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First-hand Experiences: Automated Content at the Tool Comparison Website Toolbrothers

Reading Time 4 mins | August 31, 2022 | Written by: Anne Geyer

How and for what do companies use content automation, what challenges do they face and what do they gain from using natural language generation software? Our clients themselves are the best  choice to answer these questions. That's why we asked Leon Müller, business development manager at Toolbrothers, some questions about their content automation project with AX Semantics. Because Toolbrothers, a tool comparison platform with almost 300,000 products, has already got a lot going in the short history of the company. 

For what purposes do you use the automated content generation software?

We currently use AX Semantics at Toolbrothers to create automated product descriptions and small product review blogs, based on the features of a tool. We have already generated more than 1,000 texts and are far from finished.

example product description toolbrothers
Automatically generated text of a cordless drill (German version)

What challenge do you solve with the AX Semantics software?

AX Semantics enables us to create a large number of reviews at short notice. The reviews are on a high linguistic leven and bundle the most important information about the machines. The user benefits in the form of prepared information; Toolbrothers benefits of the high frequency on the blog, which would not be possible with manual writing. In addition, we can create SEO-texts that contain many keywords. Since it is data-to-text generated content, we also do not (yet) run the risk of being penalized by Google.

Infobox: The added value for the user decides whether Google penalizes websites with automated texts or not. This applies to both manually written and automated texts. AX Semantics is a data-to-text software, so the user is in control of the text quality. Read more in this blog article: Automated Texts - A Breach of Google´s Guidelines

What are your goals that you want to achieve through content automation?

On the one hand, we want to make the dry technical details of the tools more appealing and engaging for the customer. We can achieve this through rules and text variations. For example, there are certain areas in the technical characteristics of a tool that indicate the area of application. For example, the voltage of a screwdriver can be used to deduce its suitable purposes: Voltage of a screwdriver = 12V -> rather suitable for home users. On the other hand, from a website perspective, the focus is also clearly on search engine optimization and visibility.

Are you already seeing benefits of using automated content? If so, what are they?

The traffic numbers don't lie. We're definitely seeing positive changes in organic views as we rank well for specific products. However, the long-term results are yet to be seen.

What are your plans for the future?

The next step for us is internationalization, for which we will probably also use AX Semantics. We see wonderful opportunities here, especially in the area of product descriptions and titles. We are already working on French, Spanish and English.

What has changed for you through the use of automated content generation?

Basically nothing has changed. We have flexibly integrated AX Semantics into our existing structure. Our content writing team supports the creation and variation of the text modules and takes care of the creation of the reviews. AX Semantics has taken a lot of work off our shoulders here. 

Nevertheless, it has to be said that the creation of new texts does involve more work than assumed at the beginning. In our special case we proceed categorically. Until the texts of a category are perfect, several working hours pass - but afterwards we can create texts for new tools of the same category at the push of a button if required.

How would you describe the AX Semantics software to someone who doesn't know the tool yet?

If the company is willing to take this step, using AX Semantics greatly simplifies everyday life. “AI based content” sounds complicated to start with and it is important to know: You need prepared and structured data to be able to exploit the full potential. However, the long-term benefits clearly outweigh this. That's why content automation can be crucial for small businesses, too. I estimate that structured data in the form of features is the main obstacle. After all, it should be clear that the algorithms used will by no means crawl product pages and write them on their own. Since this is "data-to-text" technology, the user must direct the system and use it for his own purposes.

About the company

Toolbrothers is a tool comparison website. The platform helps people by making tools comparable. Technical data is presented in an understandable way and website visitors receive extensive information in blogs, descriptions, videos and 360° images of the machines. Furthermore, customers can get advice by phone. There is also a direct price comparison for each product. This makes the platform a unique place that bundles all intermediate steps in tool purchasing.

Toolbrothers in numbers: 

  • Mid 2020: Launch of Toolbrothers
  • Cooperation with over 80 manufacturers and more than 50 dealers
  • Annual sales: about 10 million euros
  • A big focus: YouTube with almost 12,300 subscribers (as of 06.07.2022) and Tiktok with almost 16,000 followers (as of 19.08.2022)
  • Around 200,000 monthly users with very good growth rates
  • 2021/2022 season: main sponsor of BG Göttingen (BBL 1st league)
Anne Geyer