ChatGPT has been around for over half a year. And while the initial excitement of “Oh my goodness, this is a freaking robot” may have died down, I’m still discovering new use cases every single month.
So in this blog post, I’ll share some of my go-to ChatGPT prompts and workflows to make SEO, digital marketing, and management more effective and efficient.
keyword research prompts to find low-competition topics.
Now, I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: ChatGPT or any other generative AI tool is awful as a standalone keyword research tool, And that’s because it makes up completely false information based on predictive modeling.
Now, just because it makes up search volume numbers and keyword difficulty scores, it doesn’t mean you can’t use them within your keyword research process.
Actually, ChatGPT can be an amazing complementary tool for keyword research to find untapped keyword opportunities.
For example, let’s say we’re doing keyword research for a golf site, Most people are going to take a broad seed keyword like “golf,” put it into a keyword research tool, look at a keyword ideas report, set some filters to find low difficulty keywords, and then choose keyword based on the SERP data.
This is all fine, but the problem is that everyone is doing keyword research this way.
And as more people do it this way, the more competition there’ll be.
But what ChatGPT can do is give you a list of unconventional seed keywords that you can use to find potentially low-competition keywords.
So, I’ll prompt ChatGPT with: “Give me a list of 20 words, phrases, and/or acronyms related to golf. Phrases should be no more than 3 words.”
Now, with this list, I’m going to remove some words like “green” that might be misinterpreted and I’ll make some minor edits to other keywords. I’ll go back to Keywords Explorer, paste it into my list and run the search.
Then I’ll go to the matching terms report.
And assuming I’m looking for informational keywords, I’ll hit up the Questions report.
Finally, I’ll set a keyword difficulty filter, and right away, you’ll see some low-competition topics like, “what is a birdie in golf” and “what the degree is a pitching wedge.” And this actually gives me an idea.
Let’s use the footprint “what degree” and run a new search in Keywords Explorer.
Then I’ll head over to the Matching terms report and I’m going to set an include filter with a bunch of different types of clubs like a wedge, iron, driver, wood, and putter. And when we apply the filter, it looked like my hunch was right.
We’ve just found a ton of easy-to-rank-for topics with decently high search demand.
In fact, Keywords Explorer shows a cumulative search volume of over 35,000 monthly searches for these super-easy-to-rank-for keywords.
Use ChatGPT As a Short Form Copywriter.
Now, I’ve used ChatGPT to generate titles, meta descriptions, subject lines for emails, and even ad copy.
And while it’s pretty decent out of the box, it’s usually not good enough to use without modification.
So what I’ve found to be helpful is to do two things:
1. Use a prompt to establish tone or voice.
2. Use a prompt to generate multiple ideas rather than just one
definitive version of the copy.
For example, let’s say that you’re writing an ad for the movie “Rush Hour 4” with Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker.
The first prompt you’ll want to use is one that sets the tone or voice for the copy.
So I’ll say, “You are an advertising copywriter with the voice of Chris Tucker.
Acknowledge that you understand the way Chris Tucker would acknowledge it.” [And you know this, man]
Now, the reason why this stage is important is twofold.
- Voice helps define the responses from ChatGPT.
In fact, in OpenAI’s API documentation, you actually have the option to define a “system role” which quote.. “helps set the behavior of the assistant.”
- When it comes to copywriting, voice has the power to add emotion to your words.
And this can ultimately help you connect and/or persuade your target audience.
Alright, now that the voice has been established, we need to give Chat Tucker the assignment.
I’ll say: “Write 5 variations for Facebook ad copy for our new movie, Rush Hour 4.
The goal is to get people on our email list so we can send out announcements and offers for merch when we’re closer to the release date.
Keep the ad copy short, sweet, funny, and perhaps throw in a joke from one of the Rush Hour movies that will connect with the audience.”
And now we’ve got some ideas to work with which should hopefully get your creative juices flowing.
ChatGPT is a query builder.
Now, if you’ve been in marketing long enough, then I’m sure you’re used to using Google search operators.
For example, in this query, I’m looking for pages on Forbes, Inc., or Huffington Post where the title includes the word “SEO” in it.
Now, Google search operators are pretty straightforward to use because there’s really only a handful that you need to know.
But a tool like Ahrefs’ Web Explorer is a completely different beast.
In a nutshell, Web Explorer lets you run advanced searches across the web-based on Yep.com’s search engine index.
And rather than limiting you to operators like site, intitle, or inurl, you can actually search through backlink data, outlinks on a page, and
on-page elements like headings on a page.
But before we can use ChatGPT to construct queries for us, we need to teach what these operators are and how to use them.
So I’ll prompt ChatGPT by saying: “I’m using a tool for web research and it uses search operators.
I’ll tell you what I want to find in plain English and you’ll construct a query.
Here are the search operators and descriptions of what each one does.
Then I give a list of search operators with definitions.
Then I add that these operators can be combined: you can use AND, OR, +, and minus, and brackets for nesting, like with Google Search operators.
And after we submit the prompt, ChatGPT is ready to go and it’s time to construct our first query.
So I’ll say: “Find pages that mention “ahrefs”, live on any domain other than ahrefs.com, and are not currently linking to any page on ahrefs.com – basically a way to find unlinked mentions of our brand name.”
That looks good to me, so I’ll copy it, and paste it into Web Explorer.
And right away, we have millions of potential opportunities for backlinks.
Now let’s go back to ChatGPT and say: So the next time we’re doing an unlinked mentions
campaign, we can simply reference it that way.
The free consultation.
So, if you’ve worked with a lawyer, accountant,
agency, or any services-based contractor, you probably got a “free” consultation
before hiring them.
Now, during these free consultations, contractors will get an understanding of your current situation and budget.
And you basically have a half hour where you can ask an expert any question you want.
Well…the fact that the very nature of ChatGPT is conversational, it’s the perfect way to get a free, no-pressure, no-strings-attached consultation on basically anything.
So as an example, I’ve been considering starting a podcast for Ahrefs for many years.
And nothing has really happened because
a) I don’t really know how I’d make it unique.
b) I don’t really know where to begin.
So I prompted ChatGPT with details on my situation: “I want to start a new podcast in the SEO space. I don’t want it to be like every other podcast out there. What are some things we can do to differentiate ourselves from others?”
To which it provided a decent answer.
The part that I thought was cool was when it said: “Instead of focusing only on well-known SEO experts, consider guests who can offer a different perspective,” like… business owners.
Nothing revolutionary, but it helped me realize that I want to do podcast interviews in real life.
I expressed my concerns about potentially high expenses and it gave me some ideas to save money when doing this.
Now I’m getting a bit more excited.
But I still have no idea how to actually start a podcast.
Let’s ask for a step-by-step process to publish our first episodes within a couple of months. And within just a few minutes, my free consultation has turned into something actionable.
You may not think this is that cool because you’ve already done something similar.
But take a second to soak in the fact that
you can actually converse with technology, and get useful advice instantly that people often pay hundreds or even thousands of dollars for hourly, all without paying a penny.
And even if you don’t take the exact steps it suggests, I can almost guarantee you that your creative gears will be spinning
or you’ll have something to iterate on.
Longer Form Content.
Now, back in March 2023, I said that one of the worst use cases for ChatGPT was creating long-form content.
Back then, ChatGPT was relatively new and it really did suck at creating long-form content because it all sounded very boilerplate.
Now, since I started using GPT 4, I’ve been able to construct some workflows that actually help in making a decent first pass at long form content.
And while having a workflow is definitely helpful, in my experience, ChatGPT’s ability to create decently good content depends on two things.
The first thing is topic selection. Basically, if the topic doesn’t require expertise, ChatGPT can do a decent job at creating a first draft.
For example, that might be topics like “What is a handicap in golf” or “how to take a screenshot with a Mac”.
There’s basically only one or two right ways to do this and more or less, anyone can write on this topic.
Whereas if you ask it to write a blog post on how to make a million dollars, then you can bet your bottom dollar that you’ll get a whole bunch of actionless advice.
From my experience, ChatGPT is not good at writing about topics that require expertise and experience.
But you can kind of get around this by fulfilling the second thing that will help ChatGPT write decently good content.
And that’s providing an extremely detailed outline.
The quality of ChatGPT’s responses is highly dependent on the input you give it.
So simply saying… “write a blog post on [topic]” will almost always give you boilerplate content.
On top of that, structure and flow will usually be subpar.
Now, when you give it a detailed outline, things get much better.
You’re basically giving it your entire content piece in bullet points with subheadings and all.
This will let you integrate your expertise in the content, implement your unique angle, and structure the content in the way you see best fit.
ChatGPT is just a writing tool and you’re the expert who’s dictating what needs to be said and the order it should be presented.
Basically, we’re all playing to our strengths.
So here’s an example of how you might use it.
Let’s start with a prompt to define the tone of writing.
So I’ll say, “You are a golf enthusiast who runs a golf blog. You write conversationally and occasionally add in your dry sense of humor. You are an SEO by trade and the reason why you’re not a professional golfer is because your game is trash. Acknowledge that you understand.”
Then it’ll give you a preview of what that might sound like.
This sounds like a bit much…so I’m going to try and modify the tone a bit.
Much better. Alright, now onto the task.
I’m going to prompt ChatGPT with some details now.
I’ll say, “Write a blog post for me with a working title of: “How to Hit Your Driver 300 Yards.” This is also our target keyword.
I’ve created a detailed outline that tells you some key points that I want to include in the content. These must be added where it makes sense.
Please follow the structure that I provide and also use heading tags where appropriate.
Write in short sentences and short paragraphs. Be conversational and let your
personality shine through.
Here’s the first part of my outline: “Then I’ll paste it in. And just like that, we actually have
a halfway decent first pass for an article.
It used the PSP format which I mentioned in the outline, it includes all the points that I mentioned, and it’s structured in the way I wanted it
to be structured – despite my sample outline being a bit thin.
Now, you’re going to want to edit your content.
If you’re happy with the first version, you finish
things up manually and if you’re not happy, then you can change the role of ChatGPT to be the editor.
As an example, I’ll say, “You are now a copy editor. You have no tolerance for fluff and your mission is to ensure that the readers of our blog readers can take action from our content. Edit the blog post above and put a new version for me below.”
And now we have a decent first pass at the topic.
It’s admittedly still a bit thin, but that’s likely due to my thin outline.
Now it’s at this point that you could add additional points, adjust the tone if needed,
and add internal links, videos, and images to beef up your content.
Write emails with ChatGPT
And I’ve used them to write first drafts for link
building pitches and also to respond to emails that require a lot of attention to detail.
For example, in this hypothetical email, a candidate is asking three questions.
And writing a proper email would probably take me 15 – 20 minutes, maybe more, when all I really want to say is “yes,” “yes,” and “no.”
Now, replying with just those three words would probably be a bit strange.
So, that’s where ChatGPT can save us some time. So, I’ll start the prompt by saying… “You are VP of marketing at a software company and are hiring for a content marketing role. You will respond to emails professionally, coherently, and casually. Do you understand?”
Next, I’ll say, “A candidate has sent me this email”, and I’ll paste it into that email.
And finally, I’ll give it my outline of raw responses.
And now I have a skeleton to work with.
But it sounds a bit too formal for my liking. So let’s have ChatGPT edit the email.
I’ll prompt it with “Can you edit the email to be more casual? For example, let’s say “Hey John” and let’s also avoid corporate language, like “We believe in our employees’ potential and provide ample opportunities…”Let’s keep the language more real.” And this is much better than the first version.
So I’d just edit this to make sure it’s fully accurate and adjust the tone where necessary.
Now, AI tools are still kind of new.
And that means that we’re only beginning to discover new ways to use this technology in our daily work.
