If you’re here because you typed “Writesonic review” into Google, you’re in the right place.

If you’re here because you read Writesonic’s recent article about Goodie… well, so did we.

Since Writesonic recently published its own take on Goodie, we thought it was worth sharing our perspective as an agency that works closely with the platform. But don’t mistake this for a back-and-forth; our goal is to review Writesonic from an agency’s perspective: by outlining its features, pricing, strengths, and limitations, supported by both hands-on testing and user feedback from across the web.

At a glance, Writesonic is best known as an AI content writing platform with a growing suite of optimization features. Goodie, by contrast, was built first and foremost as an AI visibility and optimization platform, with writing tools as part of a broader strategy. In other words, the two tools overlap in some areas but ultimately serve different purposes.

If you’re deciding between them, it pays to understand the distinction. The goal of this review is to help you do exactly that — so you can choose the platform that aligns with your business needs.

What Is Writesonic?

Writesonic is an AI writing platform designed to help businesses generate content quickly across a wide range of formats. The platform supports everything from blog posts and ad copy to product descriptions, emails, and social media posts — essentially, the bread-and-butter assets most marketing teams need daily.

Over time, Writesonic has expanded beyond content generation, introducing features under its Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) suite. These include tools for structured data, keyword targeting, and AI visibility dashboards that allow users to monitor mentions across platforms like ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, and others.

That said, Writesonic is still best recognized as a content-first platform. Its core strength lies in producing drafts at scale using GPT-based models and pre-built templates. In user reviews (from G2, Trustpilot, and Reddit discussions), many highlight its speed and breadth of formats as key benefits. However, others note that the output can require significant editing to align with brand voice, and factual accuracy remains inconsistent without careful oversight.

In short, Writesonic has evolved into more than “just” a content writer, but its foundation (and the reason most users adopt it) is high-volume text generation. The visibility and optimization tools are valuable additions, but they tend to complement the writing process rather than serve as the central driver of the platform.

Writesonic Features

Writesonic offers a wide feature set, though its strongest capabilities are still centered around content generation. Here’s a closer look at what the platform includes, based on product testing and aggregated user reviews.

AI Content Creation Tools

The heart of Writesonic is its AI writing engine. They use GPT-based models to produce:

• Long-form blog posts and articles
• Ad copy for Google, Facebook, and other platforms
• Product descriptions and eCommerce listings
• Email marketing copy
• Social media captions

Strengths:

• Fast turnaround for draft content
• Wide range of templates covering most marketing formats
• Useful for agencies or teams that need high content volume at scale

Limitations (Cited by Users):

• Output quality can vary; some drafts require heavy editing to sound polished or on-brand
• Factual accuracy is inconsistent, with users often flagging the need for thorough fact-checking
• Templates can produce generic-feeling content if not carefully prompted

GEO & SEO Optimization Features

In addition to content generation, Writesonic has introduced Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) tools aimed at bridging traditional SEO with AI search optimization. These include:

• Structured data suggestions
• Keyword targeting assistance
• E-E-A-T (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness) analysis
  • Personally, we like to throw an H for Helpfulness in there
• A visibility dashboard for monitoring brand mentions across platforms like ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, and Google’s AI Overviews

These GEO tools add value, but according to early adopters, they’re most effective when paired with Writesonic’s content writing workflows. They provide tactical guidance and visibility metrics, but some users note the insights can feel surface-level compared to dedicated AI visibility platforms.

Integrations & Workflow Tools

Writesonic offers integrations for:

• WordPress for direct publishing
• Surfer SEO for keyword and SERP optimization
• Chrome extension for quick access while browsing
• API access for custom workflows and enterprise use

These integrations streamline content publishing and fit well into existing SEO/content pipelines. However, reviewers point out that they focus more on distribution efficiency than on deeper performance analytics.

Other Notable Features

• Brand Monitoring: Limited tracking or brand mentions across platforms
• Image Generation: Basic visual asset creation
• Collaboration Tools: Shared workspaces for teams

These additions can be convenient, though most users report they’re “nice-to-haves” rather than the primary reason for adopting the platform.

Writesonic Pricing (2026)

Writesonic uses a tiered pricing model based on features, output limits, and access to advanced models. Plans range from a limited free trial to enterprise-scale packages.

• Lite: Starts at $39 per month, billed annually. Suitable for testing templates and the interface.
• Standard Plans: From $79 per month, includes most writing templates, basic SEO features, and core integrations.
• Professional & Advanced Plans: Higher tiers provide larger word quotas, collaboration tools, advanced GEO features, and access to GPT-4/32K; a large-context model capable of handling ~25,000 words of input and output.
• Custom Enterprise Plans: Custom packages for agencies or organizations with high-volume needs.

Value Assessment

From a cost perspective, Writesonic is positioned competitively among AI writing platforms. The GPT-4/32K context window can be valuable for producing long, complex documents or analyzing larger inputs without “losing track” of context.

That said, reviewers often highlight two caveats:

• Fact-checking remains essential. Even with a larger context model, accuracy isn’t guaranteed, and outputs may require significant editing.
• Most value is tied to content output. For teams where the core metric is volume (words per month), Writesonic delivers. For teams focused on AI visibility and citation tracking, much of the spend may go toward features that aren’t built for that purpose.

As one Reddit user put it, Writesonic is “worth it if you need drafts in bulk, less so if you’re looking for precision.”

Writesonic Pros & Cons

Like most AI platforms, Writesonic has clear strengths but also some trade-offs. Here’s what stands out based on product testing and aggregated user reviews (from G2, Trustpilot, and Reddit discussions).

Pros (Where Writesonic Shines)

• High-Volume Content Creation: Users consistently praise the speed and range of templates, making it easy to generate large amounts of copy quickly.
• Wide Variety of Formats: From ad copy and blog posts to emails and social captions, Writesonic covers most common marketing needs.
• Competitive Pricing for Output: Strong value if your success metric is volume (words per month).
• Publishing Integrations: WordPress, Surfer SEO, and Chrome extension streamline workflows.
• Access to GPT-4/32K: Useful for producing longer, more complex drafts without running into context length issues.

Cons (Where Users Report Limitations)

• Primarily a Writing Tool: Optimization and GEO features are helpful, but they extend the writing process rather than replace dedicated AI visibility platforms.
• Factual Accuracy Concerns: Users frequently note the need for fact-checking and editing before content is publish-ready.
• Generic Outputs Without Careful Prompting: Templates can produce formulaic results unless prompts are highly detailed.
• Surface-Level AI Optimization: GEO tools track visibility and provide recommendations, but some users describe insights as “broad” compared to specialist platforms.
• Citation Awareness Gaps: Writesonic doesn’t yet provide deep monitoring of how AI systems source or reference content, which can limit its usefulness for improving authority in AI-driven answers.

Writesonic vs Goodie: Key Differences

Although Writesonic and Goodie are often mentioned in the same conversation, the two platforms were built with different priorities in mind. Writesonic is primarily a content generation platform that has expanded into optimization and visibility features. Goodie, on the other hand, was built first and foremost as an AI visibility and optimization platform, with content creation as one component of a larger strategy.

In testing and in user reviews, the distinction often comes down to focus: Writesonic excels at producing drafts quickly, while Goodie is designed to show brands where they appear in AI answers, why they appear there, and how to improve that placement.

Bottom line: Writesonic is often seen as a “Swiss Army knife”: versatile for content generation with some visibility support. Goodie plays the role of a “specialist instrument,” designed to measure and improve AI search performance with more precision.

Who Should Use Writesonic?

Based on testing and user feedback, Writesonic tends to be the best fit for:

• Agencies or content teams that need to produce a steady flow of marketing copy (blogs, ads, emails, and social posts).
• eCommerce sellers looking for fast, SEO-friendly product descriptions at scale.
• Small businesses or freelancers who want an affordable AI writer with many templates and integrations.

However, Writesonic may be less ideal for:

• Brands focused on AI visibility as a KPI. While the GEO dashboard offers visibility tracking, its insights are broader and less actionable compared to dedicated AEO platforms.
• Marketers who are concerned with accuracy and authority. User reviews frequently mention the need for editing and fact-checking before content is publish-ready.
• Teams that prioritize precision over volume. For campaigns where content placement in AI-generated results matters as much as production, a specialized platform may deliver more value.

In other words, Writesonic works well as a content factory: efficient at filling pipelines with drafts. Goodie, by contrast, functions more like a visibility strategist: helping ensure your content shows up in the right AI answers, with the authority needed to influence decision-making.

Better Alternatives to Writesonic

Writesonic is a strong option for teams focused on fast content creation, but it’s not the only tool in the space. Depending on your priorities (whether it’s visibility, brand voice, or content planning) other platforms may be a better fit.

1. Goodie: AI Visibility & Optimization Platform

Goodie was built from the ground up to address a different challenge than Writesonic: helping brands win visibility in AI-generated results.

• Track: Monitor brand visibility across major AI platforms like ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity, Claude, and Google AI Overviews.
• Analyze: Benchmark against competitors, track citations, and understand share of voice.
• Optimize: Get AI-specific recommendations; semantic adjustments, schema enhancements, and outreach hooks designed to improve placement.
• Create: Includes an AI Content Writer, but positioned as part of a broader, visibility-first toolkit.

For teams where placement in AI search is a business-critical KPI, Goodie offers the specialized insights that generalist tools can’t match.

2. Jasper: AI Writing With Strong Brand Voice Tools

Jasper is an AI writing assistant with a strong emphasis on brand voice consistency.

• Best for marketing teams that need AI to adapt to their unique style and tone.
• Offers strong integrations with platforms like HubSpot and Surfer SEO.
• Less focused on visibility tracking, more on generating content that “sounds like you.”

3. MarketMuse: SEO Content Planning & Topic Authority

MarketMuse focuses on content strategy and authority building rather than fast drafting.

• Uses AI to identify topic gaps and build clusters for long-term SEO performance.
• Well-suited for teams aiming to establish domain expertise over time.
• Complements rather than replaces AEO tools, since it doesn’t track AI search citations.

Summary: If your main need is a high-volume content generator, Writesonic fits the role. If your priority is AI search visibility (making sure your brand is cited, accurate, and authoritative in AI-generated answers), Goodie is the stronger alternative.

Writesonic Final Verdict: Volume vs. Visibility

Writesonic is a capable AI writing platform. It shines when speed and volume are the top priorities, offering dozens of templates, fast draft generation, and a growing set of optimization tools through its GEO dashboard. For teams that need a steady stream of marketing copy across multiple formats, it delivers strong value for the price.

Where it falls short is in the depth of visibility insights. While the GEO dashboard provides mention tracking and recommendations, user feedback often points to the need for more actionable, granular guidance (particularly for brands that view AI search visibility as a critical KPI). Content accuracy also remains a common concern, with drafts requiring editing and fact-checking before they’re publish-ready.

Goodie was built from the opposite direction: as a visibility-first platform designed to help brands measure, analyze, and improve their presence in AI-generated results. Its AI Content Writer is part of a broader ecosystem, not the foundation.

In short: Writesonic writes. Goodie gets you seen.

WriteSonic: Frequently Asked Questions

The post Writesonic Review: Features, Pricing & Better Alternatives appeared first on NoGood™: Growth Marketing Agency.

Social and AI search have already taken over. 67% of Gen Z uses Instagram (and 62% uses TikTok) to find information, not Google, and LLM usership continues to reach new heights (¼ of Millennials and ⅓ of Gen Z); and Spotify has a hand in both metaphorical pies (that’s a saying, right?)

The reality is, Spotify has always been a search engine of its own. But now that Spotify is directly integrated with ChatGPT (if you missed it, this happened in October of 2025), now is as good a time as any to learn the strategies that can push your music, your playlist, your artist profile, or your podcast into both in-platform user feeds and LLMs.

Is There SEO for Spotify?

Yes, Spotify SEO (and even Spotify AEO) are legitimate, and increasingly important, strategies. Just like optimizing for Google Search or AI search engines, you can optimize your Spotify content to boost visibility in search results. In short, Spotify SEO involves optimizing your profile, playlists, titles, descriptions, and metadata to help the Spotify algorithm better understand and distribute your content (whether it be to users or to LLMs).

Spotify uses sophisticated technology, including content-based filtering, collaborative filters, and natural language processing, to categorize content. This means strategic optimization of your artist profile, podcast show page, episode descriptions, and playlist creation can significantly impact your discoverability.

How Spotify’s Search Algorithm Works

There are four primary ways for content to be discovered on Spotify: search, playlists, Spotify’s featured recommendations, and being cited within AI responses. From an SEO and AEO perspective, these mirror keywords, backlinks, algorithm preferences, and brand visibility.

Understanding Spotify’s Ranking Factors

Spotify’s algorithm employs artist-sourced metadata, audio signal analysis, and NLP models to effectively categorize and distribute content, enhancing discoverability. The platform analyzes:

• Artist-sourced metadata: Information from your Spotify for Creators profile and pitch forms
• Raw audio signals: Numerical values assigned to track attributes like danceability, energy, and valence
• Natural language processing: Analysis of lyrics, web-crawled data from music blogs, and user-generated playlist patterns

This backend data provides context that helps algorithms serve users more relevant content (similar to technical SEO and technical AEO helping crawlers understand your site).

Disclaimer: We do have far, far less data on how to get cited in LLMs from the perspective of Spotify SEO, so in this guide, I’ll be giving you some AEO tactics that have been proven to work across traditional search surfaces and their potential applications for Spotify optimization.

Spotify SEO & AEO: 4 Tactics

Battling with Spotify’s search algorithm, indexability in traditional search results in Google, and ChatGPT’s somewhat recent integration with Spotify, it might feel like you’re fighting an uphill battle with organic discovery.

That’s why I’m here 🙂These four tactics will help you maximize visibility across Spotify’s platform, Google search, AI Overviews, ChatGPT, and any other generative AI search engines that decide to cite Spotify directly (or indirectly) in their responses.

Tactic 1: Cross-Platform Keyword Optimization

The ultimate goal with effective keyword optimization is more than showing up in Spotify’s internal search (especially in this novel search ecosystem); your keywords should work across Spotify, Google Search, ChatGPT queries, and AI Overviews simultaneously.

Fair warning: This guide is going to get realllllll search nerd-y real fast. So if you’re looking for a quick way to game the system, you can click off of this page. You’re in the wrong place.

Understanding Multi-Platform Keyword Discovery

To know where you should be found, you should first figure out where you can be found. Research how audiences describe music across different search platforms. The language varies by context:

• Google searches are specific and lack filler words (“best synthwave playlist 2026”)
• ChatGPT queries are often conversational (“recommend some retro electronic music with vocals”)
• Spotify searches tend to be brief (“workout beats”)

Your keyword strategy must account for all three patterns. Analyze search results directly within each platform. Understanding these nuances helps you choose keywords that perform across platforms, or zero in on a specific platform you want to improve your visibility on.

Strategic Keyword Placement for SEO & AEO

Once you’ve identified high-value keywords, deploy them strategically across your entire digital presence:

The Lyric Opportunity

While Spotify’s lyrics aren’t directly indexed by Google as standalone pages, they still impact discoverability:

• Spotify’s natural language processing analyzes lyrics for locations, brands, and people mentioned in songs to create additional context.
• When listeners remember a lyric fragment and search it on Google, the search engine pulls from lyrics sites like Genius and MusixMatch (not directly from Spotify, though Spotify does use MusixMatch).
• ChatGPT, on the other hand, can identify songs based on lyric descriptions using its training data.

This means having your lyrics accurately transcribed and distributed across multiple lyric platforms (Genius, MusixMatch, AZLyrics, etc.) increases your chances of being discovered through both traditional search and AI assistants.

Monitor Cross-Platform Keyword Performance

Track which keywords drive engagement across different platforms.

• Within Spotify, analyze which search terms lead to your profile views and follow through Spotify for Creators analytics.
• Use Google Search Console to see which queries bring traffic to your Spotify links.
• Test ChatGPT regularly by asking it to recommend music based on your target keywords and noting whether your content appears in responses.

Creatives Beware: Don’t hyperfocus on keyword targeting, though (especially not at the expense of your sound or your artistic freedom). TikTok and “coworker music” jokes aside, there are plenty of other ways to get discovered other than saying so directly in your music.

Tactic 2: Keyword-Rich Playlist Strategy for Multiple Discovery Channels

Playlists function as discovery tools across multiple platforms, not just within Spotify. An intentionally optimized playlist can rank in Spotify’s internal search, appear in Google Search results, get recommended by ChatGPT, and surface in AI Overviews, multiplying your visibility exponentially.

Building Playlists That Rank Everywhere

Your playlist title is the single most important element for cross-platform discovery. It needs to work for:

• Spotify’s algorithm: Clear, keyword-focused titles that match user search behavior
• Google Search: Descriptive titles that appear in search results when people look for playlists outside Spotify
• ChatGPT recommendations: Titles that make sense when AI describes them conversationally to users
• AI Overviews: Concise titles that AI can easily summarize and reference

For example, “Vocal Synthwave Retrowave” targets specific genre keywords that fans actively search across all platforms. Someone might search “synthwave playlist” on Google, ask ChatGPT for “retro electronic music with vocals,” or type “vocal synthwave” directly into Spotify. If they do so, this title would be perfect because it captures all three discovery paths.

Creatives Beware: This is another place where I’ll warn you about throttling your creativity for the sake of discovery. You shouldn’t make it a hard and fast rule to avoid clever or abstract playlist titles. My job might depend on my content being indexed, surfaced, and written, but yours also depends on the human emotion and feelings behind your art.

Optimizing Playlist Descriptions for SEO & AEO

Your playlist description should serve multiple audiences simultaneously: Spotify users browsing playlists, Google’s web crawlers, and AI models analyzing context. In my opinion, this is where you have the room to get a bit more technical with optimizations.

Structure descriptions with this multi-platform approach:

• First sentence: If it fits, include your primary keyword and core value proposition. This appears in search snippets on Google and gets prioritized by AI summarization tools.
• Middle content: Add secondary keywords naturally and describe the mood, intended use, or theme. If you can, include relevant entities (genre names, similar artists, cultural references) that strengthen AI understanding.
• Final sentence: Optionally include a frequency note that you update when you add to the playlist; this signals freshness to algorithms.

This description works for Spotify users seeking context, includes searchable keywords for Google, and gives AI models clear categorization signals for accurate recommendations.

Strategic Track Selection for Algorithm Signals

Combining your content with established artists serves dual purposes:

• Within Spotify, popular tracks boost playlist growth and introduce listeners to your work through the 30-second rule (streams count after 30 seconds, signaling to algorithms that your content resonates).
• In Google, playlists containing well-known artists may rank higher in search results because they have more perceived authority. When someone searches “best synthwave playlists,” Google often prioritizes lists that include recognized names alongside emerging artists.
• For ChatGPT and AI recommendations, having your tracks alongside established artists in well-described playlists helps AI models understand your musical positioning. ChatGPT can describe your sound in fan-friendly language and help you understand how your music fits into different playlist contexts.

The more your songs appear in genre-specific, keyword-optimized playlists with similar artists, the more accurately Spotify, traditional search, and AI tools can recommend your music.

Visual Optimization for Click-Through Rates

I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention your overall ✨vibe✨ at least once in this article. Just like the actual music you put out, or the playlists you make, your playlist cover art impacts performance across platforms.

• On Spotify, eye-catching, theme-appropriate artwork improves click-through rates in search results (be sure to keep to platform dimension requirements of 3000x3000px)
• On Google, when your playlist appears in image search or regular search results, compelling artwork makes your listing stand out.
• Even in ChatGPT conversations, when users click through to recommended playlists, professional cover art builds credibility.

Tactic 3: Artist & Podcast Profile Optimization Across Search Ecosystems

When you zoom wayyyyyy out (like I did when I first stepped out of the line of traditional SEO), you’ll learn that your Spotify profile is part of a broader digital ecosystem that includes Google Search results, social media platforms, and AI knowledge bases.

Optimizing your profile means that you, too, need to think beyond Spotify’s platform to how your content appears across all discovery channels.

I’m going to split this section up into “for podcasters” and “for musical artists”; there’s no personal beef here, we’re all creatives. The strategies just look a little different is all.

For Podcasters: Multi-Platform Profile Strategy

Your show page optimization should account for how different systems discover and understand your podcast. Spotify’s internal algorithm, Google’s web crawlers, podcast directories, and AI models all parse your metadata differently.

For Musical Artists: Building Cross-Platform Entity Authority

Your artist profile serves as the authoritative source for search engines and AI models to understand who you are, what you sound like, and why listeners should care. Optimization extends far beyond Spotify (but that’s why you’re here, right?)

Tactic 4: Entity Optimization for ChatGPT & AI Search

As AI search tools reshape music discovery, optimizing for entity recognition (how AI models understand and categorize your work) is becoming as important as traditional SEO. I won’t lie, it’s tedious, and it’s not an exact science, but it is worth it if discoverability is the goal.

ChatGPT’s Spotify integration, Google AI Overviews, and other generative engines are now primary discovery mechanisms for millions of listeners.

Step 1: Testing Your AI Visibility

Since ChatGPT now integrates with Spotify, you can ask it to recommend music based on specific criteria and see if your content appears. Regular testing reveals how AI systems perceive and categorize your work:

ChatGPT test prompts for musicians:

• “Recommend emerging [your genre] artists similar to [established artist in your niche]”
• “Find music with [specific attributes of your sound] on Spotify”
• “What are the best [mood/vibe] playlists featuring [your genre]?”
• “Create a playlist for [use case that fits your music] with indie artists”

ChatGPT test prompts for podcasters:

• “Recommend podcasts about [your topic] similar to [popular show in your niche]”
• “What are the best [your topic] podcasts for [your target audience]?”
• “Find podcast episodes discussing [specific topic you’ve covered]”

Document your results monthly. If your content doesn’t appear in relevant responses, it signals optimization opportunities. Note which entities (genres, moods, similar artists, topics) ChatGPT associates with your work, then adjust your metadata to strengthen accurate associations while correcting mischaracterizations.

Step 2: Embedding Content Across Your Digital Ecosystem

AI crawlers gather context from how your content appears across the web, not just from Spotify’s database. The more places AI finds your music or podcast paired with relevant keywords and context, the stronger your entity associations become.

The more diverse sources mention your work with consistent language, the more confidently AI models can categorize and recommend you.

You’ve heard me use the word “consistent” enough that it’s probably lost all meaning. But I’ll stress this: clean, consistent data matters enormously. When AI models encounter conflicting information across sources (different genre labels, varying artist name spellings, inconsistent descriptions), they lose confidence in their categorization, which reduces the likelihood of recommendations.

Step 3: Strategic Playlist Features for Entity Building

Getting featured in playlists that contain keywords you’d like to rank for strengthens your association with those terms across search ecosystems. Each playlist placement builds your entity relationships within specific contexts.

Actively pursue playlists that:

• Have keyword-rich titles matching your target search terms
• Are created by influencers, music blogs, or media outlets (higher authority)
• Match your content’s specific mood, use case, or characteristics
• Are publicly shareable and appear in Google search results
• Have active curation and regular updates (signals quality)
• Contain similar artists in your niche (strengthens entity clustering)

Step 4: Leveraging Spotify’s Natural Language Processing

Spotify’s algorithm analyzes lyrics, web-crawled data from music blogs and digital media, and user-generated playlists to understand context. While you can’t directly control Spotify’s NLP, you can influence the signals it receives:

• Ensure your lyrics are accurately uploaded and synced across platforms
• Engage with music blogs and get your work written about using your target keywords
• Participate in playlist communities where curators discuss their selections
• Encourage fans to create and share playlists featuring your work with descriptive titles

This contextual information feeds into how algorithms categorize your content, which in turn affects how AI tools recommend your music to users.

The Compounding Effect

This seems like a lot of work (even my brain got tired from researching and writing this), but here’s the deal: entity optimization works cumulatively.

Each properly targeted keyword, each optimized profile, each playlist placement, each piece of press coverage, and each metadata field across platforms strengthens Spotify’s, Google’s, and AI’s understanding of your work.

Over time, this creates a compounding effect: the more clearly the algorithms that be understand you (who you are, what you create, where you fit in the musical landscape), the more confidently it recommends your content.

Ready to SEO-ify Your Spotify Presence?

Boosting your work’s visibility on Spotify requires meeting your audience where they are: in-platform optimization, in search engines, and in LLMs.

There’s just one more word of wisdom I’d like to leave you with, however: the key to this type of visibility strategy is consistency. It’s not a one-and-done process, and it’s not an easy one (if it is, nobody would need to do it).

Regularly update your metadata across all platforms, engage with your audience through social media, stay informed about algorithm changes and keyword performance, and adapt your strategy as search behavior continues to evolve (and when it does, you can find updates about it on NoGood’s blog 😉).

As LLMs deepen their Spotify integration, as Google continues refining its search algorithm and AI Overviews, and as Spotify’s algorithm evolves to prioritize new engagement metrics, staying current with optimization best practices across in-platform, traditional SEO, and AI discovery channels will keep you ahead of the curve and ensure your music or podcast continues reaching new listeners organically.

The post Spotify SEO & AEO: Get Discovered in Traditional & AI Search Engines appeared first on NoGood™: Growth Marketing Agency.

So, what’s an emerging trend we’re seeing more of? The rise of social search. It’s a game-changer that’s reshaping the digital landscape at breakneck speed.

Picture this: A Gen Z user who just moved to New York City wants to find the best ramen spots in Williamsburg. Instead of typing “ramen restaurants williamsburg” into Google, they’re more likely to fire up TikTok or Instagram, type in a similar query, and proceed to scroll through vibrant videos and read authentic reviews from fellow food enthusiasts. They likely won’t even open Google until it’s time to map their way to the restaurant itself.

This isn’t just a fleeting trend; it’s a fundamental shift in information discovery that’s sending ripples through the worlds of marketing, tech, and consumer behavior.

Those in our community remember when we released our first “future of search” report back in 2022, pointing out the rise of TikTok and the challenge it presents to Google, which was later confirmed by Google’s own search team.

In this deep dive, we’ll explore how social search has evolved over the past year with the introduction of generative AI, platforms doubling down on search, why it matters so much (especially to younger generations), and what it means for brands trying to stay relevant and take advantage of emerging opportunities in a rapidly evolving space.

What Is Social Search?

Social search is a behavior where users leverage social platforms like TikTok, Instagram, and even Reddit in order to perform searches, often coupled with completely turning away from traditional search platforms like Google. Social search’s powerful algorithms integrate social signals, such as user recommendations, shares, likes, and comments, into search results.

Unlike traditional search engines that rely on algorithms to rank web pages based on keywords and links, social search engines prioritize content that has been validated by users within a social network. This approach offers more personalized and relevant results based on the user’s social connections and interactions.

The Evolution of Social Search

Though it’s not a new concept, in the past year alone social search has undergone a significant transformation (primarily driven by the increasing use of platforms like TikTok, Instagram, and others). Here are some key developments:

1. Algorithm Enhancements: Platforms have refined their algorithms to provide more accurate and personalized results. For instance, TikTok’s algorithm is renowned for its ability to surface highly relevant content based on user behavior and preferences.
2. Influencer & Creator Impact: Influencers play a crucial role in social search, with their content often ranking highly due to high engagement rates. This trend has grown stronger with the rise of micro-influencers who have more niche and engaged audiences.
3. Integration With eCommerce: Social search is increasingly intertwined with eCommerce, allowing users to search for products directly within social platforms and make purchases without leaving the app.
4. Visual & Video Search: There has been a shift from text-based search to visual and video search. Users are now more likely to search for content using images and videos, which is particularly evident on platforms like Instagram and TikTok.
5. Suggested Search: Instagram and TikTok display suggested search queries under videos and in the comments, encouraging users to stay in-app while discovering new content.

How Social Search Differs from Conventional Search

Traditional search engines like Google and Bing rely on keyword matching, backlinks, and other SEO factors to rank content. In contrast, social search engines prioritize:

1. User Engagement: Content with high engagement (likes, shares, comments) is ranked higher.
2. Social Validation: Recommendations from users’ social networks play a crucial role in ranking.
3. Real-Time Trends: Social search engines are more attuned to real-time trends and viral content, providing up-to-date results.

Search and The Power of Social Graph

Platforms like TikTok and Instagram leverage a social graph (a map of a user’s social connections and interactions), which significantly enhances search capabilities. This social graph allows for a high degree of personalization, as search results are tailored to the user’s social network, making the content more relevant and engaging.

The result? Users see results influenced by their friends, family, and influencers, increasing the trustworthiness and relevance of the information.

CThe main reason that this works so well is that credibility is elevated when content comes from within a user’s social network. Recommendations and content from friends or influencers are perceived as more authentic compared to anonymous sources, making users more likely to trust and act on them. Social interactions like likes, shares, and comments boost content visibility, creating a feedback loop where engaging content gains more visibility and further engagement.

The real-time nature of social search means that trends and viral content surface quickly, providing users with current and popular information. This immediacy sets social search apart from traditional search engines, which often rely on static data. Overall, the social graph transforms search into a dynamic, interactive, and personalized experience, offering a distinct advantage over conventional search methods.

The Rise of Social Search Among Gen Z

Gen Z, the digital native generation, has significantly influenced the rise of social search: According to Sprout Social:

• 41% of Gen Z use social platforms to seek information, whereas search engines are used by 32%.
• 76% of respondents say that content on social influenced purchases, with this number rising to 90% among Gen Z and 84% among Millennials.

Here’s why searching on social makes sense for them:

1. Preference for Visual Content: Gen Z prefers visual content over text. They are more inclined to search for information through videos and images, making platforms like TikTok and Instagram their go-to sources.
2. Trust in Peer Recommendations: This generation places high trust in peer recommendations and user-generated content. Social search aligns with this trust by showcasing content validated by their social circle.
3. Instant Gratification: Gen Z expects quick and relevant results. Social search, with its emphasis on personalized and real-time content, meets this expectation effectively.
4. Authenticity: User-generated content feels more genuine and relatable than polished marketing materials.

TikTok: The Rising Star of Social Search

TikTok’s ascent as a search engine has been meteoric. Its algorithm’s ability to continuously surface relevant, engaging content even on niche topics has made it a formidable player in the search landscape. Here’s how:

1. Algorithmic Precision: TikTok’s sophisticated algorithm tailors content to user preferences, making search results highly relevant.
2. User Engagement: High levels of user engagement with content boost the visibility and credibility of search results.
3. Visual-First Approach: TikTok’s highly engaging video-centric format aligns with how younger users prefer to consume information.
4. TikTok Authentic: TikTok arguably led the way in the culture of social authenticity; its content feels more genuine and relatable than traditionally polished Instagramable content.
5. Discoverability: TikTok’s algorithm excels at surfacing niche and trending content, often outperforming traditional search engines in certain categories.
6. Short-Form Video Content: TikTok’s focus on short-form videos makes it an ideal platform for quick, engaging search results.

Instagram: The Underdog of Social Search

While TikTok leads in social search, Instagram’s recent in-app changes has made discoverability easier than before. What we’re getting at is this: it’s not Instagram’s algorithm that competes with TikTok’s; it’s Instagram’s latest search features. Instagram recently announced that Google will be indexing Instagram posts from professional accounts. What this means:

• More Discoverability on Search Engines: Instagram feeds become a discoverable online presence, meaning that businesses can appear in search regardless of whether they have a blog (or even a website).
• Greater Potential for Users to Find Your Content: Users who aren’t on Instagram will still be able to see your posts, increasing the chances of new customers finding you (and maybe signing up for Instagram; hello, win-win).
• Increase of Organic Traffic to Your Profile & Website: Optimized, indexed posts become entry points to drive more clicks to your Instagram profile and direct traffic to your linked website or online store.
• Longer Shelf Life for Instagram Content: Posts that rank in search results can keep gaining views and engagement over time, for long after they’re initially published.

Instagram’s integration into Google search is not just a visibility boost but instead, a strategic advantage for any content strategy. Traditionally, if a business didn’t have a website or invest in SEO, it’d be almost impossible to show up on Google. But with this update, your Instagram content can now act as a searchable landing page if it appears in Google’s search results.

Generative AI’s Impact on Social Search

Generative AI is transforming social search by making it conversational, personalized, and incredibly user-friendly. Imagine having an active two-way conversation with a chatbot that feels human, instantly receiving detailed answers tailored to your questions. This natural interaction makes finding information feel less like a chore and more like a seamless conversation.

Personalization is where AI really shines. By analyzing user habits and preferences, it delivers search results that match your individual interests perfectly. No more wading through irrelevant content; the AI knows what you like, and serves up the most engaging and relevant results.

Over time, it gets even better at predicting what you’ll enjoy, creating a search experience that feels uniquely yours.

Content curation is another game-changer. AI sifts through vast amounts of data to highlight the best content, ensuring you always see the highest quality and most relevant information. This means less time searching and more time enjoying content that matters to you.

For brands, AI offers deep insights into user behavior, helping them create content that truly connects with their audience. It’s a win-win: users get the content they love, and brands engage more effectively.

With AI delivering personalized, instant responses, users find everything they need right on their favorite platforms, reducing the need to turn to traditional search engines like Google. This shift not only enhances user experience but also keeps them engaged longer on social platforms.

Meta’s Inclusion of Llama 3 in the Search Bar

Meta’s 2024 integration of Llama 3 into its search functionality across platforms with over 3 billion users marks a significant milestone. Here’s why it matters:

1. Enhanced Search Accuracy: Llama 3’s advanced AI capabilities improve the accuracy and relevance of search results.
2. Unified Experience: Users get a seamless search experience across Meta’s platforms, including Facebook and Instagram.
3. AI-Powered Insights: Brands gain deeper insights into user behavior and preferences, helping them tailor their content and marketing strategies.

Social Search Impact on Brands

The shift towards social search has profound implications for brands:

1. Content Strategy: Brands need to focus on creating engaging, shareable content that resonates with their target audience.
2. Influencer Partnerships: Collaborating with influencers who have high engagement rates can boost a brand’s visibility in social search results.
3. Real-Time Engagement: Brands must stay attuned to real-time trends and be ready to engage with users promptly.

Comparative Analysis of Social Search Platforms

Adapting to the Changing World of Social Search

Brands can adapt to the evolving landscape of social search by:

1. Leveraging Creators as Part of GTM Strategy: Partner with creators and influencers to create authentic, engaging content that can boost visibility in social search results.
2. Creating Shareable Content: Focus on creating high-quality, visually appealing content that encourages user interaction.
3. Utilizing AI Tools: Use AI tools to analyze trends, generate content, and personalize user interactions.
4. Engaging in Real-Time: Monitor social trends and engage with users in real-time to stay relevant and visible.
5. Optimizing for Visual Search: Optimize content for visual and video search by using relevant hashtags, keywords, alt-text, location tags, and engaging visuals.

Practical Strategies for Social Search Optimization

As social search continues to gain prominence, optimizing your content for these platforms becomes crucial. Here’s a practical, step-by-step approach to enhance your brand’s visibility in social search results:

1. Keyword Research for Social Platforms

• Use platform-specific tools like TikTok’s Keyword Insights or Instagram’s Explore page to identify trending topics and hashtags.
• Analyze competitor content to spot frequently used keywords in your niche.
• Pay attention to how your target audience phrases their queries on social platforms or web forums like Reddit.

2. Optimize Content Descriptions

• Front-load key information and keywords in the first few lines of your script.
• Use a mix of broad and niche hashtags (3-5 for Instagram and TikTok).
• Include alt text in single-image posts and carousels when possible.

3. Create Search-Friendly Video Content

• Start videos with a hook that includes your main keyword or topic.
• Utilize captions to highlight key points and include searchable terms.
• Create content that directly answers common questions in your niche.

4. Leverage User-Generated Content (UGC)

• Encourage customers to create content using your branded hashtag.
• Repost and engage with UGC to boost visibility and authenticity.
• Run contests or challenges that prompt users to create searchable content related to your brand.

5. Optimize Your Brand Profile

• Use relevant keywords in your bio, profile name, and username.
• Keep your profile public and use a clear, recognizable profile picture.
• Include a link to your website or a landing page with additional resources.

6. Engage Actively & Consistently

• Post regularly (aim for at least 3-5 times per week on major platforms).
• Respond promptly to comments and messages to boost engagement.
• Participate in relevant conversations using trending hashtags.

7. Utilize Platform-Specific Features

• For TikTok: Use trending sounds, participate in challenges, reply to comments in videos, and create content for the “For You” page.
• For Instagram: Utilize Reels, Carousels, Stories, and Broadcast Channels to increase discoverability and build your community
• For Pinterest: Create vertical images with text overlays and detailed descriptions.

8. Implement Cross-Platform Strategies

• Adapt successful content from one platform to another, tailoring it to each platform’s style.
• Use consistent branding and messaging across all platforms to reinforce brand identity.
• Cross-promote content to drive traffic between your social profiles.

9. Monitor & Analyze Performance

• Use built-in analytics tools like Instagram’s dashboard to track which content performs best in search (social listening also comes in handy here).
• Pay attention to metrics like watch time, retention rate, engagement rate, and traffic source.
• Regularly review and adjust your strategy based on these insights.

10. Stay Updated With Platform Changes

• Follow official platform blogs and announcements for algorithm updates.
• Experiment with new features early to gain a potential advantage in visibility.
• Attend webinars or courses offered by platforms to stay ahead of best practices.

By implementing these practical steps, brands can significantly improve their visibility in social search results. Remember, social search optimization is an ongoing process. The key is to remain agile, consistently produce high-quality, relevant content, and always keep your audience’s needs and preferences at the forefront of your strategy. This approach to social search optimization not only helps in improving discoverability but also enhances overall engagement and brand loyalty.

The post Social Search Optimization: Unlock The Power of Social Media as a Search Engine appeared first on NoGood™: Growth Marketing Agency.

AI SEO isn’t the next big thing; it’s already here, quietly redefining how people discover content and how brands stay visible. As AI-powered platforms like ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Google’s AI Overviews reshape the search landscape, traditional SEO tactics alone won’t cut it. The good news? AI SEO tools are making it easier to adapt.

From smarter keyword research to real-time visibility tracking to content tailored for LLMs, these tools help modern marketers stay ahead of constant algorithm shifts and meet users where they’re actually searching.

With dozens of platforms on the market, knowing which tools are worth your time (and how to actually use them to drive growth) is essential. This guide breaks down the top AI SEO tools available today.

Top AI SEO Tools: Overview

1. Goodie

Goodie is purpose-built for the AI era of SEO and AI search. The time for agentic web and multimodal search has already arrived, and if you’re not investing in an AI search strategy, you’re already falling behind. Search has expanded to social platforms and, more critically, answer engines like ChatGPT and Perplexity. Goodie is an end to end answer engine optimization (AEO) platform that helps you ensure your brand has visibility on this new frontier of search.

Goodie exceeds the basic content writing expectations that other tools offer. The platform provides insights into how your brand is performing on some of the most popular LLMs currently on the market, including ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Perplexity, DeepSeek, and Google’s AI Overview. The AI Visibility function reports on metrics across each model and your visibility over time, assesses sentiment performance, and evaluates your brand’s performance against your competitors based on key industry criteria.

Additionally, you get access to a report of recommendations outlining specific actions to take on your website to improve your “influence” on AI-generated results. This includes functions that allow you to improve your Technical AEO performance with callouts to add or tweak schema, create an LLMs.txt file, and more. On top of that, you get access to the leading Agentic Commerce Optimizer, which allows you to see where your products stand, how to fix what’s blocking visibility, and prove revenue impact across AI shopping agents.

Pricing

Goodie pricing is custom. Contact their sales team for a quote.

Key Features & Differentiators

• AI Content Creation: Craft high-performing, SEO-focused content that reflects your brand’s authentic tone, purpose-built for visibility across AI search platforms.
• Customizable, Insight-Rich Dashboards: Track the metrics that matter most with intuitive dashboards that highlight your brand’s visibility and performance across AI search tools, all in one view.
• Holistic Competitive Intelligence: Access in-depth reports covering AI visibility, sentiment analysis, and competitor performance, helping you understand how your brand stacks up globally.
• Cross-Platform LLM Tracking: Goodie pulls performance insights from today’s leading LLMs (including ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Perplexity, and Google’s AI Overviews) so you’re never optimizing in a vacuum.
• Instant SEO & AEO Wins: Get a tailored action plan with quick, effective steps your team can take to improve your AI search visibility today.

Pros of Using Goodie

• AI-First by Design: Built specifically for visibility in AI search, not retrofitted for AEO like some traditional SEO tools.
• Marketing-Driven Insights: Focuses on what matters (brand reach, competitor movement, share of voice) without the noise.
• Platform-Specific Data: Uncovers how your brand shows up across ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity, and more.
• Clear, Actionable Steps: Delivers prioritized next moves, not data overload.
• Brand Narrative Control: Tracks and shapes how your brand is represented across LLMs.
• Always Up to Date: Evolves with the AI search landscape so your strategy stays ahead.

Downsides of Goodie

• Some Features Still in Beta: While the platform is fully functional, tools like the Outreach Agent, Shopping Visibility, and Topic Explorer are still being refined (but they’re coming soon).
• Geared Toward Forward-Looking Teams: Goodie is built for brands investing in the future of search. If you’re focused strictly on traditional SEO metrics, it may feel ahead of where you are.

2. HubSpot AEO Grader

HubSpot’s AI Search Grader is a free tool that helps you evaluate your brand’s presence across AI search platforms like ChatGPT and Perplexity. It’s ideal for quickly understanding how AI assistants perceive and present your brand (and how that compares to your competitors).

The tool performs a share of voice analysis, showing how often your brand is mentioned in AI-generated responses versus key competitors. It also highlights the most commonly surfaced information, positive or negative, and identifies which keywords AI tools most associate with your brand.

Pricing

HubSpot AI Search Grader is completely free to use.

Key Features & Differentiators

• Generates highly visual brand visibility and sentiment reports in just a few minutes.
• Visual reports showing brand visibility and sentiment across ChatGPT and Perplexity.
• Identifies frequently displayed brand information, including tone (positive or negative).
• Highlights key keywords used in AI mentions for both you and competitors.
• Toggle between ChatGPT and Perplexity reports for side-by-side comparison.

Pros

• No account setup required
• Instant report generation
• Very beginner-friendly

Cons

• Currently limited to ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Gemini
• No optimization tools, reporting only

3. Jasper

Jasper is a powerful AI content generation platform built for teams creating content across SEO, social media, email, campaigns, and more. While it’s not SEO-first, it offers tools like SEO Mode, dynamic templates, and integrations that make it a flexible choice for marketers looking to scale high-quality content production.

With support for the latest AI models and a secure workspace, Jasper allows users to input brand guidelines and product knowledge to generate on-brand, optimized content. Jasper also integrates with tools like SurferSEO and Copyscape for plagiarism detection and rankability analysis.

Pricing

• Pro Tier: $59 a month per seat (when paid yearly in advance)
• Business Tier: Contact Jasper’s sales team for a customized pricing offer

Key Features & Differentiators

• SEO Mode for keyword-focused content
• Dynamic content templates
• Jasper Chat for schema markup and FAQ generation
• Integrations with Webflow, Zapier, Google Sheets, and more
• SurferSEO and Copyscape add-ons for deeper SEO insights
• Trusted by over 100,000 companies

Pros

• Easy-to-use interface
• Supports content across multiple channels
• Produces well-structured, on-brand copy
• Fast output for scalable workflows

Cons

• SEO features are add-ons (not built-in)
• Overly technical topics may lack depth
• Plagiarism tools cost extra
• Content creation must be heavily audited

4. Frase

Frase is an AI-powered SEO writing platform built to streamline content creation through research, outlining, and optimization. Its main value? Speeding up SERP research by summarizing top results so you can generate well-informed, search-ready content faster.

Whether you’re building a brief, writing from scratch, or optimizing existing content, Frase supports your workflow with templates, collaboration tools, and keyword comparison features. It’s especially useful for writers and marketers looking to produce SEO content at scale without sacrificing depth.

Pricing

• Professional: $98 monthly (when paid on an annual basis)
• Scale: $195 monthly (when paid on an annual basis)
• Advanced: $297 monthly (when paid on an annual basis)

Key Features & Differentiators

• SERP-inspired content generation
• Content briefs powered by AI and real search results
• Keyword comparison with top competitors
• Templates, SOPs, and grammar tools
• Built-in collaboration and project tracking

Pros

• Great for beginners and non-technical teams
• Saves time on research and outlining
• Naturally generates optimized drafts
• Idea generation via concept maps

Cons

• Content accuracy needs review
• Add-ons can drive up monthly costs
• Occasional bugs or interface hiccups

5. Semrush AI Visibility Toolkit

Semrush is a powerhouse platform that covers all things SEO, content marketing, competitive research, paid advertising, and social media—all in one place. With a suite of over 50 tools and trusted by more than 1 million marketers worldwide, Semrush is built for teams that want to scale SEO & AEO visibility across every channel.

Its AI Visibility tool shows how brands appear in AI-generated answers across multiple LLMs. The tool is advantageous for those who would like to monitor how their site is doing in comparison to competitors on AI powered sources.

The tool is built with SMBs, agencies, and mid-market companies in mind. It seeks to provide practical, scalable insights to strengthen presence in AI-driven search.

Pricing

• Starter: $165.17 monthly (when paid on an annual basis)
• Pro+: $248.17 monthly (when paid on an annual basis)
• Advanced: $455.67 monthly (when paid on an annual basis, custom plans also available)

Pricing is for Semrush plans that include the entire tool suite. Keep in mind that AI Visibility and AEO tools come at an additional cost.

Key Features & Differentiators

• 1 domain for Brand Performance analysis
• 300 daily queries in AI Analysis reports
• 25 prompts for Prompt Tracking
• AI Search Checks in Site Audit for up to 100 pages

Pros

• Massive keyword and backlink datasets
• Visibility score
• Historical keyword context availability
• Key insights provided for Google’s AI Overviews, ChatGPT, Google Gemini

Cons

• Premium Pricing: Premium plans can be pricey for smaller teams.
• Lack of Optimization Instruction: Semrush only offers data about terms and queries. It does not help instruct changes to fix the gaps in campaign approach.
• Limited AI Models: SEMrush currently only offers the ability to see brand impact on 3 AI models, leaving gaps of knowledge for more than 10 LLMs

6. SEOwind

SEOwind is a specialized AI platform designed for SEO professionals and content teams that want to create long-form, search-optimized content efficiently. It combines automated research, outline generation, and AI writing to streamline every step of the content development process.

Key tools include the Content Brief Generator, Article Writer, and Internal Links Plugin, all of which help ensure SEO best practices while aligning with brand voice and structure. SEOwind is ideal for marketers who want a fast, scalable way to create content that’s designed to rank (without sacrificing quality).

Pricing

• Basic Tier: $49 monthly (when paid on an annual basis)
• Pro Tier: $59 monthly (when paid on an annual basis, limited-time offer)
• Agency Tier: $299 monthly (when paid on an annual basis)

Key Features & Differentiators

• AI-generated, in-depth research and outlines
• Long-form AI writing with tailored inputs
• Internal linking automation
• Content structured for SERP performance
• Optimized for tone, keyword relevance, and UX

Pros

• Produces detailed, SEO-ready articles quickly
• Supports tone and brand alignment
• Streamlines content structure and topic coverage

Cons

• UI can feel cluttered or unintuitive
• Brief generation and AI output may lag

7. Speedybrand

Speedybrand is a robust, all‑in‑one AI SEO and content engine designed to help you generate blogs, ads, social posts, and visuals, all optimized for search and engagement. Ideal for small-to-mid businesses, teams, and agencies, it offers unlimited brand profiles under one subscription and discounts (up to 50%) for additional brands.

Pricing

• Basic: $69 monthly (savings of 30% available when paid on an annual basis)
• Professional: $299 monthly (savings of 30% available when paid on an annual basis)

Key Features & Differentiators

• Topic discovery and trend insights tailored to your audience
• Competitor analysis and backlink recommendations
• AI‑generated content: blogs, ads, social posts in 49 languages
• AI image creation and plagiarism check
• Integrated one-click publishing to WordPress, Shopify, Webflow, and Zapier
• SEO analytics, internal linking automation, and Google Ads copy support
• Unlimited brand profiles with discounts for multi-account use

Pros

• All-in-one tool: content, visuals, SEO, analytics
• Easy to onboard and use; praised for intuitive UI and strong customer support
• Supports multiple languages and platforms
• Transparent pricing and scalable to multiple brands

Cons

• Outputs still need editing and fact-checking, especially for niche topics
• Interface can feel crowded
• Brief generation sometimes lags
• Less suitable for ultra-technical or enterprise-grade SEO needs

8. Surfer SEO

Surfer is an SEO platform designed to streamline the entire content workflow, from research and planning, to writing, optimizing, and refreshing. It’s built for teams looking to create high-performing content quickly, with tools that support both manual writing and fully AI-generated content.

Its Content Score provides real-time optimization feedback, while Surfer AI automates content creation from research to publication. The tool also includes Surfy, an AI assistant that can rephrase, edit, and polish your content as you go.

Pricing

• Essential: $79 monthly (when paid on an annual basis)
• Scale: $175 monthly (when paid on an annual basis)
• Enterprise: Custom pricing (starting at $999)

Key Features & Differentiators

• Full SEO content workflow (research → publish → refresh)
• End-to-end content generation
• Content Score for on-page optimization feedback
• Built-in content editor with multilingual support
• AI tools for outlines, rewriting, and “humanizing” content
• Keyword Surfer Chrome Extension
• Trusted by over 150,000 SEOs, marketers, and content teams

Pros

• Multilingual support
• Streamlined, AI-assisted content creation
• On-page SEO optimization tools
• Automatic internal linking
• Humanizer tool to improve AI content

Cons

• AI writer can produce irrelevant suggestions
• Core plans are pricey and have usage caps
• Surfer AI requires additional payment on top of base plans

9. Scalenut

Scalenut is an AI-powered content co‑pilot that manages the entire SEO content lifecycle, from planning and research, to writing, optimization, and analysis. Trusted by over 1 million users, it streamlines content creation with tools like Cruise Mode (long‑form AI drafts), Content Optimizer, keyword planning, internal linking, and performance tracking.

Pricing

• Essential: $588 yearly
• Growth: $1,236 yearly
• Pro: $2,316 yearly

Key Features & Differentiators

• Cruise Mode: generate ready-to-rank blog drafts in ~5 minutes
• Keyword Planner, Topic Clusters, and competitor SERP research
• Real-time Content Optimizer with NLP suggestions and on‑page fixes
• Traffic Analyzer for live SERP and keyword performance reporting
• Automated internal linking and link manager add-on
• Tone-of-voice personalization and AI Humanizer to avoid robotic copy
• Plagiarism checker and factual content backed by SERP insights

Pros

• Intuitive, all-in-one content toolset; writing, optimizing, publishing
• Excellent support and onboarding, even at lower tiers
• Real-time SEO scoring with actionable fix-it guidance
• Free plan for light users or trial purposes

Cons

• No free trial on Growth or Pro, only Free Forever tier
• Content still needs review and occasional extra keyword research
• UI can feel feature-dense
• Brief generation can take time under a heavy load

10. Outranking

Outranking is an AI-powered SEO writing and optimization platform designed for creating people-first content that ranks predictably. It supports drafting, optimizing, and structuring SEO briefs and content across blogs, landing pages, product pages, and more. Powered by GPT‑4 and detailed SERP analysis, it streamlines the full content journey, from outlines to on‑page optimization and internal linking.

Pricing

No free trial, but offers a money-back guarantee and a 7‑day refund window on monthly plans:

• Starter: $19 monthly (savings of 25% available for annual plan holders)
• SEO Writer: $79 monthly (savings of 25% available for annual plan holders)
• SEO Wizard: $159 monthly (savings of 25% available for annual plan holders)
• Custom: Custom plan pricing available for larger scale needs

Key Features & Differentiators

• Real‑time SEO Content Checker with suggestion-driven improvements
• Automated SEO Briefs: tastefully formatted titles, outlines, descriptions
• Keyword clustering & prioritization based on live SERP data
• GPT‑4-powered AI writing assistant with brand tuning
• Auto internal linking and NLP-driven content enhancements
• Plagiarism & originality tools to maintain unique content
• Integrations include WordPress, Google Docs, and Search Console

Pros

• Beginner-friendly interface guides you through SEO workflows
• Delivers high-quality long-form drafts optimized for searches
• Solid SEO toolbox, from keyword research to internal linking
• Backed by SERP analysis, NLP, and GPT‑4, geared toward ranking success

Cons

• Pricing can feel steep for small teams or infrequent users
• Feature-rich UI can be overwhelming initially
• Content credits (“docs”) may run out quickly for high-volume usage
• SERP data isn’t live; there’s a slight delay in analysis

11. AlliAI

AlliAI is an AI-powered SEO automation platform that enables no-code optimization across any CMS. After installing an encrypted site snippet, you can bulk edit titles, metadata, schema, internal links, and more, all from a single dashboard. It’s designed to help agencies and enterprises deploy SEO changes in minutes, at scale.

Pricing

Free 10-day trial available. Pricing tiers after free trial are:

• Business: $249 monthly (savings of up to 17% available when billed annually)
• Agency: $499 monthly (savings of up to 17% available when billed annually)
• Enterprise: Custom pricing for enterprise plans is available

Key Features & Differentiators

• 15-minute install via encrypted JavaScript snippet; works on any CMS
• Bulk automate code and content changes: titles, meta, schema, internal links, and more
• Real-time deploy and preview with live editor and A/B testing support
• Real-time verification “highlight” tool shows live updates on the site
• Automatically adapts to algorithm changes; no developer required
• AI-driven internal linking, site speed optimization, schema generation, and backlink suggestions

Pros

• No coding needed: powerful automation at scale
• Beginner-friendly UI with step-by-step instructions
• Fast deployment: SEO changes go live in seconds
• Excellent support and onboarding, even for small teams

Cons

• Analysis and report speed can lag, especially on large sites
• No export of tasks or data; other tools may be needed for reporting
• It can feel overkill for very small sites
• Pricing may be steep for freelancers or solo practitioners

12. AIOSEO

AIOSEO streamlines on-page SEO for WordPress users (from beginners to advanced users) offering setup in 10 minutes and actionable optimization via the TruSEO Score. It adds power with schema, sitemaps, local SEO, link assistance, WooCommerce support, and analytics aggregation with Search Console and AMP.

Powered by over 3 million active installs, AIOSEO is a trusted staple in the WP SEO space.

Pricing

• Basic: $99 per year (1 site)
• Plus: $199 per year (3 sites)
• Pro: $399 per year (10 sites)
• Elite: $599 per year (100 sites)

There is currently a promotion running for 50% off of your first year. Additionally, all plans include a 14-day money-back guarantee.

Key Features & Differentiators

• TruSEO Score: Instant on-page grading with actionable recommendations
• Schema & Rich Snippets: Visual builder supports 20+ schema types
• XML Sitemaps: Smart sitemaps including video and news formats
• Link Assistant: Internal linking suggestions and bulk editing
• Local SEO & WooCommerce: Optimize for local businesses and store pages
• Social Media Integration: Open Graph, Twitter Cards, AMP & GSC support
• SEO Audit & Redirection Manager: Health check tools and 301 redirect handling
• AI Writing Assistant (via SEOBoost add-on), Keyword Rank Tracker, email reports, and query‑arg monitoring

Pros

• Extremely beginner-friendly; the setup wizard makes it accessible to non-experts
• Offers deep on-page tools and integrations (WooCommerce, AMP, etc.)
• Strong support and frequent updates, with up to 2-4 monthly releases
• Paid plans are competitively priced compared to peers

Cons

• Page speed load times are slower
• Higher memory use than tools like Yoast or Rank Math
• Pricing tiers can feel confusing, and key features may require higher plans
• Plugin UI can be overwhelming due to feature density
• No built-in rank tracking, additional tools needed

13. SE Ranking

SE Ranking is a mature, full-stack SEO platform that combines traditional features (like keyword research, rank tracking, site audits, backlink monitoring, and competitor analysis) with a growing suite of AI-powered tools, including content generation and an AI Overviews Tracker that monitors your brand’s visibility in AI-generated search summaries.

Pricing

All plans offer a free trial (7-14 days) and include optional add-ons for content editing, local marketing, agency reporting, and more.

• Essential: $52 per month (when paid on an annual basis)
• Pro: $95.20 per month (when paid on an annual basis
• Business: $207.20 per month (when paid on an annual basis

Key Features & Differentiators

• AI Content Writer: Auto-generate optimized topic ideas, outlines, and drafts
• AI Overviews Tracker: Monitor how often AI tools (ChatGPT, Google Overviews, Gemini) mention your brand or link back to your site
• SERP-Based SEO Suggestions with real-time scoring and optimization tips
• Comprehensive research tools: Keyword grouping, backlink tracking, competitor benchmarking, share-of-voice metrics
• Site Audit & Rank Tracking: Daily updates, audit for up to millions of pages
• Collaboration & Reporting: White-label PDFs, Looker Studio integration, API for enterprise workflows

Pros

• Full-stack SEO toolkit with seamless integration across modules
• AI-focused metrics make it ideal for a modern SEO strategy
• Scalable for both solo users and agencies
• Excellent usability, balancing power and user-friendliness

Cons

• UI can feel dense with features
• AI tools are helpful, but not as sophisticated as niche AI-focused platforms
• Customer support reviews are mixed, some report slow responses

14. NeuronWriter

NeuronWriter is a refined, intent-focused SEO writing tool that combines natural language processing with SERP and competitor analysis. It helps you build content aligned with search intent by providing optimized language, outlines, and scores based on top-ranking pages.

Pricing

The Gold Tier offers a 7-day free trial. Pricing for the remainder of the plans is as follows:

• Bronze: $19 monthly (when billed annually)
• Silver: $37 monthly (when billed annually)
• Gold: $57 monthly (when billed annually)
• Platinum: $77 monthly (when billed annually)
• Diamond: $97 monthly (when billed annually)

Key Features & Differentiators

• Natural-language term suggestions from top-ranking content
• AI-generated outlines and drafts
• Content optimization scoring with actionable improvements
• Topic and idea generation tools
• Competitor insights
• Content planning, management, and publishing workflows
• Integrations with WordPress, Google Search Console, and the ability to use your own OpenAI or Anthropic API key

Pros

• Easy, intuitive workflow for content creation
• Optimized for search intent and SERP relevance
• Clean user interface and fast onboarding

Cons

• Core keyword research must be done outside the tool
• AI credit limits may restrict high-volume usage

15. INK

INK is a comprehensive AI content platform built to scale writing and SEO. It offers a robust AI Writer, advanced keyword research and clustering, AI image generation, and a proprietary AI Content Shield to help your content avoid AI detection. An integrated SEO suite provides a numeric score with real-time tips for improvements.

Pricing

Includes a free 5-day trial, plus 10K free words; no credit card required.

• Professional: $39 monthly (when billed annually)
• Enterprise: $99 monthly (when billed annually)

Key Features & Differentiators

• AI Writer: headlines, outlines, and full drafts
• AI Keyword Research & Clustering tools
• AI Image Generator (text-to-image)
• AI Marketing Assistant with 130+ skill templates
• AI Content Shield: detects AI-style writing & checks plagiarism
• Real-time SEO Suite with semantic scoring

Pros

• Full-featured suite: content, SEO, visuals, and analytics
• Strong community, training resources, and helpdesk support
• Easy to use, even for beginners

Cons

• Occasional factual errors, manual review needed

Maximize Your Visibility in a New Era of Search

AI isn’t just changing how we do SEO; it’s changing what SEO is. From algorithmic rankings to AI Overviews and LLM-generated answers, visibility today demands a smarter, faster, and more adaptive strategy.

Whether you’re optimizing content with real-time insights, tracking brand mentions across platforms like ChatGPT and Perplexity, or using AI to scale workflows across teams, the right tools give you an edge where it counts. They don’t replace your strategy; they supercharge it.

Explore, test, and integrate the platforms that align with your goals. Because in an AI-driven search landscape, the brands that adapt first don’t just stay ahead; they own the conversation.

Best AI SEO Tools: Frequently Asked Questions

The post 15 Best AI SEO Tools in 2026 (Free & Paid) appeared first on NoGood™: Growth Marketing Agency.

But what exactly is Domain Authority? Domain Authority is a proprietary metric developed by Moz that rates a website out of 100, assessing the likelihood that your website ranks on the SERP. In short, the higher the likelihood that you’ll rank, the higher your score will be.

Moz calculates a website’s domain authority using a “machine learning algorithm” that prioritizes backlinks. Specifically, Moz takes into account “the number of linking root domains, the quality of those links, and other signals that correlate with rankings across thousands of search results.”

Domain Authority isn’t a direct Google ranking factor, although Google has hinted that they use a DA-like metric. That doesn’t mean Domain Authority isn’t important; Ahrefs found that Domain Rating (the Ahrefs version of DA) is positively correlated with keyword rankings. 

This could possibly be attributed to the fact that people are naturally attracted to websites with a higher domain ranking (and user engagement signals do influence rankings), as people may perceive sites with a higher domain authority to be more trustworthy.

We’re also going to argue that Domain Authority (indirectly) has an impact on AI visibility. If you have a high DA, the implication is that many authoritative sources are linking to you, and research has found credibility and trustworthiness is the third most important factor for generative AI answers. 

So, with all this talk about DA and how it impacts your SEO (and AEO), we’re gonna outline some strategies you can use to increase it. But before we do that, let’s talk about DA in the context of AI.

Understanding Domain Authority in the Age of AI

Let’s clear things up; when we discuss how DA is calculated with “the number of linking root domains,” it means that for every time a website like washingtonpost.com uses one of your links in an article, it’s only counted once. However, the number of times that they link to your website still matters. After all, do you think Google’s algorithm would prefer to rank a site that has 50 washingtonpost.com backlinks, or just one? 

The thing is, that’s how Moz calculates DA. As mentioned, Ahrefs has its own version, Domain Rating (DR), and Semrush has Authority Score (AS). DR is described by Ahrefs as a “less granular” version of DA that measures a website’s backlink profile, and is calculated like so:

Ahrefs also mentions that DR isn’t just about how many high DR sites link to yours, but how many sites that these high DR sites link to.

Semrush’s AS also differs, because it not only takes into account link power (the quality and quantity of backlinks), but your monthly organic traffic and spam indicators, which include having no organic rankings on the SERP, a high % of dofollow domains, and more. 

Is a High DR Better Than a High DA?

As you can see, each proprietary score offers something different; so a high DR isn’t necessarily better (or worse) than a high DA. It just depends on what you’re looking for. All tools point to having a strong backlink profile, but as a rule of thumb, it’s better that you focus on monitoring one consistently and comparing it against competitors.

By analyzing your DA, you get a top-level overview of your backlink profile and performance, while DR tells you more about the strength of your site’s backlink profile. AS, on the other hand, is a more comprehensive look at your SEO performance. All of these scores are great for identifying opportunities for link building so that you can create a targeted strategy to build authority.

Domain Authority & AI Search (AEO)

H-E-E-A-T (Helpfulness, Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness) isn’t only an important factor in SEO; it plays a role in Answer Engine Optimization (AEO), too, as LLMs favor content that’s credible and trustworthy. In fact, that’s the third most important visibility factor across LLMs.

Why does this matter for AEO, though? It’s simple: a high DA is a signal to AI models that your content is authoritative and trustworthy, making them more inclined to surface or cite your brand in its answers.

Let’s look at it this way: would you use a site with a low DA for research, or link to it on your website? Probably not, because like it or not, DA is a reflection of trust and credibility. So if you wouldn’t use these sites, AI won’t use them to synthesize an answer, either.

The thing to keep in mind is that, while these scores all take the quantity of backlinks into account, it shouldn’t be at the expense of quality, especially now. Too many backlinks that are irrelevant to your site or business have the potential to hurt your visibility in AI, because LLMs take content relevancy into account, including backlinks.

Essentially, while DA, DR, and AS aren’t a direct factor that influences how you rank in AI, having a strong backlink profile with high-quality, non-spammy links is a signal to AI that your website is one that it can cite or use to generate an answer that people can trust.

What Is a “Good” Domain Authority Score?

The general benchmark for DA scores is the following:

• 0-20 is low
• 30-40 is average
• 50-60 is good
• 60+ makes you a highly authoritative website

What you have to remember, though, is that what makes a “good” DA score is truly dependent on the niche or industry you’re in, which is determined by checking how your competitors score. You can use MozBar, a Chrome extension, to easily check your competitors’ DA. 

How do you know what a low or high score is for your industry? We’ll give you some examples. If you’re an eCommerce website, you’re gonna need a score of 50 or above to make sure you’re ranking against large retailers. On the other hand, if you’re a small gardening business, you can probably get away with a DA of 20-40, since you’re likely not battling against massive competitors with high DAs and comprehensive SEO efforts.

6 Actionable Tactics to Increase Your Domain Authority

Now that we’ve discussed what makes DA important, we’re going to outline some strategies you can follow to make sure you have a high DA. Remember, even if it’s not a direct ranking factor, Google (and AI) is more inclined to rank sites that are trustworthy, and a strong backlink profile indicates that.

1. Prioritize Your Backlink Profile

We just said it, but we’ll say it again: a strong backlink profile is a trust signal and the driving factor behind DA and other proprietary scores. Here’s how to build one:

Focus on High-Quality Links

Don’t try to get your website linked to just about every website on the internet. Make sure you’re choosing websites that are related to your niche and also carry a high DA. It’s better to have fewer links that are higher quality, rather than a million low-quality links.

Create “Link-Worthy” Content

Creating original data, research, and definitive guides that nobody has done before, or goes further than what others have already done, is a great way to gain links from high DA sites. It’s also a win-win strategy; creating high-quality content is great for your brand image and serving users’ needs, while also attracting backlinks.

Guest Posting

While it’s less popular than before, it’s still worth it to guest post on relevant sites in your niche that have a high DA. By doing this, you can link to your website while also building your own authority as an author, which has positive implications for your site as well.

Broken Link Building

This one takes some time and effort, but could have some benefits if you’re willing to put in the work. Essentially, with this strategy, you look for websites in your niche that have broken links and tell the webmaster that they can replace that link with yours instead. Also, you can take the opportunity to see where your brand is being mentioned without a link, and suggest that a link to your site be added.

Backlink Audit & Cleanup

You should audit your backlink profile at least once every quarter by using an SEO tool that tracks your backlinks and can also detect those that are spammy, toxic, or irrelevant. From there, you can use Google’s Disavow tool within GSC to tell Google not to disassociate them from your site. It’s worth mentioning, though, that if you don’t do this properly, it could actually hurt your site performance. So, make sure that any links that your tool identifies as spammy are actually spammy by investigating them yourself before telling GSC to disavow them.

2. Create & Optimize High-Quality Content (H-E-E-A-T)

As we mentioned, H-E-E-A-T, particularly that last A-T, are strong ranking signals that build your DA, and that tell both Google and AI that your content is worth ranking or mentioning. If you’re performing SEO and AEO, you should be creating H-E-E-A-T already, but here are some ways to take it further.

• Build Topical Authority: Develop content clusters around related topics to your niche. You can research topics by typing in keywords that your customers may look up and seeing what shows up in the “People Also Ask” box. The key is to make sure that you’re writing content that your audience actually finds helpful and answers questions they’re actually asking, which strengthens your authority. 
• Write In-Depth & Comprehensive Content: AI specifically prefers citing and mentioning content that goes in-depth, rather than content that simply skims the surface of a topic. Additionally, content that adds a new perspective or unique take to a topic is better for users and also has a higher likelihood of ranking or being mentioned. 
• Refresh Old Content: You should regularly update existing pages with new stats, insights, and best practices. Fresh content attracts users, which can improve rankings.

3. Build Brand Recognition & Social Signals

While this is adjacent to link building, it focuses more on gaining brand mentions rather than gaining links. Making sure your brand is visible where relevant is a gateway to earning that link, from the source that mentions you or others.

Digital PR

To gain mentions, you should launch a strategic PR campaign that targets websites relevant to your niche. For help with that, you can look at the list of top cited domains in LLMs that Goodie compiled. They also compiled industry-specific ones, for Beauty, SaaS, and Consumer Finance.

Social Promotion

Mentions on social media don’t directly impact DA, but they do increase visibility, which could lead to more link opportunities. Essentially, just the fact that people are talking about your brand can lead to backlinks, but that means a sustained effort to get people talking about your brand on social media.

Not to mention, social and search are converging like they never have before: between social media as a search engine and social platforms being crawled and indexed by Google, you’ll be worse off by not incorporating social media into your search strategy. 

4. Optimize Your Internal Linking Structure

While backlinks build DA, an intelligent internal linking structure determines how that “link juice” gets distributed across your site. Link juice refers to the authority or value passed from one webpage to another through a link, which can be passed to your most important pages.

To execute this, you can use the pillar-cluster model, which is a “hub-and-spoke” internal linking structure that contains multiple pillar pages that are an authority on one topic, and link out to individual pages covering subtopics within the broader topic.

Something else you can do when you’re creating this internal linking structure is to make sure that you have descriptive anchor text. This doesn’t mean throwing a link on something that says “click here,” but instead, linking descriptive text that summarizes what the page is about.

5. Master Technical SEO & Site Performance

A strong site performance and great technical SEO and AEO can improve your DA by increasing your site’s quality and trustworthiness, making it more likely to rank and naturally attract backlinks. Moz also notes that “a slow, outdated, or unsecured website can negatively affect your Domain Authority.” To prevent that, here are some things you can do to make sure your site is technically sound. 

Core Web Vitals

PageSpeed Insights, a tool from Google, measures things like Largest Contentful Paint (LCP), First Input Delay, and Cumulative Layout Shift. These all take into account your page and content loading speeds, and if they’re too slow, the tool will give you specific tasks you can execute to optimize your loading time.

Mobile-Friendliness

Making sure your website is mobile-friendly is another key component to maintaining a technically sound website. This is because Google operates on a mobile-first indexing system, meaning the mobile version of your site is the main version used for indexing, crawling, and ranking. So if your mobile experience is poor, your entire site’s perceived quality and ability to rank (AKA, your DA) will suffer.

Security

A secure website is one that has an SSL certificate, which is when your website starts with HTTPS (not HTTP). Ensure that you have an SSL certificate implemented, because if you don’t, it could deter people from using your site. 

Site Crawlability

Optimizing your site crawlability means that you’re not wasting crawl budget on unnecessary pages. First, you should create an XML sitemap, which lists all the important URLs on your website that you want search engines like Google to crawl and index.

Then, create and implement robots.txt and LLMs.txt files which tell search engines and AI crawlers which pages they shouldn’t bother crawling. Finally, you can run tests with Screaming Frog to see if you have any technical issues on your site that need to be addressed.

6. Enhance User Experience (UX)

Finally, great UX can improve your DA, because people who actually enjoy spending time on your site are more inclined to link to it, whether that be in a piece of content they’re writing or a Reddit comment.

The best way to improve your UX is by making sure your content is scannable. This means short paragraphs, H2s and H3s, and bullet points. This also makes it easier for AI to parse your content. A good internal linking structure also helps with this, as it makes your site easier to navigate for both humans and crawlers.

Playing the Long Game to Build DA

The most important thing to remember about building DA is that it’s a metric that reflects your overall SEO health, and it’s not the only thing that you should be focusing on. That’s why the strategies we provided don’t solely focus on link building. It doesn’t matter how many high quality backlinks you have if your website doesn’t have strong content that’s technically sound.

​And now with AI, building trust and authority, the key components of DA, are essential. AI prefers to mention and cite sources that it knows it (and users) can trust, and DA is a direct reflection of that. You can start building it by performing a backlink audit to see where you’re being linked and how, and start researching top-ranking and cited domains in your niche to target them as a part of your PR and backlinking strategy.

Domain Authority: Frequently Asked Questions

The post How to Increase Domain Authority: 6 Actionable Tactics appeared first on NoGood™: Growth Marketing Agency.

A highly intentional marketing strategy, though, can be an effective way to circumvent and address these challenges without risking financial, legal, or reputational penalties. This includes a solid Fintech SEO strategy that builds trust, addresses user needs, and ultimately drives conversions.

At NoGood, we’ve worked with some of the most innovative brands in Fintech, like Merlin, Intuit, and Chime, so we understand the nuances and unique pain points of marketing in a regulated industry. In this blog, we’ll cover some of our top Fintech SEO strategies, driven by our own experiments and results.

Why SEO Matters for Fintech

As mentioned, SEO is a good way to generate visibility for Fintech brands because it helps build brand equity, credibility, and trust.

Let’s let the numbers speak for themselves: organic search accounts for 19.3% of the website traffic Fintech companies receive on average; a solid SEO strategy will likely outperform that, helping you show up at the top of the SERP without paying for expensive PPC ads.

With the rise of AI, having a set organic search strategy becomes even more imperative. Good SEO is the foundation of Answer Engine Optimization (AEO), the practice of optimizing your content so that it gets mentioned and cited in LLMs and AI Overviews.

Something special to keep in mind about Fintech topics is that they typically fall under the Your Money, Your Life (YMYL) category for Google. This type of content is characterized by Google as having the potential to impact the health, financial stability, or safety of people, or the welfare or well-being of society, making H-E-E-A-T (Helpfulness, Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness) all the more important.

This means that Fintech companies have to truly commit to publishing website content that is accurate, true, and helpful if they want to rank highly on the SERP.

The key takeaway is this: while bad SEO has the potential to hurt your Fintech brand, good SEO could transform your brand’s visibility and increase conversions.

While high-quality content production is one way to do successful Fintech SEO, you can position your brand as an authoritative source in your niche while building trust and brand recognition with your target customers.

7 Fintech SEO Strategies to Drive Conversions

Now that we’ve discussed why it’s important for Fintech brands to do SEO, let’s dive into some strategies that you can take to create high-quality content for search engines and LLMs.

1. Write High-Quality H-E-E-A-T Content

Fintech brands face serious competition in an overcrowded market, with North America holding over 12,000 Fintech companies alone, which is why creating high-quality, authoritative content is so important.

This type of content helps you communicate to search engines, AI engines, and your target audience that you’re a trustworthy source for financial information. By continuously showing up in finance-related queries with valuable information, you’ll remain top of mind when customers are ready to choose a financial partner to entrust with their earnings.

The key to high-quality SEO content is to follow the H-E-E-A-T framework and ask yourself the following questions:

• Helpfulness: Does the information presented truly answer the user’s query?
• Expertise: Does the content demonstrate that the author has significant knowledge of the subject? 
• Experience: Does the content contain examples of first-hand experiences or knowledge obtained through experience?
• Authority: Does the content demonstrate reliability by citing other reputable sources?

Trustworthiness: Does the content contain information that is reliable and factual?

For all blog content and FAQs, focus on providing direct, clear answers to user questions and pain points. When applicable, you can share examples of how your company approaches certain financial concerns to give customers full transparency and build trust.

For a financial blog in particular, it might be helpful to position your content in a relatable light; instead of a rigid, step-by-step guide with a corporate (therefore potentially condescending) tone of voice, consider positioning the topic in a more conversational light, as if it were a friend speaking to them. This also helps with AEO, as LLMs prefer conversational language that mirrors how people prompt AI.

2. Niche Keyword Research Without Duplicate Content

When creating content on topics like banking and credit cards, it can be difficult to target niche keywords without creating duplicate content.

For example, a Fintech company that offers a variety of savings accounts might create separate pages targeting these keywords:

• “high-yield savings account”
• “best online savings account”
• “savings account with no fees”

The challenge here is that the features and benefits of these accounts, like interest rates, online access, and security features, are largely the same. If the content on each page is only slightly reworded, it could be marked as duplicate by a search engine.

This can lead to keyword cannibalization, where these pages compete against each other for the same or similar search terms, ultimately hurting their ranking performance (both individually and collectively). 

A great way to avoid this is by prioritizing long-tail keywords. They’re usually easier to rank for, and their specificity can help you avoid duplicate content issues by making your blogs more specific. The catch is that when keywords are easier to rank for, they are usually lower search volume, so that’s something you want to keep in mind when you’re doing keyword research.

Here are some ways we’d transform the keywords we just listed that would be difficult to rank for.

• “high-yield savings account” → “how to open a high-yield savings account online”
• “best online savings account” → “best online business savings account”
• “savings account with no fees” → “banks with no savings account fees” 

This is a great approach not only because it helps you avoid keyword cannibalization, but also because it encourages you to build more unique content, helping you stand out from competitors by pushing your content to the top of the SERP and within AI answers.

3. Optimize for Zero-Click Search

Now, many top-of-funnel queries are being satisfied in AI Overviews and LLMs, which is what the industry’s calling the zero-click search phenomenon. The zero-click search phenomenon is when users find their answer directly on the SERP (due to AI Overviews and other SERP features) or LLMs without clicking out to any sites, because the content covers their query and any potential follow up queries comprehensively. 

For Fintech in particular, informational, top-of-funnel content is a safe bet because financial literacy has always been a necessary topic to write for, with about half of Americans being financially illiterate. 

The main goal is this: Positioning your brand as a go-to source for as many searches related to your niche as possible to capture visibility in AI Overviews and LLMs as well as the traditional SERP.

Your first step is to pinpoint which keywords trigger AI Overviews. You can do this in Ahrefs or Semrush by filtering for specific SERP features and selecting “AI Overview” (which all plans can filter for). Make a list of the keywords in your niche with an AI Overview, then focus on creating content to target them.

Keep in mind AI Overviews are extremely dynamic. Search results are always changing, so tools like Ahrefs and Semrush don’t always provide the most up-to-date information about keywords with AI Overviews.

If you do want fresher data, consider using Goodie, which monitors and tracks your brand’s visibility in AI Overviews and other LLMs for prompts that our team custom-builds for your brand.

The other thing to note is that ranking on the first page of the SERP might help you appear in the AI Overview for that query, as 76% of AI Overviews pull from the top 10 results on the SERP. This means prioritizing the strategies we listed here. 

Here are some more strategies you can use to optimize for AI Overviews (and LLMs):

• Use question-based headers that align with user queries.
• Answer user questions directly and concisely underneath each question-based header.
• Format content in lists, tables, and short paragraphs for better machine parsability.
• Enter your keyword into Google, read the AI Overview, and ensure your content answers all of the questions the AI Overview provides information for, as well as any potential follow-up questions users may have 
• Target questions from the People Also Ask SERP feature to differentiate and deepen the scope of your blog topic.

4. Implement a PR Strategy for Top Finance Domains

A key part of ensuring your brand is truly visible is to make sure you’re being mentioned in the right places; this means going beyond the SERP and its features to targeting LLMs like ChatGPT, Gemini, and Claude.

Why is it so important to be mentioned in generative AI answers? Because 62% of Americans interact with AI multiple times a week, with 66% of them have used it for financial advice. That’s also why Goodie put together a list of the most cited domains by AI in Finance. Targeting websites like these has the potential to increase your visibility in AI, but also the traditional SERP, as they are highly trusted names in the industry.

Here’s a breakdown of these domains and why earning mentions from them can boost your visibility as a Fintech company:

1. NerdWallet & Bankrate: These sites are consistently cited by AI models and rank highly in traditional search. They’re high-authority machines as a result of their in-depth, evergreen guides, comparison tools, and calculators for a wide range of financial topics, which are a prime place to get your brand cited in. 
2. Major Media Outlets: Publications like Forbes, The Wall Street Journal, and Business Insider are highly influential and trusted in the finance space, boosting your brand sentiment. 
3. User-Generated Content (UGC) Platforms: While this may seem to contradict the need for H-E-E-A-T, platforms like Reddit are frequently cited by AI for conversational content. This highlights the importance of not just being a source of information but also being an active participant in community discussions, which can build a brand presence.

5. Perform Technical SEO

Conducting technical SEO ensures your website is fast, secure, mobile-friendly, and easily crawlable by search engines; all aspects of good technical SEO.

Imagine a customer navigates to your website and is met with a page that takes forever to load, doesn’t have a security certificate that ensures safe transactions and browsing (HTTPS), and the content is misaligned on mobile. Do you think they’d open a bank account or credit card with you?

These optimizations are key in the Fintech industry, where trust, compliance, and user experience (UX) are top priorities.

Here are some strategies to make sure your site is technically optimized:

Improve Website Speed

People visiting fintech websites expect fast-loading websites, and so do crawlers. Delays can not only lead to fewer engaged sessions, but also less visibility in the SERP and AI.

• Use tools like PageSpeed Insights to identify performance issues.
• Compress images and enable browser caching.
• Minimize HTTP requests and reduce unnecessary code.

Implement a Content Delivery Network (CDN) to improve load times globally.

Ensure Mobile Responsiveness

With over 60% of global web traffic coming from mobile devices, Fintech websites need to provide seamless mobile experiences.

• Use responsive design frameworks to ensure your website adapts to all screen sizes.
• Test mobile usability with Bing’s Mobile Friendliness Test tool.
• Consider Accelerated Mobile Pages (AMP) for faster mobile load times.

Strengthen Website Security

Security is critical for Fintech brands handling sensitive financial data; if your website is not secure, you can kiss a chunk of those engaged sessions and conversions goodbye. Google also prioritizes HTTPS sites in rankings.

• Install an SSL certificate for HTTPS encryption.
• Regularly update software and plugins to prevent vulnerabilities.
• Implement two-factor authentication (2FA) for user accounts.

Implement Schema Markup

Schema helps search engines understand your content better, increasing your chances of ranking highly or appearing in an AI Overview. It also increases your chances of being featured in voice search results.

• Add schema for financial services, customer reviews, FAQs, and events, where applicable.
• Use tools like Google’s Structured Data Markup Helper for implementation.
• Test schema with Google’s Rich Results Test.

6. Perform On-Page Optimizations

On-page optimizations involve improving the readability, UX, and helpfulness of your content. You should already be following H-E-E-A-T guidelines, so this is about formatting content in a way that makes it easier for users and machines to read and understand it. The impact of these changes can not only be felt on the traditional SERP, but also in AI Overviews and LLMs.

Here are some strategies to get you started with on-page optimizations:

Enhance Readability

People are searching for Fintech topics because they want something readable and engaging; if you throw a wall of text at them, they’re definitely not going to stick around.

These strategies also enhance your chances of getting cited in AI Overviews and LLMs, as clear and organized content improves readability for users and helps crawlers understand your page.

• Use short sentences and paragraphs with simple language; remember, the people searching for this information have different levels of knowledge, so make sure you know your audience.
  • Simple Language (B2C/General Audience): Use short sentences and paragraphs with simple, straightforward language when writing for a general consumer audience (B2C) or non-experts. The goal is to quickly explain a concept like “What is a 401k?” in a simple way. 
  • Technical Depth (B2B/Expert Audience): Use precise terminology and complex, in-depth analysis when the audience is highly specialized, such as product documentation aimed at engineers integrating your API, or technical white papers for financial analysts. The goal here is accuracy and completeness for a knowledgeable reader.
• Include visuals like infographics or charts to explain complex concepts. With proper alt text implemented, this gives you a chance to rank in the images feature that shows up on the SERP sometimes. 
• Use a single H1 tag per page with the primary keyword, and incorporate other keywords into H2s, H3s, and H4s throughout page content.

Ensure Interlinking

Internal links help distribute link equity across your site and improve navigation for users. A strong internal linking strategy allows you to gain more visibility in search results by outranking competitors.

• Link relevant blog posts, product pages, or resources within your content.
• Use descriptive anchor text that includes keywords naturally; this means don’t put “Click here” for a blog post. 

External links (also known as outbound links) are links from your site to other websites. Linking strategically to relevant sources is essential for establishing your H-E-E-A-T for search engines and readers.

• Link to recognized experts, official government (.gov), or educational (.edu) sites to back up your claims.
• Only link to outside resources that genuinely support the specific point you are making in your content; don’t just throw links in there to check off a box. 

Add FAQs to Blogs & Landing Pages

FAQs directly address user questions, are often featured in AI Overviews and LLM answers, and are able to be easily read aloud in voice search results. 

This is also a great opportunity to build trust with your customers by showcasing your expertise in the finance industry.

• Pull questions from the People Also Ask section on the SERP and incorporate those into your FAQ.
• Use structured data markup (FAQ schema) to make these questions eligible for AI Overviews and LLM answers. 

Optimize Metadata

Title tags and meta descriptions are how people see your page on Google, and are the first elements users see in search results, directly influencing click-through rates (CTR). Optimizing your title tags and meta descriptions provides an opportunity to persuade users to click your website over one of your Fintech competitors.

• Include primary keywords in title tags and meta descriptions.
• Keep title tags under 60 characters and meta descriptions under 160 characters, otherwise they may be truncated. 
• Make metadata compelling and accurate to the page’s content. Here’s an example of what you should do:

Here’s a weaker example: 

“The SEO Blog for All Things Search” isn’t truncated, but it doesn’t tell us much. The meta description is cut-off, though, which looks sloppy; and is very ironic for an SEO blog.

7. Optimize for Bottom-of-Funnel Topics

Once you’ve started the strategies above to build authority and brand awareness (remember that this is an ongoing effort), you can micro-optimize your landing pages for bottom-of-funnel conversions. This is especially important nowadays, with top-of-funnel content driving fewer impressions and clicks (though still valuable).

We’ll break down how to optimize for these conversions on your landing page.

The first screen of your landing page should have a short, easy-to-read description of your key offerings with a clear call-to-action to sign up or get more information about your product.

Next, you’ll provide information about how your product works, the results customers can achieve by using your product, and why they should choose your product over competitors. Make your descriptions concise, yet informative, and include keywords strategically placed throughout each paragraph.

The most important thing here is to demonstrate a clear value proposition and make sure you’re positioning your brand as the best solution to the customer’s problem. Highlight what makes your product unique.

Additionally, make sure this page is comprehensive. The more questions you can answer for users up front, the more they will place trust in you and consider your brand.

Keep in mind that the user journey doesn’t always end with the main body of your content. To make sure you’ve answered all your readers’ questions (a key way to get cited as a comprehensive source), put an FAQ section at the very bottom of the page, and keep the following in mind:

• Capture Long-Tail Searches: By anticipating follow-up questions related to your Fintech niche, you can integrate relevant keywords and phrases into the H2s and H3s that draw in users looking for specific answers. 
• Build Confidence: Addressing common concerns in a clear Q&A format helps eliminate friction, builds trust, and smoothly guides the user toward conversion.

Measuring SEO Performance for Fintech

Google SERPs are evolving to give users faster answers directly on the page, fundamentally altering how we gather data and measure success.

Despite these changes, measuring your organic search efforts remains critical because it is the clearest way to understand your customers and align your content with their unique, financial challenges; it’s just that it’s gotten harder.

Here are the key shifts that have made data gathering more difficult:

• Rise of Zero-Click Search: More users are getting their answers directly from SERP Features like Featured Snippets, People Also Ask boxes, and AI Overviews, likely decreasing clicks. 
• Data Visibility Changes (removal of num=100): Google has removed the ability to force the SERP to show 100 organic results per page (using the &num=100 URL parameter). This change significantly impacted SEOs, as it makes large-scale data collection for competitor analysis and keyword research more complex and reliant on dedicated third-party tools.

Key Metrics for Tracking SEO Performance

• AI Visibility: To see how often you’re getting mentioned in AI Overviews and LLMs, use a tool like Goodie to keep track of key opportunities for building brand awareness. 
• AI Search Traffic: With so many people using LLMs, you need to be tracking this traffic source. You can track it in GA4, which we explain how to do in our recent blog about changes in the SEO world. 
• Branded Traffic: Branded traffic is when people are navigating to your page through queries that include your brand name. This means that people have probably seen your brand name somewhere (namely, AI) and are Googling it.
• Conversions: GA4 can track form submissions, sign-ups, or purchases. You should then compare your conversion rates to Fintech industry benchmarks.
• Engaged Sessions & Scroll Depth: Longer engaged sessions (and scroll depth) indicate your content is truly helpful for your audience, boosting H-E-E-A-T signals.

Fintech SEO Is a Continuous Process

Now, your optimization efforts shouldn’t just be focused on the SERP; you should also actively be competing for visibility in AI Overviews and LLM answers, otherwise you’re being completely shut out of a quickly growing platform.

The best way to do this is by staying informed about industry trends, regularly analyzing your SEO performance, and proactively adjusting your strategies. Because great SEO is the foundation of AEO, these efforts shouldn’t be overlooked; and if you’ve been neglecting SEO, it’s time to renew your effort in this discipline.

By committing to this strategy proactively, you can maintain a competitive edge and ensure your Fintech brand grows and engages your target audience effectively. If you still need help refining your Fintech Strategy, though, our growth experts can help.

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