If only I had been given £1 each time I heard that SEO is dead…
Many have been banging that drum for years. I have always maintained that bad SEO is (thankfully) dead, but that good SEO is as potent as ever and there can surely be no doubt that search engines remain the greatest driver of high quality traffic for any website? Ignoring the potential that SEO offers feels like a very, very short sighted strategy to me.
I also wish that I could somehow monetise the constant noise about artificial intelligence (AI) that has filled my eardrums in recent years. I should hold up my hands and acknowledge that we have contributed to this noise, but I am sure I am not alone in thinking that it is frequently overhyped and is not actually the catalyst for a transition to a dystopian future where the robots will rise above mankind. I will just quietly ignore this.
Whilst I still cling to the belief that our grey cells will ultimately be superior to machines, I have a growing respect for AI and, terrifying though it can be, cannot deny that it is going to have a significant impact on SEO. I do not think that it is all bad news though as SEO has always been based around algorithms and AI is simply supercharging the way in which search engines can scale and improve what they do.
Rather than spell out the reasons why I fear that AI will make us all redundant, I wanted to share a Friday morning download of 8 areas where I believe that AI and SEO actually work well together and how AI will ultimately benefit search engine users:
1] Improved Search Algorithms
AI can be used to enhance search engine algorithms at speed. The sheer volume of data that can be processed and the layer of ‘intelligence’ that can be applied should help refine the search experience and help users find what they are looking for.
2] Natural Language Processing
One of the reasons that I have always said that grey cells are better than lots of 1’s and 0’s is our ability to interpret language. Nuance is really difficult for a binary machine to really understand and humans are vastly better at understanding thing like irony / sarcasm, or knowing that ‘wicked’ does not always actually mean evil. AI has definitely improved the way in which algorithms interpret natural language queries. Just have a play with ChatGPT if you want to see this for yourself. Again, this should help provide better search results.
3] Voice Search
Although I have always felt that voice search is anther over-hyped aspect of SEO, the growth of Siri, Alexa and Google Assistant is impressive and language used in voice commands is often slightly different to typed search queries. AI based analysis appears to be better at dealing with the variety of noise signals that are uttered by people and this improved understanding of the actual search intent helps deliver improved responses.
4] Personalised Search Results
In the ideal world, we should all see highly personalised search results as it means that the search engine understands what I am looking for. Search has been personalised for some time, but AI’s ability to scale and think a bit harder than a rigid algorithm should help accelerate this personalisation and we will all be enjoying a vastly improved search experience.
5] Content Creation
This is a controversial one as I fear that lazy marketers will simply press the go button on AI content machines and produce tidal waves of distinctly average content, but AI tools are actually very good at analysing huge amounts of data that can help with content ideation. AI is a tool and I think the end result will depend heavily on the skill of the operator, but I have been impressed by the ability of AI tools to help when researching a topic. Used correctly, AI will help us write better content, which is definitely a good thing for search engine users.
6] Efficiency
This is closely linked with the point above, but AI tools / platforms can most definitely help speed up aspects of the work that we do as digital marketers. As with content creation, there is definitely a risk that the lazy operator will fall into the trap of not applying the grey cells, but efficient working is definitely a good thing as freeing up time to be more creative / strategic by offloading repetitive, time-consuming tasks to the machines is a good thing.
7] User Experience Optimisation
Closely linked to the personalisation of search results, AI platforms can do a very good job of analysing a massive amount of user engagement metrics to improve the usability of a website to match individual user needs. Why does that matter to SEO? An improved user experience (e.g. reduced bounce rate) can positively impact search rankings.
8] Image / Video Search
AI technologies such as computer vision have greatly improved the ability for search engines to understand the imagery and video content. It used to be near impossible for search engines to interpret images or videos that didn’t have a transcript, but the AI brain now allows them access to this treasure trove of content that gives a greater range of options to the search engine users.
In my humble opinion, the rise of AI is an evolution rather than a revolution. The examples above show that AI will shape the future direction of search engine marketing, but it is primarily a case of the search engines doing what they have always done, but at a scale and speed that is both eye watering and reliant on the powers that AI offer. The fundamental aspiration of the search engines, which is to deliver the best possible results to their users, has not changed.
The same should be said for how the digital marketer should respond to the rise of the machines. AI is simply helping the search engines identify and categorise the best websites. Your focus should therefore very much remain on understanding your user needs and publishing class leading websites that are rich in amazing content. AI should be used to help this process, but it should not be seen as a silver bullet that will remove the need to exercise the grey cells.