How Will AI Change SEO?

AI is poised to revolutionize many aspects of our world, but how will AI change SEO? If you’re familiar with SEO, you’re likely skeptical of artificial intelligence’s ability to subsume search engine optimization work at large. However, you also probably know that AI has come a long way in recent years.

The truth is that while ChatGPT and other AI tools likely will not replace SEO agencies or SEO content writers, they will upend the SEO marketing world. That’s a given at this point. We aim to provide you with our impressions of what artificial intelligence can (and can’t) do at this point.

AI Can Predict Oncoming Trends

One of the most challenging parts of SEO currently is understanding what the future holds. Good SEO agencies might have the process of researching and crafting well-written SEO content down pat. Still, they continually use current data signals and user behavior. However, as anyone who has spent time at a marketing agency can tell you, things can change rapidly. A new trend in consumer behavior, an algorithm update on Google’s side, or a new product could upend how SEO content is developed practically overnight.

Until now, SEO agencies have had to do their best to respond given what they currently know, which has naturally only sometimes been complete. AI offers SEO agencies the potential to use existing data signals to make informed predictions. These data signals have always existed, but understaffed and busy SEO agencies have never had the means to quickly and accurately scour the mountains of data. AI could allow these agencies to do just that in the years ahead.

AI Can Expedite Keyword Research

Anyone in digital marketing knows keyword research is a foundational element for web development. Understanding the keywords users type into Google and other search engines is the first step of any successful SEO strategy.

However, there are countless variations of even relatively simplistic keywords. “Digital marketing agency,” for instance, is closely related to search terms like “digital marketing agency near me,” email marketing agency,” “best SEO marketing firms,” and “Michigan internet marketing contractors.”

Savvy SEO and web development professionals have, until now, had to take the time to dive into the keyword research process and find the keywords that make sense for their particular use case. AI could cut that time in half and auto-suggest relevant keywords without the need for manual research.

AI Can Increase Optimization Opportunities

SEO isn’t merely content creation. Good SEO agencies have always known this, but too many fall into the trap of simply writing content around relevant keywords. There’s nothing wrong with this; well-written and search-engine-optimized blogs and web pages are a bedrock deliverable in the SEO space and will likely not change. However, too few SEO agencies take the time to analyze and optimize the content they have produced when it’s live and posted on a client’s website.

Why is that? The answer is that it’s just too time-intensive. The technical elements, performance details, on-page ranking factors, and actual page rank come attached to a myriad of data points. Few agencies are equipped to take the time to sift through all of this data to make recommendations. AI, however, is perfectly designed to do just that.

AI Can Expedite Processes

We’ve made this observation in the past. AI is not well-suited for intensive research, content development, or tackling any subject requiring nuance. It is, however, perfect at combining a large amount of data and making suggestions. AI allows SEO agencies to expedite some aspects of their day-to-day work and free time for more strategic tasks. Tasks like exploring potential content topics, outlining a blog, or researching semantically related keywords can likely be outsourced to AI in the future.

Now, it is essential to note that we would never recommend letting AI develop your website’s content schedule for the year without oversight. But AI can likely offer some brainstorming suggestions for topics and save you a lot of time.

What Not to Do

Don’t Overly Rely on AI

AI can supercharge your marketing efforts, but it is important to note that it can only partially replace what you are currently doing. Using AI to write blogs is certainly not something we recommend any business to consider now. AI can produce blogs, but the human component of content writing is truly irreplicable.

Your SEO content should always be geared towards your readers. AI-written content often delivers satisfactory information but needs an engaging style or tone. This tends to be one of the best ways of grabbing and keeping a user’s attention. As AI-produced web content becomes more common, we expect to see well-written and unique content separate itself from the pack. We might encourage you to play around with rough drafts and brainstorm with the help of AI, but replacing all content writing with robots will not endear you to your readers.

Don’t Fail to Double-Check AI’s Work

Let’s return to the idea of using AI for keyword generation. Suppose you want to target “SEO agency” search terms and let AI generate a list of keywords for you. Without much in the way of double-checking, you layer these keywords into your live Google Ad campaigns.

The approach seems to be all well and good until you look back and discover a problem. In our example, let’s say that AI suggested “SEO agencies hiring near me” as a keyword, and you added this keyword without a second thought. Now, your hiring team is inundated with applications for roles they’re hiring for and you’re wasting your marketing budget on these terms.

The example might be fictitious, but the lesson isn’t. AI is excellent at suggesting similar terms and expediting processes, but it will always require human oversight. Two search terms might be very similar in the eyes of AI but may not fit your overall needs.

Don’t Think AI Replaces Strategy

A well-polished marketing strategy is a huge asset for any business. However, researching, developing, planning, and approving a marketing strategy across multiple teams and business units takes much time and effort. Given that, it is easy for brands to fall into the trap of perfecting their tactics at the expense of strategy.

What does that look like? Marketing tactics are the HOW of your marketing. Email marketing, SEO, and branding are all tactics within a comprehensive marketing strategy. They are helpful vehicles to help drive your business forward, but the overarching goal, message, and measurement of your marketing strategy aren’t done at the tactical level. AI will give businesses much-needed aid in optimizing their marketing tactics, whether in SEO, web development, social media, or videography.

However, AI will always need help to develop and drive a full-funnel marketing strategy. Artificial intelligence might help expedite parts of the strategy, improve tactical executions, and streamline reporting, but it will never be able to replace a marketing strategy. As AI makes tactical executions easier, we expect to see more and more small businesses focus on marketing tactics at the expense of marketing strategy. That would be a huge mistake.

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