Google SEO and AI - what the future does and could look like?
06 February 2024
AI has already changed the way a lot of businesses operate, especially in the marketing world. While relying solely on tools like ChatGPT can be perilous, it certainly has streamlined a lot of content creation work.
One of the most ingenious uses of AI is to revolutionise SEO strategies – such as providing trending topics for you to write content about or even generating headings, metadata and descriptions using the perfect keywords.
If you’re wondering whether AI-powered SEO could work for you, read on to learn more about it.
How is AI used to improve SEO rankings?
Although it may seem like some real cutting-edge technology, Google has been using artificial intelligence since 2015 with its RankBrain algorithm.
This machine learning system which in partnership with their previous Hummingbird update, helps the search engine understand the context and intent behind a search query revolutionised SEO, ensuring that more relevant links appear at the top of search results.
Why use AI in SEO?
AI is undoubtedly a useful tool in generating content and even visualises data and analytics, but perhaps one of its most underrated uses is for learning about your audience – and using this information for optimising your content for you.
You can gain an insight into a user’s past behaviours, and predict what might interest them (more on this later) so your marketing hits more like an arrow, and less like a water balloon.
There are more direct ways of assessing user interest using AI, such as sentiment analysis or getting insights from chatbot interaction, so it has never been easier to tailor your content to your audience.
Can SEO be done by AI?
Simply put – yes. But it should only be used as a starting point for you to expand on. Generative AI can be instrumental in developing content plans, blog outlines or even structuring your marketing materials.
Simply copying and pasting results from AI, however, will not get you the results you need – spice up the bland outputs and tweak its results to benefit you and your company.
AI doesn’t accurately relay context, creativity and other human touches – so it’s vital that you step in to ensure your content has these qualities. After all, AI is a tool that uses data to streamline processes – but you shouldn’t be afraid of changing your strategy if you’re not seeing results.
Some key AI programmes to be aware of include Bramework, which you can use to create a blog outline with SEO-friendly suggestions, such as keywords, headings and keywords. AIPRM is also helpful as it gives you an extensive library of tested prompts to further streamline your AI experience.
What are the benefits of using AI in SEO?
One of the main ways AI has improved SEO practice is by making user experience more agile and accessible. Better quality interactions, such as through the use of chatbots to personalise interactions and make navigation faster, mean that your visitor is more likely to become a repeat customer.
Another positive that comes from using AI is the unequivocal fact that it can save you massive amounts of time. Whether you’re prompting ChatGPT to write you an article, or even asking for an AI-generated infographic, it can create material in seconds.
Remember that there are a lot of AI options on the market, with plenty of different strengths: test your options and make them work for your business.
However, it isn’t always easy – it’s recommended to optimise your requests, too, so the AI can get straight to work on the right content. Prompt engineering will go a long way to saving you time on typing repetitive requests.
Something else you should do to make sure your content is top quality is to fact-check thoroughly before publishing – this can save you embarrassment later on. Remember AI is not infallible and has limited knowledge about facts and events after 2021.
Does SEO penalise AI content?
Google recently published guidance on using AI-generated content on its platform, so it’s best to make sure your AI-generated content falls under those rules.
As Google’s algorithm prioritises and rewards high-quality content, you should also be making sure anything you publish follows the E-E-A-T rules aka the Google Search Quality Evaluator Guidelines – that’s experience, expertise, authoritativeness and trustworthiness.
Additionally, you should be ensuring that any automation you use isn’t falsifying search rankings, as this can be flagged as spam, and may even get your site in hot water.
Again, you should be making sure your generated content gets a final once-over to make sure it abides by the rules and is saying exactly what you want it to.
How will AI impact SEO in 2024?
One of the biggest changes already emerging from AI being used for SEO is its effect on personalisation. Targeted search results, which come from information associated with the user directly – such as their previous searches, geographic location and behaviour patterns – have only grown as the technology becomes more accurate.
Voice search technology has grown seemingly alongside AI – vocal assistants such as Windows’ Cortana or Apple’s Siri have come a long way, branching out into smart speakers and text-to-speech, becoming deeply ingrained in our browsing experiences.
Visual search is even newer, with augmented reality lenses allowing customers to visualise products in their homes, and even try on clothes using augmented reality. Customers are being given more options than ever before, and this is likely to lead to a change in consumer habits.
Future predictions of AI’s effect on SEO
Another way that AI can impact SEO is through predictive analytics. Through the use of AI, identifying trends (and therefore predicting future outcomes) gets a whole lot easier than taking a stab in the dark by yourself.
AI’s predictive analytics are based on data and algorithms, meaning there’s a high chance of success when figuring out the do’s and don’ts of search engine results pages.
There are also rumours that if AI keeps progressing at the rate it is, it may soon overpower the platforms it’s meant to be aiding – but with search engines championing vitality and originality in content, this is very unlikely.
With AI already having many uses towards content creation and lead generation, it’s no surprise that it’s predicted to become even more helpful in the future. As long as you’re aware of the guidelines from search engines, and making sure your content isn’t breaking any of them, feel free to use AI to boost your SEO strategy.
AI optimisation for search engines results in more efficient content strategies – including personalised content, more visibility and even more engagement with an audience. However, as with any AI-related material, you should ensure you’re carefully checking its outputs before plastering them across the internet.
Feel free to get in touch if you’d like to discuss how to make your digital marketing strategy more efficient – my team and I would love to realise your ideas.