How AI changed SEO agencies FOREVER

Are you using AI in your SEO agency? If your answer isn’t a resounding “yes,” then there’s room for improvement. In this post, I’ll show you how AI has massively changed the SEO landscape and why you need to embrace it to stay ahead of the competition.

The AI Revolution in SEO

Let’s start with a quick example. We had an e-commerce client selling pearls whose website traffic flatlined at around 100 clicks per day. After implementing some of the AI techniques I’ll discuss, their traffic doubled to over 200 clicks a day. This massive change demonstrates the power of AI in SEO.

The Zero-Sum Game of SEO

It’s crucial to understand that SEO is a zero-sum game. When you gain traffic, someone else loses it. Your competitors are already using AI, so if you don’t, you’ll be left behind. It’s that simple.

What Do We Mean by AI?

When we talk about AI in the context of SEO, we’re specifically referring to large language learning models like ChatGPT and Google’s Gemini. These tools allow you to do SEO faster and better, with improved decision-making and optimization.

How AI is Used in Every Step of SEO

At my agency, we use AI for virtually every aspect of the SEO process:

1. Keyword research: ChatGPT excels at generating relevant keywords based on searcher intent and local targets.
2. Topical authority research: AI helps identify semantically related topics to improve your site’s visibility and authority.
3. Google Search Console analysis: By feeding CSV files to ChatGPT, you can quickly identify opportunities to improve long-tail keyword rankings and optimize existing content.
4. Content creation: AI has made generating high-quality content faster and more affordable than ever.
5. Identifying low-hanging fruit: ChatGPT can analyze Search Console data to find quick wins for boosting traffic.
6. Technical SEO guidance: AI provides excellent advice on resolving technical issues, as long as you know how to ask the right questions.

The Power of Search Console and ChatGPT

Third-party SEO tools are often inaccurate, while Google Search Console provides the only reliable data. However, Search Console lacks built-in analysis capabilities. That’s where ChatGPT comes in. By feeding Search Console CSV files to ChatGPT, you can quickly gain valuable insights without the time-consuming manual analysis. (1)

The Game-Changing Impact of AI on Content Creation

Before AI, a 50-article website with 1,500 words per article would cost around $7,500 for content alone. Add in development costs, and you’re looking at nearly $10,000. Today, with human-edited AI content and efficient website tools, we can create the same website for under $1,000.

Not only is the cost dramatically lower, but the turnaround time is much faster. Instead of waiting over 4 weeks for a single writer or managing multiple writers, a single editor can now produce and refine 50 AI-generated articles in just 2-3 days.

The Importance of Human Editing

While AI is a game-changer, it’s crucial to have a human editor review and refine the content. Google is actively combating AI-generated spam, so simply posting unedited AI content is a risky strategy. Human editors are essential for ensuring quality and avoiding penalties.

Leveraging ChatGPT for Topical Relevance Research

To rank for highly competitive topics like “graphic design,” you need to demonstrate relevance, authority, and comprehensiveness across your entire website. Here’s how we use ChatGPT to achieve this:

1. Generate a list of related topics: Ask ChatGPT to create a list of 25 topics closely related to your main keyword, considering trends, principles, and specialized areas.
2. Evaluate the main category: Have ChatGPT suggest modifications to the main category to better serve your topical relevance and search visibility goals.
3. Clarify any questions: Prompt ChatGPT to ask for any additional information needed to tailor its response to your needs.

Diving Deeper into Each Topic

Once you have your list of related topics, use a second ChatGPT prompt to explore each one further:

1. Generate keyword variations: Ask for 15 keyword variations for each topic, tailored to different facets of user search intent and audience range.
2. Create optimized title tags: Have ChatGPT suggest compelling, SEO-optimized title tags for each keyword variation to maximize click-through rates.
3. Provide article heading suggestions: Request three article heading suggestions for each keyword, outlining a clear, structured approach to address specific questions, problems, or interests.

By following this process, you can generate hundreds of article ideas with minimal effort, ensuring comprehensive coverage of your main topic.

The Future of SEO Agencies in the AI Era

As AI continues to shape the SEO landscape, agencies must adapt to stay competitive:

1. Fast, inexpensive analysis: AI enables agencies to perform rapid, cost-effective SEO analysis.
2. Affordable content creation: Content has gone from one of the most expensive aspects of SEO to one of the least expensive.
3. Topical relevance over keyword targeting: AI allows agencies to focus on overall topical relevance rather than targeting specific keywords.
4. The rise of content editors: While AI reduces the need for content writers, skilled content editors who can refine AI-generated content are now invaluable.

The Importance of Human Expertise

Despite the power of AI, human SEO experts are still essential. AI is enhancing human capabilities, not replacing them. To effectively leverage AI, you need the SEO knowledge to ask the right questions and interpret the results.

Moreover, as Google’s algorithm evolves, uniqueness in content will become increasingly important. AI models cannot generate truly unique perspectives, so human editors must focus on adding originality to AI-generated content.

Embrace AI for Effective SEO

AI is no longer optional for effective SEO. If you’re not using it, you’re falling behind your competition. While the rise of AI may lead to a drop in traffic from informational queries, the cost of ranking for those queries will also decrease.

The key is to have skilled human editors who can refine AI-generated content and add unique perspectives. By embracing AI and adapting to the changing landscape, SEO agencies can continue to deliver results and stay ahead of the curve.

References:

1. Google.com, Generative AI Google Search, https://blog.google/products/search/generative-ai-google-search-may-2024/