Adapting SEO To The AI Age: A Battle of Predictive Prompts, Data Analysis, and Cat/Beetle Hybrids
Sure, AI is the talk of the town, transforming industries left and right. Possibly even the SEO industry. Weeeee, look at ChatGPT (and any other barely competitive AI model) go! First it’s writing blog posts, then it’s helping Paul McCartney create new songs for The Beatles, yada yada yada…
All kidding aside though, where does SEO stand in all of this mess of AI? Well, it’s no exception to the AI invasion. But hold onto your butts, because we’ve got a slightly different take on this whole shebang.
Yes, ChatGPT is certainly making content creation, marketing, and everything else in between easier. User behavior may be evolving, and the latest trends are showing that search traffic is feeling the impact. Despite some of the data, though, I don’t buy into the idea that AI is fundamentally flipping SEO on its head. In fact, I would say that it’s the opposite.
Market education and demand generation, my friends, are the secret spices in this SEO stew. Marrying AI with old fashioned SEO know-how and elbow grease is the way we are all headed. I can say that because of the one golden rule by which abide here at Simplified Impact:
AI is a TOOL. AI is not the ANSWER.
The Core Principles Of SEO: Adding Value And Winning Trust
At its core, SEO has always been about adding value to your digital kingdom through various forms of content. It’s about providing the highest quality information and validating it through social proof and other metrics. That fundamental principle remains intact.
For years, search engines like Google have been refining their algorithms to filter out noise and reward those who demonstrate expertise, authority, and trustworthiness (EAT). The goal is to distinguish between content created solely for search engines and content that genuinely adds value to users. Despite all the AI hoopla, Google’s core objective remains the same—to deliver high-quality and relevant information to its users.
So, if you’re consistently generating high-quality content and focusing on search intent, you’re on the right track. Regardless of the changes in the digital landscape, the principles of SEO endure. It’s all about understanding your target market, identifying their pain points, and providing solutions that genuinely help them. As long as you stay focused on delivering value, the mindset driving your actions shouldn’t change.
But hey, in this rollercoaster ride, it’s smart to take some practical action. As such, here are a few tips to keep your SEO game sharp while AI struts it’s way around town:
Generate Content With AI And Supplement YOUR OWN Creativity
AI SEO tools have become a game-changer in content creation. They help you generate content ideas, optimize blog posts, and analyze keywords to create content that hits the sweet spot. By leveraging AI’s capabilities, you can ensure your content is not only high quality but also optimized for search engines. It’s like having a writing assistant by your side, HELPING you craft the perfect piece. Notice the operative word in that sentence: “helping”.
Even though AI is certainly of its own mind (which, how have we not learned from the 4 billion movies about computers taking over humanity) it actually has its own writing style. You can spot an article written by ChatGPT a million miles away because of certain phrases it uses (unleashing, unlocking, buckle up, etc.), how it always uses a colon in a headline regardless of the subject matter, or how it seems to write an entire paragraph about something without actually saying ANYTHING. It’s just a gluttonous bowl of word salad.
If you’re relying on AI to write articles, or create an intro for your television show (I’m looking at you Secret Invasion) and it’s doing ALL the work for you – then you’re doing it wrong.
Steven Soderbergh – yeah, THAT Steven Soderbergh – is intrigued by AI. In a roundtable interview, Soderbergh expressed that AI lacks the understanding of basic human experiences like flight cancellations and tiredness, making it no real threat. However, he emphasized that we can still enjoy AI as a tool without these limitations. He sees it as a framework of creativity but not the ANSWER for creativity:
(SOURCE): I’ve used it for stuff to play around with, but I’ve never gotten into a Q&A with it. I’d be curious to be interacting with it and go, ‘Hey, can we take a five minute break?,’ leave, come back, and then ask it, ‘What were you thinking about while I was gone?,’ to see if it had an answer at all, and if it did, what its answer was. What is five minutes? What is four hours to an AI? I don’t know. So, I think it’s useful for design creation. I think it’s interesting for a basic way to accumulate a framework. If somebody goes, “I wanna do NCIS in Barcelona,” you load in every episode of that show that’s been made anywhere in the world and you load in all the Barcelona information that you can come up with, and this thing spits out a very frumenty version of how you would do NCIS in Barcelona, that then actual human beings will have to figure out how to make interesting.
Soderbergh highlighted that while tools like Chat GPT can contribute to scripts, they lack the human touch necessary for nuanced storytelling and incorporating personal opinions. He emphasized that giving AI feedback, such as making a comedy script funnier, poses challenges. He went on to say, “What does it do? It’s just a tool. But if you ask it to design a creature that’s a combination of a cat and a Volkswagen Beetle, it can do that. That’s fun.”
Suffice it to say, AI needs human supervision. This especially includes SEO (Search Engine Optimization)
Embrace The AI Revolution: Be Prepared And Adapt
Staying updated with the latest trends is crucial. Embrace AI as a tool that can empower your SEO efforts. Be prepared to analyze keywords, utilize AI SEO tools, and adapt your strategies accordingly.
We might witness a whole lot of predictive analysis getting cozy with SEO. Picture this: Search engines not only answering your queries but also predicting your needs before you even realize you have them.
Mind-blowing, right? Here’s what you need to do – get ready to add pre-emptive SEO strategies to your digital marketing toolbox. You must anticipate what your audience might be craving in the future.
Whip up content that addresses those topics before the demand hits its peak. How? Stay ahead of the curve by sniffing out industry trends, decoding seasonal patterns, and predicting shifts in consumer behavior.
With the growing capabilities of AI, it could lend a helping hand in predicting these trends. Imagine an AI system analyzing massive data sets, unraveling patterns, and foreseeing what kind of information users will crave next. And voila! Businesses can be one step ahead, already sizzling with high-quality, relevant content that’s optimized for those predicted queries.
In other words, we’re talking about preparing your content for the future. Forget just keeping up with the present or dwelling on past trends. The secret sauce is in serving up the content that your audience hasn’t even realized they’re hungry for yet.
YOU Still Need To Optimize Your Content: Long Tail Keywords Internal Linking And Beyond
To rank higher in search engine results, optimizing your AI aided content is key. That’s where long tail keywords and internal linking come into play.
By including specific keywords throughout your content and utilizing them strategically, you can attract organic traffic and improve your SEO. Don’t forget to make use of Google Search Console to analyze keywords and gain insights into your website’s performance.
Internal linking is also a powerful SEO strategy that helps search engines crawl your website effectively. By strategically linking relevant pages within your site, you improve the user experience and provide search engines with a clear structure. So, make sure to create a well-thought-out list of keywords and use internal linking to guide users and search engines through your content. AI CANNOT do that for you. Remember, AI is a tool – not the answer.
Going back to Soderbergh, I see AI in the SEO game the same way he sees it for script writing: AI is not a threat—it’s a writing assistant or a figurative guide in your SEO journey. With its help, you can uncover hidden opportunities, conduct keyword research with finesse, and fine-tune your content for maximum impact.
Data Analysis: AI Pumps Up The Volume
It’s time to serve up those accurate, spot-on answers within your content. Think zero-click results that Google will flaunt as the ultimate answer to those juicy queries. If you’ve been flirting with voice search (you know, Siri, Alexa, and their posse), you’re already familiar with this game. Generative Search Experiences (GSE) join the party, and it’s all about being the life of the query-answer bash.
AI can then take your data and spin it like a DJ on steroids.
That flood of information your business generates? AI can dig deep, unraveling user behavior, spotting market trends, and dissecting the performance of different SEO strategies.
But here’s the twist: we would put our money down on a wild showdown—a battle of prompts. Forget trying to crack the code of those complex AI models (yeah, we’re talking about you, Google algorithm). The future may just be all about asking the AI itself. Picture a fierce competition among marketers, all clamoring to get their hands on the same AI insights. It’s like Waze rerouting traffic and unintentionally causing a traffic jam. Chaos and excitement rolled into one.
SEO Is A Blend Of Art And Science—A Dance Between Creativity And Technical Expertise
In a nutshell, the future may be uncertain, but one thing remains crystal clear—value always wins. No matter what changes search engines throw our way or how they try to monetize the game, keeping our focus on delivering value to our audience is the ultimate secret sauce. Just like a startup with a killer solution that people can’t resist—no economic rollercoaster can knock you off track.
So, my fellow SEO nerds, let’s combine the power of AI, Google Trends, and good old-fashioned SEO know-how to conquer the search engine battlefield. Create high-quality, optimized content that caters to search intent. Be the content creator who understands what people are searching for and delivers the answers they seek, and always keep an eye on the evolving SEO landscape, because it’s a wild ride that requires continuous adaptation.
This is why AI is not the answer for SEO. AI gets data, and it can produce something that’s fairly representative of humor or genuine knowledge. Yes, it CAN make a cat/beetle hybrid, but it doesn’t understand art. Just like those lifeless uncanny valley eyes made by computers in Robert Zemeckis’ “Polar Express”, AI only has enough knowledge to provide a FRAMEWORK of what creativity could be.
AI will never be able to recreate Robert Downey’s delivery of “and I…am…Iron Man” to Thanos in Avengers: Endgame (#Spoilers), or catch Matthew MacFayden’s subtle, brilliant, and totally improvised hand-flex in “Pride and Prejudice”. AI doesn’t know to make Han shoot first, or to have him respond to Leia’s “I love you!” with a calm “I know” at the end of Empire Strikes Back. That’s all human creativity.
SEO needs human creativity.
In this ever-evolving SEO game, there’s no magic bullet, no shortcut to success. But with a sprinkle of humor, a dash of creativity, and the right mix of AI and SEO tools, you’ll be well-equipped to navigate the exciting twists and turns of the digital landscape.
Now go forth, my SEO warriors, and conquer those search engine rankings with wit, strategy, and a touch of AI magic!
Simplified Impact Can Help You With Your SEO Needs
What you just read isn’t even the tip of the tip on the iceberg. Google can be a giant, sprawling, overwhelming mess. If you’re a business owner, we understand if you don’t have the time (nor the desire) to learn all of this on your own.
That’s why you need a team of nerds like us to take care of it for you. This is our job, and our first love. Our SEO experts know everything there is to know about maximizing your copy, and making sure it is broadcast to the right places for the world to see.
We are routinely growing our clients business and in many cases, doubling or tripling their business just because we optimize their page and content. We can do the same for you.
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