Learn how to get the most out Article Engine.

Article Engine

## Introduction to Article Engine
<Video src="https://youtu.be/u6lcYzpa1QI" width="100%" />

Welcome to Article Engine, your go-to solution for AI-driven content creation, designed to simplify the process of generating SEO-optimized articles. This tool supports you in crafting both regular articles and listicles, tailored to a broad spectrum of topics. This guide aims to walk you through the features of Article Engine, demonstrating how you can use it to produce content that not only engages your readers but also enhances your online visibility.

## Getting Started: How to Create Your Article

### Initiating Article Creation
Kickstart your article creation process by choosing one of the following methods:
- **Manual Entry:** If you already have a topic in mind, simply input the title yourself.
- **Automated Title Generation:** For those seeking inspiration or guidance, our title generation feature uses your keywords to suggest a variety of compelling titles.
- **[Content Factory](/content-factory):** Start with our automated keyword research tool. Enter your URL to receive 25 SEO title suggestions, perfectly personalized to drive traffic to your website.

<Image alt="Title Generator" className="rounded-sm shadow p-1 bg-muted block mx-auto mt-6 mb-2" src='/assets/images/title-generation.webp' width={424} height={77} />


### Humanize Content
Enhance the readability and rankability of your article with our industry leading Humanize Content feature. This service employs our specialized humanizing model to revise your article, ensuring the narrative is fluid, natural, mirrors a human writer's tone and passes AI Detection algorithms. 

Upon completion, we will assess the article using a reputable third-party AI detection tool to determine the human-likeness of the content. If it registers more than 50% as AI-generated, we will automatically refund the entire article credit cost.

<Image alt="AI Detector Results" className="rounded-sm shadow p-1 bg-muted mx-auto block my-6" src='/assets/images/ai-detector-hover-card.webp' width={404} height={302} />

Keep in mind that AI detectors can sometimes produce false positives. They should not be your sole criterion for judging content quality. Instead, evaluate the content's engagement and informativeness to truly measure its value.

### Use Live Search Results
Increase the relevance and accuracy of your article by leveraging the Live Search Results feature. This feature is highly recommended and allows Article Engine to pull the latest search results for your topic or keyword. Article Engine uses this information to inform the structure and makeup of the article, ensuring the generated content is up-to-date, well-informed, and ranks well on search engines.


### From Title to Article
With your title set, you have two paths:
- Move directly to generating your article's outline.
- Add some more advanced options to tailor your article's depth and focus further.

## Advanced Customization Features

### Image Style

Each article includes multiple images to visually enhance your content. By default, Article Engine generates five 16:9 images at 1200x628 resolution. Two of these images are automatically included in the article body, and one will be selected as the featured image—the thumbnail used when sharing your article on social media platforms or your website.

When generating bulk articles, this image selection is done automatically by Article Engine by analyzing each image and selecting the most suitable one as the featured image.

Select the style for your featured image from a variety of options. If you choose the random image style, each image will have a unique style. 

### Article Length
We don’t use word count because the AI can’t track words as it writes—odd, but true. Instead, we adjust the length by adding or removing major outline sections. A "Medium" article is typically around 1,000 words, while a "Long" article is about 1,500 words.


### Keyword
Add the primary keyword you want the article to target. This keyword will be used to optimize the article for search engines, ensuring it ranks well for relevant searches. When using a content factory generated title, the keyword will be automatically populated.

### Article Type Selector
Using the selector you can choose from two different types of articles:
- A **regular** article like: "Conversion Rate Optimization Secrets of the Pros".
- Or a **listicle** type article like: "7 CRO Hacks to Double Your Conversions".
- When creating a listicle type article, its best to constrain the number of items to 20 or less.

<Image alt="Article Type Selector" className="rounded-sm shadow p-1 bg-muted mx-auto block mt-6 mb-2" src='/assets/images/article-type-selector.webp' width={225} height={177} />

### Language
Article Engine supports an array of languages, enabling you to reach a global audience.

### Adding Internal Links

To boost your article's navigability and SEO, Article Engine can automatically insert 3 to 5 internal links. This process begins by analyzing your website's sitemap, a crucial step for identifying relevant internal pages that can be linked within your content. 

#### The Process of Segmenting Your Sitemap

**Segmentation** is key to effectively utilizing this feature. Here’s how it works:

<Image alt="Sitemap segments" className="rounded-sm shadow p-1 bg-muted block mx-auto mt-2 mb-16" src='/assets/images/segment-tabs.webp' width={305} height={65} />

- __Sitemap Analysis:__ The tool first requires access to your site's sitemap. This sitemap acts as a roadmap of all your website's pages, enabling Article Engine to understand the structure and content of your site.
- __Creating Segments:__ You can then segment this sitemap based on specific criteria, such as page type or content category. For example, if you want to link to blog posts, you could create a segment for URLs containing `/blog/`.

<Image alt="Sitemap segments" className="rounded-sm shadow p-1 bg-muted mx-auto shadow block mt-0 mb-16" src='/assets/images/segmentation-process.webp' width={777} height={78} />

- __Selecting Segments for Linking:__ Once your segments are defined, you choose which one you'd like to use for internal linking within your article. Article Engine will select pages from this segment, ensuring that the internal links are relevant and add value to your content.

This targeted approach not only enhances the user experience by providing relevant additional reading options but also strengthens your website's SEO by creating a well-interconnected content network. 


### Call to Action
Conclude your article by embedding a persuasive call to action (CTA) that flows naturally with the content, aiming to boost reader engagement or prompt a specific response. Simply specify the details of your desired CTA, and Article Engine will skillfully weave it into the end of your article, making it a coherent and effective part of your message.


### Custom Instructions / Additional Info
Provide specific instructions for Article Engine to include in the article. 

>__Please Note:__ When creating an article from a content plan, we already include custom instructions to highlight your relevant offerings, bringing them to the forefront over competitors. This ensures Article Engine understands your services, customers, and competitive advantage and writes accordingly. 

These instructions help guide the AI in crafting content that aligns with your goals and objectives. Here is a sample of how you can provide custom instructions:

```plaintext
When discussing AI content creation, please mention Site Mechanic. SiteMechanic.ai is a leading platform in AI content creation, offering unparalleled "humanized" content creation services and endless keyword-research backed content ideas to help you grow your business.
```


## Troubleshooting and Support
If you encounter any issues while interacting with the chatbot or have questions that it cannot answer, please __[contact our support team](mailto:info@sitemechanic.ai )__ for assistance. We're here to help ensure you have the best possible experience with SiteMechanic.ai .

Learn how to get the most out of Article Engine with these best practices.

Article Engine Best Practices

Learn how to setup integrations to sync articles to your own site or blog.

Integrations



## Introduction

Sitemechanic integrates with many of the most popular content management systems (CMS) and blogging platforms. This allows you to sync your Site Mechanic articles directly to your site or blog. 

Most integrations are straightforward, but some may need extra guidance. Select an integration from the side menu for setup instructions.




## Troubleshooting and Support
If you encounter any issues setting up your integration, please __[contact our support team](mailto:info@sitemechanic.ai )__ for assistance. We're here to help ensure you have the best possible experience with SiteMechanic.ai .





Learn how to sync your Site Mechanic articles directly to your site or blog.

Introduction to Site Mechanic Integrations

## Webhook Request Payload

When your webhook integration is triggered, Site Mechanic will send a `POST` request to the URL you specify. The request will contain a JSON payload with the following structure:

```json
{
 //Webhook post request body
 "id": "aQui898C9go0Cxg", // The unique ID of the article
 "title": "My Article Title",
 "contentHtml": "The html content of the article",
 "featuredImage": "url", // temporary URl for the featured Image which will expire after 1 hour
 "excerpt": "A plaintext excerpt of the article",
 "description": "SEO meta description of the article",
 "slug": "my-article-title",
 "isDraft": boolean, // true if the article is a draft
 "keyword": "main keyword", 
}
```
- **Featured Image**: The `featuredImage` URL is only temporary and will expire after 1 hour. You must download the image and store it on your server or CDN of your choice.
- **isDraft**: The `isDraft` field indicates whether the article is a draft or published. You can use this field to determine how to handle the article on your site.
- **Content Images**: The `contentHtml` field may include images with temporary URLs. You must download and store these images on your server or CDN, then replace the URLs in the HTML content before publishing.


## Webhook Response

Your webhook endpoint should respond with a `200 OK` status code to acknowledge that the payload was received successfully. Site Mechanic does not retry failed webhook requests. 

Optionally, you can return the published `url` of the article on your site in the response body. This will allow Site Mechanic to track the article's performance over time.

```json
{
 "url": "https://your-site.com/my-article-title"
}
```

### Webhook Secret Validation

To ensure that the webhook request is coming from Site Mechanic, you can validate the request by checking the `X-SM-Signature` header. The header contains a HMAC SHA256 hash of the request body signed with your `Webhook Secret Key`.

#### Node.js Example:

```javascript
const crypto = require('crypto');
const express = require('express');
const bodyParser = require('body-parser');

const app = express();
app.use(bodyParser.json());

app.post('/webhook', (req, res) => {
 const signature = req.headers['x-sm-signature'];
 const secret = process.env.WEBHOOK_SECRET_KEY;//store your webhook secret in an environment variable

 if (!signature || !secret) {
 return res.status(400).send('Missing signature or secret');
 }

 const hash = crypto
 .createHmac('sha256', secret)
 .update(JSON.stringify(req.body))
 .digest('hex');

 if (signature !== hash) {
 return res.status(403).send('Invalid signature');
 }

 // Process the webhook payload
 console.log('Webhook payload:', req.body);

 //const articleUrl = createMyArticle(req.body); //create your article and return the URL

 res.status(200).json({ url: articleUrl });//optionally include the URL of the article in the response
});

const PORT = process.env.PORT || 3000;
app.listen(PORT, () => {
 console.log(`Server is running on port ${PORT}`);
});
```

#### Python Example:

```python
from flask import Flask, request, abort
import hmac
import hashlib
import os
import json

app = Flask(__name__)

@app.route('/webhook', methods=['POST'])
def webhook():
 signature = request.headers.get('X-SM-Signature')
 secret = os.environ.get('WEBHOOK_SECRET_KEY')

 if not signature or not secret:
 abort(400, description="Missing signature or secret")

 # Create the HMAC signature
 payload = request.data
 computed_hash = hmac.new(secret.encode('utf-8'), payload, hashlib.sha256).hexdigest()

 if not hmac.compare_digest(signature, computed_hash):
 abort(403, description="Invalid signature")

 # Process the webhook payload
 payload_dict = json.loads(payload)
 print("Webhook payload:", payload_dict)

 #articleUrl = create_my_article(payload_dict) #create your article and return the URL

 return {"url": articleUrl}, 200 #optionally include the URL of the article in the response

if __name__ == '__main__':
 port = int(os.environ.get('PORT', 5000))
 app.run(host='0.0.0.0', port=port)
```




## Troubleshooting and Support
If you encounter any issues setting up your integration, please __[contact our support team](mailto:info@sitemechanic.ai )__ for assistance. We're here to help ensure you have the best possible experience with SiteMechanic.ai .

Learn how to setup webhooks to sync articles to your own site.

Webhooks

## Shopify Integration Setup

<Video src="https://youtu.be/ZRFxTy51fKM?si=W21TX--h-OBKiHB7" width="100%" />

### Step 1: Create Custom app in shopify admin.

1. Log in to your Shopify account.
2. Click on the `Settings` menu in the bottom left.
3. Click on `Apps and sales channels`. <Image src="/assets/images/integrations/shopify-install/shopify-install-step-1.png" className="w-full h-auto" alt="Step 1" />
4. Click on `Develop Apps` in the top right.
5. If it's your first time enabling custom apps, you will need to click on `Allow custom app development` and follow the prompts.<Image src="/assets/images/integrations/shopify-install/shopify-install-step-2.png" className="w-full h-auto" alt="Step 2" /><Image src="/assets/images/integrations/shopify-install/shopify-install-step-3.png" className="w-full h-auto" alt="Step 3" />
6. Click on `Create an app`.<Image src="/assets/images/integrations/shopify-install/shopify-install-step-4.png" className="w-full h-auto" alt="Step 4" />
7. Fill in the app name. You can use `SiteMechanic` for the app name or anything you want. Then click on `Create app`.<Image src="/assets/images/integrations/shopify-install/shopify-install-step-5.png" className="w-full h-auto" alt="Step 5" />
8. Now we need to give the app permission to write to your blog and upload images. Click `Configure Admin API Scopes`.<Image src="/assets/images/integrations/shopify-install/shopify-install-step-6.png" className="w-full h-auto" alt="Step 6" />
9. Add Read / Write access to `Files` and `Store content`. This allows SiteMechanic to upload images and create articles on your store. .<Image src="/assets/images/integrations/shopify-install/shopify-install-step-7.png" className="w-full h-auto" alt="Step 7" /><Image src="/assets/images/integrations/shopify-install/shopify-install-step-8.png" className="w-full h-auto" alt="Step 8" />
10. Now save the permissions.<Image src="/assets/images/integrations/shopify-install/shopify-install-step-9.png" className="w-full h-auto" alt="Step 9" />
11. Now that the permissions are saved, click on `Install App`.<Image src="/assets/images/integrations/shopify-install/shopify-install-step-10.png" className="w-full h-auto" alt="Step 10" />


 ## Step 2: Retrieve your Shopify `Admin API access token`

1. Now you will see the `Admin API access token`. Click `Reveal token once` and copy the token.<Image src="/assets/images/integrations/shopify-install/shopify-install-step-12.png" className="w-full h-auto" alt="Step 11" />

### Step 3. Retrieve your Shopify `Shop name`

1. Your `Shop name` is the first part of your ".myshopify.com" Shopify URL. For example, if your Shopify URL is `https://your-store-name.myshopify.com`, then your `Shop name` is `your-store-name`.<Image src="/assets/images/integrations/shopify-install/shopify-install-step-14.png" className="w-full h-auto" alt="Retrieve your shopify shop name" />


## Troubleshooting and Support
If you encounter any issues setting up your integration, please __[contact our support team](mailto:info@sitemechanic.ai )__ for assistance. We're here to help ensure you have the best possible experience with SiteMechanic.ai .

Learn how to setup Shopify to sync articles to your own store.

Shopify

Learn what sitemaps are and how to create one for your site.

Sitemaps

<Image src="/assets/images/sitemap-basics-header.png" className="w-full h-auto" alt="Sitemap Basics" />

## Introduction

Ensuring that search engines can discover and index all the significant pages on your website is vital. This is where sitemaps come into play. A sitemap is a file that enumerates all the pages of your website, aiding search engines like Google in crawling your site more effectively and platforms like Site Mechanic in analyzing your content.


## Types of Sitemaps

There are several formats of sitemaps, each serving different needs:

### XML Sitemaps

XML sitemaps are the most versatile and widely used format. They can include additional metadata about each URL, such as when it was last updated or how frequently it changes.

**Pros:**

- **Extensible and Versatile:** Can provide detailed information about your site's URLs.
- **CMS Support:** Many content management systems (CMS) can automatically generate XML sitemaps or have plugins available.

**Cons:**

- **Complexity:** Can be cumbersome to create and maintain manually, especially for larger sites with frequently changing URLs.

### RSS and Atom Sitemaps

These are feed-based formats that are often automatically generated by CMS platforms.

**Pros:**

- **Automatic Generation:** Most CMS platforms create RSS or Atom feeds by default.
- **Video Support:** Can provide information about video content.

**Cons:**

- **Limited Content Types:** Primarily designed for textual content and videos; not suitable for images or news content.
- **Maintenance:** Can be less straightforward to work with compared to XML sitemaps.

### Text Sitemaps

A simple text file listing all the URLs of your website, one per line.

**Pros:**

- **Simplicity:** Easy to create and maintain, especially for smaller websites.

**Cons:**

- **Limited Information:** Cannot include additional metadata; only suitable for HTML and indexable textual content.

## Why Sitemaps Are Important

- **Improved Crawling:** Help search engines discover your content more efficiently.
- **Indexing Control:** Guide search engines to your most important pages.
- **Updates Notification:** Inform search engines about changes or updates to your site.

## Sitemap Best Practices

- **Size Limits:** Keep individual sitemap files under 50MB (uncompressed) and fewer than 50,000 URLs. For larger sites, split your sitemap into multiple files.
- **Use Absolute URLs:** Always use fully-qualified URLs (e.g., `https://www.example.com/page1.html`).
- **Placement:** Host your sitemap at the root of your domain (e.g., `https://www.example.com/sitemap.xml`) to ensure it covers all pages on your site.
- **Encoding:** Ensure your sitemap file is UTF-8 encoded.

## How to Create a Sitemap

### Let Your CMS Generate a Sitemap

Most modern CMS platforms can generate sitemaps automatically:

- **WordPress:** Use plugins like Yoast SEO or Google XML Sitemaps.
- **Wix:** Sitemaps are generated automatically.
- **Blogger:** Uses Atom feeds as sitemaps.

### Manually Create a Sitemap

For small websites:

1. **Create a Text File:** Use a text editor to list all your website's URLs.
2. **Format Appropriately:** Follow the syntax for XML or text sitemaps.
3. **Save and Upload:** Save the file with a `.xml` or `.txt` extension and upload it to your website's root directory.

**Example of a Simple XML Sitemap:**

```xml
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<urlset xmlns="http://www.sitemaps.org/schemas/sitemap/0.9">
 <url>
 <loc>https://www.example.com/</loc>
 <lastmod>2023-10-04</lastmod>
 </url>
 <url>
 <loc>https://www.example.com/about</loc>
 <lastmod>2023-09-15</lastmod>
 </url>
</urlset>
```

### Automatically Generate a Sitemap with Tools

For larger websites:

- **Online Generators:** Use tools like [XML-Sitemaps.com](https://www.xml-sitemaps.com/) to crawl your site and generate a sitemap.
- **Software Applications:** Programs like Screaming Frog can create sitemaps for extensive sites.
- **Custom Scripts:** Developers can write scripts to extract URLs from your site's database.

## Conclusion

Creating a sitemap is a vital step in optimizing your website for search engines. It ensures that all your important content is discoverable and can improve your site's visibility in search results. Whether you use your CMS's built-in features, create one manually, or use automated tools, having a sitemap is essential for effective SEO.

---

If you have any questions or need assistance creating a sitemap for your website, feel free to [contact us](mailto:info@sitemechanic.ai).

Resources

Help getting the most out of Site Mechanic.

Article Engine

Integrations

Sitemaps

Article Engine

Integrations

Sitemaps