When it comes to AI and SEO, there’s many saying that it’s going to make SEO experts’ and SEO consultants’ jobs redundant. But I usually say there’s a place for most things. And I think this one can have its place.
But it’s not the be-all and end-all, and I can’t see it replacing SEO experts. But if you combine SEO and AI with your knowledge and expertise, it could be a powerful tool.
Search intent
A big part of SEO is understanding searcher intent and ensuring you’ve got the right Keyword Strategy that matches your ideal client’s intent when they’re searching for what you do/sell.
And the most important aspects are search volume, how competitive the keyword is and whether you can rank for it.
If you’ve already got this key information, then you could use it to help you write your:
- Blog posts
- Sales pages
- Lead magnets
- Emails
- Newsletters
But I would use them only as a jumping-off point. Still, be prepared to put some time and effort, i.e. your knowledge and expertise, into the post/page.
Content marketing
Would I publish a blog post written by AI without any intervention by me? Hell no!
I wouldn’t even let it write a meta description without editing it, probably because AI is too stuffy and bland for my brand tone.
Quality content marketing material over quantity
Remember, it’s quality content over quantity too.
You might be able to produce long-form content with AI copywriting tools, but is it top-notch quality?
By the time you quality check what an AI writing assistant has produced, would it have been quicker for you to write it in the first place? Or outsource to a content writer or blog writer?
They’re a couple of questions to ask yourself. And I suppose it will depend on where your strengths are.
AI can be good for content creation if you’re staring at a blank screen and have writer’s block to get you going with some ideas or topics to which to apply your knowledge and expertise.
So, if you can write more quality content but can’t do it as often as what you could with AI, then I’d go with quality. Or look at combining the two.
Remember to apply E-E-A-T:
- Experience – writing or speaking from your experiences
- Expertise – show that you’re an expert in your field and be able to back it up with the content you produce and what you link to and quote
- Authority – comes from producing accurate and on point content with quality backlinks
- Trust – includes you, your content and the overall website and becomes the go to in your industry
When you are true to your goals and values, it’s easy, really.
Use AI for the technical aspects
Apparently, you can use AI to generate code, schema and the like for you when it comes to your SEO.
This isn’t something I’ve tried, and I don’t know if I would. As if it goes south, it could be more trouble than it’s worth.
But I’d love to hear about your experiences if you’ve used AI for technical SEO.
AI and keywords
I can’t say this enough – your keywords are the foundation for everything when it comes to your website and web copywriting.
But many small business owners struggle with finding the right keywords if they don’t have the budget to outsource it.
I recently came across Twinword and gave it a whirl for digital marketing as a keyword.
Twinword gives you some stats, which are great, as some free tools don’t. You receive information on:
- Average monthly searches
- SEO competition – how many websites are trying to rank for this term
- Paid competition
- Keyword score – which ones are relevant to include in your content
- Title score – which keywords are best for your title
- Relevance
How accurate are AI tools when it comes to SEO?
Unfortunately, not very from my experience when it comes to the search term “digital marketing.”
According to the AI tool, there are 14,800 searches per month for digital marketing. But compared to SEMrush, a very well know SEO software, there are only 9,900 searches per month.
As you can see below, some of the other search terms varied greatly too:
But what the AI tool doesn’t give you, which I’ve mentioned before, is searcher intent, which is an integral part of a Keyword Strategy and your website copywriting.
But again, as a starting point for keyword research, AI could be a good option for you. It’s not necessarily the best option for keyword research, but if it’s all you have to work with to write your copy and craft your web pages, then run with it.
A start on your SEO journey is better than perfect.
What have I used AI for in my small business?
I’ll admit I’ve played around with it in my business when it comes to:
- blog post ideas
- meta descriptions
- page titles tags
- social media captions
When you work for yourself, AI makes a good sounding board. And it will even tell me how awesome I am if I ask it too. So, really a solopreneur best friend. 😉
But as I said above, they’re only starting off points and need a lot of soul, personality and brand voice added to them.
