AI (artificial intelligence) can be a powerful tool to aid in content creation, but an important question to consider is “can AI-generated content help me rank for SEO?”
The answer isn’t a simple yes or no. This is firmly in the “it depends” category.
And it depends on several things, including:
Google has confirmed that it will reward “high-quality content, however it is produced.” This means that AI-generated content isn’t necessarily penalized when it comes to ranking for SEO, but it has to be high quality and meet the other necessary criteria for ranking well.
So, let’s look at that criteria …
Content can take many forms. It can be written text on a web page or in a blog post. It can be a video, an infographic, a product description, or anything else that communicates information.
To be considered high quality, that information should be unique, specific, and relevant to your reader. It shouldn’t be mass-produced or published on a large number of other sites.
And this is what you need to be careful of when it comes to AI-generated content and ranking for SEO.
You must make sure that any AI-generated content is still unique and specific to you and your company or brand. It must provide specific information that is relevant to your target audience.
Google launched a “helpful content update” in December 2022 that was intended to “ensure people see more original, helpful content written by people, for people, in search results.” Since then, it has expanded the “by people” qualifier as noted above.
But an important aspect of ranking for SEO is that the content is written to help the person searching for it … not the company hoping to be found.
Google calls this “people-first content” and cautions against creating content that is focused just on getting ranked by search engines.
In order for content to be helpful, it needs to provide an answer to a question or a solution to a problem. It needs to satisfy the reader’s need for information.
AI-generated content can be helpful, as long as you’ve kept it properly focused.
Keeping AI-generated content properly authoritative can be another challenge. Authority refers to the veracity and trustworthiness of the content … as well as your own expertise.
So, you need to be sure that any AI-generated content you publish accurately reflects you, your viewpoint and values, and your experience. It also must be factually accurate with up-to-date information, so fact-checking is a crucial step.
As mentioned above, Google rewards content that puts the person searching for information first … content that helps people. So if the intent behind your AI-generated content is clearly to help a human, then it can help you rank for SEO.
The challenge here is that AI isn’t human. The content it generates can be formulaic. It can be a bit flat and unemotional. It can lack creativity and a sense of connection.
This is why reviewing and editing your AI-generated content prior to publishing is critical. It’s important that the content provides a good user experience and that it satisfies and helps your reader. If it does, it will help you rank well in search engine results.
While there can be some challenges and things to look out for when using AI-generated content to help you rank for SEO, there also are some benefits to using AI as a tool in your overall SEO strategy.
Some of these benefits include:
Of course, it’s important to remember that AI is not a replacement for human expertise, creativity, and strategic thinking. AI can’t do it on its own.
And you don’t have to, either.
For more help with SEO, visit our SEO ultimate guide. Or check out our SEO Services.
We invite you to get in touch with the WorldLight Media team to talk more in-depth about SEO and how we can help you take your business to the next level. Call us at (559) 9-DESIGN, or you can click here to use our convenient online form to ask for more information.
Either way, we look forward to connecting with you soon.