The Usage of AI in SEO
Can machines think?
Some say yes, since machines can understand input, respond, and generate new and meaningful information. Others say no, since thinking is a function of the soul or living consciousness.
Whether they’re thinking or not, software programs are now “smart” enough to perform strategic, analytical, and creative thinking functions.
Artificial intelligence has advanced far enough to have practical applications in routine SEO work.
What is Artificial Intelligence (AI)?
Artificial intelligence refers to machine programming that simulates human intelligence, including thinking and decision-making. AI can also be seen as a collection of leading-edge technologies, including machine learning, natural language processing (NLP), speech recognition, machine vision, and more.
Introducing AI for SEO
AI SEO and content production technologies have been in use for some time. Google uses artificial intelligence to run its search engine algorithms. And over at IBM, the Watson platform facilitates AI-enhanced marketing and advertising.
But not all organizations have Google or IBM-level budgets and access to cutting-edge technology. As a result, commercial artificial intelligence applications were mostly reserved for enterprise-level solutions.
Thanks to tech advances, AI is being built specifically for SEO and content production.
So, what can it do?
AI for SEO can research, write, and edit. Basically, anything a person can do, AI can do to some extent. We can group its capabilities into three main areas: strategy, keyword research, and content creation.
AI for SEO Strategy
Analysis is a core function of artificial intelligence. Analytical AI capabilities like cognitive computing, machine learning, deep learning, natural language processing, and other technologies have direct applications to strategic and management-related SEO work. Here are a few use cases.
Opportunity Discovery
Taking the competitive edge often depends on finding content gaps and link-building opportunities. These have to balance low competition and high user interest while aligning with marketing goals.
Pre-AI, marketers had to do this all on their own. That meant hours, days, or weeks of crawling the web. But upgraded AI for SEO solutions will whip up a list of perfect opportunities for you.
User Experience
User experience matters to both humans and search engines. Basic writing and information hierarchy rules are timeless. But online interfaces and search engine standards can be difficult to keep up with.
AI content production tools will keep up with them for you.
Smart Website Audits
Website audits have devolved into a cursory website evaluation that generates a lengthy to-do list. AI for SEO changes that.
An AI-enabled website audit will analyze sites within the context of larger marketing, sales, and business goals and objectives.
Strategic Management and Maintenance
Content strategy includes ongoing analytical work to maintain and improve listings.
AI for SEO Keyword Research
AI’s text, voice, and sentiment analysis functions extract knowledge and insights from written or spoken language. Several SEO and marketing tools already use some form of natural language processing to understand social media conversations, customer reviews, and other chatter.
AI-enabled tools take those capabilities to the next level. When combined with holistic analysis and reflective intelligence, these tools can deliver precise and custom-tailored keyword recommendations.
Want your keyword research to give you more than trends and frequent searches? AI-enabled keyword research dives into searchers’ intent, driving ideas, opinions, biases, moods, and overall sentiment.
Plus, AI can predict which searches are most likely to trend next.
Artificial intelligence enables keyword research for written, typed, and voice-based search queries. Voice search analytics have been overlooked and neglected by solutions without AI capabilities.
AI for SEO Content Creation
Artificial intelligence does more than summarize meaning. Its deeper, more robust technologies can be used for creative applications such as idea development, article research, and writing.
Optimized Content Ideation and Research
Artificial intelligence can assess what the most effective content will be, making targeted recommendations on everything from topical clusters to which polarizing opinion to take.
AI SEO tools can also extract information, statistics, and insightful conclusions from the source material. Marketers can use these to slash workloads and improve their work’s relevance, quality, and impact.
AI Content Writing
The best versions of early automated content creation tools generated grammatically correct babble. Some marketers used these anyways to create keyword-stuffed filler and junk content. And it was easy to tell when they did.
AI content production has advanced significantly since then. It can be used for a range of writing tasks. These include:
- Outline generation
- Translations
- Title and meta-description writing
- Snippet, sentence, question, paragraph, and article writing
- Spelling, grammar, and readability fixes
AI for SEO tools analyze the intended audience, competitors, and current searches, then create a detailed outline with point-by-point guidelines for length, keyword use, and topical organization.
Solutions are advanced enough to write snippets, sentences, SEO questions, paragraphs, and entire articles. This is more than pleasant reading. AI SEO tools incorporate keyword analysis while tailoring content to meet strategic goals. This enables AI to write, assess, and refine titles and meta descriptions.
Most people are familiar with writing aid tools like Grammarly – a prominent AI first mover. Other solutions coming on the market are honed in on content writing for commercial purposes. Solutions may analyze content for meeting various search engine standards like Google’s E-A-T.
AI-enabled automated translations are here with much better results than previous translation tools. This capability is essential for companies operating in multi-lingual areas or planning to enter new markets. It’s another way that AI eliminates barriers and creates new possibilities.
Benefits of AI Content Production
Artificial intelligence and its practical applications represent a technological leap forwards. Much has been said about its potential use cases and benefits. But those discussions were purely theoretical until recent developments.
AI for SEO is still an emerging field. However, there are clear and practical benefits. These include enabling automated content generation and SEO workflows, improved results, and enhanced production capabilities.
Automated Content Generation
Various AI tools can generate automated content with little to no personal involvement. AI can write outlines, snippets, passages, descriptions, captions, titles, research summaries, and complete articles.
Marketing productivity, efficiency, and efficacy will skyrocket. Benefits can be achieved without full-scale use. Sparing yet tactical applications can be used to augment work in key areas.
AI for SEO can be used as a content assistant to get research done, help with brainstorming and ideation, create rough first drafts, or review work. Even the most talented writers need assistance from time to time. AI-driven content can eliminate routine headaches like writer’s block and plagiarism risks.
Automated SEO Workflows
AI content production solutions are built with automated workflows in mind. You can create in-app workflows or integrate them with other tools to automate the entire content creation process.
Most of these solutions are built on open architecture to facilitate integration with other tools and apps. You can customize automated workflows for end-to-end SEO work or integrate content creation with sales, customer service, finance, and other operational areas.
Better SEO Results and Marketing Metrics
Artificial intelligence solutions are smart and responsive, working in real-time to assess the digitalized world, evaluate results, and refine operations. This results in continuous performance optimization.
Adopting an AI-driven content approach will deliver immediate results with ongoing improvements.
Benefits to expect include:
- Increased organic site traffic and conversions
- More precise lead generation for higher lead quality
- On-page optimization for a better user experience
Artificial intelligence does as it’s told, directing its computing power at the targets and goals you provide. Give it instructions related to the metrics and KPIs that matter to you, and it will deliver.
Continual SEO Work
Artificial intelligence programs don’t tire, sleep, need time off, or go on vacation. This is perfect for SEO.
SEO is a competitive game where ranking in the first place doesn’t necessarily mean much after a few days. Content marketers who want to stay on top have to do ongoing audience insight, keyword performance analysis, gap research, and content rewriting. AI SEO tools can do this continuously without interruption.
AI tools can spit out content that ranks and then keep it on top with active research, editing, and rewriting. AI content production is shaping up as the best way to dominate search engine results.
SEO Content Production at Scale
Applying artificial intelligence to content production allows it to be done at scale. And smart automation at scale delivers transformational benefits.
AI can be leveraged to extend departmental capabilities, shore up talent and skill gaps, and lower overhead costs. Marketers can run full-fledged yet lean content production operations without incurring the financial and HR burden of hiring employees.
Cliqer Enables AI Content Production
AI-driven content is a game-changer. Marketers now have advanced computing power and deep machine-learning intelligence at their fingertips. These solutions can be leveraged to enable more precise and effective SEO work that’s automated and at scale.
AI SEO tools are now affordable and accessible. And with technology largely democratized, the new competitive difference lies in how quickly and strategically solutions are implemented.
Contact Cliqer to discover more about strategic AI for SEO use in your organization.