Sources

The competitor sites, subreddits and YouTube channels Seovyn watches for ideas and material: adding them, what each status means, and how Seovyn learns which ones pay off.

Updated 3 min read
Markdown
On this page

A source is a place Seovyn watches for ideas and material. Articles are written from what the sources actually say, which is what keeps them specific. Sources live on the Sources page, under Watched sources.

Kinds of source

KindWhat Seovyn takes from it
Competitor siteThe pages competitors publish: topics worth covering and angles worth beating
SubredditThe questions your audience asks right now, in their own words
YouTube channelNew videos in your field, transcribed so the writer can draw on what was said

Each source writes one kind of page, which you choose when you add it: blog posts, comparison pages or landing pages. Competitor sites suit comparisons; subreddits and channels suit blog posts.

Add sources

Choose Auto-discover on the Sources page. Seovyn reads your website, works out your niche, and proposes real competitors, subreddits and YouTube channels. Tick the ones that fit and choose Add selected sources. Only what you tick is added.

If it can't verify any real suggestions for your site, it says so; add sources yourself instead.

How often sources are checked

Each source is checked about every hour. Check now runs one immediately.

Once a source's articles have been live for 30 days, Seovyn weighs what they earned: their clicks in Search Console, and how often you rejected that source's drafts. A source that pays off is checked more often (as often as every 40 minutes or so); one that doesn't is checked less (down to every two and a half hours) and starts fewer articles per run. Nothing is paused or deleted for you, and a source without enough history stays neutral.

What the status means

StatusMeaning
Not checked yetAdded, waiting for its first check
Top sourceIts articles earn clicks, so it's checked more often
Low trafficIts articles earn little, so it's checked less often
FailingThe last few checks couldn't read it. Check the address still works; the notification bell flags it too

Limits that keep your blog varied

  • One competitor, at most eight articles. A competitor source stops producing articles after eight, so no single site turns your blog into a run of near-identical "us vs them" pages.
  • Up to ten new items per check. Anything more waits for the next check.
  • Ideas still have to earn a place. A story from a source goes through the same checks as any other topic: does it fit your customers, does anyone search for it, do you already cover it. See How topics are chosen.
  • Keyword targets come first. While you have open keyword targets, sources can use at most 40% of your monthly articles. The rest is kept for the searches you chose. With no open targets, sources can use all of it.

Remove a source

Choose Remove source on its row. Drafts it already produced stay where they are, and Seovyn remembers the removal: the regular search for new subreddits and channels won't suggest it again. Remove a source that keeps producing off-topic ideas. Rejecting its drafts counts against it too: a source whose drafts you often reject is checked less.

What Seovyn doesn't do with sources

It doesn't copy them. A source is research material: the article is written fresh, in your voice, and lists the sources it drew on. Articles are also checked against your own published ones, so nothing is a near-copy of something already on your site.