AI is Changing the SEO Game – Should You Be Wary?

Artificial intelligence is an inevitable concept. As technology rapidly evolves, we are becoming more and more reliant on computer-spawned innovation as a convenient and efficient alternative to human labor.

“AI” is a blanket term that actually covers many types of technology, from self-driving cars to personal assistants like Alexa to online customer support systems. And now, the topic is on the lips of every person working in Internet-based fields, as AI is changing the world of Search Engine Optimisation and digital marketing as we know it.

Artificial Intelligence is a double-edged sword, as the risk of wholly automated content could make our jobs irrelevant. But as threatening as it may seem, it can also be very beneficial for digital marketers.

Here are a few ways that AI technology can help boost your SEO strategy:

• It makes search engines more “human.” As we’ve previously noted, searches are now utilizing Latent Semantic Indexing (LSI) to search for content rather than keywords, which allows web searches to match the user’s intent.
• As a result, this makes for better content that reads and flows more naturally. Without keywords stuffed at every turn, you can write in a more organic tone while still trusting that search engines will pick up what you’re putting down.
• AI provides more reliable predictive analytics. This gives marketers a better idea about which audiences will likely become customers or which customers will become repeat customers based on past information. It helps narrow our target demographics and look at our campaign history to speculate future leads.
• If anything, AI makes our jobs more critical (and our campaigns more successful) because we now have an opportunity to appeal to people on the computer, NOT the computers themselves. If searches are becoming humanized and more intelligent, our likelihood of reaching the right audience improves.

With that in mind, quite a bit of strategy is still required when crafting digital content in AI.

Here are some considerations when developing your web presence and SEO tactics:

• Make sure to answer questions better than competitors. Search results are your chance to stand out from your competition, but only if you provide the information that users are searching for. So be sure your content answers the right questions in the right (read: easily understandable and straightforward) way.
• Put more focus on visual content. The juxtaposition of quality graphics and text fares well in the current system of search engine rankings. Articles with images and videos will be your friend when you try to get your content seen amongst all the other competing material.
• Get back to basics. What attracts people? How would you find your voice if you were creating content for a magazine (or some other platform with no need for SEO as we use it)? What tone would you embrace, and what content would you highlight? When crafting content filtered by knowledgeable and “human-like” systems, these questions are highly relevant.
• Avoid black hat tactics like the plague. Using such “unethical” methods is inadvisable, but AI integration makes the process even more demanding (and therefore less appealing). As search engine algorithms improve, they will also become more adept at understanding and stopping black hat methods.

Until machines start creating all content independently and AI spawns its search algorithms, we’ll continue to tell ourselves that AI’s place within seo company melbourne is positive.

So don’t be scared just yet– embrace the power of Artificial Intelligence if you want to boost your web strategy. And for even more help, contact Search Marketing Group today!