Streamlining blog roundups and skyscraper posts

Within the previous days, people needed to establish sources, summarize the work and seek for frequent that means. At the moment, robots do the heavy lifting and also you, the human, are left to do the artistic work of prompting and deciphering the output for the remainder of us.

My tagline for the foreseeable future is:

“I’m human. I’m useful. A few of that is AI, and that’s OK.”

This text explores how one can leverage AI instruments to streamline the method of making weblog roundups and skyscraper posts – two efficient content material codecs that, performed effectively, can earn distinguished positions in search outcomes pages and drive site visitors.

We’ll additionally dive into:

• The idea of the “AI sandwich” which mixes human experience with the ability of AI to supply reliable, useful content material. 
• A spread of AI instruments particularly designed for content material creation, picture technology and video manufacturing to include into your workflow.

What are weblog roundups and skyscraper posts?

Merely put, a roundup article is a weblog publish or article that features a number of different sources to kind the article’s content material. The contributing content material is often on a hard and fast theme or subject.

Historically, the roundup publish could also be constructed on direct contributions from business specialists or could also be made up of content material repurposed from current articles.

LinkedIn has gone as far as to institutionalize this by way of Collaborative articles.

LinkedIn selectively invitations specialists to contribute to their articles primarily based on their skilled background, ability proficiency and engagement on the platform.

From a consumer perspective, a roundup weblog publish brings collectively a number of professional views of a subject.

From an web optimization or advertising perspective, roundup posts align the writer with each the subject of the article and the contributors.

In the meantime, the “skyscraper method” was popularized by Brian Dean at Backlinko. The steps concerned are:

• Step 1: Discover link-worthy content material.
• Step 2: Make one thing even higher.
• Step 3: Attain out to the fitting folks.

Dean approaches the skyscraper as a hyperlink constructing method.

In my preliminary strategy, I obtained suggestions that what I used to be doing was extra of a “roundup.” And that’s OK, too. Whether or not it’s a roundup, a skyscraper, or a evaluate, the actual worth is that you’re studying from the pages, profitable your SERP and repurposing content material to enhance upon them.

As serps transfer from lexical to semantic search, the skyscraper method turns into as a lot about together with recognized entities as its linkworthiness.

If effectively executed, the skyscraper consists of a number of chunks, often known as passages and, for those who’re Cindy Krum, “fraggles.” Passages are notably vital in Google’s SGE and wealthy snippets as they’re usually the a part of the web page included within the wealthy outcomes.

This podcast episode with Michael King of iPullRank and Martha van Berkel of Schema App provides a terrific clarification of semantic search, the information graph and their potential implications for SGE.

Repurposing content material with AI could make the workflow for weblog roundups and skyscraper posts far more environment friendly.

Dig deeper: Using generative AI to improve existing content: Top tips + sample prompts

AI sandwich: The method of constructing useful content material with AI and human enter

There are considerations that utilizing AI instruments will result in content material being deemed “unhelpful.” To assist the standard pointers and their human raters, the perfect use of AI instruments could also be an “AI sandwich” the place: 

• People write prompts.
• AI does its factor.
• Then people edit and fact-check.

If we wish to produce useful, reliable content material, the output of the AI content material technology instruments will have to be like a package of components on the shelf that collectively make the entire.

Under is a course of for repurposing content material with AI:

• Step 1: Determine the content material you wish to reference.
  • Who ranks? That is the place a software like Surfer web optimization turns out to be useful.
• Step 2: Have the instruments summarize the reference articles.
  • Do it one after the other in ChatGPT, Gemini, and so on., or do it in bulk in ZimmWriter.
• Step 3: Assemble the summaries into one major doc.
  • When you’re a bit of techy, you are able to do this with an automation software like Zapier or Make.com.
• Step 4: Analyze the first doc for learnings, corresponding to:
  • Widespread methods and strategies.
  • Most cited X or Y.
  • Uncommon or stunning matters.
• Step 5: Assemble the collected works.
  • For a Skyscraper publish, it’s possible you’ll not want to give a verbose attribution. As an alternative, your evaluation ought to give a transparent understanding of what the profitable components is. As soon as you recognize what you should come “excessive” of the competitors, your summaries and evaluation will allow you to create a singular article to win the SERP.
  • The roundup is completely different in a single essential approach: you’re giving credit score to the supply articles. That is arguably cleaner from an moral perspective and you continue to get what you want, which is a big piece of content material worthy of profitable in search.

By sampling, summarizing and, in some circumstances, repurposing already rating content material, you’re prone to cowl each lexical and semantic search concerns for a given subject.

In different phrases, in case your reference articles are within the high 20 search positions and, by way of your analysis and processing, you embrace a sufficiency of key phrases and entities, you usually tend to rank effectively in search.

Weblog posts, movies or social media posts?

Brief reply: sure. All the above.

When you’ve created your written content material and it seems like a match on your target market, you can begin to consider content material distribution.

If you repurpose current content material, it’s possible you’ll give an previous weblog publish new life. And that life can get prolonged.

Every supply can present a number of items. You possibly can create weblog content material, visible content material with picture technology packages and podcast episodes – as both video or audio.

The identical subject doesn’t have for use in the identical format. In case you have high-quality content material, a brand new publish can attain new audiences, spreading the attain of your advertising efforts.

Social media platforms are a terrific place to broadcast your repurposed content material. Every content material piece will be a number of posts.

Your authentic publish can turn out to be, with AI serving to out, a visitor publish, an Instagram publish or a LinkedIn publish. Any of your social media channels are a terrific alternative to reuse the identical content material to succeed in a brand new viewers.

With the expense of content material manufacturing, it is sensible to utilize a number of channels and new codecs to focus on audiences, whether or not new or current.

Is that this black hat (or grey)?

Within the phrases of Don Draper, “I’m not right here to let you know about Jesus. You already learn about Jesus. Both he lives in your coronary heart or he doesn’t.”

In different phrases, spam is within the eye of the beholder.

Critically, although, I favor the roundup format as a result of it naturally helps attribution. I brazenly hyperlink the unique sources. Once I use these strategies for content material recycling, I give attribution. 

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Repurposing content material: Actual-world examples and concepts

My weblog publish titled “web optimization Skyscraper Methodology + ChatGPT Knowledge Mining = Successful the SERP” ranks on Web page 1 – infinite scroll however – for:

• “search engine marketing skyscraper chatgpt” simple
• “search engine marketing skyscraper technique” tougher
• “search engine marketing skyscraper method” hardest

(In essence, I’m utilizing this system to rank for this system in a weblog publish the place I describe the method.)

The truth that we are able to rank amongst some very authoritative websites actually proves the validity of the method.

When you maintain taking place the web page, you’ll discover at the very least 4 extra references to the article.

Different content material varieties to repurpose embrace:

• Previous weblog posts.
• Evergreen content material.
• Lengthy-form content material.
• Completely different platforms for high-performing content material.
• To-do lists.
• A number of content material items from one supply.

It’s vital to look past simply textual content in your content material creation course of. Your viewers isn’t all the identical. Utilizing a number of content material codecs lets you meet your customers the place they’re most comfy.

Taking these long-form weblog posts and rendering them as movies or including a video explainer to visitor posts could make them far more accessible and probably enhance engagement.

Under are some AI-powered instruments to take a look at.

Pure AI textual content instruments, GPT interfaces

ChatGPT

For ideation, outlining and small-batch content material creation, ChatGPT nonetheless reigns supreme for me. 

Additionally, OpenAI was one of many first to make an simply accessible API for each textual content and picture technology. As such, it’s built-in into different instruments I exploit frequently.

And because the mainstream chief on this space, ChatGPT was the primary to develop a plugin ecosystem that’s extensively adopted, together with the super-tool AIPRM.

Additionally, ChatGPT is built-in with Bing. The Bing integration may be very helpful. You possibly can go straight from making a DALL-E 3 (one other OpenAI undertaking) picture into Microsoft Designer, the place you possibly can manipulate it additional.

Claude.ai

A product of Anthropic, Claude is a chat interface much like ChatGPT. I initially began utilizing it as a result of it had a bigger context (the variety of characters one can course of) than ChatGPT.

It’s additionally good for importing information and processing them. As an example, I’ve uploaded the output of Screaming Frog to have Claude advocate the best way to manage a web site’s value of content material primarily based on URL and web page title.

Gemini (previously Bard)

Gemini is Google’s GPT, and it’s distinctive in its skill to interface with different Google merchandise. You possibly can question your e mail, Docs and different Google properties like Google Flights.

Dig deeper: ChatGPT vs. Google Bard vs. Bing Chat vs. Claude: Which generative AI solution is best?

AI web optimization instruments

Surfer web optimization

Surfer web optimization is an web optimization software that analyzes top-ranking content material and gives data-driven ideas that can assist you write and optimize your personal content material for greater search engine rating. It covers key phrase analysis, on-page optimization and content material creation.

Extra lately, Surfer has added a whole AI author, which contains the evaluation of its important web optimization software to information an AI author. The output of this software is fairly complete and, in my expertise, can rank effectively proper out of the field.

ZimmWriter

Desire a one-click weblog publish from only a key phrase? ZimmWriter.

Need 1,000 spinoff articles primarily based on current content material? ZimmWriter – sure, actually, 1,000!

Desire a product evaluate roundup primarily based on current product listings? ZimmWriter.

Desire a topical authority map that you may then routinely write all of the content material for after which add to WordPress scheduled out into the longer term, with photographs from Pexels, DALL-E or Steady Diffusion? ZimmWriter.

If you should actually create content material at scale, ZimmWriter is peerless.

Honorable point out: Content material at Scale

I don’t use Content material at Scale frequently, but it surely’s good.

In order for you a whole article primarily based on a single key phrase or extra advanced inputs, Content material at Scale does an excellent job. Not like many instruments that use a single mannequin (e.g., OpenAI), Content material at Scale makes use of a number of fashions and creates human-like content material.

Along with the content material high quality, it consists of a number of content material options that save time within the deployment course of, like a desk of contents, quote callouts and others.

AI picture creation instruments

DALL-E

DALL-E 3 is now built-in into ChatGPT 4 and is fairly sensible. From a pure language immediate, you will get high-quality photographs. And, in its final launch, DALL-E now renders textual content acceptably.

It typically takes just a few tries, and within the worst case, you need to take the picture into an editor to wash up stray characters, however the direct output is superb.

Once more, as talked about above, one other cool use case for DALL-E is within the Bing/ChatGPT/Microsoft Designer workflow.

Midjourney

Midjourney has most of the attributes of DALL-E however has one massive downside. It’s important to use it inside a Discord chat. It’s my understanding that they’re engaged on this.

Midjourney is a bit more versatile in that you may give it further directives that aren’t as clear in DALL-E. As an example, you possibly can specify side ratios, “lens” kind and publicity.

When you just like the chat interface, although, DALL-E is extra intuitive.

Steady Diffusion

An early entrant to the picture technology AI (2022), Steady Diffusion is a really wealthy software.

Along with the attributes of DALL-E and Midjourney, Steady Diffusion can manipulate current photographs and create video and 3D belongings.

AI video creation instruments

Steve.AI

Steve.ai was the unique video software we used. It consists of inventory live-action and animated movies assembled primarily based on a script – along with the video aspect. AI can generate that script from an current piece of content material.

Steve.AI also can create talking-head and generative movies – the place your prompts render the frames. After we first used it a 12 months or so in the past, it wasn’t as far alongside as it’s now and it’s value one other look.

Wave.video

Wave.video is my present go-to. It builds a script from content material if wanted and makes use of nonetheless and video inventory artwork.

What makes Wave.video a better option for me immediately is the worth level. You possibly can create as many movies as you want for a comparatively low worth.

For slideshow movies that you simply’re going to deploy to YouTube and your web site, I discover Wave.video intuitive. You too can render your personal photographs in one of many picture instruments above to incorporate within the video slideshow.

Each Steve.AI and Wave.video can help you choose voice-over voices that can learn your script. I consider Steve has extra and as with all AI voiceover, one must be acutely aware of how mechanical they sound.

D-iD

This software’s differentiator is that you may pattern an individual’s picture and voice, permitting you to make use of them as an avatar.

You possibly can then use that avatar as an overlay on different movies, however live-action and AI-generated. That is nice for explainer movies, displays and coaching. 

In my expertise, the avatars are a bit wood, however I’m certain that can change with time. An analogous product I realized about at Pubcon Austin is elai.io.

Subsequent-level content material repurposing with AI

When you consider the websites on the high of Google are a clue to what the algorithms discover related, then beginning with these as your enter is a good suggestion.

Taking {that a} step additional, you can also make even higher semantic connections for the algorithm while you herald some AI-enabled web optimization instruments.