Jake Ward Profile picture
Aug 18, 2023 20 tweets 7 min read Read on X
Update: 0 to 820K/mo SEO traffic with AI content.

- Traffic after 24 hours
- 300K/mo after 6 months
- 750K/mo after 12 months
- 820K/mo after 16 months
- 10K top 3 keywords in Google

Here's not only how we did it 16 months ago...

But how to do it even better: Image
Quick overview:

We ran a large-scale SEO campaign using only AI-generated content.

Website: B2B SaaS company
Industry: Finance

AI language model:

- Started on GPT-3
- Moved to GPT-3.5
- Now on GPT-4

AI tool used: Byword.ai
Results timeline:

I've updated this case study every 3-4 months...

Keywords (top 3 in Google):

- Sept 22: 1,506
- Jan 23: 3,194
- Apr 23: 4,317
- Today: 10,150

Monthly organic traffic:

- Sept 22: 300K
- Jan 23: 660K
- Apr 23: 750K
- Today: 820K

7M total sessions: Image
How we did it:

All content was produced at scale using it was publicly available.

But that was 16 months ago. Technology has since evolved.

In this post, I won't just show you how we did it 16 months ago.

But I'll show you how to do it even better...Byword.ai
1. Understanding the target audience

A large part of a successful AI content campaign is knowing what your audience is searching.

Ways we researched:

- Keyword research tools
- Competitor keyword data
- Ideation around the product
- Scraping competitor sitemaps
For example, if targeting Excel users, use Ahrefs' matching terms report and look for patterns in the data (for step 2). Image
2. Choose scalable topic series

Find a series of topics with 100s or 1,000s of keywords to target.

Here are the 6 we chose: Image
An example of a scalable topic series targeting Excel users is:

How to calculate [formula] in Excel Image
3A. Generate content for each topic series

Use to generate the AI content from your topics (it can produce 1,000s in a day). https://t.co/ocrDW5Q1lsByword.ai
Image
3B. Enable internal linking first

Internal linking is crucial. But it wasn't possible to automate 16 months ago.

Add your sitemap and let Byword do the rest. Image
3C. Upgrade the AI image model

AI-generated images were fairly poor at the time.

But now, Byword has an upgraded option that also allows you to add brand colours. Image
4. Build the website architecture

Create an area on the site to house the content to ensure Google can find and crawl the pages easily. Image
Each of those pages then houses the individual posts for that topic series (like a HTML sitemap). Image
5. Publish quickly

Publish the content and ensure all URLs are in the XML sitemap and submitted in Search Console.

Byword has integrations with CMS platforms to speed this up. Image
6. Submit to Google for indexing at scale

We published over 7,000 articles. Google takes its time indexing
every single page.

Instead, use a tool like @TagParrot to automatically request indexing to Google for each page. Image
7. Results...

Wait 3+ months to see traffic.

However, this project saw traffic as soon as the next day.

The time to rank will depend on the existing authority of the website. Image
Traffic graphs: Image
What does it cost?

Large-scale AI campaigns like this require the 'Unlimited' monthly plan.

(The majority, if not all, of the content can be generated within 1 month.) Image
But you can try Byword for free:

Simply enter your topic here and generate your article. Image
Questions?

I'm replying to all comments over the next 5 days.

Ask me anything on the first tweet below:

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More from @jakezward

Jul 2
Stop doing keyword research in 2025.

Start with search market research instead:

1. See the true size of your SEO opportunity
2. Decide if SEO is even worth the investment
3. Build a high-ROI content roadmap from day 1

Here’s exactly how I do it:
Traditional keyword research is dead.

Instead, find your Total Addressable Search Market (TASM) before investing in SEO.

Which is exactly what we did for our client:

“I am blown away by the quality of the [TASM] doc you made tbh”

I’ll show you how it was done: Image
1. Define your scope

- What products/services do you offer?
- Who are your customers?
- What pain points or outcomes do they search for?
- Who are your competitors?

This sets the boundaries of your search market.
Read 14 tweets
Jun 23
I refresh search trends like it’s social media.

7 marketing trends I’ve found this week:

1. Vibe Marketing

Marketing is getting the same acceleration as Vibe Coding (e.g. Replit, Bolt, Lovable). What once took TEAMS now takes ONE smart Vibe Marketer and a stack of AI agents. Image
What it means for you:

Founders: Entire marketing departments are being compressed into lean, automated systems. A single person can now ideate, test, and launch campaigns in hours (not weeks).

Marketers: Vibe marketing isn’t about funnels. It’s about fast feedback loops. Real-time testing. Hundreds of angles launched via agents. The right stack lets you outpace entire teams.

Creators: This is a movement. Document your workflows. Share tool stacks. Break down how one person outperforms an agency. The space is exploding, and people want a guide.
2. Programmatic SEO

Using automation to create 100s or 1,000s of long-tail pages based on templates and data.

Often targeting high-intent, low-competition keywords at scale (e.g. location pages or glossaries). Image
Read 16 tweets
Jun 19
Programmatic SEO isn’t dead.

Here’s how this site gets 221,472/mo from it: Image
Programmatic is still one of the biggest opportunities in SEO.

Use automation to publish 100s of pages targeting 1,000s of long-tail keywords.

But most teams still write one piece at a time.

Here’s how you can scale with programmatic:
1. Understand your audience

Research what your audience is searching.

- Use keyword research tools
- Look at competitor keywords
- Ideate around your core product
- Find topic ideas from seed keywords Image
Read 13 tweets
Jun 16
Confession: I’m obsessed with tracking search trends.

7 AI trends I’ve found this week:

1. AI Girlfriend

People are turning to AI for connection. AI is filling real emotional gaps; companionship, validation, even intimacy. It’s weird, growing fast, and increasingly normalised. Image
What it means for you:

Founders: AI companionship is an emotional use case that’s outpacing productivity. Expect spin-offs: AI best friends, AI mentors, AI therapists.

Marketers: Even if you’re not in the AI space, this is a signal: emotional resonance matters. People aren’t just searching for tools, they’re searching for connection.

Creators: This is attention-worthy content. Think: “I spent 24 hours with an AI girlfriend.” Cultural commentary, humour, or deep dives will all perform well.
2. AI SEO

The blending of traditional SEO and LLM SEO (or LEO) to show up in AI-generated answers like Google’s AI Overviews, ChatGPT, and Perplexity responses. Image
Read 16 tweets
Jun 12
The future of SEO is happening right now.

It’s called LLM SEO (or LEO).

And it’s quietly driving 100,000s of users.

Here’s your chance to get ahead: Image
What is LEO?

It’s about optimising your brand and content to become the answer in LLM platforms like ChatGPT, Perplexity, Claude, and now most crucially, Google’s AI Mode.

This isn’t just a new traffic source.

It’s a whole new search ecosystem.
We’re actively managing SEO for 30+ sites.

And we’re already seeing 5–15% of their monthly traffic coming from LLM platforms (and growing MoM).

Most of the traffic (around 95%) is from ChatGPT, with the rest from Perplexity, Claude, and others.

This isn’t theoretical, it’s happening now.Image
Read 20 tweets
Jun 4
I’ve been doing SEO full-time since 2017.

My approach today has evolved massively (and keeps adapting with each new Google or AI update).

Here are 10 things you should focus on in 2025:
1. AI Search

Google is quickly becoming AI-first.

AI Overviews are already here: Image
AI Mode is currently rolling out: Image
Read 19 tweets

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