A Rankwise campaign is how you turn a topic into a repeatable publishing system.
This guide helps you create your first campaign with settings that are safe, SEO-friendly, and built for GEO (AI search visibility).
What you'll accomplish
- Choose a first topic that's likely to work
- Create a campaign with sensible defaults
- Publish your first article
- Set a simple internal linking and indexing routine
Step 1: Choose the right first topic (don't overthink it)
Your first campaign should be:
- narrow enough to complete (one clear pillar)
- tied to a real business outcome (leads/sales)
- question-driven (lots of fan-out queries)
A simple topic picker
Pick one:
- the feature people ask about most
- the integration you're known for
- the pain point your buyers mention repeatedly
If you're not sure, start with:
Step 2: Define your pillar and cluster
Think in clusters, not "random posts."
Pillar page: the main overview for the topic Cluster pages: the sub-questions people ask
Use this quick template:
| Field | Example |
|---|---|
| Pillar topic | "AI Search & GEO" |
| Ideal reader | "SaaS founder doing content in-house" |
| Primary job | "Get cited + earn qualified leads" |
| Cluster questions | "What is GEO?", "How do AI citations work?", "How to measure?" |
Want the full framework? /resources/guides/topic-clusters-strategy
Step 3: Campaign settings (safe defaults)
Start simple. You can refine later.
Recommended defaults
- Cadence: 1–2 articles per week
- Tone: direct, practical, non-fluffy
- Length: medium (avoid thin pages)
- Internal links: link to pillar + 2 sibling pages
- CTAs: one soft next step at the end (not spammy)
Two example presets
Preset A — SaaS
- Focus: comparisons, workflows, implementation guides
- CTA: demo/signup
- Emphasis: "how to" + troubleshooting
Preset B — E-commerce
- Focus: categories, collections, buying guides, FAQs
- CTA: product/category
- Emphasis: structured answers + specs + comparisons
Step 4: Publish your first article
Pick an easy win for article #1:
- a definition ("What is X?")
- a how-to ("How to do X")
- a best practices list
Example:
Publish checklist
- Title matches query intent
- First 10 lines answer the question
- Headings are question-like and specific
- Includes a table/checklist/template
- Links to the topic hub + related resources
Step 5: Add internal links (minimum viable linking)
Internal linking is a force multiplier.
Minimum for each new page:
- 1 link to the parent topic hub
- 2 links to sibling resources
- (optional) 1 link to a relevant product page
Start here:
Step 6: Indexing + expectations
Don't panic if results aren't instant.
A realistic early cadence:
- Publish
- Ensure it's crawlable (not noindex)
- Submit sitemap (already handled on your site)
- Wait for discovery + recrawl
Freshness matters for some queries and not others; use updates thoughtfully:
Common mistakes (avoid these on day one)
- Publishing too broad ("SEO tips") instead of a tight cluster
- Shipping a content blob (no structure, no checklists)
- No internal links (pages become orphaned)
- Over-optimizing for "AI" with vague claims and no substance
Next steps
- Connect WordPress: /resources/learn/connect-wordpress
- Understand citations: /resources/learn/understanding-ai-citations
- Build the cluster map: /resources/guides/topic-clusters-strategy