Is AI On Its Way to Replacing Written SEO?
For a social media manager, the internet is our #1 tool. We wouldn’t be able to do our jobs without it. A sizeable part of what we do as SMMs and copywriters is focused on search engine optimization (SEO) to push our client’s content to the top of search results pages. So how is SEO potentially changing? We’ll give you a hint: robots. Continue reading for the inside scoop. 👀
AI’S IMPACT ON WRITTEN SEO
ChatGPT is the talk of the town. This AI program can instantaneously produce as little or as much information as you need on any topic, all written extremely logically and coherently. Here’s an example:
But here’s where it gets tricky. Since AI can clearly produce extensive, quality information at just the click of a button, wouldn’t that be better to use for creating search engine-optimized copy (ie blog posts) than spending hours researching and writing on our own? Yes, in theory, using AI to write SEO would take a ton of work off of our plates. We’ve even outlined in a recent blog post a few ways that we’ve specifically used AI for SEO-related purposes.
However, we have two main concerns when it comes to fully leveraging AI for SEO:
Artificial intelligence can’t browse the web or access external information, making us hesitant to rely on it when it comes to keyword research. In fact, we’ve noticed some discrepancies between the search volume and competition score it reports versus reports from trusted sources like UberSuggest.
Natural language processing (NLP) makes using AI for SEO purposes difficult. Natural language processing is the branch of AI that helps computer systems understand language and text like a human being would, but it’s far from perfect, especially when it comes to implementing its understanding of human language into the copy generated. It lacks that personal touch that, as of right now, only humans and expert creatives can truly evoke.
THE IMPORTANCE OF NATURAL LANGUAGE FOR SEO
Thanks to Google’s Search Quality Rater Guidelines, we know that Google advises publishers to produce helpful, people-first content that demonstrates:
Expertise
Authoritativeness, and
Trustworthiness
These are all criteria that are better exemplified by a real human being with real-world experience.
In most cases, it's pretty obvious when search results are authentic and created by humans, and we tend to trust those sites over the AI-produced competitor. No matter how capable AI becomes, it’ll never be able to replicate the personality and thoughtfulness of the writing of a real person, and Google’s algorithm will be able to see right through that, too. So although AI could be a great starting point for copywriting, copying and pasting AI-generated content may actually harm your SEO strategy, due to the limited ability of NLP and AI overall at this point in time.
WHAT WE CAN EXPECT FOR THE FUTURE
Now that we’ve established that AI shouldn’t be fully relied on for the creation of search engine optimized content, let’s dive into our predictions for the future. Until there is a drastic boost in the abilities of AI to produce accurate keyword research and curate authentic language that captures the essence of unique brand voices, we don’t see how AI could take over SEO entirely.
It’s clear that SEO is best written by people with an accurately researched keyword strategy and deeper knowledge and voice in their respective organizations. Therefore, for your SEO strategy to actually work and your content to occupy one of the top positions on the search results page, one needs to produce thoughtful, keyword-driven copy - something that AI can’t do yet. Your real, authentic voice is valuable and should be heard.
Looking to outsource blog writing for your company? Head to our digital marketing services page to discover how our expertise can help your blogs get the most traffic possible. We’d make a great team.
xx,
The Homies