Article generation

Every article RankYak writes targets a single keyword from your content plan. Rather than simply generating text, RankYak first studies the keyword, then plans the article around what readers are actually looking for, and only then writes it. This page explains what goes into a finished article, when generation happens, and how you may watch it happen.

Research

Before a word is written, RankYak analyzes the pages that currently rank for the keyword: what angle they take, how they are structured, and how long they are. From that analysis it determines the search intent behind the keyword, picks a fitting article type such as a listicle, a how-to guide, or an expanded definition, and sets a target length based on the top-ranking pages. It also gathers the questions and related searches people pursue around the topic, so the article can answer them where relevant. All of this is visible on the article page under the Research tab, so you may always see why an article was shaped the way it was.

What a finished article contains

Each article arrives as a complete, ready-to-publish piece.

• A clear structure. Headings, and lists or tables where they clarify, organized to match the search intent.
• Internal links. Links to your other pages, including your goal pages, so each article strengthens the rest of your site and references your business naturally.
• External references. Citations that link out to reputable sources supporting the article's claims.
• Metadata. A title, a meta title, a meta description, and a clean slug, all generated with the article.
• Media. A header image in your brand's style, optionally in-article images and infographics (see image generation), and relevant YouTube embeds.
• Your voice and language. Articles are written for your project's audience, guided by the description and audience you set in the project settings, and in the language of your project.

When articles are generated

Typically, each article is written in the early morning of its scheduled date on the content plan. You may change the time of day, the timezone, and the weekdays articles are written on; see changing the schedule. Your first article is the exception: it is generated right away when you create a project, so you may judge the quality without waiting for the schedule. And if you would like a particular article sooner, you may drag its card to an earlier day on the calendar.

Generating on demand

Sometimes you may not want to wait for the schedule at all. Choosing Generate article now from a keyword's menu on the keyword overview, or from a planned item's menu on the calendar, writes the article right away. Each generation uses one article credit, the same credit a scheduled write uses; see billing for how credits work.

Generating on demand requires an active subscription. During your free trial, articles are written on their scheduled dates only; on-demand generation becomes available once the trial ends and your subscription starts.

An article generated from a planned calendar item keeps its place on the calendar and is still published on its scheduled date. An article generated from the keyword overview stays off the calendar entirely: it appears with your other articles, you may edit it as much as you like, and it is only published once you schedule its keyword on the calendar.

Watching generation

You may open an article while it is being written and watch it take shape: the page shows what RankYak is working on, from researching the topic to writing and adding sources and links, and streams the text in as it is produced. Typically, a finished article is ready well within the hour. Once it finishes, it is published to your site automatically if you have connected an integration; see publishing articles.

Articles about adjacent topics

Sometimes an article covers a topic that is not directly part of your product or service. This is intentional: covering the wider topic builds authority for the cluster of keywords the article belongs to. Article topics explains this in more detail.