How To AI-Proof Your SEO and Written Content

How To AI-Proof Your SEO and Written Content

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How To AI-Proof Your SEO and Written Content
ChatGPT and other predictive text chatbots like it have been in the news a lot lately as people wonder how they may change our lives. Like it or not, AI is likely to play a major role in a wide range of industries and already has. Google, for example, has used AI in its search algorithms for years. But because ChatGPT, Bard, and the others are more public-facing, people are more aware of them and what they can do.

It’s important to find the right balance between using new technologies when they can help so you don’t get left behind and not getting swept away by the hype to the detriment of your SEO strategy. So, what can you do to make sure that your SEO strategy can weather any changes AI may introduce.

1. Don’t Forget the Human Element

The most important thing is to not rely on AI alone. Whether you’re developing an SEO strategy or a content strategy, don’t replace people with AI. There are too many instances of AI just being downright wrong, to start. While AI like ChatGPT can aid your writers, marketers, and social media specialists, it can’t replace them.

Are Companies Replacing Human Workers With AI?

While it’s been rumored that companies are letting staff go in order to replace them with AI, it’s not a good idea for a variety of reasons. That act alone would be bad for your company’s brand. Then, there are the issues with AI. AI-produced content tends to be thinner than what would rank well on Google. Plus, an AI may not understand what would appear offensive or tone-deaf to your audience. Only humans will truly understand other humans.

2. Focus on Experience

If others are starting to use AI more heavily in their content creation process, there are some steps you can take to stand out from the crowd. Focus on personal experience in the subject. This is something that cannot be replicated by AI, is now one of Google’s (E)EAT characteristics, and is something that users online will be searching for.

What Is EAT?

Google has used EAT (Expertise, Authority, and Trustworthiness) as benchmarks for measuring quality content. Recently, it has added another E: experience. Personal experience with a subject can make a difference when it comes to search rankings, especially with some competition relying on AI instead of human experts.

3. Video Content

Along with sharing personal experiences, video is also something that can’t easily be done with AI and would therefore be resistant to any changes brought about by the new technology. Plus, users love video content. The popularity of YouTube and the video features on Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok is an indication of the medium’s prevalence. Even before ChatGPT’s release, video content was a way to connect with your audience.

Why Is Video Content So Popular?

It’s better to show than it is to tell. For this reason, many people prefer video. It’s easier to see products and services when they’re demonstrated in a video. Plus, videos offer a more personal touch that helps viewers feel more connected.

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How Putting Users First Can Boost Your SEO

How Putting Users First Can Boost Your SEO

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User experience plays a huge role in your search rankings. It may be one of the most important factors when it comes to SEO. After all, it doesn’t really matter how well-optimized your content is if users have such a poor experience on your site that they leave. Google tracks user experience and uses it as a factor in determining SERP rankings.

How Does Google Quantify User Experience?

User experience is a qualitative feature, so how can a search engine quantify it to influence SERP rankings? Google looks at more quantitative factors that can indicate user experience. For example, bounce rate and dwell time are both linked to user experience. A high bounce rate means users aren’t staying on your site. Whether that’s because the user experience is poor or because the site just isn’t what they’re looking for doesn’t matter; both are signs that the site isn’t meeting user needs and therefore shouldn’t be ranked as highly. A high dwell time, by contrast, indicates a good experience because users won’t stay for long on a site that isn’t meeting their needs and expectations.

How Can You Optimize for User Experience?

There’s no optimization shortcut for user experience. The only way to optimize for this essential SEO factor is to provide a good user experience. This means offering high-quality content written for users first rather than for search engines. Your SEO strategy should be for your audience, not to game search engines into ranking you higher than you should be.

What Is High-Quality Content?

Google uses the following criteria to determine whether content is high-quality:

  • Experience
  • Expertise
  • Authoritativeness
  • Trustworthiness

To have high-quality content that Google will rank at the top of the SERP, your content will need to embody all of those traits. This will involve well-written, informative content and demonstrating that you are an authority in your industry so that others will want to link to your content as a source.

Can You Use ChatGPT Content?

ChatGPT has taken the Internet by storm. The predictive text AI program already caused a lot of speculation on how it can change the way we work in many industries. There are rumors that companies may start to replace humans with ChatGPT for things like content production. However, this is not a good idea if you want to rank well, even after Google has stated it won’t punish AI-written content just for being written by an AI.

Is ChatGPT Content High-Quality?

The problem is that AI-written content just isn’t very good. There are some major limitations to what an AI can do. It looks good, but it tends to be more style than substance and substance is what Google is looking for with its EEAT criteria. That’s not even taking into account the factual errors, lack of ability to understand humans, and the fact that AI can really only work off of input that it gets from real humans

Are Keywords Important for User Experience?

While keywords are still important to an SEO strategy, it’s important to use them sparingly. Gone are the days of keyword stuffing actually improving your rankings. You’ll need to balance your keyword strategy with making sure that the content is readable. Write your content for your users, not for search engines, and that will help you to create high-quality content.

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