There’s been a lot of talk surrounding the development of AI tools designed to reduce employee workload and improve the customer experience. However, few marketers discuss how it will impact existing SEO practices.
In this article, we’ll discuss emerging SEO strategies and how you can lean on AI and machine learning to implement them.
What Is Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning?
Artificial intelligence is a type of computer science designed to mimic and improve upon human knowledge and performance. Machines and software programmed with artificial intelligence can make decisions, perform tasks, and provide recommendations like a human would.
One well-known tool that relies on artificial intelligence is ChatGPT.
This smart text-generation platform can perform tasks that only humans were previously capable of, like writing computer code or lengthy essays. While it isn’t infallible, its speed and vast knowledge make it a helpful assistant for people needing help writing an email or a product description.
Machine learning is another form of computer science that often helps power artificial intelligence systems. It gradually “learns” from each user interaction when implemented into a software program. As it grows “smarter,” the software responds with improved accuracy, helping it minimize mistakes.
An example of machine learning in action is the Netflix recommendation engine. As subscribers watch TV shows and movies, Netflix learns what type of content they enjoy the most. It uses that information to recommend other movies and TV shows the person will likely appreciate.
Implementing AI and Machine Learning into Your SEO Practices
Previously, SEO strategies relied on a combination of factors that required much human intervention. Selecting keywords and topics related to the website, writing relevant content, and off-page SEO techniques like backlinks were critical to improving a page’s ranking on Google.
While those tactics remain important, AI and machine learning can help you perform them faster and more accurately. Rather than spending hours selecting the right keywords for your newest article, you can turn to AI tools that provide similar results in mere seconds.
Search engines have been quick to adopt AI and machine learning into their results, serving up lists of pages most likely to relate to the user’s intent. We’ll likely see their technology continue to improve in the coming months and years, which makes it imperative for competitive organizations to create relevant content.
Here are a few tips for incorporating emerging SEO strategies into your marketing toolbox.
1. Use AI Tools for Keyword Research
Website startups often take a randomized approach to keyword research, leaving them struggling to compete with industry giants with similar content.
Selecting keywords you think users will search for to find your blogs and articles is no longer a viable strategy. In the worst cases, you’ll spend hours or weeks writing content only to discover that it doesn’t lead to any new website traffic.
A keyword research tool incorporating AI can expedite your keyword research and provide you with options relevant to your target audience and market focus. Once you select a keyword, it can provide you with a list of related terms you should include for the best chances of ranking on the search engines.
AI and machine learning tools don’t stop with simple keyword research. They can also help you optimize your content.
For instance, you might use an AI tool to generate a content brief. This document will outline the topics to include within your article for maximum reader engagement based on the AI tool’s understanding of other users who read similar articles.
AI tools can also help you create meta tags and headings. By analyzing your completed page, it can recommend tags that will generate higher rankings for specific searches and headers that keep readers engaged from the beginning of your content to the end.
2. Seek New Content Recommendations
Are you struggling to come up with a topic for your next website article? AI can help.
Some AI tools will analyze the existing content on your website to find where you’re missing information your readers want. Using data gleaned from user behaviors and interactions, it provides you with a list of ideas you can use for your next article. That’s much easier than brainstorming new topics manually.
Personalized content recommendations are also possible for website owners who use email to stay in contact with their customers.
Based on the client’s previous browsing and reading history, the AI tool can create a customized email suited for each subscriber’s interactions. For instance, if two clients recently searched your e-commerce site for a swimsuit and a rain jacket, you could send each a different email offering a discount for the specific item they viewed.
3. Adopt Predictive SEO
One of the most influential emerging SEO strategies is predictive SEO.
Predictive SEO involves using AI to predict new trends or topics that are gaining interest among your prospective audience. Using the information from the software, you can quickly create content that captures their interest and stay ahead of your competitors.
For example, imagine that you have a website devoted to weight loss and fitness.
If you’re using AI software incorporating predictive SEO, it might identify hot and cold contrast therapy as a trending search item among runners. You could use that information to create a video or blog post discussing the benefits of contrast therapy for workout recovery before your competitors do.
Predictive SEO has other benefits as well. If you incorporate it into your marketing strategies, you can stay ahead of updates that may impact your rankings for content you have on your website.
Let’s say you have an existing article on the keto diet that ranks well. However, your AI tool suggests that people are looking for information about combining keto with intermittent fasting. You could update your article to include those details and potentially increase your rankings.
4. Think of Voice Search Users
Not everyone turns to text input for their internet searches. People looking for information while on the go often seek help from voice search assistants like Siri or Alexa, especially when driving or performing other activities.
While not every piece of content you create will be appropriate for voice search users, some will. For instance, someone searching for an Indian restaurant in their vicinity will likely use voice search for help. Similarly, finding a recipe that uses certain ingredients can be accomplished through a voice assistant.
An AI tool can help you identify the phrases and terms a voice search user will likely use when seeking information.
Unlike internet searchers, most voice search users speak in complete sentences rather than using a string of words. For instance, they might ask Siri, “What type of vegetable has the most vitamin C in it?” rather than using terms like “vegetables vitamin C.”
With help from your AI-powered SEO tool, you can find those voice search phrases and incorporate them into your content to attract more visitors.
5. Implement Conversational AI Chatbots
Few consumers want to spend time calling or emailing your company’s customer service department unless they have to. By implementing an AI-powered chatbot into your website, you’ll reduce client frustration and resolve simple inquiries without having to handle them manually.
Well-developed AI chatbots use machine learning to get to know your customers and what they need help with. Over time, they improve their ability to respond accurately to questions.
You can learn a lot from your clients’ questions. The information you glean will help you improve your site’s existing content and provide new articles or videos that offer supplementary answers to their inquiries.
While AI chatbots won’t directly improve your search engine rankings, they allow you to better understand your clients. That information can help you develop more cohesive content for your website that enhances your search relevancy for important keywords. When done correctly, you’ll see an increase in your search rankings over time.
Stay on Top of Emerging SEO Strategies to Optimize Your Website Rankings
The evolution of AI and machine learning is quickly changing how people interact with the internet. It’s likely that old SEO strategies will gradually lose their importance, and that organizations that look to the future and learn to leverage AI and machine learning in their SEO practices will benefit most from them.
Remaining mindful of emerging SEO strategies and implementing them into your marketing practices can help you maintain your current rankings — and potentially improve them. Use these tips as a starting point, and determine where AI and machine learning can benefit your organization’s SEO.
