SEO content creation is fertile ground for AI. Language Learning Models (LLM) are having a moment, but their capacity for content is very real. SEO encourages keyword dense, formatting heavy writing which suits AI prompts and templates.
The primary contribution of AI to SEO was always going to be copywriting. Modern AI is capable of producing massive amounts of content at the push of a button. It has the potential to shred hours out of your SEO workload.
AI copywriters and scrapers are a great way to augment your SEO. They’ll save you valuable time and generate quality content relevant to keywords quick. But there is a downside to all this convenience: you can’t lose sight of your role as an editor.
How can AI work for your SEO? What should you beware of when using it? What AI tools will benefit your SEO?
Read on to find out more!
AI For SEO Copywriting – Dos and Don’ts
There are a few things you need to bear in mind before you start your journey with AI for SEO:
- The AI is not infallible. Most free versions of LLMs, such as ChatGPT, have a cut-off date far earlier than our own. If your envisioned SEO content is particularly focused on current affairs, it may not be for you.
- You’re only as good as your prompt. AI is interpreting your wishes based on a prompt. But no matter how specific your requests you can still hit hurdles. AI marketplaces can provide you with prewritten prompts that help iron out some of the kinks.
- AI struggles with word counts. If you have a specific word count in mind and want AI to carry you all the way, you’ll end up disappointed. Even putting your envisioned word count in your prompt is no guarantee of it being met.
With all this in mind, what can you do to get the most out of AI for SEO purposes?
- Always review your copy. Factual errors and simple formatting mistakes? About as common as they are when written by humans. Treat this article like you wrote it. Edit and read. Investigate things you’re not sure about.
- Supplement AI copy with your own. We live in the era of AI copy, but we won’t forever. It’s important to make sure all your articles still have the human touch. Writing your own introduction or letting the AI finish copy you’ve written? Great way to fill gaps in word count.
- Engineer your prompts. For best results out of AI copywriters, you need to know the ins and outs of good prompt engineering. ChatGPT responds well to templates you provide it – draft up a few! It doesn’t hurt to tell the AI to imagine itself as an SEO copywriter, either.
Now that you know a little about what the experience of using AI copywriters for SEO is like, what else is it good for?
Get Ahead Of Competitors With AI For SEO
Another little known use for AI in SEO is as an editor. With AI scraping tools, you’re able to break the best performing web pages for keywords down. Utilising them, you’ll be able to get ahead of the game: amending your own copy or rewriting it .
Keep in mind that AI for SEO competitor research isn’t a catch all solution. You can put out effective copy with rewriting and scraping. But it won’t solve other aspects of SEO that lead to pages ranking.
Like with AI copywriters, it’s best to treat these tools as purely content marketing ones.
So what can’t AI do for SEO?
You Will Not Be Replaced Any Time Soon
Any SEO marketers who have been reading so far might despair. But there is good reason to think you’re still going to be in a job next year. If you’ve picked up the thread going through this article, you know AI isn’t infallible. It can and will make mistakes.
But there’s also aspects of SEO that AI can’t do:
- Technical SEO. ChatGPT can provide basic tips and technical help, but it can’t do any of this for Backlink audits, page speed optimisation, and user experience are still in your hands.
- Backlink Building. Backlink building is begging for a human touch. It’s an exercise in networking and contacting. ChatGPT can supplement by scraping pages for contact emails and providing templates. The rest is all on you.
- Page Analysis. ChatGPT excels at individual technical tasks. But cut-off dates will restrict its ability to give topical SEO analysis of your copy and pages. It may still be able to identify problems like schema and formatting errors!
AI isn’t a crutch, and it won’t be threatening all your purview any time soon.
With these limitations in mind, let’s summarise.
What Can AI Tools Do For SEO?
At its best, AI can be utilised to really churn out quick and effective copy that a human editor combs over. It can also strengthen your own writing by picking apart a competitor’s article.
When looking for AI tools for SEO, always bear in mind that content marketing is king. For now, at least, humans still rule the technical.
