How AI will change the future of SEO

18 July 2023
8 minutes

AI is changing the way content marketers think about SEO

If you’re like most content marketers, you’ve probably heard a lot about how AI can improve your workflow, speed up publishing, and make your content more competitive. But AI can also deliver major benefits for your SEO strategy. Are you looking for some ways to adjust your SEO strategy to incorporate new AI technologies?

As we delve into the future of SEO, it’s clear that AI will play a pivotal role in shaping it. This article explores how AI will change the future of SEO, providing insights into the transformative potential of this technology. We will look at how AI is changing the way marketers approach SEO and how you can benefit from it.

Key takeaways:

  • AI is revolutionising the way search engines operate, with Google’s RankBrain using machine learning to deliver more relevant results.
  • The technology has automated many tasks in SEO, including keyword research and content optimisation, making these processes more efficient.
  • It plays a crucial role in understanding and processing voice queries, which often tend to be more conversational and longer than text-based queries.
  • AI is not just about task automation; it’s about understanding user intent and creating engaging content.
  • Learn 5 ways you can leverage AI to improve your SEO strategy right now.
  • Check out our lists of AI tools that can help you with everything from keyword research to voice search-optimisation.
  • While AI can automate many tasks and processes, it cannot replace the human touch in SEO.
a graphic of seo on a cloud with a computer

AI-powered search algorithms

Search engines like Google have been leveraging AI to improve their algorithms and deliver more accurate and personalised search results. Google’s RankBrain, an AI system, has been in use since 2015 to process search results. It uses machine learning to understand user intent and deliver more relevant results.

Google also uses machine learning to fight spam, ensuring that the search results users see are high-quality and relevant. The evolution of search algorithms has moved from simple keyword matching to semantic analysis. Ranking factors now include user behaviour and content quality, not just keyword usage.

AI and machine learning have been instrumental in this evolution, enhancing the user experience and delivering personalised results.

This has led to a significant shift in SEO, with search engines becoming smarter and more human-friendly. The algorithms now consider various factors such as location, search history, favourite websites, and user behaviour when determining search results.

This has made SEO a more complex but also a more rewarding field, as it now requires a more in-depth understanding of user intent and behaviour.

Improved keyword research and content optimisation

AI has automated many tasks in SEO, including keyword research and content optimisation. AI tools can analyse anchor text usage and semantic keywords, making keyword research easier and more efficient.

They can also analyse web page content using natural language processing (NLP), helping SEO professionals create and improve content that matches user intent, provides value, and follows SEO best practices.

Content creation is a crucial aspect of SEO, and AI has made it more efficient. Tools based on GPT-4 are being introduced, despite debates over generated content. These tools can generate topics, drafts, optimise content, and even generate meta tags, significantly reducing the time and effort required for content creation.

Enhanced user experience

AI can analyse user behaviour data to enhance the user experience. Personalised search results driven by data and machine learning models are expected. This means that search results will be tailored to individual users, based on their search history, preferences, and behaviour.

This level of personalisation can significantly improve the user experience, leading to higher engagement and conversion rates.

graphic of a search engine on a tablet

Predictive SEO

Predictive SEO uses AI to forecast trends and algorithm updates. This allows SEO professionals to anticipate changes and adjust their strategies accordingly. Predictive capabilities of AI can determine how actions impact website ranking, enabling the development of effective SEO strategies.

AI can also completely analyse websites to identify potential red flags that could lead to penalties from search engine algorithm changes. This can help businesses avoid the costly process of recovering from a Google penalty, saving time, effort, and resources.

Furthermore, through the use of predictive SEO, your business can anticipate future trending topics, allowing you to produce content in advance and secure high search engine rankings in the future.

Do you want to know what’s new in the SEO industry? Download our 2024 SEO Outlook report to dive into the most important developments in the SEO field! 

Voice search and mobile optimisation

As voice assistants like Siri, Alexa, and Google Assistant become more popular, voice search optimisation is becoming increasingly important. AI plays a crucial role in understanding and processing voice queries, which often tend to be more conversational and longer than text-based queries.

SEO strategies need to adapt to this trend, focusing on long-tail keywords and conversational phrases that users are likely to use when speaking. Moreover, mobile optimisation is crucial for reaching potential audiences, as a significant portion of searches are now mobile. AI can help optimise websites for mobile devices, ensuring a better user experience and higher search rankings.

Visual search optimisation

Visual search is another area where AI is making a significant impact. AI-powered image recognition technology is used to analyse images and deliver relevant search results. As more users start to use visual search, SEO strategies will need to focus on optimising images, using relevant tags and descriptions, and ensuring that images are high-quality and relevant to the content.

people using image recognition on a computer

5 ways AI can improve your SEO strategy

Are you looking for ways to adapt your SEO strategy now that AI is changing the content marketing landscape for good? Here are 5 ways you can update your strategy in the age of AI.

1. Embrace AI-driven content creation and optimisation

Since the launch of ChatGPT in late 2022, content marketers have become early adopters of generative AI. Many of us have already experimented with using GPT-4 and other natural language processing (NLP) algorithms to create new content. Yet there are many other AI-driven technologies that can help optimise your content for SEO. This is increasingly important, as content quality becomes more decisive in determining search engine results page (SERP) rankings.

For example:

  • There are already many AI and machine-learning tools for relevant keyword research, including Google Keyword Planner, SEMrush, Ahrefs, Moz Keyword Explorer and AnswerThePublic.
  • Looking for great AI-powered tools for content optimisation? Start your search with these: Grammarly, MarketMuse, Acrolinx, BrightEdge and Clearscope.
  • You can also rely on AI to improve content readability. Try using Hemingway Editor, Readable, Atomic Reach, Quillbot and Yoast SEO.

2. Create personalised content experiences

AI enables you to deliver highly personalised content experiences, which are a powerful way to improve audience engagement and conversion. AI tools enable you to analyse user behaviour, preferences and past interactions, so you can automatically tailor content to the individual user.

Here are just a few of the best AI-driven content personalisation tools: Optimizely, Evergage, OneSpot, Dynamic Yield or Adobe Target.

By offering a bespoke content experience, you add more value for your audiences – and that makes your content stand out from the crowd even more.

Infographic about how to elevate engagement by personalising content

3. Optimise for voice search

The growing popularity of voice search presents new challenges and opportunities for content marketers when it comes to SEO. It’s hard enough to optimise your content for human audiences. Now, you also have to make sure you’re optimising for Siri and Alexa.

Fortunately, AI technologies can help. They enable you to understand and optimise for voice search queries, which tend to be more conversational and longer than text-based searches.

Try using one of the AI tools to optimise your content for voice search: AnswerThePublic, SEMrush, Moz Pro, KWFinder and Ahrefs.

Voice search-optimised content aligns with modern search preferences and helps your content rank higher by catering to search intent.

man working on his computer and using voice search to optimize content for a higher seo ranking

4. Use predictive analysis tools

Relevant keywords will still be the main focus for SEO for the foreseeable future. Now, AI can help you not only identify which keywords are ranking high at the moment, but also which keywords are trending upwards in the future.

Predictive AI algorithms are a useful new marketing tool. They analyse historical data, user behaviour and other relevant factors, to help you “forecast” or predict the potential ranking of specific keywords and content.

Most of the best keyword research tools now include AI-driven predictive keyword research tools, including Google Keyword Planner, SEMrush, Moz Keyword Explorer, Ahrefs and KWFinder.

With tools like these, you can make informed decisions about your SEO strategy, optimise your content and achieve higher visibility and improved organic traffic.

5. Automate reporting and analytics

Lastly, you can use AI to streamline your reporting and analytics processes, so you get better insights out of your data, faster than ever.

AI-powered analytics tools like Google Analytics, Kissmetrics, Mixpanel, Heap Analytics and Adobe Analytics can analyse vast amounts of data in real-time. They help you spot trends, patterns and areas for improvement in your current SEO approach or keyword focus.

AI helps with more than just content creation

Generative AI is a major time-saver for speeding up your content creation process. But marketers can benefit from many more AI-powered technologies than just generative tools like ChatGPT. Tools like the ones mentioned above are essential to keeping your SEO strategy up to date and competitive.

It’s also incredible to see how quickly these technologies are evolving, so now is the perfect time to try them out, figure out what works for your brand and audiences, and keep experimenting until you see results.

person analyzing graohs showing seo ranking

Conclusion

The future of SEO is undeniably intertwined with the advancements in AI. As we have seen, AI is revolutionising SEO in numerous ways, from improving search algorithms to automating keyword research and content optimisation. It is enhancing user experience by delivering personalised search results and enabling predictive SEO to anticipate trends and algorithm updates.

As AI continues to evolve and become more sophisticated, it is set to bring about significant changes in SEO. Not only is it revolutionising the field by creating new opportunities and challenges, but it’s also making SEO more efficient and effective. AI’s impact is particularly notable in the rise of voice and visual search optimisation.

It’s not just about task automation; it’s about understanding user intent and creating engaging content. Trends like natural language processing, voice search, and conversational AI are just the beginning of this transformation. Ultimately, AI is shaping a more rewarding landscape for SEO professionals.

However, it’s crucial to remember that while AI can automate many tasks and processes, it cannot replace the human touch. SEO is as much an art as it is a science, and the human element – understanding the audience, creating engaging content, building relationships – is something that AI cannot replicate.

As we move forward, it’s clear that AI will continue to shape the future of SEO, creating new opportunities and challenges. It’s an exciting time for SEO professionals, who will need to adapt and evolve their strategies to leverage the power of AI. The key will be to embrace the change, stay informed about the latest AI trends and technologies, and continue to experiment and innovate.

Ready to engage with the future of SEO? Leverage the power of AI for your SEO strategy!

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