Official Report: 4 Month Checking for the NEW AI Site Challenge!

[Spencer Haws]

We have a new leader!

After 4 months, we’ve had some interesting things happen in this challenge. And as expected, there’s been a TON of movement after 4 months. Ranking in Google takes time, and so I expect the next couple of months to be particularly interesting as some sites start to take off.

Here’s the leaderboard after 4 months! Click here to see the full results!

Also, please comment with your update below and share any details you’d like to share.

Thanks!

• This topic was modified 2 months, 4 weeks ago by Spencer Haws.
• This topic was modified 2 months, 3 weeks ago by Spencer Haws.

[Jen]

58 new articles in Jan
still in the slow time, so I am pretty happy I still had about 2k pageviews considering they were all for stuff that happened 2 months ago. Hopefully Feb & March will hit well, but that is the risk with a seasonal site!

[Tom Seest]

HowDoYouLose.com

550 articles.
273 users.
9 sessions.
1 Click.

I managed to get GA4 configured and working. I’m busy doing rewrites on my older articles and I’m still publishing 2 new articles per day on average.

No complaints.

[Tom Seest]

howdoyougame.com

542 articles.
54 users.
16 sessions.
39 clicks.

I got GA4 working with this site around the 20th of January. I’m busy doing rewrites on my older articles, and I’m still publishing 2 new articles per day on average.

No complaints.

[Rita Olsson]

To streamline the development process and enhance project efficiency, many developers are turning to tools like the Codex Executor, which leverages AI to simplify coding tasks.

[Ashley]

52 total articles published
964 pageviews in January (526 users)
207 clicks via GSC (614 pageviews via Organic Search in GA4)

… indexing and page ranking are moving much quicker – recent articles are already ranking on page 1 for key search terms, resulting in clicks. Ahrefs is showing 8 backlinks, 652 keywords (2 in Top 3 // 27 on page one).

• This reply was modified 2 months, 4 weeks ago by Ashley.

[Madison Cates]

Hey! 15 new articles this month. Traffic is up 300% from last month.. Right around 3,300 organic sessions for January. Ahrefs is showing 680 backlinks and I believe DA is 10.

• This reply was modified 2 months, 4 weeks ago by Madison Cates.

[Victoria]

Hey!! 4.2k organic sessions and 4.2k clicks on GSC. DR is 12 – I think the backlinks that I’ve been working on via The Insiders is really helping to boost this site.

[Edvard]

Site #1
Total traffic: 57
Organic sessions: 49
GSC Clicks: 16
Pages: 245 (95 indexed)

Google traffic up slightly, Yandex down. Pretty much given up on this site.

Site #2
Total traffic: 24.1k
Organic sessions: 22.8k
GSC Clicks: 24.2k
Pages: ~7M (1.04M indexed)

Google decided to allocate a much higher crawling budget to my site. During January Google has indexed 1M pages. Traffic has been fairly stable for the last half of January, peaking at 1.7k on Jan. 24th. I’m very happy with the growth in traffic. Fingers crossed it’ll last and continue to grow.

Site #3
Total traffic: 5.7k
Organic sessions: 4.9k
GSC Clicks: 4.8k
Pages: 5.8K (5K indexed)

Steady growth throughout January. Did not do any updates during January so that’ll be the goal for February in stead. Most of the data I’m using is updated yearly, mid February. Doing the update to 2023 data will take me a bit of time, but might also give a traffic increase as I’d imagine interest in the new data is higher.

January was a very bad month in terms of productivity overall, however the traffic growth keeps me motivated for a productive February.

[Ian]

My January numbers:

Total articles: 131
Users: 454
Organic sessions: 408
GSC clicks: 286

Progress is slow and steady. I’m only spending about an hour a month on my site, so I’m happy with the results given the amount of work I’m putting in.

[Holly]

Total articles: 25
Organic sessions: 494
GSC clicks: 388

Slow progress as I haven’t been giving it a lot of time, so only 2 new articles again last month and this month isn’t looking much better but figures crossed I can bump that up a little more.

[Troy De Ville]

148 articles in total, 3.9k organic traffic. Victoria and I are in the same blogging group, so easy way of getting backlinks! DR at 20 in Ahrefs 🙂

[Bec]

Oh wow, looks like there are some of you guys doing absolutely amazing!
I do have minor regrets for trialling a POD store mixed in with this challenge – really should have stuck with a blog haha but we will stick it out!

This month I purchased some backlinks from Fiverr – sites seemed legit enough but content was terrible (as expected.. pay peanuts…) but the links were there nonetheless – haven’t seen it have any impact at all yet! Added two blog posts and have submitted to GSC for crawling. I also started some FB ads to get a little bit of interest so social traffic was up – but also no crazy impact on the organic.

Only 3 total clicks for Feb but impressions are growing. Have tried replicating my products into female products rather than just Men’s to see if this improves CTR / interest! Also renaming to target ‘Women’s Teacher Shirt’ related keywords a little more.

Once I’m happy with the product library my goals this month are to get some genuine backlinks, add more of my own photo content (rather than mockups), run a social competition and more ads, and pop a blog post up weekly. To help with the social stuff I’ve put a post out for a VA just to try to help me get ahead, especially with IG scheduling and Pinterest as I’m wanting to see if the social interest grows, whether Google will get a little more excited about me haha.

Thanks for reading! Good progress, and good luck all 🙂

[Selma]

74 Articles

9.7K User
11k Sessions
14k Views

10 Organic Sessions
6 GSC Clicks

[Jon Kurtis]

For Lawfred.com I have not even touched the site since the first batch of 2,589 articles. Traffic is actually down to only 22 organic sessions in January. I have been focused on building a SaaS tool every night after the kids go to bed with the couple of hours I do have for side projects.

My strategy at this point is just to wait until the final month to try and pump out timely relevant content that will hopefully hit on Discover.

I have not even started on my other 2 sites. May also bulk publish in the final month as well.

[Tonja Gasperlin]

I published around 20 articles in January, together I have 228 articles.
Organic sessions for January: 10,051 (Google Analytics)

Recipes niche

I am so slow at publishing, but I am working on 2 more sites.
Just need to push more recipes out and post them on social media (Facebook only).

[Johnson]

I’ve slowed down on publishing. I posted around 30 articles in January, and I’m slowing down even more in the coming months.
Compared to the last month, the traffic has tripled. I got 1850 Google clicks.

[Karan Mallya]

Published 28 Articles.
GSC Total Clicks 78
ORGANIC Sessions 118
GA4 Total Traffic 62

Articles index within 1 hour

[J Paul Hendricks]

PR experiment complete… I built an AI web app (like a GPT but directly on the site) and then found a research study to write about. It all went into a press release, which yielded over 300 links. Yay. And I’m now going public with the site, so you can check it out. 😅

Just google: Motivation Pay AI coach app

Towards the end of the month the YouTube channel also launched in earnest. 6 videos completed; go-live in progress. We did YT embeds on all the posts as well (which had not been part of the SOP previously).

Traffic metrics for the challenge are all up again… Users 168 (+102%), Total Organic 177 (+79%) and GSC Clicks 128 (+137%). Total posts are at 96, up from 79. Sprint 3 is about to begin and we’ll continue to make improvements on existing articles as well.

Overall average position is ~24.9, a new best (big uptick from 31.8). We continue to rank for more keywords. Impressions were also up big (+142%). Top 5 pages by impressions are at an average position of 20.4, just a slight improvement.

GSC shows a positive change among the top posts, with much more valuable pages/keywords taking the lead, with avg positions of 7.5, 7.5 and 14.5. Careful internal linking and the PR campaign seem to be working.

Despite this, we are still way behind. Well, it’s about the journey…onward! Month 5, here we come!! 🤞

[Ryan]

Article Count: 786
Organic Sessions: 294

Sessions are up 135% from last month, so it’s looking pretty good! I’m hopeful that traffic will continue to rise.

I’ve been busy and have failed at doing anything other than posting unedited posts. I feel like if I go in and do some content optimization and internal links, this site has a lot of potential.

Clearly, I’m playing the volume game here with 786 posts so far, but the topic has far more opportunity. I’m guessing it could have 10k articles…

The challenge will be optimizing that many posts. Basically impossible! So, I’ll pick and choose the articles that have received traffic with no optimization and start there.

Good luck everyone!

[David]

Total articles: 13
Clicks for Jan only: 97
Total clicks so far: 180
Organic search for Jan only: 199
Organic search Total: 509

Every thing is on a slow upward trajectory which is great, even though I’m only posting 1 to 2 articles a month.

My articles can sometimes take 1-2 days to create as I’ m creating a lot of AI and custom imagery for almost every section.

Cheers!

[Adrian D.]

Total articles: 75 (0 in January)
Organic sessions: 88 in January

[Nadya From LivingOffCloud]

Hi everyone,
Love seeing the results of everybody 😍
I am very curious to know how you guys manage to publish such s high volume of AI-generated content without being penalized by Google 😆 This is what happened in December to both of my websites I am growing for the challenge 😭
I managed to bounce back but only because I heavily edited the old articles and invested more time into editing new articles.

Site #1
Total # of published articles (before 2/1/24): 75
Total traffic in January: 544
ORGANIC “Sessions” in January: 291
“Total Clicks” from Google Search Console in January: 61

Site #2
Total # of published articles (before 2/1/24): 33
Total traffic in January: 317
ORGANIC “Sessions” in January: 21
“Total Clicks” from Google Search Console in January: 4

[Eddy]

I started a blog about AI, using AI to write the blog about 2 months before the competition. I decided not join in the official comp, as I had a headstart on everyone else. But I wanted to share my progress with the group… I had my first click from Google on 1st Aug 2023, I am now getting 1000 clicks a day from google. So in 6 months I’ve gone from 1 click a day to 1000 clicks. Still not making much money but, at least the traffic is flowing. BTW (60 pages/posts published)

• This reply was modified 2 months, 3 weeks ago by Eddy. Reason: detail
• This reply was modified 2 months, 3 weeks ago by Eddy.

[Tom]

Hey Guys,

Great to see some of you smashing it!

Here’s my stats for Jan:
Articles Published Before the start of Feb: 95
Total clicks on GSC: 3885

Slow and steady increase at the moment. I managed to put a little time into offpage last month. Little more focus on that in February too.

[Sjpals]

Its great to see everyone doing so well.
Im doing an experiment of my own, lol.
I published 9 articles at the beginning of the competition and nothing since. Its interesting to see how traffic is increasing on my site although i have done nothing.
For january I had 34 direct entries and 4 from search engines.
To date its been 152 direct entries and 20 from search engines. Considering I have done no work, im still kinda impressed that 20 people have found me from search engines (They could be bots, but still, traffic is finding me).

[Harshajyoti Das]

The site must have been clapped. Didn’t build many backlinks, and didn’t publish that many articles. Just 26 articles. The search console says just 6 visits.

[Chris LeBlanc]

Total articles: 36
Organic sessions: 45
GSC clicks: 14

This is pretty much one month of progress (January). Changed gears and picked a different niche. Looking forward to the next couple months of progress.

[Charles]

I am running about 20 AI sites for this challenge. I started late (2 months into the challenge), so my sites performance is still in the toddler stage. Recently, in the last 2 weeks or so, I have seen an upward trend on the impressions for almost 80% of the sites, while the remaining 20% are still dormant (probably still in sandbox?). For the 80% that have an upwards impressions graph, more than a half of them have very few clicks. However, there are about 5 of them that have started having some daily clicks (1-2), so not a bad start. I have not really added any articles to the sites since the last update 1 month ago. In this month (february), I will try visiting all the posted articles and improve them (they are currently 100% AI with no human editing). Additionally, I will attempt posting atleast 15-30 more articles on each site. That’s all for now!

[Tim McReynolds]

I was all set to report with zeros all the way down the list. But I decided just to run through the analytics for practice.
Surprise surprise! I got some traffic! My home page is terrible, so they weren’t staying long enough to engage with anything. There were actually 23 clicks recorded from different folks. I’m still not really doing well with the organic search, but it’s that little booster shot of hope that is making me take action.
This weekend I am rebuilding my home page, so that not every blog post is there, then I will add addition content with specific keywords in mind. I keep saying it, but now I’m going to do it.

[Pet Content Solutions]

Total articles: 51
I did not publish new articles in January. Instead, I edited my previous posts that were deindexed.
As per GSC, total clicks is 63 with average position at 18.1
GA4 says Google organic sessions is 86, Bing organic 2.
I know it’s not part of the challenge, but I made 5 Amazon sales on this site last January. So, I won’t be kicked out of the affiliate program, yass.

[Dennis]

82 total articles published
Organic sessions: 414
GSC clicks: 383

[Mark]

Hey,

I started my site lite, only took the domain live on 1 Jaauary 2024.

So far I have 25 articles published.
Since Jan I’ve received 7.23K impressions and 12 clicks.

I haven’t been able to write articles for the past two weeks, I’ve been so busy with my 9-5. Hoping to bang out a bunch of articles this month, aiming to take total articles for feb to 60.

One positive. I got 2X 81 DR backlinks from reputable news sites!

I’m going to be testing a super cool strategy this month to do with a specific type of Silo page.

[Brad]

500+ articles

624 organic sessions.

Goal for Feb is to get average 2 sessions per article. Stretch goal is 3 😀

[Dennis]

How is everyone going about finding keywords/topics for AI to write articles on?

I have a blog around the Food/Recipe niche and would like to generate a list of topics/keyword to feed the AI machine.

BTW loved this challenge and wished I found it sooner to jump in.

Best of luck to all!

[Tom Seest]

Hi Dennis…

If you have access to Chat GPT or Bing Chat or any of the others, I would enter a series of prompts like this:

1) First, I want to know what types of people are likely to visit my site (assuming know institutional knowledge), so I’d enter a prompt like this: What types of people would normally visit a blog about plant-based recipes?

2) In this case, Chat GPT 4.0 replied with the following:

Visitors to a blog about plant-based recipes come from various backgrounds and interests, driven by motivations that range from health concerns to ethical considerations. Understanding these types can help tailor content to meet their needs and interests. Here’s a detailed breakdown:

Health-Conscious Individuals:

Seek plant-based recipes to improve health, manage weight, or prevent diseases.
Interested in nutritional information and benefits of plant-based diets.
Vegans and Vegetarians:

Follow strict plant-based diets either for ethical reasons, animal rights, or environmental concerns.
Look for creative recipes that don’t compromise on taste or texture.
Flexitarians and Meat Reducers:

Not strictly vegetarian but aim to reduce meat consumption for health or environmental reasons.
Interested in plant-based recipes that can serve as alternatives to meat-based dishes.
Fitness Enthusiasts and Athletes:

Focus on high-protein plant-based meals to support workout routines and muscle recovery.
Seek recipes that are both nutritious and energy-boosting.
Eco-conscious Individuals:

Motivated by the sustainability and lower environmental impact of plant-based eating.
Interested in how plant-based diets can reduce carbon footprint and water use.
Food Allergy Sufferers:

Look for plant-based recipes due to allergies or intolerances to dairy, eggs, or meat.
Interested in allergen-free recipes and alternatives to common allergens.
Culinary Adventurers:

Enjoy exploring diverse cuisines and experimenting with new ingredients.
Drawn to unique, globally-inspired plant-based recipes.
Families with Children:

Seek kid-friendly plant-based recipes that are nutritious and easy to prepare.
Interested in tips for introducing plant-based diets to children.
Budget-Conscious Cooks:

Look for affordable, easy-to-prepare plant-based meals that use common ingredients.
Interested in meal planning and bulk cooking advice.
Professionals in Food, Health, and Sustainability Fields:

Researchers, dietitians, chefs, and environmentalists seeking to stay informed about plant-based trends and nutritional insights.
May use the information for professional development, education, or to incorporate into their practice or teachings.
By understanding these types, a blog can cater to a wide audience by offering a variety of recipes, nutritional insights, environmental benefits, and lifestyle tips related to plant-based eating. Tailoring content to address the specific interests and concerns of these groups can increase engagement and loyalty among readers.

3) I then take and enter the following prompt for each of the groups mentioned above:

a) Can you provide me with 30 questions that people that are Health-Conscious Individuals, might have that I can answer as part of my plant-based recipe site?
b) Can you provide me with 30 questions that people that are Vegans and Vegetarians, might have that I can answer as part of my plant-based recipe site?

4) Chat GPT responded to 3a) with:
Creating content that addresses specific questions from health-conscious individuals can significantly enhance the value and appeal of your plant-based recipe site. Here are 30 questions that such an audience might have, which you can use to guide your content creation:

What are the health benefits of adopting a plant-based diet?
How can I ensure I’m getting enough protein from plant-based sources?
What are the best plant-based foods for heart health?
How does a plant-based diet impact blood sugar levels?
Can a plant-based diet help with weight loss?
What are some simple plant-based breakfast ideas for busy mornings?
How can I make sure I’m getting enough iron on a plant-based diet?
Are there plant-based options that are good for bone health?
What are some effective plant-based meal prep strategies for a busy week?
How can I transition to a plant-based diet without feeling deprived?
What are the essential nutrients I should focus on in a plant-based diet?
How can I create balanced plant-based meals for my family?
What are some quick and healthy plant-based snacks?
Can a plant-based diet improve my skin health?
How do I manage cravings for non-plant-based foods?
What are the best sources of omega-3 fatty acids in a plant-based diet?
How can I make plant-based meals more filling and satisfying?
What are some common mistakes to avoid when starting a plant-based diet?
How can I incorporate more whole foods into my plant-based diet?
What are some budget-friendly plant-based recipes?
How does a plant-based diet benefit digestive health?
Can you recommend any plant-based recipes that are good for boosting immunity?
What are the best plant-based alternatives to dairy products?
How can I make plant-based meals that are high in protein and low in carbs?
Are there any plant-based superfoods I should include in my diet?
How can I ensure I’m getting enough vitamin B12 on a plant-based diet?
What are some creative ways to use tofu and tempeh in meals?
Can a plant-based diet help reduce inflammation in the body?
How can I make traditional dishes plant-based without losing their essence?
What are some tips for dining out or ordering in on a plant-based diet?
Answering these questions on your site can guide health-conscious individuals through their plant-based journey, providing them with the knowledge and confidence to make informed dietary choices. It’s an excellent way to engage your audience, offering them tangible benefits and solutions through your content.

5) Chat GPT Reponded to 3B with this:

Absolutely, addressing the specific concerns and curiosities of vegans and vegetarians can greatly enhance the content of your plant-based recipe site. Here are 30 questions tailored to this audience:

What are the best sources of plant-based protein for vegans and vegetarians?
How can I ensure a balanced diet without animal products?
What are some creative vegan alternatives to cheese and dairy?
How do I make sure I’m getting enough Vitamin B12 in a vegan diet?
What are the most nutrient-dense plant-based foods I should include in my diet?
How can I create satisfying vegan meals that appeal to non-vegans?
What are some effective ways to meal prep as a vegan or vegetarian?
Can you provide tips for making vegan baking recipes taste delicious?
How can I make vegan versions of traditional comfort foods?
What plant-based ingredients can I use to thicken soups and sauces?
How do I maintain a vegan diet while traveling or eating out?
What are the health benefits of a raw vegan diet, and how can I incorporate raw meals into my diet?
How can I make plant-based meals more protein-rich without relying on soy?
What are some quick and easy vegan breakfast ideas for busy mornings?
How do I ensure I’m getting enough omega-3 fatty acids on a plant-based diet?
What are the best vegan sources of calcium?
Can you recommend any budget-friendly vegan meal ideas?
How can I make vegan meals more flavorful and exciting?
What are some common pitfalls to avoid when transitioning to a vegan diet?
How can I find vegan-friendly substitutes for eggs in recipes?
What are some simple and healthy vegan snack ideas?
How can I ensure my vegan diet is environmentally sustainable?
What are the best ways to store and preserve fresh produce for vegan cooking?
How can I create vegan meals that are satisfying and filling?
What are some vegan-friendly protein powders and supplements?
How do I navigate social situations and gatherings as a vegan or vegetarian?
Can you share some tips for growing your own herbs and vegetables for vegan cooking?
What are the best plant-based foods for muscle building and recovery?
How can I make a creamy vegan soup without dairy?
What are some innovative ways to use plant-based milks in recipes?
These questions cover a wide range of topics relevant to vegans and vegetarians, from nutritional concerns to practical cooking tips and social considerations. Addressing these questions on your site can provide valuable insights and support to your audience, helping them navigate the challenges and joys of plant-based living.

You can follow this more easily from the Chat GPT site here: https://chat.openai.com/share/56277628-5ce0-4a09-b1f2-a78862f5fe88

This assumes that you’re trying to develop content silos or topics and not necessarily just wanting questions from Google Search Console or tools like AnswerThePublic and other search tools…

I like to ask Chat GPT things like for questions people have as well as what problems people are trying to solve, etc….

I hope this helps you some.

Thanks,

Tom Seest

[Nadya From LivingOffCloud]

Thanks, Tom! Great thinking here 🤩

[Tom Seest]

I’m gifted with the ability to be lazy…And, have AI do everything…

[Dennis]

Wow, thanks for the response. Crazy I didn’t think to ask ChatGTP hahaha. I’ll give this a try on my site!

[Tom Seest]

I’m happy to help. I hope it works well for you.

[Gael]

Clicks? A few.

[Seb]

I had honestly given up. I haven’t added any new article in 2-3 months, but traffic is picking up, and people are getting clapped by the algorithm, so I figured I’d file my reports just in case.

January 2024

25 articles
444 organic traffic

[Author]

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