How Content at Scale Helped Me Get the Featured Snippet as a New Blogger

Undoubtedly, the most difficult task for a new blogger is getting ranked on the first few pages of Google.

But to get the featured snippet, AKA position zero? 

That almost seems impossible without having quality backlinks from high-DA websites or building a comprehensive topical map with many articles.

Or is it?

Here is my story about how Content at Scale helped me get the featured snippet as a new blogger for the keyword “Best AI Content Detector.”

What Were the Issues I Faced Before Content at Scale?

Having just started my blogging journey, I knew I had to output content regularly to compete with more established blogs.

But doing it solo was like fighting a losing battle and not to mention time-consuming.

My basic article process before Content at Scale was the following:

• Use a keyword research tool like Ahrefs or Semrush to find low-competition keywords
• Structure the blog outline by manually scanning the top-performing articles or using Jasper to auto-generate an outline for me
• Start by creating each paragraph using Jasper or another AI writing software
• Fact-check, add personality, personal anecdotes, and key takeaways.
• Then optimize it with an On-Page tool like Surfer SEO or NeuronWriter.
• Transfer it to Grammarly to check for spelling, grammar, tone, and plagiarism.
• Finally, run the whole article through an AI detector.

That’s not the end.

I still had to transfer it to WordPress, create custom HMTL anchors for EACH section header to make a table of contents, create info boxes for the key takeaways, and even download a plugin for click-to-tweets.

And just like that, about 2-3 days just flew by. 

This was a good day without other personal commitments and having relatively lax days at my full-time job.

Realistically, I’d be lucky to get 1 article out weekly. 

This wasn’t ideal for me to start scaling, and time spent writing prevented me from performing more important tasks like link building. 

I had to find a better way.

My Solution Was To Outsource Immediately

That’s when I decided to source for a freelance SEO writer to help take some of the workload off me so I could focus on other aspects of running my personal affiliate blog.

I went on job boards like Cult of Copy, Problogger, Fiverr, and Upwork.

There were some decent writers. Some I engaged, and some were put on test trials.

Not only was I paying between $150-$200 per article, it took them 4-7 days to complete one.

Even then. The promise of “SEO content” was far from expected.

Most simply stuffed keywords, used AI tools without cutting out the fluff, or failed to incorporate proper H2 sections to answer the search intent.

So, I still found myself dedicating pointless hours to essentially redo the article and make it worthy of being published.

At that point, I should have just written it myself.

So I thought, “why isn’t there a tool that can do all of that for me? Or most of it, right?”. 

It’s ridiculous that I had to either hop between various software or hire expensive writers that weren’t up to standard.

That’s when god answered my prayers, and I came across Content at Scale.

How Did I Use Content at Scale?

At first, I was quite skeptical, but I still decided to give it a go.

A quick disclaimer, I didn’t use CAS to write the above-mentioned article, but I’ll tell you how without it, I wouldn’t have achieved this.

Jumping right into the platform, all I had to do was input my target keyword, and boom!

Outcomes an SEO-optimized, plagiarism-free article that passes AI detection.

It also automatically generates a table of contents, key takeaways, and click-to-tweet snippets.

You can’t imagine how liberating this felt for me.

The amount of time and money I saved is unrivaled.

Nevertheless, I do have some things to point out.

I noticed immediately, Content at Scale wasn’t particularly great at producing in-depth round-up review posts, which was what my article on the best AI detectors is.

Let me illustrate.

This was another roundup post based on the long-tail keyword “Best Types of Content for Driving Revenue.”

And here is the outline from the table of contents.

While the tool does a decent job generating an outline, it can’t include more items in your list above a certain number. 

It also gives generic descriptions about the list items and more so if they are individual branded products/services.

Unfortunately, there is no way for the tool to output a deep dive like my Content at Scale Review.

In reality, commercial or review articles are not CAS’s forte. 

A round-up post review should be YOUR own personal opinions and not that of a robot.

So that’s not an issue because where the tool shines is in creating informational content.

Though I still have to write round-up posts myself, it was for the best.

But with the help of CAS, I can now dedicate more time to meticulously crafting more commercial articles while also knowing that I can produce informational articles almost instantly to support them.

Not to mention scaling my outreach efforts which, let’s be honest, is WAY more time-consuming than writing articles.

This was a breath of fresh air.

Nevertheless, the price may be quite off-putting to many individual creators or small businesses.

But if on a per-article basis, you are getting a bang for your buck and more.

Looking at Content at Scale’s infographic from their post on the AIO model, perfectly illustrates the benefits I enjoyed.

I essentially saved 3-5 times the cost of hiring a writer while also significantly increasing my output by reducing the time it took to craft SEO content for my informational articles.

Sign up using my link and get 20% extra credits on all plans.

Why Did Content at Scale Help Me Get The Featured Snippet?

Right, so now the proof. I wouldn’t want you to think I was plucking this out from thin air.

First, take a look at my domain profile on Ahrefs.

It’s insignificant at best. I didn’t even have any links built to the article. 

Most were directed to my homepage and came from social sites, Terkel, and 1 guest post.

The point is my site is very new.

So how in the world did I manage to snag the featured snippet?

I can only attribute this to the help of Content at Scale.

Here are my top reasons:

Does Content at Scale Replace All Other AI Writing Tools?

No, Content at Scale does not replace all other AI writing tools.

And here’s why.

For Short-Form Copywriting

Although this tool shines with long-form content, it just doesn’t offer short-form templates like Jasper or Copy.AI.

So if you need that, those 2 are probably better choices.

For On-Page SEO Optimization

For On-page SEO content optimization, CAS seems to fall short in these areas:

Tools like Surfer and NeuronWriter still perform better in these areas.

For AI Content Detection

While their software includes auto AI content detection as you generate your article, it’s still also a standalone free tool.

From my testing, it’s undoubtedly the best free option. 

But it still produced less accurate results with more false positives/negatives than a dedicated tool like Originality.AI or Winston.AI.

Having different NLP models rather than relying solely on OpenAI’s GPT-3 model may be useful in generating better, more unique content.

But if the majority of the AI content generators are using that particular model, it might be counterintuitive to detect content written by them.

For Grammar and Spelling

Unfortunately, Content at Scale doesn’t provide this feature at the moment.

You will still need a writing assistant like Grammarly or Quillbot to check for grammar, spelling, tone, or clarity mistakes.

Does Content at Scale Have Cheaper Pricing Plans?

The cheapest plan starts at $500 per month for 20 posts, and it goes up to $1500 for an agency plan with 100 posts.

While that doesn’t sound very wallet-friendly, you will save significant time and money on a per-article basis compared to hiring a human writer.

Not to mention, you get 80% of the work done for you with just one click.

In my opinion, that’s well worth the money, no matter if you are a solo blogger or an agency with clients.

According to Julia McCoy, the VP of marketing at Content at Scale, they are about to exit the beta phase and launch a new version of their app soon.

This most likely means we won’t be able to enjoy these prices for much longer.

Will Content at Scale Guarantee the Featured Snippet on Google?

No, using Content at Scale will not guarantee that you will get the featured snippet or even rank on the first page of Google.

Nobody can claim that. You know for a fact they are lying if they say they can.

However, it will significantly reduce the resources it takes to produce a fully SEO-optimized article that gives you the best chance of ranking.

This tool will get you about 80% of the work done, but you should still polish it by adding images, external links, internal links, personality, and fact check to get a higher-quality piece.

But if you are wondering if getting ranked is possible. 

Here are the organic search positions of my informational articles on Semrush.

As you can see, I ranked for over 68 keywords, some on page 2 of Google. 

Don’t forget I have no domain authority. Well barely.

To Sum Up

This is purely from a solo blogger’s perspective with an extremely new website.

But I managed to show you how Content at Scale indirectly helped me with ranking in position #0 for a commercial piece.

Don’t forget that you can also rank in top positions for informational articles that CAS helps you write.

Unfortunately, my domain authority isn’t high enough to show examples. 

But I will in the future!

And I know the pricing can be discouraging, but if you are serious about your content marketing efforts, it’s definitely worth the investment.

Pro Tip: Maybe stop buying Starbucks every day.

This shows how this tool is extremely valuable for the little guys serious about their content marketing efforts, not just enterprises.

It’s the foundational tool I use to create a base article before refining it with other AI marketing software.

So, if you want to lock in your subscription before they officially launch and increase the price, use my link below!