What is SEO automation?
SEO automation is software that handles repeated search tasks without a person doing them each time. The work splits into two halves: measuring a site, which is crawling, rank tracking and reporting, and filling a site, which is finding what to cover, researching it, writing it, linking it and publishing it on a schedule.
Most automated SEO software does the first half. Mastheads handles the content half and makes that scope clear, because each half requires different work from the person running it.
I was nervous the first time AI published under my name. I run my own news sites, and I let Mastheads draft, check, illustrate and publish there every day. It is what I built so I could keep doing that and still sleep.
Search engine optimization automation has two halves. Only one of them is writing.
Most tools that promise to automate SEO measure a site: they track rankings, watch backlinks and report. That half is real, and Mastheads does not do it. The other half is the site itself, the articles that have to exist before there is anything to measure. It is the half that takes the time, and the half where automating badly does the most damage.
Rank tracking
Where each page sits for each term, every day. Mastheads does not do this.
Backlink monitoring and building
Who links to you, and asking who else might. Mastheads does not do this.
Keyword research and topical maps
Volumes, difficulty and the map of what to target. Mastheads does not do this.
Technical crawling and reporting
Broken links, duplicate titles, missing meta descriptions, redirects. Mastheads uses Quorl for technical crawling and reporting across the whole site, rather than one page at a time.
Finding what is worth covering
You set the topics a site covers. Research reports identify what is worth writing within your topics, using live sources and, if you connect it, your own Search Console data.
Researching and writing each article
Research runs by default and every source it reads is cited inline. Up to five keywords per topic steer the search, the outline and the prose, and any keyword the sources cannot support is dropped, not padded in.
Checking it against its own sources
Each claim is checked against the sources the article used. Any unresolved problem is named on the article rather than hidden.
Linking it into the site
Up to three related articles are appended to each published article, chosen by keyword overlap with your own earlier articles on the same site.
Publishing it on time
Your topics, your times, per site. Seven CMS platforms, or Markdown and HTML if you would rather take it away.
In Mastheads, automated SEO means writing the articles.
Mastheads is source-backed article writing with ten editorial desks behind it. Auto SEO is one of the ways you can run it: set the topics a site covers, set the times, and articles arrive researched, written, checked, linked to your earlier articles and published to your CMS. Most people leave review switched on and read them first. Turning it off is a decision you make per publication, with a named editor of record attached to it.
The measuring half is not left out entirely. Quorl reads a whole site and reports broken links, duplicate titles, missing meta descriptions and redirects, free on any site up to 100 pages and deeper on a site you have verified as yours. Research reports say what is worth covering next, grounded in live sources and your own Search Console data. Both are on every paid plan. Mastheads has no rank tracker, backlink tool or keyword database. If you are looking for the best SEO automation tools for those jobs, that is a different purchase.
SEO automation questions, answered
What is SEO automation?
SEO automation is software that does the repeated parts of search work without a person doing them each time. The work splits into two halves: measuring a site, which is crawling, rank tracking and reporting, and filling a site, which is finding what to cover, researching it, writing it, linking it and publishing it. Most automated SEO software does the first half. Mastheads does the second.
Which parts of SEO can be automated safely?
The mechanical parts of SEO measurement and content production can be automated safely. Crawling a site for broken links and duplicate titles is safe to automate, as is finding sources and writing a first draft from them, which is the part Mastheads automates. Judgement is not safe to automate: deciding what a site should be about, and publishing something nobody could stand behind. Good SEO automation tools handle the mechanical work and leave judgement with the person responsible.
Is Mastheads automated SEO software?
Mastheads is automated SEO software for the content half only. It is source-backed article writing with ten editorial desks, and automation is one of the ways to run it: you set the topics and the times, and articles arrive researched, written, checked, linked to your earlier articles and published to your CMS. Rank tracking, backlink tools and keyword databases are different tools.
Does Mastheads track rankings or build links?
No. Mastheads is not an SEO tool suite: rank tracking, backlink building and keyword research are outside its scope. It writes source-backed articles, adds internal links to your own earlier articles, audits your whole site with Quorl, and publishes on a schedule to your CMS.
Does Mastheads do keyword research?
No. Mastheads does no keyword research and builds no topical maps. You give each topic up to five keywords, and they steer the search, the outline and the prose. Any keyword the sources cannot support is dropped instead of padded in.
How does Mastheads decide what to write about for SEO?
You set the topics a site covers, and Mastheads research reports identify what is worth writing about for SEO within those topics. The reports use live sources and, if you connect it, your own Search Console data. Research reports are on every paid plan.
Is automated SEO content bad for rankings?
Automated SEO content is judged like any other content: Google's guidance is about whether content is helpful and original, not about how it was produced. What sinks it is that it is thin, unsourced and says nothing a reader could not get elsewhere. Automating the research is what separates automated SEO content that ranks from the kind that gets demoted, which is why Mastheads researches by default and cites every source inline.
Does Mastheads check automated SEO articles for accuracy?
Yes. Mastheads researches each automated SEO article by default and cites every source it reads inline, then checks each claim against the sources the article used. Any unresolved problem is named on the article rather than hidden.
How does automatic internal linking work?
Mastheads automatic internal linking appends up to three related articles to each published article, chosen by keyword overlap with your own earlier published articles on the same site. Linking starts once a CMS is connected and grows as you publish, so a new site has none and a busy one has plenty.
What does Quorl do for SEO?
Quorl is the Mastheads whole-site audit. It reads a whole site and reports broken links, duplicate titles, missing meta descriptions and redirects, free on any site up to 100 pages with no account and deeper on a site you have verified as yours. Quorl is on every paid plan.
Can I automate SEO on a site I already have?
Yes, you can automate SEO on an existing site with Mastheads by providing your sitemap, filtered by path or by age, so it works from the pages you already have. Quorl reads any site up to 100 pages free with no account. On a paid plan, it crawls a site you have verified as yours.
Which platforms can Mastheads publish SEO articles to?
Mastheads publishes SEO articles to seven platforms: WordPress.org, WordPress.com, Ghost, Webflow, Shopify, HubSpot and GoHighLevel. You can also connect nothing and export articles as Markdown or HTML.
Can I review articles before SEO automation publishes them?
Mastheads SEO automation waits for your review before publishing articles by default. You can switch on unattended publishing per publication, with a named editor of record accountable for it and an AI disclosure on what it publishes.
Can I try Mastheads SEO automation for free?
Yes. Every new Mastheads account can try SEO automation free with 10 articles over 7 days, with no card required, and nothing is scheduled until you say so. Quorl is separate: it reads any site up to 100 pages free with no account.
Try it on one article first.
Ask for something in one line and read what comes back, sources and all. Nothing is scheduled until you say so.
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