AI SEO: How Artificial Intelligence is Changing Search Engine Optimization

Let’s be honest: eventually, Artificial Intelligence (AI) will change everything. But when it comes to search engine optimization (SEO), things are already changing—and pretty fast! AI SEO tools, smarter search engines, and improved data analysis are some transformations we are already seeing.

According to a survey conducted by HubSpot in March 2023, 54% of bloggers and SEO specialists already use AI and automation in their work, but this number is likely to increase.

The truth is that SEO strategies are undergoing a paradigm shift. And the impact of AI on SEO is only getting started. If you are an SEO professional or have a business that relies on search engine optimization, be advised: you can’t ignore artificial intelligence anymore.

Read this article to understand the transformative impact of AI on SEO.

Search Engines Are Getting Smarter

It doesn’t take a specialist to see that search engines are getting smarter. Thanks to machine learning and neural networks, which are subsets of artificial intelligence (AI), search engines now have a better understanding of user intent.

The user intent, or search intent, is what the person who typed the query into a search engine is really searching for. It’s the intent or goal behind a search. Search engines and writers alike need to pay attention to search intent if they want to offer content that is relevant to the needs and interests of the users.

AI-driven algorithms like Google’s BERT (Bidirectional Encoder Representations from Transformers), introduced in 2019, now focus on search intent instead of individual keywords. They analyse the context and the meaning of full sentences instead of keywords to interpret queries and deliver more relevant results. This is specially useful if the query is complex or conversational.

Smarter search engines are good news for companies looking to create valuable and useful content for their customers. We can’t say the same for those who have been trying to manipulate search engine results (sometimes successfully) with keyword stuffing and backlink schemes.

Targeting specific keywords is not as useful as before, and trying to trick search engines is getting harder and harder. Once and for all, SEO professionals must focus on optimizing for user intent and on delivering relevant, user-centric content.

AI is Changing Content Creation

AI is changing the whole process of content creation, from planning and research to writing and optimizing. AI-powered tools are helping marketers and writers create high-quality, relevant, and engaging content more efficiently. How? Here are just six examples of how AI can help your content creation:

• AI can help your research by analyzing and summarizing information.
• AI can identify trends, offer ideas and suggest keywords for new content.
• AI-powered tools can assist in creating optimized articles, headlines, and descriptions.
• AI-driven content creation tools can help writers and editors make minor or even major edits to content.
• AI can be used to help repurpose content, such as turning long-form content into short posts or turning articles into videos.
• AI SEO tools can help analyze and optimize existing content.

But remember: while AI can assist in content creation, human creativity and expertise remain essential in ensuring content quality and relevance. If you need high-quality content that is both engaging for readers and optimized for search engines, make sure to hire a professional writer.

Voice Search Optimization is Transforming SEO

Suppose you are at home and want to know more about content writing. You might ask Alexa:

“Alexa, what is the difference between content writing and copywriting?”

Or you might type in Google search bar:

“content writing vs. copywriting”

See the difference?

Voice search queries tend to be longer and more conversational. Therefore, they require a different approach to keyword optimization. Considering that half of U.S. consumers were already using voice search daily in 2022, you shouldn’t neglect this trend.

The rise of voice-activated AI assistants like Amazon’s Alexa, Apple’s Siri, and Google Assistant demands an optimization that focus on long-tail keywords and conversational phrases that mimic natural language.

Here is what you can do to optimize your content for voice search:

• Target question keywords;
• use long-tail keywords;
• use conversational language (for example, use “you”, “I”, and contractions);
• keep your content casual;
• avoid technical terms and prefer easy-to-understand language;
• target keywords like “where to find the best pasta near me” instead of “best restaurants.”

Additionally, make it easier for voice search engines to access and understand your content by using schema markup, optimizing website structure and page load times, and ensuring mobile responsiveness.

Data Analysis is Improving SEO Strategies

Statista estimates that the world generated 97 zettabytes of data in 2022. One zettabyte is equal to 10²¹ bytes, or a trillion gigabytes, which means 97 000 000 000 000 gigabytes were created last year.

Our human minds can’t even comprehend such a large number, let alone analyze it. Fortunately, artificial intelligence can help us transform data into useful information.

AI can synthesize and analyze large amounts of data and identify patterns, trends, opportunities, and risks, helping us make better-informed decisions. AI SEO tools can:

• audit and monitor your website;
• track the performance of your content;
• identify potential issues and possible improvements;
• track keywords;
• build links;
• conduct competitor analysis;
• optimize your website to improve user experience;
• and a lot more!

Prepare for the New Era of AI SEO

AI is already transforming Search Engine Optimization, and there are certainly more changes to come. By focusing on user intent, creating relevant content, leveraging AI-powered tools, optimizing for voice search, and improving user experience, you will be taking the first steps toward this new AI SEO era.

But remember: keep calm and learn on. Be patient and focus on continuous improvement. Stay up to date with the latest AI advancements to consistently improve your website and your content. And, of course, make sure you have the help of a great SEO specialist and of experienced content writers along the way.