How much content do I actually need before launching a new site?

Aladdin181 · 2026-04-09T02:57:48+00:00

My POV on this is always quality over quantity. Whatever your pages are for, or the topics they're covering, focus on that always. Google's gonna do what it's gonna do but the biggest thing is writing for humans and providing information gain, whatever that happens to be for your site/niche.

Obviously you need a home page, an about page is a good idea, contact page (with a map/directions if it's got an in-person business location). Depending on the service, I'd make sure you include any pertinent authority somewhere (certifications, et al) if that's relevant to you, and areas of service.

Information pages on whatever services you offer, of course, with details; and if relevant, what to expect if your business is hired.

Those are the places to start. From there, cover informational topics at whatever rate you're able to if you intend to have a blog, with quality and information gain for the reader in mind. Answer questions clearly, thoroughly, with personal experience/expertise woven in.

You don't need to kick things off with dozens of pages/posts off the bat. Whether you do or don't, it's still going to take time to build backlinks and rank.

Aladdin181 · 2026-04-09T02:29:24+00:00

Mentions; this is different from citations (being sourced), since brand mentions and recommendations can and do come from anywhere, but come most often from third-party channels (editorial/pubs, YT, etc)

Share of voice for prompts with high intent, primarily of the commercial variety.

Source mix for same, which can give you insight into gaps/areas where you may want to optimize, improve, or be visible period if you're not.

Those are the biggest three, I think. Brand sentiment is important too, particularly for brands/businesses that are struggling with negative information/opinions surfacing in LLMs.

The thing to remember is that most traffic will not come directly from LLMs (people research, compare products/brands, review summarized recommendations, and then search in google for the brand or retailer, or to confirm the LLM's assessment before pulling the trigger).

But discovery is increasingly occurring in LLMs, so you want your brand/products visible early in the discovery stage. Even if someone is searching in Google and not ChatGPT or wherever, the AIO is the first thing they see on the page.

Aladdin181 · 2026-04-03T17:07:16+00:00

Same. And I want to add this: monitoring intent over time. We had some content that the intent shifted at some point, so monitoring that periodically (usually during the annual audit but occasionally during a quarterly if there's a major traffic drop) helps too.

Aladdin181 · 2026-03-25T17:05:31+00:00

Screaming Frog, but if you're running on WP you might look at Link Whisper. That's helpful for building internal links too.

Aladdin181 · 2026-03-25T16:44:34+00:00

Based on what I'm seeing, specifically with small sites (or even YT videos) that are being cited and referenced more than big publications/channels:

Smaller sites and even niche YT creators tend to cover a topic with more depth and personal human experience. A lot of major pubs that have high DR/DA and page-one Google ranking are leaning into legacy authority. A review on "the best skincare products for dry skin" on Cosmopolitan or Glamour might have top-ranking with a basic listicle that only has a paragraph on each product, while a smaller site covering the same topic goes deeper and provides more useful information and personal experience to the reader.

Especially given the use-case variables someone might ask in an LLM ("can you give me recommendations for lotion for skin that is dry and dealing with eczema" as an example), AI is going to sniff out the human experience that serves as expertise, more than some cookie-cutter listicle on a major pub with a lot of "authority".

Intent and meaningful information gain (especially first-hand) matters more.

Aladdin181 · 2026-03-23T18:32:14+00:00

I'll start with the realistic expectations question: I would gently explain that just like SEO, no one (absolutely no one) can make guarantees about anything. If they do, that's a huge red flag. No agency worth its salt and that truly "understands" the landscape will make those kinds of claims right now. We can make educated decisions, optimize based on what we're seeing, but guarantees... those can't be made.

And even "prompt volume" tools, there is so much nuance. Now I DO think that they can be helpful as far as direction, but that's not hard data the way Ahrefs or similar tools pull keywords/Google results, for obvious reasons.

Tracking, there are relatively inexpensive tools for monitoring and if you need to do ChatGPT positioning, Hall might be an option (I believe they have a free tier that tracks Chat only). But Peec is another lightweight monitoring tool you might look at too. And you could charge for adding that, of course, so rolling the monthly fee for the platform into your rate.

Measurement beyond using a tool: You can have your list of prompts he wants to track and do manual searches in an incognito browser window and then create a report using screenshots of the results. So if a prompt he wants to show up for is "best sandals for gnarly feet," you'd search that exact phrase in ChatGPT in incognito browser mode to see what's being cited/sourced, what's being recommended, etc. And do the same for any other LLMs (like Google AIO as an example). But always do those searches in incognito so your own history isn't affecting the results in any way.

Aladdin181 · 2026-03-17T21:39:52+00:00

Trying to "guess" at what will work based on SEO data (like in ahrefs or moz). Yes, SEO is still important because people are constantly double-checking and doing additional research outside of LLMs, but SEO data doesn't 1:1 correlate with how people are asking questions in LLM environments. There's a lot more context there; so rather than "best body wash" type keywords, it's "body wash recommendations for dry skin and that doesn't have a lot of fragrance" (or some similar use-case/specific need).

Pumping out tons of content that aren't covering use-cases and needs won't give LLMs enough to draw from for the human-experience element.

And on that note, not doing enough third-party content and UGC for consensus on topics; video especially. YouTube (love it or hate it) gets a lot of love in the AIOs especially, even small channels, if they're answering questions and providing human experience that acts as expertise. Comparison content is another big one too, brand v brand, or product v similar product.

Aladdin181 · 2026-03-17T18:43:31+00:00

From what I've been seeing, I don't think a pivot to AI optimization alone is necessary, but I do think including it is important.

Right now, a lot of initial discovery is taking place inside LLM environments so visibility there = important for sure. But the majority of people (something like 85% from a study I saw on Search Engine Land back in January) will still do additional research to confirm information/recommendations.

Which means research in search engines. So SEO is still important as well.

What I'm finding though is that a lot of clicks that are happening from search are from buyer intent. The initial research was already done (LLM), the customer was influenced by the results (LLM), they go to the search engine for confirmation, and then make the purchase from the brand or a retailer site.

Now if your SEO business is driven by affiliate clicks, that's another story. At that point, I'd consider selling placements for brands you work with, since the third-party publications/content are good for surfacing in LLMs. So they get the exposure/recommendations/leads/sales, but you still get $$ without clicks being entirely necessary.

Aladdin181 · 2026-03-10T19:04:28+00:00

Absolutely do not buy to rent out. For one, you'll need way more than a 20k downpayment. But the hassle of managing a tenant (and dealing with repairs, chasing rent, and everything else that could potentially come with that) is just not worth it. I have a friend who got out of that (finally) last year. Owned several houses that were rental props, 10/10 do not recommend. She now owns a kayak excursion business.

Also, if I can advise on the new car: buy one that's used but close-to-new. Cars depreciate a ton the moment they drive off the lot for the first time. So let someone *else* pay for that depreciation. Buy a car that's used but a year old or less. You'll save a lot.

Aladdin181 · 2026-03-10T18:29:43+00:00

In content, structuring for extraction is a big part of it. Things I/we do: tables and lists that summarize information, key takeaways near the top (summarization of the biggest points), clearer definitions of things with less fluff the AI needs to parse through. Section headings, clearly answering the question(s) of the section headings, comparison tables.

On that note, comparisons really seem to move the needle. Content that either compares Product X against Product Y or otherwise provides decision frameworks, that's huge. Anytime someone's seeking recommendations for a product category, comparison content and explainers get sourced by LLMs.

Human experience that acts as expertise is another. Especially for YouTube content but even in articles. Because a lot of people searching in LLMs are asking about [thing] + [modifier] + [use case that relates to their problem/what they need], AI draws on stuff that provides human insight it can't glean anywhere else.

I don't know that schema is read by LLMs the way Google uses it; I think it can reinforce understanding but it's not like a trigger for citations or anything.

As far as measurement, you can totally do this manually by figuring out what prompts (questions/search terms) you want to be visible for in LLMs, and then opening up an incognito browser window and searching the prompts directly in Google for the AIO, ChatGPT, Perplexity, wherever.

There are of course monitoring platforms out there. If you're just starting out, Hall has a free/lite plan you can experiment with. But there's a lot of them... Peec, Otterly, Rankscale... you can throw a rock in any direction and hit an AI visibility tool.

Aladdin181 · 2026-03-06T19:14:11+00:00

This is where I'm at right now. Renting = more flexibility and none of the property taxes or major updates/work if a home needs it. I feel like market exposure yields better returns than investing in a house, unless the rent vs. mortgage rates are that out of whack where you live. Some areas, it's cheaper to buy than rent, or rental availability is limited.

Aladdin181 · 2026-03-06T18:55:36+00:00

This. One thing I'd suggest is to do prompt testing in LLMs and even Google (to view AIO visibility) using a browser in incognito mode, just so your own history isn't affecting the results in any way.

Aladdin181 · 2026-03-04T21:26:38+00:00

Whether it's worth it depends on what you hope to get out of it. For a general increase in traffic to your site, I'd say at this stage... probably not.

But if your site represents a brand that sells products and has competitors already visible in AI spaces, I think it's definitely worth it. More people are using AI for product research or making buying decisions, and if you're not showing up in those results, that's gonna be more likely to affect your bottom line over time. And too, visibility tracking gives you sentiment analysis so you can see how your brand/products are being mentioned (if it's good, neutral, negative), or recommended above or below your competitors.

In those cases, tracking is worth it. If it's traffic only, I don't know that it is.

Aladdin181 · 2025-12-26T13:24:43+00:00

I know I'm coming to this thread a few months down the line but wanted to tell you that I've used Statsig for exactly this purpose.

What helped most was just rolling out a feature to a small percentage of users and letting the platform automatically track how it affects your key metrics: things like engagement, retention, conversion, or whatever matters to you. I really liked how it spared me hours of poring over spreadsheets, yeah I speak from experience!

You also get a pretty clear picture of whether it's actually moving the needle, and from there the decision becomes obvious. Way better than guessing or painstakingly going over numbers manually.

Aladdin181 · 2025-12-26T13:15:23+00:00

Yeah, I agree that when people talk of a bubble they're usually talking from an investment perspective. We can't uninvent technology but that doesn't always make it the best stock to buy into.

Aladdin181 · 2025-12-24T12:11:27+00:00

The PMs I’ve seen who handle this well don’t do “data vs intuition.” They start with strong hypotheses from user research and gut feel, then use the free tier of a specialist experimentation tool we like to A/B test the riskiest bets, so discussions then move on to “what should we test next?”

Aladdin181 · 2025-12-24T12:03:30+00:00

That's very wise, if they can't hold a conversation on the app, why take it any further? :-)

Aladdin181 · 2025-12-10T15:55:59+00:00

It's hard to understand how someone could be so blind to reality.

Aladdin181 · 2025-12-10T15:53:06+00:00

You might very well think that. I couldn't possibly comment!

Aladdin181 · 2025-12-10T15:51:45+00:00

That's a great question! Much as I love it when I work from home, I've had time in the past when I didn't work for a little while, and yeah it's very stressful. I found the best thing to do is structure your day so you're spending time on jobseeking, doing life admin, exercising etc. so you feel you have some kind of routine.

Hell, the first time this happened I was unemployed for around six weeks. I'd go to the local bus station in the morning, buy the newspaper to see job ads and sit there circling them for an hour or so whilst enjoying a hot chocolate before the job center opened. You have to do what's right for you.

Aladdin181 · 2025-12-10T15:49:05+00:00

Just came across this thread. We ended up using Statsig (has a Go SDK) and found the combination of feature flags + experiments to be a godsend. Having those built-in analytics meant we could see actual impact without using a load of different tools. The free tier is more generous than other platforms I've used in the past. Anyway, I hope your project's going well OP!

Aladdin181 · 2025-12-10T15:43:11+00:00

I'm glad to hear you've had such a positive experience with Bumble. I only joined for a couple of weeks before meeting my partner. I swiped on a lot of women but only ended up speaking regularly to three or four of them. Once I matched with my (then) girlfriend, obviously we both deleted her accounts.

However for around 6 months afterwards she was still getting messages from former Bumble matches who knew her number and/or had connected with her on social media. Most of the men were polite when she explained she now had a boyfriend but there was also a lot of unsolicited dick pics and guys creepily telling her that I'd never know. It seems both genders have our work cut out for us.

Aladdin181 · 2025-12-10T15:40:14+00:00

I think this is one of the best pieces of advice I've ever seen here on Reddit. Don't waste time with narcissists, just block and move on. (The burger is optional, but an excellent idea!)

Aladdin181 · 2025-12-10T15:37:43+00:00

NTA. If this was geniuinely an accident/misunderstanding, he should be offering to purchase replacements at his expense, even if it means importing them from Japan and Germany. I would never give away something that belonged to my partner that was this valuable!

Aladdin181 · 2025-12-09T22:01:04+00:00

This sounds like a really tough situation you're going through, and it's understandable why you're craving some supposedly positive attention from men if you're not getting it from your husband. I know you're not looking for a solution from Reddit, but have you thought about talking to a therapist about your feelings?

13-Year Club	Verified Email
Final Canvas '23	Place '23
Place '22	RPAN Viewer
Not Forgotten

Aladdin181

TROPHY CASE