The Impact of AI Writers on SEO Performance: Friend or Foe?

When AI first came onto the digital marketing scene, it typically took the form of writing assistants. This is a far cry from the highly capable, hands-off approach of today’s AI writers. Where AI once blew users away with its intelligence and human-like output, that’s now become an expectation. And where tools like ChatGPT once took the world by storm, competitors are making it harder for these platforms to stand out. In fact, more than 80% of industry experts use AI to optimize their marketing efforts.

This means that developers are on a constant lookout for new ways to improve their tool’s performance and perfect user experience and satisfaction. Built-in plagiarism checkers, shields that protect AI-generated content from AI detectors, third-party integrations for easier publishing and distribution – these tools have gone from writing assistants to dependable team members in an instant.

In this blog post, we’ll take a closer look at the task-specific role that AI article writers play in SEO performance. Is it the competitive advantage you’ve been looking for, or could it be the thing that stands in your way of that number one spot on SERPs?

Let’s find out!

First things first – How does AI generate SEO content?

When putting together content, marketers usually focus on the main idea and work hard to bring real value to their readers. The whole point of creating content for marketing is to give answers to your audience’s questions. The best way to do that is with content that’s both informative and interesting. This process puts a big emphasis on the user experience that comes with searches.

After setting up the basic structure of the content and getting all the writing done, it’s time to think about search engine optimization or SEO for short. This is the stage where content creators take a good look at what they’ve written and start weaving in SEO techniques where they can.

So, how can AI writers make this process easier?

When using AI to write SEO content, it follows a step-by-step process set up by its creators using algorithms. These algorithms are all about making sure the content ranks well on search engines. It also needs to make sure it’s interesting and valuable for the people reading it.

To put it simply, AI produces content that’s already fine-tuned for search engines right from the start. What’s more, it does this ten times faster than human writers and SEO experts. And for marketers who like to write the content themselves and want an SEO boost before publishing, AI can make recommendations or optimize the content for you too.

You may be wondering – Can Google detect AI content?

In short – Yes.

But before you decide not to take the risk for fear of being labeled as spam by Google’s algorithms, let us shed some light on the situation.

Rather than focusing on who (or rather, what) generated the content, Google pays close attention to the quality of the content itself.

Does it provide value to readers?

Is it engaging and informative?

Is the information accurate?

All of these factors have a direct impact on your content’s E-E-A-T signals. The expertise, experience, authoritativeness, and trustworthiness of a website play a huge role in search engine rankings.

The problem comes in when AI struggles to meet these standards and produces generic, repetitive, and invaluable content. That’s why we always recommend adding a human touch and assessing the quality of AI-generated content before publishing.

The positives of AI for SEO

Scalability

With the help of AI writers, many marketers find it easier to upscale content production.

Let’s use ContentBot as an example. This tool is an ideal solution for marketing teams and agencies thanks to its optimized scalability options. The ability to upload CSV folders for streamlined content generation, along with its bulk blog post generator and workflow builder, are tailored to mass production and content optimization.

Consistency

We’ve seen a lot of cases where brands don’t pay much attention to the importance of consistency throughout their marketing campaigns. A recent study shows that consistent brand presentation can increase a company’s revenue by 23%, if not more. It also applies to more than regular posting and publishing to maintain your audience’s attention and remind them of your presence.

A consistent tone, voice, and style are all important for effective marketing. It’s a surefire way to establish credibility and build trust with your audience. It also has a direct impact on user experience – something that search engines consider when ranking content.

Customizability

Many AI tools require prompts to get the ball rolling. If you want to point the writer in a certain direction, you can tweak your inputs to generate more targeted and specific output. These include target audience, tone, keywords, and word count.

If your marketing tasks are multifaceted, you can also select the type of content you want to generate, be it full blog posts, social media captions, landing pages, email newsletters, you name it. If you choose a more advanced AI writer that allows for better customization and more options for content generation like ContentBot, the only limit is your imagination.

Language and localization

For larger companies looking to break into new markets, this added advantage of AI writers becomes more apparent. With some tools offering translations into over 30 different languages, overcoming language barriers is a thing of the past. This will also help in optimizing websites for international audiences and global search engines.

For organizations that focus a bit more on providing localized content and ranking in local search engines, this is a welcomed feature too.

Data-driven content

AI has access to large amounts of data and the ability to sift through it to identify patterns and trends that allow it to generate conclusions. This is one of the biggest advantages of using AI to generate content – it’s driven by data on a scale that’s only achievable with the help of machines. Using this data, the AI writer will produce content that aligns with user intent and is always relevant, reducing the amount of time needed to be spent on manual market research. This in turn improves engagement metrics like time spent on site, reduces bounce rates, and boosts SEO performance.

Cost-effective

The manual writing process often comes with higher costs than using an AI writer. Whether companies chose to employ in-house content marketers or outsource their content needs to freelancers, experience was often accompanied by a hefty price tag.

If the writer specialized in niche content and produced high-quality content, there was the issue of SEO applications.

If you chose to work with a writer who lacked the necessary skills to incorporate SEO into their work, a separate specialist would be hired to optimize content before publishing.

With the best AI writers, this entire process is streamlined and automated, from idea generation to execution and monitoring.

Improved targeting

While some companies may be hesitant to make AI part of their team and day-to-day operations, many of them still rely on the technology for analytics and data insights. AI can process huge quantities of data in a fraction of the time that humans could, making it an efficient way to gather information and make better decisions.

AI can also combine data from social media, website analytics, and user feedback to find trends in consumer behavior. This information goes a long way in tailoring content to meet those needs at the right time and in the most effective way.

If you’re looking to increase ROI while keeping costs low and freeing up more time to focus on strategic growth, this is an effective way to do it.

The drawbacks of using AI for SEO

Quality concerns

When it comes to choosing an AI writer to elevate your marketing, it’s important to remember that you get what you pay for. Your budget is a big deciding factor in the tool you go with, however, it’s not the only one to consider. If you compromise on quality, you can expect to make up for it in time and energy. AI-generated content can at times be repetitive, inaccurate, and biased. If a tool offers a free trial or demo account to test before making a financial commitment, we highly recommend taking the opportunity.

Originality

We all know the struggle of trying to find new and innovative ways to relay the same message to your audience. Sometimes the creativity just isn’t there and inspiration is in short supply.

With strict plagiarism restrictions to consider, using a tool with a built-in checker can help you avoid legal issues and copyright infringements. Again, it depends on the quality of the tool you adopt. If your tool doesn’t offer plagiarism detection, you’ll have to do this manually to make sure the content it generates is original and unique.

Algorithm updates

Search engines and social media platforms are continuously rolling out new algorithms that have an impact on ranking. While it is challenging for marketers to keep up with these changes on their own, some AI writers aren’t any better.

AI is heavily dependent on developers to keep it updated and to feed it new data (maybe with the exception of advanced generative AI). You’ll want to make sure the AI writer is up to date with the latest algorithms and alleviates the stress of adapting content manually. Some writers are programmed to spit out basic content that won’t help you rank on Google. These pieces should be used as foundations to build on rather than published as is.

Brand voice dilution

We’ve touched on how important it is to maintain a consistent voice and branding throughout your campaigns. This will also help your audience recognize your brand more easily. When you turn to AI writers for content generation, you run the risk of the machine diluting your brand’s voice. Some writers battle with identifying tones and styles that aren’t included in their programming. This is why the more advanced writers with greater personalization options are best suited for generating SEO content.

Ethical and transparency issues

This is an important concern that not many AI users take seriously. The ethical use of AI has been a concern since its early development stage and will be a topic of discussion for years to come. Even if all you do is use AI to paraphrase or summarize text, there is still the ethical side to the coin that needs to be considered. It’s also important for brands to be open and transparent about the use of AI in their work and publishing. This will contribute to your trustworthiness and credibility in your industry.

Ending off with the best practices for using AI for SEO

1. Combining human oversight with AI efficiency

Even the best AI writers should be paired with human writers to achieve the best possible results. There’s no better way to ensure authenticity and accuracy than blending the best of both worlds. While you may want the cost and the efficiency that comes with an AI writer, we believe it should always be paired with a human editor. Take the time to assess the quality of AI-generated content if you want to optimize its performance.

We should also note that while AI can assist in content creation, human strategists should guide the overall content strategy. That includes deciding what topics to cover, what goals to pursue, and how you’d like to engage with your target audience.

2. Regularly updating content to maintain relevance

Keeping content fresh is an important part of making sure your content is always up-to-date and relevant. It includes:

Updating older content to keep it in line with current information, SEO standards, and user intent. This can help maintain or improve search rankings over time.
Using AI to identify trending topics and create or update content around these trends to capitalize on search demand.
Establishing a content lifecycle that includes regular reviews and updates.

AI can also help you analyze which pieces of content need refreshing and which pieces should be scrapped altogether. Sometimes content that doesn’t perform well should be removed rather than updated.

3. Monitoring and adapting to algorithm updates

There are a few ways that marketers can try to keep up with the ever-changing algorithms online:

Keep track of official updates from search engines. You should also monitor the SEO community’s analysis and discussions that offer insights into the impact of these changes on search engine rankings.
Use AI to analyze changes in your site’s performance metrics to identify possible impacts from algorithm updates. This will help you adjust your content and SEO strategies as necessary.
Take advantage of A/B testing on your website to see how changes affect your SEO performance. AI can help streamline this process and analyze the results for faster adaptation.

4. Staying informed of SEO trends and changes

Actively participate in SEO forums, webinars, conferences, and courses to stay informed about the latest SEO best practices and tools. Marketers should always be on the lookout for emerging AI tools and technologies that can improve their SEO processes.

Not enough marketers understand the benefits of using AI for competitor analysis. Using AI can help monitor how competitors are responding to SEO trends, giving you valuable information that’ll help you optimize your own strategy.

5. Fostering authenticity and transparency

Nothing resonates with an audience better than authentic content. While AI can generate informative content, marketers need to take it a step further by ensuring that the brand’s authentic experiences, stories, and insights are blended into AI-generated pieces.

Depending on the context and regulations around the content produced, it may be wise to disclose the use of AI in content creation. If building trust with your audience is one of your goals, transparency will help you get there.

Encourage genuine user engagement through comments, social media interactions, and community discussions. Show your audience that you care and value their opinions. AI might be able to help identify hotspots for engagement, but it’ll never replace a human touch.

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Lauren Meyer

Lauren is a Content Marketer who values research and providing value for her readers. When she's not working on a blog post or marketing campaign, you'll find her outside with her dogs or curled up with a good book.