What is AI?

AI - Artificial Intelligence refers to intelligent machines that could perform tasks that usually require human intelligence, such as speech recognition, visual perception, decision-making, language translation, etc. Artificial intelligence is built using data processing and complex algorithms that can take a set of data, analyze it, process it, and learn from it.

AI is set to play an important role in every aspect of technology and software. Search engine optimization is one of them. AI-powered tools will be in the picture in the future, and they will help businesses optimize their online visibility and have a competitive edge.

AI SEO / AI in SEO: what is it?

Artificial Intelligence in SEO refers to using ML (Machine Learning) and NLP (Natural Language Processing) to analyze and optimize a website's content for search engines. There are multiple areas where AI is being applied in today’s world. Some areas where AI is used are keyword research and optimization, content creation, on-page optimization, off-page optimization, rank tracking, and reporting. We will be discussing these in detail going forward.

Mostly the process is just to remove the redundant work incurred in SEO. AI-powered tools help automate everything, spot trending topics, discover content gaps and help optimize various vertices of SEO efficiently. You might say that AI SEO is the "brain" of modern search engine marketing.

Why is AI SEO Important?

SEO is an important part of the organic growth of a website and with ever-increasing complexity in search engine algorithms, it is necessary to use AI technology. AI can be used to identify patterns and analyze vast amounts of data. It allows users to make informed decisions and automate many tasks. With AI tools, we can gain an advantage over our competitors and increase our visibility, increase revenue, and make more sales.

Use of AI in SEO

SEO specialists do not need to rely on gut instincts or luck to find a perfect topic for their content. AI has bridged the gap, and it lets us discover trending topics, recognize the gaps in content, and generate high-quality content, all with substantially less effort and time.

1. CONTENT CREATION

• Trending Topics & Content Gaps

Finding topics that can be relatable to your audience can be difficult sometimes. Still, Artificial Intelligence powered tools such as BuzzSumo and Ahrefs can help you find the right topics which are trending in your industry. Similar tools also help in doing content gap analysis, which analyzes and points out competitors’ keywords and topics that rank them higher and aren’t used on your website. These procedures are only going to get fluid as we move on. Open AI has recently introduced plugins for third-party developers to integrate their apps directly to ChatGPT - their sensational chatbot.

• Content Generation

Your content creation part can be speed tracked with the help of AI-Powered tools such as ChatGPT and WordTune. The content generated might look amazing, but it’s always better to use these tools as a helping hand. They will help you to structure your content nicely and at the same time, they will provide relevant points on the topic. Ultimately, you have to be your own ‘QuillBot’ and polish up the results you get from ChatGPT and WordTune. Add the extra expertise you have on the results like ‘seasoning’ on top to set your content to stand out.

2. CONTENT OPTIMIZATION

To rank on the top of SERPs (Search Engine Result Pages), your content has to be optimized to perfection. High-quality content is just half the journey. AI-powered tools have to be used to bring that extra perfection making it attractive for the users as well as the search engines.

• Keywords & Keyphrases

Want to hit the sweet spot with keyword placement? You can try out AI-powered tools such as MarketMuse and Clearscope. These tools help you analyze the content you wrote (or ChatGPT!) and provide insights on keyword placements and their usage, ensuring that you do not overuse it.

• Internal Links

Internal linking is undervalued in SEO since it spreads link equity among your pages and aids search engines in understanding the structure of your site. Managing internal links can be a daunting task, especially for large websites. AI tools made this process smooth. Whisper is an AI-powered tool that has the ability to analyze your content, and make suggestions on relevant links which can improve the website’s user experience and crawl ability.

• Optimum Content-Length

You can use AI-powered tools such as Surfer to determine the top-ranked content based on your keywords. It would give access to an ideal content length for the keywords that you are targeting. If your content length is equal to or higher than the top-ranked content, then there are chances that your content is likely to get ranked higher in the SERPs going forward, provided the content has depth and relevancy, rather than being just fluff.

3. TECHNICAL SEO

• Duplicate Content

Duplicate content can lead to low ranking on SERPs. The Search engines won’t crawl your website if they find duplicate content. But tools like Copyscape leverage ML to identify duplicate content on your website, and would help you to resolve these problems to maintain cleaner, well-optimized content.

• Speed Optimization

A slow-loading website is one of the major reasons for high bounce rates. AI-powered tools like Google’s PageSpeed insights and GTMetrix can help you with identifying the bottlenecks in your website, provide insights on the areas of improvement and suggest practical solutions to boost your website.

• Site Structure & Navigation

It is very easy for users as well as search engines to navigate through a well structured website. AI can optimize your website’s structure, the flow of content and the navigation, and it makes sure the website is easy to crawl.

• Crawling & Indexing

For SEO to succeed, ensuring your website is crawled and indexed effectively is rudimentary. AI-powered tools such as OnCrawl can help you understand how search engines are crawling your website. It helps you structure and optimize your website better, which would improve the website’s indexability. These tools would help you realize the frequency and errors of crawls on your website.

4. USER EXPERIENCE

• Mobile Friendly

You can easily expect more than half of your traffic from mobile devices. In that case, you must ensure your website is well-optimized for mobile devices. It’s no longer an option but a necessity. AI-powered tools like Google’s mobile-friendly test and BrowserStack can help you ensure your website works seamlessly on a wide range of mobile devices.

5. VOICE SEARCH SEO

According to Statista, there will be an astounding 8.4 billion users of digital voice assistants worldwide by 2024. With numbers like this, voice search optimization for your website is not simply a fad but a requirement.

• Structured Data & Rich Snippets

Providing quick, concise answers to the user is the way to master voice search. Structured Data and Rich Snippets can help search engines understand your content in a better manner. And yes, AI-powered tools can help you implement structured data on your site. It is an automated process that ensures your mark up is accurate and up-to-date.

• Voice-Optimized SEO Content

By analyzing user intent, finding frequently asked queries, and offering suggestions on how to structure your content for voice search, writing tools with built-in AI (like Lex Page) can assist you in creating material that is voice search-friendly.

Benefits of AI in SEO

• Increased efficiency: 

AI-powered tools can analyze vast amounts of data and perform complex tasks in a fraction of the time it would take a human. This can help businesses save time and resources and focus on other aspects of their business.

• Improved accuracy:

AI-powered tools can analyze data with a higher degree of accuracy than humans. This can help businesses make more informed decisions and improve the effectiveness of their SEO strategies.

• Better insights: 

AI-powered tools can provide businesses with valuable insights into their target audience, competitors, and industry trends. This can help businesses make data-driven decisions and stay ahead of the competition.

• Enhanced user experience: 

By optimizing their content and website for search engines, businesses can improve the user experience for their target audience. This can lead to increased engagement, conversions, and customer loyalty.

Conclusion

It's quite self-explanatory that the future of SEO lies in the hands of Artificial Intelligence. These two disciplines can help you create robust SEO strategies to help you rank on top.