You may have heard me mention SEO a time or two. SEO, or Search Engine Optimization, is how your website communicates with Google and other search engines. It helps convey what content is on your site, its purpose, and ensures it’s easily found when needed. As AI has become an important part of internet, we can observe the changing face of SEO in the age of AI.
SEO, in the age of AI, can feel complicated due to its intricacies, but it remains vital for online success. Strategies and best practices continually adapt to keep pace with evolving search engine algorithms. At CI, we believe the foundation remains unchanged. Stick to quality content creation and a thorough SEO process, and you can feel confident. If you just thought “I’m not sure we have an SEO process on our website”, or “we have lost traffic since the updates”, then it’s a critical time to start creating/reviewing your SEO strategy.
AI’s Impact on SEO
In the age of artificial intelligence (AI), SEO in the age of AI is undergoing a profound transformation. It is changing how businesses approach their online presence and content strategies. How is AI reshaping SEO? I’ll highlight a few important impacts of AI and how effective strategies can be utilized to stay ahead of SEO trends.
AI-Powered Search Engines
AI-Powered Search Engines are the norm, and since they are AI, they are learning and growing exponentially. Search engines like Google have long been leveraging AI to enhance their search algorithms. Recent Google algorithm updates like BERT and RankBrain use AI and machine learning to understand natural language and user intent better. This has led to more personalized and relevant search results, making traditional keyword-focused SEO strategies less effective. This is why we have been recommending our clients create a keyword hub and natural language strategies focused on how users search for information.
Voice Search is Changing SEO
Voice Search and Conversational Queries have become increasingly utilized on mobile and, as such, have changed how SEO is written. The rise of voice search, driven by tools like Siri, Alexa, and Google Assistant, is changing the way people search in general. Just today, I asked my phone multiple questions like “Where can I find…” and “What’s the closest…”. The answer to that one is still a tough transition for me since the answer is usually 30 minutes or more since moving from the North Shore of Chicago to a small town in Middle Tennessee.
Our voice searches tend to be longer and more conversational, making long-tail keywords and natural language optimization more important for businesses. Companies need to optimize their content to match how people speak and ask questions. The better we get at identifying how users ask questions, the better we can answer those questions effectively with relevant content. We recommend reading content through the lens of your audience and thinking about how or what they might ask that your content answers. Then, utilize this to create SEO for that content.
Focus on User Intent for Better SEO
User Intent and Contextual Search is basically another way to say what we said above. Search engines prioritize user intent in searches like local sign printing, using sign-related SEO to provide accurate answers. This means keywords in articles, products, and SEO tools might include words like local signage, sign printing, and vinyl banner signs. This may all come up when I look for local sign printers. This is great for the users and can benefit businesses that are actively using various search intent style keywords on different pages and posts to identify their offerings.
AI algorithms prioritize this user intent over simple keyword matching, so your strategy should do the same. Understanding the user’s context and intent behind a search query is essential for ranking higher on search engine results pages (SERPs), increasing your ability to be seen. Honestly, how many of you make it past page 2 in a Google search? I know I don’t!! We recommend that our clients focus on creating content that directly addresses user questions and problems rather than just stuffing articles with keywords.
Visual and Video Search Optimization
AI enhances Visual and Video Search capabilities, allowing users to find images and videos using keywords, descriptions, or by uploading a photo. We recommend that your SEO strategy include optimizing image and video content. This means adding relevant metadata, alternate text, and descriptions to help content be discoverable in these image and video searches.
AI-generated content is everywhere, and it is important to WRITE LIKE A HUMAN!!!! Yes, I was shouting in print. AI tools can create content that mimics human writing, which could be beneficial for generating large volumes of content quickly. However, search engines prioritize quality and originality. They look for first-person examples, real event mentions, and specifics that make a piece human-written (and frankly, in my opinion, more engaging than a bunch of scrapped factoids stuck together by AI).
If used, we must ensure that AI-generated content is valuable, informative, and unique to avoid penalties for duplicate or low-quality content on search engines. As a rule of thumb at CI, we believe that AI can give a good jumping-off point. However, in industry-specific thought leadership, AI should never be blindly trusted, as it can often be wrong or outdated.
Prioritizing E-A-T in SEO
E-A-T and has become one of my soap boxes of late. E-A-T stands for expertise, authority, and trustworthiness (E-A-T). In the most recent Google Algorithm update, it was increasingly prioritized in several areas. E-A-T’s growing SEO significance, driven by AI’s focus on quality, brings significant changes for content creators. However, our recommendation has not changed in this regard since we have always prioritized this before it was ever known as E-A-T. For over 5 years, we’ve emphasized thought leadership with clients, partnering to showcase their unique expertise and prioritize trustworthiness. In response to recent updates, we emphasize creating expert content that provides accurate, authoritative information to build trust with search engines and readers.
SEO Strategy with CI
SEO in the age of AI strategies in and best practices are an absolute must for websites and businesses today. Just having a website doesn’t cut it any longer. At CI, we have seen this shift, and in response, we have increased our SEO service offerings. We want to help create solid approaches that stand the test of time and enfold best practices. What does that look like? It means we continue to recommend focusing on the user and their search needs and intent, answering the questions they may have about various industries and trends.
We recommend and create quality E-A-T focused content, while specializing in SEO optimization strategies for better search engine results. Ultimately, our focus is and has always been to help our clients provide valuable content to users and to stay ahead of marketing, industry, and now AI-driven trends. We want our client’s businesses to maintain a strong online presence and achieve long-term success.
If you have questions or want to schedule a chat to learn more, give us a call.
