Critical Fixes for ITBlogPros Article Generator

Issue 1: Meta-Commentary Still Visible on Live Site

Root Cause: The article file is clean, but the live site shows cached content.

Solutions:

1. Force GitHub Cache Clear:

   # After committing changes, add an empty commit to force rebuild
   git commit --allow-empty -m "Force rebuild to clear cache"
   git push
   

2. Clear Cloudflare Cache:

   • Go to Cloudflare Dashboard
   • Navigate to Caching → Configuration
   • Click "Purge Everything"
   • Or use Cloudflare API:

   curl -X POST "https://api.cloudflare.com/client/v4/zones/YOUR_ZONE_ID/purge_cache" \
        -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_TOKEN" \
        -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
        --data '{"purge_everything":true}'
   

3. Clear Browser Cache:

   • Hard refresh: Ctrl+Shift+R (Windows) or Cmd+Shift+R (Mac)
   • Or open in incognito/private window

4. Verify Article File is Clean:

   # Check the actual file
   cat posts/2025-11-26-wifi-7-slower-than-expected-despite-high-specifications.md
   # Should NOT contain any "Word Count Check" or meta-commentary
   

Issue 2: Amazon Links Not Verified

Root Cause: The generator uses placeholder ASINs but doesn't verify:

1. If the ASIN is a real product
2. If the affiliate tag is correct
3. If the link actually works

Current ASINs in the article (need verification):

• TP-Link Archer BE550: B0CNJ5M2K9
• ASUS ROG Rapture GT-BE98: B0C9D9183H
• NETGEAR Nighthawk RS700S: B0CL2G998Z

Solution: Add Amazon ASIN verification to the generator.

Quick Verification Commands

# 1. Check if article file is clean
cat posts/2025-11-26-wifi-7-slower-than-expected-despite-high-specifications.md | grep -i "word count\|draft\|i'll now\|i'm good"

# 2. Check Amazon links in Eleventy config
grep "itblogpros100-20" .eleventy.js

# 3. Test Amazon link format
# Should produce: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CNJ5M2K9?linkCode=ll1&tag=itblogpros100-20&linkId=generated&language=en_US&ref_=as_li_ss_tl

# 4. Force rebuild
npm run build
# or
npx @11ty/eleventy

Immediate Actions Needed

1. Clear All Caches (Do this NOW)

# Commit and force rebuild
git add .
git commit -m "Clean article - force rebuild"
git commit --allow-empty -m "Force cache clear"
git push

# Wait 2-3 minutes for Cloudflare Pages to rebuild
# Then check the live site in incognito mode

2. Verify Amazon Links Work

Open each link manually to check:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CNJ5M2K9?tag=itblogpros100-20
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C9D9183H?tag=itblogpros100-20
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CL2G998Z?tag=itblogpros100-20

Should redirect to real products with your affiliate tag.

3. Test the Generator

cd _automation
node gemini-article-generator.js test

Check the generated article for:

• ✅ No meta-commentary
• ✅ Valid Amazon ASINs
• ✅ Proper affiliate tag
• ✅ 1200-1500 words

Long-term Fix: Add Amazon Verification

I'll create an enhanced generator with:

1. Amazon ASIN validation
2. Link testing
3. Automatic affiliate tag verification
4. Product existence checks

This will be in: gemini-article-generator-enhanced.js