Since the release of ChatGPT in November 2022 the rise of AI has been meteoric. Speak to any industry right now and AI is bound to be one of the hot topics. SEO is no exception. SEO is an industry that has seen AI make a massive impact. AI-powered algorithms are being leveraged for keyword research, allowing for deeper analysis of search intent and competitor strategies.
The influence of AI on SEO is undeniable, creating a demand for professionals to master AI tools to gain a competitive advantage in the digital landscape. AI-led SEO processes are becoming more advanced and sophisticated but the contradiction of needing strong human influence is also becoming more prevalent.
Google's Search Generative Experience (SGE) is an upcoming technology that leverages AI to improve search results. SGE will analyse user queries and provide concise summaries directly within the results page.
This means potential customers could get answers to their questions without even needing to visit your website. It's crucial to optimise your content with this in mind to ensure you remain visible and capture the interest of those searching for information.
SGE introduces a lot of opportunities in the realm of digital marketing. By optimising your content to be easily understood and summarised by AI, you increase the likelihood of your website being featured in those handy answer boxes.
As SGE follows a more snippet-heavy approach there are more chances for smaller brands to appear in the SGE layout even for search terms where higher authority sites dominate the organic results currently.
SGE has been designed to favour trustworthy and reliable sources, in line with Google’s current guidelines. Businesses must continue to focus on building their reputation as thought leaders within their industry. This involves creating high-quality content, earning backlinks from reputable sites, and establishing a strong, authentic brand presence.
SGE is still experimental, and its full impact on SEO is yet to reach its potential. At ATG we are staying up to date on the latest developments and proactively adapting our approach to succeed in this evolving search landscape.
SGE isn’t the only area where AI is changing SEO. AI is already helping digital marketing specialists to streamline their processes. Here we’ll take a look at the key areas where AI is having the biggest impact.
AI is also powering predictive search term analysis. These tools help forecast upcoming keyword trends and pinpoint new opportunities for content creation. This allows SEO professionals to stay ahead of the curve, delivering relevant content just as search interest begins to rise.
This is the first thorny AI topic in SEO. AI can do a fantastic job helping you build an outline for your content, ensuring you include all the information the reader needs. This can greatly speed up the content-writing process and help you scale your content efforts. The quality of the content is still vitally important.
At the time of writing, Google has started the roll-out of its March 2024 core update. Once again spammy content is the main target of this update, stating that it will ‘reduce low-quality, unoriginal content in search results by 40%.’
Please note this is not targeted solely at AI content. Google is focusing on “scaled content abuse.” Just because you can scale your content creation, it doesn’t mean you have to. Your content still needs a purpose. Google says the new core update will allow them to take action on more types of content with little to no value created at scale, like pages that pretend to have answers to popular searches but fail to deliver helpful content.”
AI can also help you optimise existing content by pinpointing specific, actionable steps to improve its search engine performance. Again, please note that this is not about gaming the system but instead using AI to understand how your content can better serve the reader.
AI algorithms can simulate how search engine bots crawl your website, helping to determine which pages are most important based on factors like internal linking and content quality. This will help you make informed strategic improvements to site architecture for optimal search engine visibility.
AI-based tools can analyse the content on your site to understand the relationships between pages. This helps identify content gaps, opportunities for richer internal linking, and potential for topical clusters to boost your website’s authority on these topics.
AI in technical SEO can now provide a level of analysis and efficiency beyond manual identification of issues, saving time and leading to more targeted optimisations. There is still a need for human intervention to make use of the analysis but the time savers offered by AI are significant.
AI can analyse vast quantities of historical search data and user interactions. This is used to predict future trends, highlighting emerging keywords, changing user preferences, and potential seasonality shifts. Once again this is another great example of how AI can help you implement major time-saving processes.
You can also use AI to analyse both your website's data and overall trends to suggest tailored optimisation tactics with a projected impact on search performance. AI can be used to interrogate your data helping you make better informed decisions.
The increasing use of AI in SEO offers new opportunities for the automotive industry. Here are some of the ways we’re using AI in our SEO strategies for car dealerships and manufacturers.
AI algorithms can analyse local search patterns and help optimise your online presence for "near me" searches. This ensures your dealership appears prominently when potential customers search for cars in your area.
Visual search is becoming increasingly important for SEO, but facilitating standardised high-quality imagery and video can be time-consuming. AI can help you optimise your images and videos to increase vehicle clicks and interaction. If you’d like to learn more about this, our partners for AI-enabled video, Phyron can assist with this further. Contact a member of the team, who will be pleased to put you in touch.
AI provides incredible power for analysing keyword data. By understanding search patterns, website behaviour, and other online interactions, we can tailor recommendations, and offer relevant content, ultimately improving the customer experience.
As with any tool it can be misused. At the time of writing Google has just released their March 2024 Core Update and the main focus is targeting spammy and low-value content. This isn’t AI content specifically but there is a good percentage of content that has been solely created by AI and the value it is offering is questionable.
It's crucial to remember that AI is a powerful tool, but it cannot replace the experience and judgment of skilled SEO professionals. Human insight and critical thinking are essential for success, especially in this dynamic search landscape.
Concerns exist about AI potentially generating low-quality or inaccurate content. Prioritise quality over quantity, always fact-check information and strive to maintain your website's reputation as an authoritative source.
Understanding how Google evaluates content is vital. Ensure you stay up to date with Google's guidelines and recommended practices to avoid potential penalties or negative impacts on search rankings. Continue to ask yourself, is this content helpful and useful for the reader?
AI investment is increasing and we’re anticipating big changes throughout the industry as a result. There are many fantastic uses for the technology that can enhance the user experience on your website. The human element will remain crucial but embracing AI can help you increase efficiencies and supercharge your process.
To keep up to date with the latest SEO trends and insights, be sure to follow our company page on LinkedIn. If you’re an Automotive Transformation Group customer, you also have access to our Client Services Help Centre where we can assist you with SEO best practices and other helpful tips.
Similarly, if you’d like to learn more about Automotive Transformation Group’s digital marketing or AI solutions, contact a member of the team today.