Jake Ward Profile picture
Nov 24, 2023 15 tweets 5 min read Read on X
We pulled off an SEO heist that stole 3.6M total traffic from a competitor.

We got 489,509 traffic in October alone.

Here's how we did it: Image
We pulled off an SEO heist using AI.

1. Exported a competitor’s sitemap
2. Turned their list of URLs into article titles
3. Created 1,800 articles from those titles at scale using AI

18 months later, we have stolen:

- 3.6M total traffic
- 490K monthly traffic
How we did it?

18 months ago, this was a totally manual process.

Today, there are tools to help automate 90% of the process.

Here’s how:
1. Find a competitor

Which website ranks for the keywords you want to rank for?

- Brainstorm
- Use Ahrefs/Semrush
- Manually search on Google Image
2. See their sitemap

To find your competitor’s sitemap, add the following to their domain:

website.com/sitemap.xml
Image
Their sitemap shows a list of all the URLs on their website.

However, the URLs in the sitemap must be descriptive to get the
best results...

For example:


website.com/t/1043423
website.com/how-to-make-so…
3. Export sitemap

Google “convert XML to CSV” and use one of the free tools to export the sitemap as a CSV file. Image
4. Generate ideas

Using the list of competitor URLs, it’s time to generate article ideas.

Add the URLs from the sitemap into Byword’s Write From URLs feature and scrape the URLs. Image
Byword generates article titles and outlines based on the competitor URLs provided.

For example:

might get translated to:
A Beginner's Guide to Making Soup website.com/how-to-make-so…
Image
5. Write with AI

Optional: Edit the suggested titles and headings for the articles... Image
Once ready, generate AI content for your final set of articles. Image
6. Publish quickly

Publish the content straight onto your website using CMS integrations (to save time). Image
Results?

Using this process, we published 1,800 articles in a few hours.

Since then:

- 490K monthly traffic
- 3.6M total since publishing
- 13K keywords on page 1 of Google

The best part? We’ve taken that traffic from our competitors. Image
Try for yourself...

Sign up at to try this feature and get 5 articles for free. Byword.ai
Image
If you enjoyed this thread:

1. Follow me @jakezward for more
2. RT the tweet to share it with others

• • •

Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to force a refresh
 

Keep Current with Jake Ward

Jake Ward Profile picture

Stay in touch and get notified when new unrolls are available from this author!

Read all threads

This Thread may be Removed Anytime!

PDF

Twitter may remove this content at anytime! Save it as PDF for later use!

Try unrolling a thread yourself!

how to unroll video
  1. Follow @ThreadReaderApp to mention us!

  2. From a Twitter thread mention us with a keyword "unroll"
@threadreaderapp unroll

Practice here first or read more on our help page!

More from @jakezward

Mar 2
I've been doing SEO for 10 years and AI search is making me rethink everything I know, here are 10 changes I’m seeing:

1. Search results have always come from our sites. Now AI also pulls from sites like Reddit and YouTube. If you’re not present, you’re not visible in answers.
2. SEO has always been about optimising for website traffic. Today, impressions are going up but clicks are going down. Now we need to optimise for visibility EVERYWHERE (Google, AI Overviews, ChatGPT, Reddit, socials...).
3. The goal has always been to rank in the top 10. Simple. But now we need to show up positively in AI answers and track where negative narratives come from (and change it).
Read 12 tweets
Feb 26
Confession: I collect SEO tactics for fun.

7 best SaaS SEO examples I've found:

1. Rows

Rows developed 50 calculators designed to solve specific business problems, whilst showcasing the power of their spreadsheets. Image
2. Wrike

Wrike created 300 blog posts focused on their primary keyword, "project management" for topical authority. Image
3. Loom

Loom created a simple, user-friendly tool to test webcam and mic settings that promotes their core product. Image
Read 10 tweets
Aug 13, 2025
Keyword research is useless in AI search.

Buyers don’t type keywords, they ask questions.

Here’s how I find what they ask:
1. Product category “seeds”

I start by searching the broad seed terms for my product category using a keyword research tool like Ahrefs.

E.g. AEO, GEO, AI search optimization. Image
2. Bottom-funnel filters

But I filter to only show terms that indicate someone is looking for a product like mine.

E.g. tool, platform, software. Image
Read 11 tweets
Aug 7, 2025
“I have no idea how to do SEO in 2025"

SEO isn't just Google rankings anymore.

It's now "Search Everywhere Optimization".

Reframe your “New SEO” project as a game and you'll become addicted to levelling up.

Start from level 1 in my “New SEO” game:
Level 1: Traditional SEO

- Audit your site for technical issues
- Research keywords and target quick wins
- Optimize on-page elements (titles, content)
- Build backlinks via guest posts and digital PR
Level 2: AI Search Optimization

- Optimize content for AI Overviews
- Structure content for AI consumption
- Create citation-worthy content for AI search
- Test how your brand appears in AI search results
Read 11 tweets
Jul 30, 2025
Traditional SEO is “get clicks”
LLM SEO is “get cited”

If AI doesn’t know you, the searcher won’t either.

10 examples how SEO is evolving:
1. Traditional SEO

Search → Click → Read

LLM SEO

Ask → Get answer → Act
2. Traditional SEO

Rank high in Google SERPs.

LLM SEO

Be part of the AI-generated answer. Image
Image
Read 13 tweets
Jul 15, 2025
You’re watching SEO change in real time.

It’s called LLM SEO (or LEO). And it’s already sending 100,000s of users to your competitors.

Here's how you can 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

Did Thread Reader help you today?

Support us! We are indie developers!


This site is made by just two indie developers on a laptop doing marketing, support and development! Read more about the story.

Become a Premium Member ($3/month or $30/year) and get exclusive features!

Become Premium

Don't want to be a Premium member but still want to support us?

Make a small donation by buying us coffee ($5) or help with server cost ($10)

Donate via Paypal

Or Donate anonymously using crypto!

Ethereum

0xfe58350B80634f60Fa6Dc149a72b4DFbc17D341E copy

Bitcoin

3ATGMxNzCUFzxpMCHL5sWSt4DVtS8UqXpi copy

Thank you for your support!

Follow Us!

:(