MagicBuddy** offers an accessible entry point with its seamless **Telegram** integration and **24/7 availability**. The world of **AI chatbots** continues evolving rapidly, and while **SlickGPT** is no longer available, its legacy lives on in tools like **MagicBuddy** that prioritize user experience and accessibility. If you found **ChatGPT** intriguing but wanted something more collaborative and persistent, **MagicBuddy** provides that enhanced experience right in an app you likely already use daily. ]]> me@il.ly (Ilias Ism) https://il.ly/marketing/digital-marketing-tools digital-marketing-tools Sat, 14 Oct 2023 12:30:00 GMT Chief scientist and co-founder of [Phrasee](https://phrasee.co/) [Neil Yager](https://www.vox.com/the-goods/2019/4/15/18311367/essaybot-ai-homework-passing) claims that computer-generated text is already a large part of our media diet. _"In things like weather reports, it's called data to text,"_ Yager said. _"You take some numbers, like the humidity and temperature, and use an algorithm to automatically spin that into a story [and] you have some simple logic in there. 'If the temperature is above this, then say that it's going to be a warm day.' Robo-journalism is quite a big field."_ Phrasee AI, however, specializes in language generation for [email marketing, push, and Facebook copy](https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/phrasee). They promise **"more clicks, conversations, and customers with AI Content."** With use by some of the world's top marketers such as Sephora, Williams Sonoma, Sainsbury's and GNC, it's quite likely you've come across at least one piece of Phrasee's artificial intelligence-created content and were none the wiser. - Pharasee will provide a Demo for free; however not only is there no free version, to find out their price plans you have to contact their sales team. - With SEO-optimized content that does not read like robot gibberish, one Ebay Creative Director fawned over this AI tool saying, _"Technology like Phrasee is to copywriting what Photoshop was to design."_ ## ChatGPT-4 As [ChatGPT 3.5](https://chat.openai.com/) says in their disclaimer, _"ChatGPT may produce inaccurate information about people, places, or facts."_ That's right, it will straight up lie to you sometimes, doubling down when challenged, and occasionally responding with a terse mea culpa. Manipulating this mercurial minx more effectively can be done, as PCMag describes in its aptly-titled article: _[That's Not Right: How to Tell ChatGPT When it's Wrong](https://www.pcmag.com/how-to/thats-not-right-how-to-tell-chatgpt-when-its-wrong)_. For some professionals, the shortcomings of 3.5 are sufficient to justify moving up from the free version. For your needs, [is it worth it?](https://www.reddit.com/r/OpenAI/comments/15hz1ba/was_chatgpt_4_worth_it/) Companies like Duolingo, Stripe, and Khan Academy are already using it to optimize and deepen a customer's ability to connect with your business or brand. - Version 4's multilingual capabilities have vastly improved, now working in more than 25 languages. - Being a [multimodal model](https://www.zdnet.com/article/gpt-3-5-vs-gpt-4-is-chatgpt-plus-worth-its-subscription-fee/), ChatGPT-4 can process image and text data and make connections impossible in previous iterations. For example, it can view a picture of your open refrigerator and give you recipes using the ingredients it sees. - Allows nuanced personality options that you can "steer" more intuitively. - ChatGPT-4's plus membership still limits messages to 50 every three hours. - 3.5 remains OpenAI's free version of their artificial intelligence, with a Chat-GPT "Plus" membership that costs $20 a month and grants access to GPT-4 and new beta features, including browsing plugins and advanced data analysis. ## SmartWriter.ai An outreach automator specializing in personalized email generation, Smartwriter.ai claims its AI marketing tools can help you **"send 1000 hyper personalized emails per hour."** - There is no free version, but Smartwriter offers a 7-day free trial that _doesn't_ require a credit card. - Boasts many big-name clients, including Uber, Y Combinator Startups, and Stripe. ## Persado **"Persado AI-generated language outperforms your best copy 96% of the time,"** claims their website. Vague qualifiers aside, Persado has shown a proven performance in the generative text, AI-marketing space.[ CB Insights](https://www.cbinsights.com/company/persado), a tech market intel company, conducted an in-depth comparative analysis of the various generative text AI marketing tools on the market, and Persado earned a scorecard of 9.8/10, beating its rivals with the closest second almost a point lower. - Persado uses "[Cart Abandonment Software](https://www.persado.com/product/cart-abandonment-software/)" employing dynamic motivation to increase ecommerce revenue. - Persado does not publish their pricing on their website, wanting you to request a trial first; however reviews of the service rate their pricing as mid-to-high with plans starting at $3,000. ## Jasper.ai Optimized for marketing and finance, Jasper's library of tools boasts more than 30 AI writing tools and generators. - Free 7-day signup, but membership is required to use after that. - You have the option of signing up a small team of 3 people for $99 a month or $39 for a single individual, as well as customized plans to be negotiated with their sales team. ## Acrolinx Acrolinx provides generative AI that's like ChatGPT, but better. In Acrlinx's CEO's own words:** "When we first encountered ChatGPT, we immediately knew our customers would need another layer of protection against generative AI risk before they could reap the benefits."** Whether AI Enrich, Acrolinx's current artificial intelligence, can outperform the newest 4th version of ChatGPT from OpenAI or not, it is still an enterprise-oriented tool highly optimized and trained to assist in content strategy. - Acrolinx is already integrated with a number of products already on the market, including Adobe Experience Manager, Adobe FrameMaker, Adobe Incopy, Chrome, Edge, Safari, Firefox, GitHub, WordPress, Microsoft Office products, [and more. ](https://www.acrolinx.com/integrations/) - You can request a free trial, and after that product consultants will contact you to explain their mystery pricing not listed on their website. However, [reviews of their services](https://www.selecthub.com/p/enterprise-content-management-software/acrolinx/) show Acrolinx is relatively affordable compared to similar AI tools and services. ## ManyChat Offering to help you **"transform more conversations into sales, leads, and conversions",** Manychat is a marketing automation and chatbot platform based in San Francisco. Without requiring any coding, it provides tools to create chatbots through channels such as SMS texting, Email, Instagram, Telegram, and WhatsApp. For more advanced AI-powered support, check out our guide to the [best AI customer support agents](/blog/ai-customer-service-agent). - They do offer a free version which has a plan that includes up to 1,000 contacts. - A "Pro" Manychat account starts at $15 a month and includes unlimited direct messages and more tools such as automation and analytics. ## 6sense **6sense's purpose is to assist revenue teams in discovering their ideal customer profile,** and to scale personalized sales and marketing campaigns. This artificial intelligence marketing tool "_"is built on an embedded CDP that captures, processes, and normalizes the big data needed to drive multi-channel account engagement, power AI-driven predictions, and deliver meaningful insights,"_ says 6sense's CEO. - You have to book a custom demo through their website before they will give your team a pricing quote, however, they have packages for both growing startups and large enterprise clients. - They _do_ offer a free version that still can make use of 6sense's tools, but it is limited to 50 credits a month. ## Lumen5 **Lumen5 is a marketing tool that creates videos and images, including voice, to optimize your website with sleek AI-generated content you transcribe yourself.** Using AI and machine learning, you can also use Lumen5 to turn whitepapers, blogs, and any other written content into a video with a single click. It can auto-generate captions to existing video as well. - Lumen's "Community" plan, which is their free version. - Paid accounts come in [three tiers](https://lumen5.com/pricing/): Basic, for $19 a month; Starter for $59 a month; and Professional, $149 per month. They also offer custom enterprise accounts. ## MarketMuse **MarketMuse is an AI marketing tool that does its best to live up to its name, providing both a structural outline and creative inspiration.** Saving real writers from the fear of the blank page and giving more targeted prompts to AI writers, MarketMuse's goal is to make SEO-optimized content higher-quality and more useful. - Provides **"content briefing"** - blueprints that provide structure on topics to cover, links to use, and generally guide your writers so they don't have to guess what to cover in an article. - You can sign up for a free trial, but a subscription starts at a minimum of $79 a month. ## Midjourney Still in Beta, and with no free version, **Midjourney has wowed the internet with so many randomly intricate and bizarre works of art with the only limit being what prompt you can think of—and how often you can use it.** The art-generating AI has a lower price tag than many of its competitors at $8 a month, with a limit of 200 generations a month. And a monthly plan three times as expensive allows for unlimited "relaxed generations" (where Midjourney's artificial intelligence takes its time), with 15 hours a month of guaranteed "fast generations" (where your generations take server priority for speedy completion). - Allows you to **"upscale"** your favorite images in its results and make variations after the fact - Because of increased demand, they no longer offer a free trial. - The Midjourney artificial intelligence is accessed through [Discord](https://discord.com/), an instant message and voice chat service popular among PC gamers. ## Content at Scale Though the name may be a little unimaginative, this scrappy startup's artificial intelligence advertises itself as "AI Writer: Humanlike Blogs." - No free version is available. - Plans start at $250 and include internal and external links to credible sources, QA schema, SEO optimization, embedded tweets, key takeaways, table of contents, and a claim of "being better than even a well-rated native speaking writer that it bypasses AI detection," according to founder Justin McGill. ## Crayon With the aim to eliminate manual competitor research, **Crayon uses AI-powered analytics to monitor your industry peers and report back relevant intel.** What Crayon is most well-known for is their AI-assisted battlecard generators. According to [ProductMarketingAlliance.com](https://www.productmarketingalliance.com/all-you-need-to-know-about-battlecards/#:~:text=Battlecards%20are%20concise,%2C%20actionable%20summaries,objections%20a%20customer%20might%20have.), battlecards are **"concise, actional summaries of your product, the market, existing customers, and the competition",** and their job is to equip your sales team with quick-fire responses to questions, queries, or objections a customer might have. - Crayon integrates with Salesforce and Slack. - A starter subscription costs $15,000 a year,[ according to Hubspot](https://ecosystem.hubspot.com/marketplace/apps/sales/sales-enablement/crayon-battlecards-200027), with their prices hidden behind a request for a free estimate. ## Optimove **Optibot, Optimove's built-in marketing optimization AI designed to create self-optimizing campaigns** and, according to their website, "_"Help marketers maximize the impact of their efforts by combing through customer and campaign data [and] discover performance-boosting opportunities."_ - The platform supports any 1:1 marketing channel, including mobile push messaging, email, FacebookCustomAudience, Google Display Network, website banner ads, call center, and more. - Optimove's pricing is based on the number of monthly active customers you have, and you have to request a demo to receive an estimate. ## Howler.ai **Howler's artificial intelligence matches the user with "hyper-targeted journalist outreach" and helps to minimize the appearance of being irrelevant to their interests, or worse, spam.** They maintain a database of more than half a million journals and categorize them by topics they often write about. - Howler emphasizes receiving journalist feedback in their strategy of iterative campaigns, gradually improving based on these industry expert's initial impressions of your campaign - Howler AI's automated PR campaigns are enterprise-scale and cost $8,000 monthly with plans that also scale with growth. ## CoSchedule **CoSchedule provides Calendar-assisted content publishing with AI-powered marketing tools.** Their goal is to keep your marketing projects organized in one hub, and plan for optimal times and with what regularity to publish. - CoSchedule offers a free version that is a limited free calendar tool for individuals with less intensive needs. - Their Social Calendar for \*_"limitless social publishing"_ sports a price tag of $19 a month. For standalone schedulers that cover 12+ networks from $5 to $9 a month, see our [best social media scheduling tools](/blog/social-media-scheduling-tools) comparison. - For their Content Calendar Marketing Suite services, you have to contact their sales department for a personalized quote. ## NetBase Quid **NetBase Quid is a generative AI that aims to give "a holistic view of your customer's context."** They claim their suite of tools makes them more intuitive and insightful by finding patterns and making concrete predictions to maximize profits. - Quid claims to have not only advanced text analytics, similar to chat GPT, but does what is called a sentiment analysis in a way that can understand mood shifts and customer context at what they describe as a "granular level". - Quid requires requesting a demo to provide a price estimate. Despite lacking a free trial, let alone a free version, [many customers have reported](https://www.trustradius.com/products/netbase-quid/pricing) NetBase Quid to be competitively priced, with some finding it one of the lower-priced options. ## Talkwalker Funded by the deepest of pockets, LA hedge fund Marlin Equity Partners, the Luxembourg-based startup has become a global artificial intelligence brand with one of the highest reputations. While other AI tools attempt to be a Swiss Army Knife, Talkwalker is singularly focused on social media and making your business or brand optimized to be part of the conversation. From providing insights based on your social media history, to helping you pop on a trending topic _before_ it's so popular you can't stand out. **"Future-proof insights,"** is what this AI tool boasts it provides, landing major brands like Adidas and Hello Fresh as customers. - On their website you can request a free demo which includes a demo of Blue Silk™ GPT, Talkwalkers own artificial intelligence optimized to dominate the social media landscape. - They don't offer a free version, however, they freely give away their "Talkwalker Alerts" product, which informs you of new conversations you're mentioned in as they follow your digital footprint across all social media and the internet at large. ## SEMrush SEMrush boasts on its landing page that **"[it] is like a keyword research tool, Google Trends, Moz, Hootsuite and SimilarWeb in one."** Certainly one of the more popular AI tools for digital marketers, SEMrush also has the benefit of being a long-established company that is now publicly traded. With a proven track record, and some _huge_ customers (like Samsung, FedEx, and P&G) SEMrush will remain a popular choice in 2025 among those fearing other fly-by-night artificial intelligence services. - Boston-based and with more than 13 offices, SEMrush's customer support is unrivaled - they even have a 1-800 telephone helpline where you can speak to a real human. - No free version, but they offer a one-week free trial before a $99.95 per month fee. ## AI Presentation Makers For creating compelling visual content for marketing campaigns, sales pitches, or webinars, **[AI presentation makers](/blog/best-ai-presentation-maker)** are invaluable. These tools leverage artificial intelligence to help you design professional-looking slides in a fraction of the time it would take manually. They can assist with everything from content suggestions and layout design to branding consistency. - Many tools offer features like converting text prompts into full decks, AI-powered design suggestions, and integrations with existing presentation software like PowerPoint and Google Slides. - Check out our guide to the **[10 Best AI Presentation Makers](/blog/best-ai-presentation-maker)** to find the right tool for your needs. ## Meme Creation Tools For social media marketing, memes are one of the most engaging content formats. **[MagicMeme](https://magicmeme.com/)** provides a comprehensive library of meme templates and creation tools to help you create viral-worthy content quickly. With thousands of popular meme templates like [Spiderman Pointing](https://magicmeme.com/meme/spiderman-pointing-at-spiderman), [Vince McMahon Reaction](https://magicmeme.com/meme/Mr-McMahon-reaction), and [Always Has Been](https://magicmeme.com/meme/astronaut-meme-always-has-been-template), you can create shareable content that resonates with your audience. ## Conclusion **Which Artificial Intelligence will you be integrating into your life and business?** For individuals, the allure of ever-improving AI can be tempting to rely on. However, one of the most important keys to using AI-powered marketing tools is to know when _not_ to. From lawyers submitting nonsense legal briefs in court to the sick seeking diagnosis through ChatGPT, too much trust in these tools can have disastrous effects. However, if you are an online marketer, have way too much data to analyze yourself, and need more content than you can reasonably write yourself to improve your SEO, many of these AI-powered marketing tools will make your life much easier. Just make sure you do your research - all AI, and more importantly how it is used, is not identical, and you want to make sure you get the most when paying for it. ]]> me@il.ly (Ilias Ism) https://il.ly/reviews/typefully typefully Mon, 09 Oct 2023 00:00:00 GMT Typefully is a writing and scheduling tool for X, LinkedIn, Threads, Bluesky, and Mastodon, with AI writing help and analytics. Free plan, or Pro at $10/month ($8 billed annually). I grew my X following by 5000+ in 6 months using its thread composer, auto-DM feature, and analytics. **X** / **Twitter** is a powerful platform for creators, businesses, and influencers to connect with their audience, share ideas, and promote their products and services. But crafting engaging tweets and threads can be challenging, especially when you're juggling multiple accounts or trying to maintain a consistent posting schedule. **That's where Typefully comes in.** **Typefully** is a Twitter scheduling and writing tool designed to help creators effortlessly craft better tweets and threads. In this review, I'll take a closer look at Typefully's features, pricing, and benefits to help you decide if it's the right tool for your [Twitter marketing strategy](/blog/twitter-marketing). **2026 update**: Typefully is still part of my daily workflow. It now publishes to X, LinkedIn, Threads, Bluesky, and Mastodon from one editor, the Auto-DM is still the most useful feature when a post takes off, and Calendar mode makes planning a week of posts easy. See my [X marketing guide](/blog/twitter-marketing) for the strategy side. ## What is Typefully? **[Typefully](https://typefully.com/?via=ilias&coupon=ILLY20) is a Twitter writing and scheduling tool that helps users create, schedule, and publish tweets and threads more easily.** It has an intuitive, minimalist interface focused on writing without distractions. What sets Typefully apart is its focus on **quality**. The team behind Typefully understands that quality content is critical to success on Twitter. That's why they've built a tool that helps you create high-quality content that resonates with your audience. Whether you're a business owner looking to grow your brand on Twitter, an influencer looking to engage with your followers, or a casual user looking to improve your Twitter experience, **Typefully is the tool for you.** ### AI Writing Assistant > The AI writing assistant is one of the most powerful features of Typefully. It helps you write better tweets and threads by providing suggestions and prompts based on your writing style. I love the [AI features](https://support.typefully.com/en/articles/14756434-writing-assistant) in Typefully. They make me a better copywriter and help me write more engaging tweets and threads. The **"Rewrite as a thread start"** is simply gold; with threads, I can get more engagement, and the AI helps me find a great hook that works. You simply tap "enter" a few times, and it will allow you to write the following tweet in the thread. I recorded a [quick video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WeCthZhDBQs) to show you how it works. ### Thread Numbering If you're making a long thread, you must add numbers so that Twitter can bind them together. Typefully makes adding numbers to your tweets easy with a simple click. You can choose from various styles, the position (start or end), and skip numbers if you want to. ### Thread Finisher You can add a "thread finisher" to boost engagement at the end of a thread. It's a great way to get more likes, retweets, and replies on your threads. You can also use it to ask people to follow you or visit your website. It will quote the first tweet in the thread and add a call to action. ### Writing Prompt library If you're short on great Twitter ideas, Typefully's writing prompt library can help. It's a collection of writing prompts that you can use to get started with your next tweet or thread. The prompts are organized by topic and include a short description of what the prompt is about. Tweeting consistently is the best way to grow your audience and increase engagement. To grow faster, try to: - Pick a new prompt every day - Schedule many tweets during the weekend - Search for prompts in your areas of interest ### AI Tweet Suggestions For more personal suggestions, Typefully's AI can generate tweet ideas based on your existing tweets and writing style. It will give you three new tweet ideas when you click the "Get More Ideas" button. Here's mine: - **Cracking the Code of Successful Affiliates**: Analyze top-performing affiliates' strategies in your niche and share insights. - **Behind the Scenes of a Chrome Extension**: Showcase the process of building a Chrome Extension from idea to launch. - **Innovative Ways to Boost Your MRR**: Discuss unconventional methods indie hackers can employ to increase their monthly recurring revenue. What do you think? Would you want me to write about any of these topics? Let me know and follow [@illyism](https://x.com/illyism) on Twitter. ### Advanced 𝕏/Twitter Analytics Growth on Twitter is all about consistency. You need to post regularly and engage with your followers. Typefully's analytics dashboard helps you track your performance and get insights into your best-performing tweets. - **Followers**: Track cumulative and daily follower growth over time. - **Engagement**: The sum of all the engagements for your tweets (likes + retweets + replies + profile clicks + link clicks). - **Engagement Rate**: Engagements / Impressions. It measures how much people enjoy your tweets. - **Profile Conversion Rate**: The number of New followers versus Profile visits. With **Streaks**, you can motivate yourself to tweet more often and to get as long a streak as possible. It looks similar to the GitHub contribution graph. Don't break the chain! A great [psychology trick](https://il.ly/blog/ovsiankina-effect) to get you to tweet more often. What's more, you can see your **engagement during the day**. This helps you find the best time to tweet and get more engagement. You can filter by day (like only Mondays) and see a heatmap for the entire week. ### Schedule Tweets and Threads Typefully makes it easy to schedule tweets and threads in advance. You can schedule tweets for any time in the future, and you can also schedule threads. This is a great way to save time and stay consistent with your Twitter content. They made this part extremely good. You can set up a free slot (my favorite for streaks), select a custom time or find the best time based on engagement metrics. - **Auto-RT**: Schedule retweets to boost the engagement of your content, like 12 hours after publication. Typefully automatically remove retweets after 12 hours to keep your X profile clean. - **Auto-Plug**: If your tweet gets great engagement, you can schedule a plug to promote your other content. - **Auto-DM**: Send a DM to each user interacting with this tweet or thread. For example, ask your audience to follow, retweet, and reply, and you can send a DM with some free content or a discount code. - **LinkedIn**: With a LinkedIn account connected, you can cross-post your tweets to LinkedIn. Making it easy to grow your audience on both platforms. - **Typefully profile page**: You can publish your best threads to your Typefully profile page. It's a great way to showcase your content and get more followers. For live examples, see [**@illyism on X**](https://x.com/illyism). ### What can you do with Typefully? Typefully comes packed with more features to enhance every stage of the Twitter content creation process. Here are some of the tool's most notable capabilities: - **Intelligent writing suggestions** - Typefully offers AI-powered writing aids like contextual prompts and tweet ideas to make content creation easier. The prompts help spark ideas while tweet suggestions provide fully formed tweet drafts you can tweak or use as-is. - **Powerful visual editor** - Create stunning threads and tweets with Typefully's What-You-See-Is-What-You-Get (WYSIWYG) editor. Easily add images, videos, gifs, and more visuals without leaving the editor. - **Collaboration tools** - Invite team members to collaborate on tweets and threads. Useful for social media teams and agencies. - **Multi-account support** - Manage up to 50 social sets on the Business plan. Schedule tweets to different accounts as needed. - **Advanced analytics** - Get insight into the performance of your tweets. Track metrics like impressions, engagement rate, best times to tweet, and more. - **Scheduling** - Schedule tweets and threads in advance (10 posts a month on Free, 1,000 on Creator). Set the date and time for automatic publishing. - **RSS feed creation** - Turn your Twitter threads into an RSS feed your audience can subscribe to. Expand reach beyond Twitter. - **Audience engagement** - Tools like auto-reply help you engage your audience and boost tweet performance. - **Twitter profile curation:** Publish your best threads to your Twitter profile as blog posts to showcase your content (see [**@illyism on X**](https://x.com/illyism)). ## Key Benefits of Using Typefully When using Typefully for your Twitter [content marketing](https://storychief.io/blog/content-marketing) (should be part of your [B2B content marketing](https://storychief.io/blog/b2b-content-marketing-strategy), you can expect several benefits: ### Time-Saving Automation Typefully automates many aspects of the Twitter posting process, freeing up your time for other marketing tasks. The tool handles the heavy lifting with features like scheduling, prompts, and suggestions. It also reduces the need for third-party apps, allowing you to create visual posts without exporting images from design tools like Canva. ### Enhanced Tweet Quality Success on Twitter hinges on well-written, engaging tweets. Typefully simplifies the creation of high-quality tweets with AI writing aids and prompts. These prompts spark ideas, while the pre-written tweet suggestions offer a starting point that you can modify or use as is, resulting in well-thought-out tweets that align with your brand. ### Increased Audience Engagement Typefully includes tools specifically designed to boost audience engagement. For instance, the auto-reply feature enables you to set up canned responses to engage followers who interact with your tweets. The advanced analytics also offer insight into your best-performing tweets, allowing you to refine your Twitter strategy for maximum engagement. ### Consistent Branding With the ability to schedule unlimited tweets in advance, Typefully facilitates the maintenance of a steady stream of content in your brand's voice. The writing suggestions adapt to your brand's tone over time, reinforcing consistency and resulting in more professional branding on Twitter. ### Streamlined Collaboration For teams and agencies, Typefully eliminates collaboration hassles. Features like shared team accounts and review tools make teamwork more efficient. Multiple users can access the same Typefully account and collaborate on tweets. Draft tweets can also be privately reviewed before publishing. ## Typefully Alternatives The Twitter tool market shifted in 2026. Typefully went multi-platform, Hypefury dropped X, and Tweet Hunter stayed X-only. If you need to publish to TikTok, YouTube, Pinterest, or WordPress alongside X, compare the full field in my [social media scheduling tools guide](/blog/social-media-scheduling-tools). | Tool | Platforms | Starting price | Best for | | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | | **[Typefully](https://typefully.com/?via=ilias&coupon=ILLY20)** | X, LinkedIn, Threads, Bluesky, Mastodon | Free, Creator $99/year | Writing and scheduling across networks | | **[Tweet Hunter](https://tweethunter.io/?via=ilias)** | X only | $29/mo | AI content and lead generation on X | | **[Hypefury](https://hypefury.com/)** | LinkedIn, Threads, Bluesky, Instagram, TikTok, Mastodon (no X) | $6/mo per channel | Scheduling outside X | ### Typefully [Typefully](https://typefully.com/?via=ilias&coupon=ILLY20) is built for creators and small teams who care about writing. It now publishes to **X, LinkedIn, Threads, Bluesky, and Mastodon** from one editor. - **Free:** 1 social set, 10 posts a month - **Creator:** $99/year (annual billing only), with AI writing, X analytics, 1 social set, and 1,000 posts a month - **Business:** $18/month per social set (billed yearly), up to 50 social sets, with teams and roles Plans are priced per "social set," a group of connected accounts such as your X account plus your LinkedIn profile. ### Tweet Hunter [Tweet Hunter](https://tweethunter.io/?via=ilias) is built for growing and monetizing an X audience. It has stronger AI content generation, a large library of viral tweets for inspiration, auto-DMs, and a lead finder. It only supports X. - **Pricing:** Discover $29/month, Grow $49/month (with AI), and Enterprise $200/month. 7-day free trial. ### Hypefury [Hypefury](https://hypefury.com/) used to be the main Typefully rival for Twitter. In 2026 it **dropped X support** and now schedules for LinkedIn, Threads, Bluesky, Instagram, TikTok, and Mastodon. Its X analytics tool, BlackMagic, shut down on July 1, 2026. - **Pricing:** Flexible at $6/month per channel, or Full at $19/month for all channels. 7-day free trial. ### Which one should you pick? - **You post on X plus LinkedIn or Threads:** Typefully. It is the only one of the three that covers all of them, and the only one with a permanent free plan. - **You live on X and want AI to generate content and leads:** Tweet Hunter. - **You do not use X at all:** Hypefury is now an option for the other networks. ### Typefully vs. XBase - [XBase](https://xbase.so) is a Twitter tool that helps you get more out of Twitter. It's a good alternative to Typefully if you want a more advanced [twitter bookmark manager](https://xbase.so). ## Typefully Review Summary In conclusion, **Typefully is a powerful Twitter tool designed for individual creators and small teams. It lets you write high-quality posts and threads and publish them to X, LinkedIn, Threads, Bluesky, and Mastodon.** Its minimalist interface keeps users focused on writing and scheduling tweets without distractions. If you're looking for a simple, writing-focused social media tool, Typefully could be your best choice. For those who want to delve deeper into the functionalities of Typefully, you can explore their official website or check out user reviews online: ]]> me@il.ly (Ilias Ism) https://il.ly/reviews/clippulse clippulse Tue, 12 Sep 2023 00:00:00 GMT In the dynamic world of digital marketing, video content stands as a powerful tool to engage potential customers and foster brand awareness. As a small business owner constantly seeking efficient solutions, I stumbled upon a game-changer in the video marketing landscape: Clippulse. Here, I share my journey of transforming my video marketing strategy with Clippulse, a tool that combines ease of use with professional quality. Here is a video of me creating a video with Clippulse for [il.ly/extensions](/blog/extensions). And here is the result: ## Clippulse Features ### Ease of Use: Drag-and-Drop Interface **No Advanced Skills Required**. Navigating the world of video creation has never been easier. Clippulse offers a user-friendly drag-and-drop interface, allowing even those without advanced video editing skills to craft stunning videos. The simplicity echoes that of [creating a PowerPoint presentation](https://storychief.io/blog/best-ai-presentation-maker), yet the outcome is a professional-grade video ready to captivate your target audience. ### Customization at Your Fingertips **Brand Alignment**. With Clippulse, customization goes hand in hand with professionalism. The platform offers a rich library of templates, animations, and transitions, all customizable to align with your brand style. From fonts to layouts, every element can be tailored to resonate with your brand's voice, fostering an emotional connection with your audience. ## How I Use Clippulse For [MagicBuddy](https://magicbuddy.ai), **I use Clippulse to create videos for Google Ads.** The ads reach more potential customers by creating video ads for Google Performance Max campaigns and Twitter video ad campaigns. Videos tend to have higher engagement and completion rates on these platforms. It's also easy to go from [tweet to video](https://il.ly/blog/typeframes). ## Clippulse Pricing **Clippulse is a budget-friendly solution.** For bootstrapped startups and small businesses operating on a limited budget, Clippulse emerges as a cost-effective solution. The platform offers a straightforward pricing plan, allowing for unlimited video creations at a reasonable monthly fee. Moreover, being web-based, it eliminates the hassle of downloading and installing desktop software, offering a seamless experience. So if you were using a tool like Adobe Premiere Pro, you would have to pay a monthly fee of $20+ for the first year, learn the tools and then spend hours creating a video. With Clippulse, you can create easy product videos from just $11. That's a huge amount of savings! ## Clippulse Pros and Cons **Pros** - **Ease of use**: Intuitive drag-and-drop interface - **Customization**: Easy to customize design, music and elements - **Affordability**: Reasonable pricing for super quick video creations **Cons** - **UX could be better**: The platform could benefit from a more streamlined user experience at times. - **Internet dependency**: Being a web-based tool, a stable internet connection is required ## Clippulse Review Summary **Clippulse stands as a great tool in my video marketing toolkit.** Whether you are a small business owner or a digital marketer, Clippulse offers a way to create engaging and professional videos quickly for cheap. ]]> me@il.ly (Ilias Ism) https://il.ly/tech/girlfriend girlfriend Sat, 09 Sep 2023 00:00:00 GMT - **Best overall:** [Candy AI](https://candy.ai/home2?gender=female&via=illy). Uncensored chat, explicit photos, voice, and live video with one companion, from $3.99/mo billed annually. - **Best free:** [SpicyChat AI](https://spicychat.ai/?ref=oddjota). NSFW text chat with no credit card. - **Best memory:** [Nomi AI](https://nomi.ai/?via=ilias). Remembers details, moods, and inside jokes for months. Most AI girlfriend apps look great in the first ten minutes. The problems show up later: she forgets your name by next week, the app refuses halfway through a scene, or a "free" chat hits a paywall the moment you ask for a photo. So I tested 14 apps on what matters after the novelty wears off: memory, how far the NSFW actually goes, photo and video quality, and what you really pay once tokens run out. **September 2026 update:** I re-checked every price (Candy AI, Nomi, GirlfriendGPT, SpicyChat, and Muah all changed), added what "uncensored" covers in each app, and added privacy notes after Character.AI's age checks and Muah's data breach. The top four overall. Tap one to jump to its review: - [What "uncensored" covers](#nsfw-ai-girlfriends-what-uncensored-actually-covers) - [Pricing](#how-pricing-works) - [Comparison table](#platform-comparison) - [Privacy](#privacy-what-to-check-before-you-sign-up) - [Quick picks](#quick-decision-guide) *Want anime or explicit images instead? See [hentai AI generators](/blog/hentai), [AI porn generators](/blog/ai-porn), or [NSFW AI chatbots](/blog/nsfw).* ## What is an AI girlfriend app? An **AI girlfriend app** is a virtual companion with a persistent personality, avatar, and memory. Unlike ChatGPT or Claude, these platforms keep character context across sessions, generate photos and voice notes on request, and (on the good ones) do not shut down adult or romantic roleplay. Most combine four things: uncensored chat models, image generation, voice synthesis, and some form of long-term memory so your companion remembers your name, preferences, and shared history. ## Why memory matters, and why ChatGPT forgets Standard chatbots forget you once the conversation gets long. They hit a context limit and drop older messages. That is fine for one-off questions; I use [MagicBuddy](https://magicbuddy.ai/), my own ChatGPT bot for Telegram, for those. For a relationship, it kills the illusion. Top companion apps like [Nomi AI](https://nomi.ai/?via=ilias) and [Candy AI](https://candy.ai/home2?gender=female&via=illy) work around this by storing facts about you (name, job, preferences, past events) and pulling relevant memories back into each reply. The best ones also check in proactively: "How did that presentation go?" after you mentioned it days ago. If you want a companion that feels like someone you have been talking to for months, memory is the feature that matters most. ## Uncensored chat vs. Character.AI Many people start on Character.AI or Replika and hit a wall. Character.AI blocks explicit content with safety refusals. Since late 2025 it has also cut open-ended chat for under-18 users and added selfie or ID age checks for accounts it flags. Passing the check loosens moderation a little, but the filter stays on for adults too. Replika stripped erotic roleplay in 2023 and lost a huge chunk of its user base overnight. Dedicated platforms like [Candy AI](https://candy.ai/home2?gender=female&via=illy), [GirlfriendGPT](https://www.gptgirlfriend.online?ref=nwrmyjh), [aiAllure](https://www.aiallure.com/?ref=2ut2CyvPmLIIGKaKFIszTVemWWp&sub1=illy&sub2=expansion-20260819&sub3=girlfriend-top3), [Fantasy GF](https://fantasygf.com/?via=vu52r), and [SpicyChat AI](https://spicychat.ai/?ref=oddjota) are built for consenting adults. No refusal messages mid-scene. Uncensored photos and voice where the platform supports it. Most run as web apps with their own billing, so they are not bound by App Store content rules. ## How pricing works Most paid plans ($5 to $16/mo) include unlimited text chat. Photos, voice notes, video clips, and phone calls usually cost credits because they need GPU time. Watch out for coin traps: some cheap subscriptions charge per message or per photo. [Candy AI](https://candy.ai/home2?gender=female&via=illy) includes 100 tokens a month on every paid plan. [SpicyChat AI](https://spicychat.ai/?ref=oddjota) skips tokens entirely and unlocks features by tier. Annual plans are where the real discounts are. Candy AI drops from $13.99 to $3.99 a month, and Nomi drops from $15.99 to about $8.33. The catch: you pay the full year upfront, and token top-ups are not discounted. Some first-month prices also jump at renewal, and [Candy AI vs DreamGF](https://nsfw-ai-chat.com/comparisons/candy-ai-vs-dreamgf) shows how much. ## NSFW AI girlfriends: what "uncensored" actually covers "Uncensored" means different things on different apps. Some allow explicit chat but no explicit images. Others generate explicit photos but keep video tame. Here is how it breaks down: - **Explicit chat:** Nearly every app on this list. [SpicyChat AI](https://spicychat.ai/?ref=oddjota) and [Janitor AI](https://nsfw-ai-chat.com/janitor-ai) allow it on the free tier. [GirlfriendGPT](https://www.gptgirlfriend.online?ref=nwrmyjh) keeps NSFW behind its paid plans. - **Explicit photos:** [Candy AI](https://candy.ai/home2?gender=female&via=illy), [aiAllure](https://www.aiallure.com/?ref=2ut2CyvPmLIIGKaKFIszTVemWWp&sub1=illy&sub2=expansion-20260819&sub3=girlfriend-top3), [Fantasy GF](https://fantasygf.com/?via=vu52r), [DreamGF](https://dreamgf.ai/?a=AdXoDOXPBNULi8&nr=1&utm_source=aff_illy&utm_medium=affiliate), and [Promptchan AI](https://promptchan.com/m/oKCEK7FJMgg3pLKxTkmRHovN5ek1) generate them of your companion on request. - **Explicit video:** [Candy AI](https://candy.ai/home2?gender=female&via=illy) (Live Action), [aiAllure](https://www.aiallure.com/?ref=2ut2CyvPmLIIGKaKFIszTVemWWp&sub1=illy&sub2=expansion-20260819&sub3=girlfriend-top3) (Live Rooms), and [Promptchan AI](https://promptchan.com/m/oKCEK7FJMgg3pLKxTkmRHovN5ek1) (image-to-video) are the strongest. Video costs the most credits everywhere. - **Explicit voice and calls:** [Muah AI](https://muah.ai/affiliate/track.php?ref=B67K1G2WLW) lets you pick an NSFW mode before a call connects. Most others stick to voice notes. Every reputable platform still blocks the same things: minors, real people without consent, and non-consensual content. If an app does not block those, do not give it your card. If you only want explicit images or clips without the relationship chat, see my [AI porn generators guide](/blog/ai-porn). ## The 14 best AI girlfriend apps of 2026 I judged every app on five questions: does she remember you next week, does it refuse mid-scene, does she look the same in every photo, does the voice sound human, and what do you pay once the included tokens run out. ### 1. Candy AI: best overall AI girlfriend app me@il.ly (Ilias Ism) https://il.ly/tech/personalization personalization Wed, 06 Sep 2023 00:00:00 GMT ### Next.js Geolocation for local SEO Here is an Next.js 13 App Router example how to use the headers from Vercel and geolocate the user by country and city. This is useful for local SEO and personalization. This is how the above titles and content are made! ```tsx import { ArticleLayout } from '@/components/ArticleLayout' import { generatePageMeta } from '@/core/seo' import { headers } from 'next/headers' // Show the city, the ISO country code or a fallback const getCity = () => { const headersList = headers() return ( headersList.get('cf-ipcity') ?? headersList.get('cf-ipcountry') ?? headersList.get('x-vercel-ip-city') ?? headersList.get('x-vercel-ip-country') ?? 'your city' ) } export function generateMetadata() { return { title: 'Personalization: How to engage customers in ' + getCity(), description: `Personalization in UX...`, } } // Use the edge runtime for better speed export default function Page() { const city = getCity() return (

Personalization in UX is all about creating a tailored experience for your users. Learn how to use personalization to boost engagement and conversion rates.

What people in {city} are saying

"I love this article! It's so helpful and informative. I can't wait to read more from you."

) } ``` ### Geo-Targeted Images with Unsplash API Continuing with the example above, let's create a localized header image that we source from Unsplash. It's the first image in this article. ```tsx async function getPicture() { try { const city = getCity() // from the code above const p = new URLSearchParams() p.append('query', `${city} city architecture building`) // insert our city keyword here p.append('per_page', '1') p.append('content_filter', 'high') p.append('orientation', 'landscape') const headers = { // get the Unsplash API key first Authorization: `Client-ID ${keys.key}`, } const _url = 'https://api.unsplash.com/search/photos' const url = `${_url}?${p.toString()}` const res = await fetch(url, { headers }) const results = (await res.json()).results for (const result of results) { return result.urls.regular as string } } catch (e) { console.error('failed to getPicture', e) } return '' // empty string on failures } export default function Page() { const img = await getPicture() return ( {img && ( )} ) } ``` ### Country Flag Emoji based on IP Address location To show an emoji for the user's country, create a small Flag component. First we'll need a list of countries. 1. Copy this to countries.json: [https://github.com/risan/country-flag-emoji-json/blob/main/dist/by-code.json](https://github.com/risan/country-flag-emoji-json/blob/main/dist/by-code.json) 2. I removed the unicode and image fields to make it lighter 3. Create the component below ```tsx import { emojis } from './by-code' // the list you copied, I changed it to typescript const Flag = () => { const headersList = headers() const _country = headersList.get('cf-ipcountry') ?? headersList.get('x-vercel-ip-country') ?? 'US' const country = emojis[_country] ?? { emoji: '🇺🇸', name: 'United States', } return ( {country.emoji} {' '} {country.name} ) } export default function Page() { return (

You are from

) } ``` --- ## Why is Geolocation-Based Personalization Important? **Geolocation-based personalization is the process of customizing a website's content, design, and functionality based on the user's location.** This strategy can greatly enhance user engagement, conversion rates, and overall user experience by focusing on individual user behavior and needs. ### Benefits of Geolocation-Based Personalization 1. **Increased engagement**: By providing relevant content based on users' locations, you can create a [more engaging experience](https://www.grazitti.com/blog/personalization-is-the-key-to-increasing-user-engagement-and-conversion-rate/) for your audience. 2. **Higher conversion rates**: Personalized content can lead to higher [conversion rates](https://www.linkedin.com/advice/0/how-can-you-increase-conversion-rates-personalization), as users are [more likely to engage](https://www.markettailor.io/blog/impact-of-website-personalization-on-conversion-rates) with content that is relevant to their needs and preferences. 3. **Improved customer satisfaction**: Personalization can help you [stand out from the competition](https://www.mckinsey.com/capabilities/growth-marketing-and-sales/our-insights/the-value-of-getting-personalization-right-or-wrong-is-multiplying) and increase customer satisfaction by meeting their expectations for tailored experiences. 4. **Better targeting**: Geolocation-based personalization allows you to target specific audiences based on their [location](https://blog.croct.com/post/personalization-location), which can lead to more effective marketing campaigns and better return on investment. ### UX Personalization Examples That Work in 2023 1. **Changing headlines**: Personalize headlines based on the user's location to make the content more relevant and engaging. 2. **Adjusting hero images**: Tailor hero images on the homepage to reflect the user's location, making the website more visually appealing and relevant. 3. **Promoting local events**: Showcase events happening in the user's area, increasing the likelihood of their participation. 4. **Offering location-specific products or services**: Display products or services that are relevant to the user's location, such as winter products for cold regions or summer products for hot areas. 5. **Onboarding**: Personalize the [onboarding experience](https://www.appcues.com/blog/user-onboarding-personalization) based on the user's location to make it more relevant and engaging. Prefill data. 6. **Using AI**: Write different copy for different locations. For example how we did it for [magicbuddy.ai](https://magicbuddy.ai/). Note the different examples. ### More reading - Vercel: [Headers included with deployment](https://vercel.com/docs/concepts/edge-network/headers#request-headers) - Vercel: [Geolocation in Edge Middleware](https://vercel.com/templates/next.js/edge-functions-geolocation), Learn how to use visitor's location at the edge. ]]> me@il.ly (Ilias Ism) https://il.ly/tech/ovsiankina-effect ovsiankina-effect Mon, 14 Aug 2023 00:00:00 GMT **What did people do when faced with such mental discomfort?** Ovsiankina’s research showcased a strong desire for task completion. When participants were interrupted in the middle of a task and given free time, they were strongly inclined to return to and complete the task. It was as if an internal mechanism propelled them to find closure and resolve the cognitive imbalance. This drive to resume and finish tasks is now recognized as **the Ovsiankina effect**. ## Implications and Modern Perspectives The Zeigarnik and Ovsiankina effects have profound implications for understanding human behavior, motivation, and productivity. In educational and workplace settings, knowledge of these effects can be harnessed to enhance learning and task completion. For instance, the strategic interruption of study sessions or work tasks might serve to strengthen recall and motivation to complete, capitalizing on the mental tension and subsequent drive for resolution these effects induce. Moreover, with its mess of notifications, intrusive thoughts, infinite scrolling and distractions, the digital age presents a fertile ground for observing these effects in action. The pull to check an unread message or complete a level in a game is a modern manifestation of the underlying psychological phenomena identified by Zeigarnik and Ovsiankina. ## Applying Ovsiankina in UX: Real-World Examples The Ovsiankina Effect is a powerful psychological tool for UX designers and product managers. Understanding this concept can enhance productivity and create more compelling marketing strategies and user experiences. Here are some real-world applications of the Ovsiankina Effect: ### Free Trials Offer **short, limited-time trials**. Make users want to buy before the trial ends. For example, a 7-day free trial for a fitness app can motivate users to subscribe to continue their workout routine. - **Netflix's Free Trial**: The streaming giant offers a 30-day free trial, which is just enough time to get hooked on a show. ### Progress Bars Use **completion bars** for tasks like profile setups. Users will aim for 100% foe. This is likely the first step in their journey, so it's important to make it as easy as possible. - **Progress Bars in Dropbox**: The 'get more space' feature uses a progress bar, urging users to complete tasks to get extra storage. ### Step-by-Step Signups Design signups hinting at the next exciting step. This **creates anticipation**, gives them new information each time and makes them happy about completing the previous task. Break it down into smaller tasks. - **Airbnb's Step-by-Step Signup**: The platform's signup process is broken down into small steps, making it easy and engaging. ### Feature Teasers **Preview special locked features**, making users curious to unlock them. A game app could tease locked levels or characters. - **Locked Characters**: For games with playable characters, silhouettes or blurred images of new characters could be shown on a locked selection screen. Their abilities could be teased in the descriptions to build hype. ### Onboarding Tours It's important to **guide users through the platform**. They will learn how to use your tool. Finish the tour with a call to action and a reward. Users will hate interrupted action and there is a good chance they will complete the task in a given time. - **Slack**: The platform's onboarding tour is a great example of this. It guides users through the app's features, making them feel more comfortable and confident. ### Exclusive Content Series **Release content in parts**. Reserve the final piece for premium members. This is great for [newsletters](/growth) or online courses. ### Monthly Challenges Set a **fun 30-day challenge**. For all consecutive weeks, users will be motivated to complete the challenge and wait for the next week. ### Gamification Points **Award badges and points**. Show users they're close to earning a reward and list items and they'll feel a sense of accomplishment and feel psychological closure and be happy with each end result. - **Duolingo's Learning Path**: The app's module system almost always leaves learners on the edge, ensuring they return to complete lessons. ### Email Series Start a lesson and wrap it up in the last email. This **keeps them waiting**. This is a common strategy in marketing automation. Used often in [AI headshot generators](/blog/ai-headshot-generator). ### Unlockable Discounts Give discounts, but only after specific actions that take some effort. This makes users more likely to use the discount as they've already **invested time and energy**. ### Celebrate Milestones **Cheer on user achievements**, hinting at bigger wins ahead for a positive feedback loop. Fitness apps often celebrate workout streaks or personal records. ### To-Do List Provide a **to-do list**. Reveal new tasks as users progress. It's the best way to keep them engaged and on track on a large task. **Each completion of a task enforces positive changes in their mind and incomplete tasks will cause intrusive thoughts to finish it at the earliest opportunity.** - **Twitter's Ads Revenue Sharing**: The requirements are easy to reach for step 1 and step 3, leaving the hardest step 2 in the middle. This really encourages users to want complete the task and engage with the platform. ### Prefilled User Profiles Based on linked accounts (like LinkedIn or Google) or business data (like Clearbit or scraping), **pre-fill parts of a user's profile**. ### Start with Real Data If your platform deals with analytics, reports, or dashboards, you can offer templates that are **pre-filled with sample or open data**. ### Lead Forms & Sign-ups In platforms geared towards businesses, **pre-filling lead capture or sign-up forms** with company data can increase conversion rates. ### In-App Tutorials Introduce a series of **short tutorials for new features**. Begin the tutorial and prompt users to finish it to master the feature. ### Collaboration Teasers For platforms that have a collaboration feature, allow users to start a collaborative task but **prompt them to invite colleagues or team members to unlock full collaboration**. ### Partial Data Previews For platforms handling data analytics or reports, **show a preview of some insights**, and then prompt users to upgrade or engage more deeply to see the full analysis. ### Sample Templates For design or content creation SaaS, offer templates that users can start customizing. Once they've made some progress, prompt them to save or upgrade to access advanced customization options. ### Free audits For example, for SEO, provide potential clients with a brief, initial [SEO audit](https://magicspace.agency/blog/audit) of their site, highlighting a few key areas of improvement. Indicate that a comprehensive report is available upon engagement. ### Design Mockups "Roasts" If your agency handles web design, offer a [free "roast" of a client's website](/blog/landing-page-audit). This can be a short video or a blog post that highlights the site's strengths and weaknesses. Indicate that a full redesign is available upon engagement. ### Backlink Gap Analysis For a [backlink](https://magicspace.agency/blog/link-building) gap tool, show clients a couple of high-quality backlink opportunities you've identified for them. Indicate there are more opportunities to explore in a comprehensive backlink strategy. --- ## The Ovsiankina Effect in Other Fields The Ovsiankina effect isn't just a powerful tool for UX designers. It can be applied to other fields as well, such as: ### Education Understanding that students are more likely to remember unfinished tasks can help teachers plan lessons better. They might introduce a challenging problem at the start of a lesson, and only return to resolve it at the end, thus maintaining student engagement throughout. ### Advertising and Marketing Ever seen an advertisement that leaves you with a cliffhanger or an unsolved mystery? This tactic is meant to make the product or message more memorable by tapping into the Ovsiankina effect. Similarly, the **'limited time offer'** strategy is effective not just because of the perceived scarcity but because the idea of missing out feels like an incomplete task to our brains. ### Entertainment TV shows, especially serials, masterfully utilize the Zeigarnik effect. By ending episodes with cliffhangers, they ensure viewers come back for more. Book series, films, and even video games use this method to keep audiences hooked. ### Productivity and Work On a [personal level](/blog/personalization), understanding the Zeigarnik effect can be a boon for productivity. One might harness this phenomenon by breaking tasks down into smaller parts. Even if one doesn't complete the entire task in one go, the drive to finish the smaller segments can still be powerful. ### Mental Well-being On the flip side, being constantly haunted by uncompleted tasks can be a source of stress and a negative effect causing psychological tension. This is evident in the modern phenomenon of **"burnout"**. Here, knowledge of the Ovsiankina effect is crucial. By ensuring tasks are perceived as **'completed'** or by providing oneself with the understanding that a break is a conscious and necessary part of the process, one can mitigate feelings of being overwhelmed. ## Future of UX: Ovsiankina and Beyond Understanding these effects is vital in an age of increasing distractions. With technology ever-present and pulling our attention in various directions, it becomes easy to start tasks and leave them midway. By recognizing the psychological impact of such behavior, we can devise strategies to not just enhance productivity, but also protect mental well-being. Additionally, as digital platforms compete for user attention, it is likely they will continue to integrate elements that leverage the Zeigarnik and Ovsiankina effects. This can be seen with platforms like TikTok, which uses short video clips to engage users and often leaves them wanting more. In conclusion, while the observations of Zeigarnik and Ovsiankina were made in the 1920s, their implications are perhaps even more relevant today. As our world continues to change and evolve, so too will our understanding and application of these fascinating psychological effects. ## What did we learn? The Zeigarnik and Ovsiankina effects shed light on the intriguing ways our brains handle unfinished tasks. By understanding these concepts, we can enhance our productivity and craft more compelling marketing strategies and user experiences. The Ovsiankina Effect is a powerful psychological tool for UX designers. Real-world applications have shown significant increases in user engagement and conversion rates. Continuously measuring the impact of these changes ensures that designers can iterate and improve. UX is more than just pretty designs and smooth animations. It’s about understanding and leveraging human behavior to create intuitive, engaging, and user-centric experiences. The Ovsiankina Effect is a testament to the power of psychology in design, and when applied correctly, it can lead to more engaged users and higher conversion rates. Remember, a great UX design understands the user, caters to their needs, and sometimes, leverages their innate behaviors, like the need to finish what they started. Harness this, and you’re on your way to creating truly captivating digital experiences. ### Related terms - **Cliffhanger**: Used mainly in entertainment and literature, it’s a story or event that leaves the audience eager to know what happens next. - **Curiosity Gap**: This is when a gap exists between what we know and what we want to know, prompting us to take action to close that gap. - **The Endowed Progress Effect**: The endowed progress effect is a phenomenon in which people who are given artificial advancement toward a goal exhibit higher motivation to achieve the goal. ]]> me@il.ly (Ilias Ism) https://il.ly/reviews/tagparrot tagparrot Tue, 08 Aug 2023 00:00:00 GMT ### Why is Tag Parrot Important for SEO Agencies? **For SEO agency owners, having client websites indexed quickly by Google is crucial.** TagParrot has become an invaluable tool for [magicspace.agency](https://magicspace.agency) to expedite the indexing process. ### How Does Tag Parrot Work? 1. [Sign up for Tag Parrot](https://tagparrot.com/?via=illy). 2. Add your website URL. 3. Tag Parrot automatically submits your website to Google Search Console for indexing. 4. Receive an email notification when your website has been indexed by Google. ## Key Features of Tag Parrot Tag Parrot offers a range of features designed to automate and expedite the process of getting your website indexed by Google. Here are the main features: 1. **Automated Submission to Google Search Console**: Tag Parrot automatically submits your website to Google Search Console, speeding up the indexing process. 2. **Bulk Indexing Requests**: Tag Parrot can send bulk indexing requests to Google, helping to get your pages into Google's index faster. 3. **Automatic Sitemap Generation and Syncing**: As you add new pages to your website, Tag Parrot automatically generates and syncs your sitemap. 4. **Open Graph Preview**: Tag Parrot provides an Open Graph preview, allowing you to check for missing meta tags. 5. **Daily Indexing Capacity**: With Tag Parrot, you can index up to 200 pages per day. 6. **Email Notifications**: Tag Parrot sends you an email notification when your sites are indexed. These features make Tag Parrot an invaluable tool for SEO agencies and website owners who want to get their sites indexed by Google quickly and efficiently. ### How long does it take for Tag Parrot to index a website? **With Tag Parrot's automated submission process, most websites can be fully indexed by Google within 1-2 days.** It crawls the sitemap and can index hundreds of pages per day with the paid plans. This is significantly faster than waiting weeks or months for manual Google indexing. ### What is an XML sitemap? **An XML sitemap is a file that helps search engines better understand your website while crawling it.** It provides a list of all your pages and other important content on your site, and also gives information about the relationships between them. This can include information like when a page was last updated and how important it is in relation to other pages on your site. Having an XML sitemap can help improve the visibility of your site on search engines. ### What type of websites can benefit most from TagParrot? **Tag Parrot is ideal for any website that needs to get indexed quickly by Google, or when manual indexing is not feasible because of the size of the site.** This includes sites such as: - New websites and blogs - Ecommerce stores with frequently changing products - Sites with large content inventories - SEO agencies managing multiple client sites ### How does Tag Parrot integrate with Google Search Console? **Tag Parrot provides automated integration with Google Search Console to submit sitemaps and request indexing.** You simply connect your Search Console account and Tag Parrot handles submitting the URLs. You can also manually submit URLs to Google Search Console if you run out of daily indexing capacity on Tag Parrot. ## What are the pricing options for Tag Parrot? **Tag Parrot has recently updated its pricing structure to better accommodate the varying needs of its users.** Now, there are four distinct plans offered: - **Small Plan**: Priced at $11/month, this plan is ideal for individuals or small businesses managing up to 3 sites. It allows indexing of up to 200 pages per day which is decent for maintaining visibility on search engines without a hefty cost. - **Medium Plan**: At $29/month, the Medium Plan extends support for up to 10 sites and doubles the daily indexing limit to 400 pages. It's a great fit for growing businesses looking to expand their online footprint. - **Large Plan**: For more established sites or small agencies, the Large Plan offers service for 20 sites at $59/month. With a daily indexing limit of 600 pages, it provides a robust solution for managing multiple websites effectively. - **Agency Plan**: Tailored for large agencies or businesses with extensive online portfolios, the Agency Plan costs $129/month and supports up to 50 sites. The daily indexing limit is pushed to 1000 pages, catering to the demands of high-volume web management. ## Key Benefits of Using Tag Parrot **For us at [magicspace.agency](https://magicspace.agency), Tag Parrot has been a gamechanger for our SEO services.** It has enabled us to get our client sites indexed by Google quickly and efficiently, with minimal effort on our part. Here are the key benefits of using Tag Parrot: - **Time-saving**: Tag Parrot automates the submission process, freeing up time for higher value tasks. - **Fast Indexing**: Tag Parrot can crawl the [sitemap](https://tagparrot.com/blog/how-to-add-sitemap-to-google-search-console) and index hundreds of pages per day, indexing entire sites in just 1-2 days. - **Ease of Use**: Simply add the URL and integrate with Search Console. Tag Parrot handles the rest. - **Affordability**: The free plan covers most small sites. Paid plans start at just $9/month for more capacity. ## Conclusion **Tag Parrot is a gamechanger for SEO agencies**, enabling faster indexing of client sites by Google with minimal effort. It delivers on its promises of time-saving, quick indexing, ease of use, and affordability. **We highly recommend Tag Parrot for any [SEO agency](https://magicspace.agency) looking to improve their SEO services and results.** ### Is Tag Parrot Worth It? **Absolutely.** The benefits of using Tag Parrot far outweigh the cost. The time saved, the speed of indexing, the ease of use, and the affordability make it a worthwhile investment for any SEO agency or individual looking to improve their SEO services and results. ### Tag Parrot Alternatives If you're looking for alternatives to Tag Parrot, compare broader [website indexing tools](/blog/website-indexing-tools). Many tools offer automated website submission to Google Search Console for indexing, providing a great alternative to manually using Google's Indexing API. --- For more advanced [SEO strategies](/blog/strategy), compare the broader [SEO tools](/blog/seo-tools) that can help you rank higher on Google. ]]> me@il.ly (Ilias Ism) https://il.ly/productivity/digital-nomad digital-nomad Wed, 02 Aug 2023 00:00:00 GMT The nomad life taught me a ton about hard work and resilience. As I worked and explored, my dreams grew bigger. Freelancing was a blast, but I was itching to run my own online show. Enter the startup world. My first baby, Officient, was a labor of love, late nights, and a whole lot of Belgian chocolate. I created a bunch of open-source tools using Vue.js, React, and Next.js. My ventures schooled me in everything from nailing social media to the many ways you can ugly cry over code at 3 am. The thing is, no matter how much you hustle or how many countries you've explored, there's always more to learn. The entrepreneurial world was like an endless game of 'Who Wants to be a Millionaire?'. But as I played, I realized that the digital nomad life was the real prize. ## The Digital Nomad Community One of the best parts of being a digital nomad is the sense of belonging. Whether it's Facebook groups, coworking spaces, or random meetups at local cafes -- you'll find tons of people who get the thrill of wrapping up a project while waiting to board a flight and the pain of explaining your job to confused relatives. Being location independent doesn't mean being a lone wolf. Instead, it opens the door to a worldwide network of remote workers, each with their own wild tales and outlooks. Swapping tips about the best work spots or how to handle a health insurance snafu abroad helps create a sense of community in a lifestyle that keeps you constantly on the go. ## Digital Nomad's Survival Guide As the credits roll on this episode of 'My Life as a Digital Nomad', I can't help but laugh at the wild ride it's been so far. But amidst all the craziness and uncertainty, I've figured out a few key survival tips for aspiring nomads. 1. **Steady Cash Flow**: Whether it's online jobs, freelancing, or running your own biz, you need a reliable income. Having an emergency fund for those unexpected hiccups is a smart move. 2. **In-Demand Skills**: Graphic design, web development, content creation, digital marketing, or even being a virtual assistant -- the key to thriving as a digital nomad is having skills that are hot online. 3. **Travel and Health Insurance**: The excitement of discovering new places comes with some risks. Having solid travel insurance and health coverage can save you a ton of hassle abroad. 4. **Adaptability**: Digital nomad life is like improv comedy -- it's all about rolling with the punches. From adjusting to different time zones to dealing with income ups and downs, being flexible is crucial. ## Covid: When Home Was Everywhere Let's rewind to my first startup, Officient, in the thick of things. As the name suggests, we were all about being efficient and official from our cozy Ghent workspace. Three years in, we had an awesome team, a lively office, and dreams bigger than our daily coffee intake. Then, plot twist: a tiny virus with a massive impact swept the globe. Covid-19 crashed the party, and like most businesses, we had to adapt. Our buzzing office turned into a grid of Zoom squares. Everyone went remote, our joke-filled coffee breaks replaced by Slack emojis. But every cloud has a silver lining, and for me, this newfound location freedom was it. I travelled around, from Barcelona, to Lisbon to [The Douro Valley in Porto](https://porto.travel/douro-valley/), the home of Port wine. I even spent a few months in the Canary Islands, where I learned to kitesurf. ## The Parisian Chapter: Bonjour, Digital Nomad Life With my trusty laptop and dreams in hand, I took a chance and moved to the city of love, lights, and endless baguettes - [Paris](https://paris.travel/). The city's charm was as alluring as the promise of the digital nomad lifestyle. I quickly learned that remote work could happen anywhere, even in a tiny Parisian flat with a killer view of the Eiffel Tower. Despite the pandemic restrictions, living in Paris was a one-of-a-kind experience. It was like starring in a rom-com where I was both the go-getter lead and the starry-eyed dreamer. Every day brought new places to discover and cultures to experience, without even leaving my neighborhood. Living and working abroad also taught me the importance of health insurance, managing a foreign bank account, and navigating a new city's public transit. If nothing else, it was a crash course in Adulting 101. ## Canary Islands: Not Just a Vacation Spot After a year of croissants and polishing my French, I was ready for a change of scenery. **Next stop**: the Canary Islands, a Spanish archipelago off the coast of Northwest Africa, known for its jaw-dropping beaches and perfect weather. I arrived on the island, digital nomad visa in hand, ready to embrace the next chapter of my nomadic journey. Here, my office had a 360-degree view of crystal-clear waters and sandy shores, and my breaks were spent learning to kitesurf. In the Canary Islands, I stumbled upon a vibrant digital nomad community. Living in a coliving space, I met remote workers from all over, each with their own unique stories and experiences. It was like a UN meeting, but with more surfing and less red tape. ## Moving to Switzerland My next move couldn't have been more different. I traded my flip-flops for hiking boots and headed to Switzerland, a country famous for its majestic mountains, stunning lakes, and incredibly punctual trains. Here, I lost myself in the breathtaking beauty of nature, and when I wasn't working or exploring the Swiss countryside, I was writing blog posts about my digital nomad journey. From the challenges of running a remote business to the joy of finding the perfect work spot in the heart of the Swiss Alps, each post was a chapter in my ever-evolving nomad story. In Switzerland, I realized that digital nomad life isn't a sprint; it's a marathon. It's not just about finding the best workspaces or the coolest cafes to fuel your workday. It's also about creating a home base in each new place, learning to adapt, and embracing the challenges that come with the lifestyle. ## The Digital Nomad Mindset Looking back at my journey, from the offices in Ghent to the cafes in Paris and the mountaintops in Switzerland, I've learned a few things about the digital nomad life: 1. **Balance is Everything**: One day you might be pulling an all-nighter, the next you might be exploring a new city. Remember to find a balance between work and play. 2. **Never Stop Learning**: Every new job, project, and city teaches you something. Whether it's new digital marketing skills or understanding different cultures, the learning never ends. 3. **Your Network is Your Lifeline**: Connect with other digital nomads, join Facebook groups, and build a strong social media presence. You never know when these connections might come in handy. 4. **Embrace Change**: Things won't always go according to plan. You might face internet issues, late payments, or even a global pandemic. Learning to adapt and roll with the punches is key. So here I am, years into my digital nomad journey, still learning, still [building](/), still exploring, still dreaming. It's been a wild ride, filled with late nights, early mornings, unforgettable adventures, and countless cups of coffee. The road ahead is long, and the journey is [ongoing](/). But one thing's for sure: being a digital nomad is more than a lifestyle; it's a mindset, a celebration of freedom, and a relentless pursuit of living life on your own terms. And I wouldn't have it any other way. ]]> me@il.ly (Ilias Ism) https://il.ly/tech/favicon favicon Fri, 09 Sep 2022 00:00:00 GMT Favicons are crucial for branding (just like your [profile picture](/blog/ai-headshot-generator)), as they help users quickly recognize and navigate to your website when multiple tabs are open or when users are sifting through their bookmarks. They can also contribute to a professional appearance and can benefit SEO by improving user interaction with your site. It will boost CTR (click-through rate) and reduce bounce rate, making your site look more [authoritative and trustworthy](http://storychief.io/blog/eeat). Favicons are usually displayed next to the page's title on browser tabs and used as icons for bookmarks, history entries, and search results. They can be created in various file formats, including ICO, PNG, GIF, and SVG, and are implemented by adding a link to the icon file in the HTML code of a web page. ## Why are Favicons Important? The benefits of favicons include: - **Technical SEO**: [SEO tools](https://storychief.io/blog/seo-tools) will often recommend adding a favicon to your website. Favicons are a small but important part of a website's technical SEO. They help search engines identify your website and can contribute to a better user experience, a [ranking factor](https://storychief.io/blog/seo-tips). - **Branding**: Favicons are a great way to reinforce your brand's identity and make your website more recognizable. They can also contribute to a more professional appearance and help users quickly identify your site among multiple open tabs. - **User Experience**: Favicons can improve the user experience by making it easier for users to find your website in their browser history or bookmarks. They also contribute to a more professional appearance and can help users quickly identify your site among multiple open tabs. Creating a favicon is a straightforward process that involves designing a simple and recognizable image that reflects your brand, converting it to the appropriate file format, and adding it to your website using HTML code. ## How to Create a Favicon To create a favicon for your website, follow these steps: 1. Choose an image or logo that represents your brand or website. Ensure that it is recognizable and simple, even at small sizes. 2. Resize the image to a square format, ideally **32x32** pixels or **16x16** pixels if the larger size doesn't downscale well. 3. Convert the image to the ICO format, supported by all modern web browsers. Online tools like Favicon Generator or [RealFaviconGenerator](https://realfavicongenerator.net/) can convert your image to the proper favicon format. 4. Upload the `favicon.ico` file to the root directory of your website. 5. Add the following code to the `` section of your web pages: ```html ``` This code tells the browser where to find the favicon file. For additional compatibility with Apple touch devices and Windows 8 or Windows 10, you may need to create and include other icon files. **But don't worry about all that, the easiest way is to use a favicon generator that will do all the work for you:** ## Best Favicon Generators There are many favicon generators available online, but here are some of the best: 1. **[RealFaviconGenerator](https://realfavicongenerator.net/)**: This tool ensures your favicon is compatible with all browsers and platforms. It offers a range of customization options, including adding a background color. 2. **[Favicon.io](https://favicon.io/)**: This generator allows you to create favicons from text, images, or various emojis. It also provides advanced options to set the file name, version, and location on the server. 3. **[Favic-o-Matic](https://favicomatic.com/)**: Favic-o-Matic is an easy-to-use favicon generator that offers two options: a standard favicon and a comprehensive set that includes every size and format, including several Apple-touch-icons, Microsoft mstiles, and favicon pngs. 4. **[Favicon.cc](https://www.favicon.cc/)**: This online favicon editor allows you to create an animated favicon. It also provides a grid-based design interface for those wanting to build a favicon pixel by pixel. 5. **[Looka](https://looka.com/)**: Powered by AI, Looka delivers usable results and offers multiple ways to tweak and edit your graphics, providing a personalized look that will work for almost any type of website. 6. **[OGimage.org](https://ogimage.org/)**: Create open graph images for your website, blog, or social media posts. 7. **Next.js**: Read the [favicon, icon, and apple-icon ](https://nextjs.org/docs/app/api-reference/file-conventions/metadata/app-icons) guide for Next.js to learn how to add a favicon to your Next.js app in React and Vercel. These tools offer a variety of features to help you create a unique and recognizable favicon for your website. **Pro-tip**: Make sure to get your landing page roasted by an expert: [Get a landing page audit](/blog/landing-page-audit) from a Saas CRO. To ensure your favicon is optimized for SEO and user experience, consider getting a professional SEO audit. [SEO Audit](https://seoroast.com) offers comprehensive website audits that can help identify any issues with your favicon implementation and provide actionable recommendations to improve your overall SEO performance. ]]> me@il.ly (Ilias Ism) https://il.ly/tech/good-password-hygiene good-password-hygiene Wed, 12 Aug 2015 00:00:00 GMT After I was compromised along with **150 million** other users in the [Adobe Breach](https://helpx.adobe.com/x-productkb/policy-pricing/customer-alert.html), I decided to completely overhaul my password security. Adobe was using weak encryption without salts, so by analyzing password patterns and hints, **my password became visible** to attackers worldwide. I was using a very insecure password at the time. While I wasn't hijacked, many others weren't so fortunate. I'm using a **password manager** across all my devices—macOS, Linux, Android, and Windows. Password managers are essential for maintaining unique, strong passwords for every account without the mental burden of remembering them all. **Updated 2025 Password Manager Recommendations:** - **1Password**: Best overall with excellent security and family sharing - **Bitwarden**: Open-source and free, great for individuals and teams - **Dashlane**: User-friendly with built-in VPN features - **KeePass**: Free, offline password manager for privacy-focused users **Note**: While I originally recommended LastPass, they've had several security breaches since 2015. I now recommend the alternatives above for better security. After choosing a password manager, I spent several days **changing all passwords** I'd ever used, using the security audit features most managers provide. This helped identify duplicate passwords, weak passwords, and accounts potentially compromised in data breaches like Adobe, Sony, or LinkedIn. For even more security, combine your password manager with a [VPN](/blog/vpn) to protect your login attempts from interception. Modern password managers work seamlessly across all your devices. They run as **browser extensions** and mobile apps, automatically **auto-filling** your login credentials when you visit websites. Simply enter your master password once, and you have access to your entire password vault. **How password managers work:** - **Auto-fill** login forms in browsers and mobile apps - **Generate** strong, unique passwords for every account - **Sync** across all your devices securely - **Share** passwords safely with family or team members - **Audit** existing passwords and identify security issues You can also copy passwords for desktop applications, terminal sessions, or other non-browser services. Most modern password managers can even change passwords automatically for supported sites. Password managers eliminate the need to remember dozens of complex passwords or write them down insecurely. You only need to remember one strong master password to access your entire vault—which should be long, unique, and memorable to you alone. ## Enable Two-Factor Authentication (2FA) Beyond using a password manager, enable **Two-Factor Authentication** on all important accounts. 2FA requires both your password and a second factor (usually your phone) to log in. Even if someone steals your password, they can't access your account without your physical device. **Best 2FA methods:** - **Authenticator apps**: Google Authenticator, Authy, or 1Password's built-in 2FA - **Hardware keys**: YubiKey or similar FIDO2-compatible devices - **SMS codes**: Better than nothing, but less secure than apps - **Backup codes**: Always save these in case you lose your phone **Critical accounts to protect with 2FA:** - Email accounts (Gmail, Outlook, etc.) - Banking and financial services - Social media accounts - Password manager account - Work and business accounts ### For example  One of the most important services for me is my **Google** account so that is locked up separately using Two-Factor Authentication. **Nobody** can log in without also having your phone. If you happen to wipe your phone and can't use the Authenticator app you're still not completely locked out as you can send a backup code by SMS to your phone number or even use a backup code that you can print out and keep safely somewhere. My Google account has my e-mail that can be used for a password reset and it has my calendar, my google apps domain and whatever else. A hijacker would have to log in using your generated password which looks something like this: > %Ss0Ay3p*VF1^HGfOLF9Jgv18V8rc*H@KA0^PvlzB#5ft0q@tj8@a857623A%^SM This is virtually **impossible** to determine by brute force given the time that would take is longer than we're alive. Next thing they would need is your phone, so they would need your phone password to be able to access your encrypted phone and pass the 2FA. ### Examples of bad passwords Taken from from the Adobe Breach. | # | Users | Hash | Password | | --- | ------- | ------------------------ | --------- | | 1. | 1911938 | EQ7fIpT7i/Q= | 123456 | | 2. | 446162 | j9p+HwtWWT86aMjgZFLzYg== | 123456789 | | 3. | 345834 | L8qbAD3jl3jioxG6CatHBw== | password | | 4. | 211659 | BB4e6X+b2xLioxG6CatHBw== | adobe123 | | 5. | 201580 | j9p+HwtWWT/ioxG6CatHBw== | 12345678 | | 6. | 130832 | 5djv7ZCI2ws= | qwerty | | 7. | 124253 | dQi0asWPYvQ= | 1234567 | | 8. | 113884 | 7LqYzKVeq8I= | 111111 | | 9. | 83411 | PMDTbP0LZxu03SwrFUvYGA== | photoshop | | 10. | 82694 | e6MPXQ5G6a8= | 123123 | You should check if you have been compromised in the past on https://haveibeenpwned.com/ ### How easy is it to crack my password? Keep in mind that the longer your password is the [harder](https://howsecureismypassword.net/) it will be to crack. It doesn't matter what order your characters are in but how many characters and the different types of characters it has. Throwing some numbers and special characters in the mix increases the complexity exponentially. A phrase with only letters is usually good enough as long as you don't use it for other websites. In general: - numbers only up to 10 characters take **25 seconds** to crack. - words only up to 10 characters take **9 hours** to crack. - words and numbers up to 10 characters take **10 days** to crack. - words, numbers and special characters up to 10 characters take **22 years** to crack. - a phrase with 4 words takes **4 trillion years** to crack. - the random generated password above takes **43 trestrigintillion years** (10¹⁰²) to crack. ## Complete Your Digital Security Password security is just one layer of digital protection. Combine these practices with other security measures: - **Use a VPN**: Protect your internet traffic with our [Best VPN 2025 guide](/blog/vpn) - **Secure browsing**: Install privacy [browser extensions](/blog/extensions) like uBlock Origin and HTTPS Everywhere - **Stay informed**: Check if your accounts have been breached at [HaveIBeenPwned.com](https://haveibeenpwned.com/) - **Regular audits**: Review and update your passwords quarterly For comprehensive internet security, read our [VPN guide](/blog/vpn). --- **References:** - "...no one can hack my mind": Comparing Expert and Non-Expert Security Practices, July 2015 - [USENIX](https://www.usenix.org/system/files/conference/soups2015/soups15-paper-ion.pdf) - Check your breach status: [Have I Been Pwned](https://haveibeenpwned.com/) _This article is part of our digital security series. Next: **[Best VPN 2026](/blog/vpn)**._ ]]> me@il.ly (Ilias Ism) https://il.ly/tech/vibrate-mobile-phone-web-vibration-api vibrate-mobile-phone-web-vibration-api Fri, 14 Feb 2014 05:00:00 GMT