TJ Vasquez
Up until recently, Google and AI content were not compatible. If content creators wanted to receive decent SEO rankings, they needed to steer clear of AI-generated work. In light of AI’s rapid evolution, though, Google has recently revised its policy concerning AI-generated content. If you’re a business owner, marketer, or content creator and you’re interested in the capabilities of AI for your SEO strategy, keep reading.
This article covers Google’s policy changes, what they mean for AI users, and the steps you can take to create high-quality, high-ranking content using the power of AI.
Does Google Deprioritize AI Content?
According to a recent blog post on Google Search Central, the search engine no longer deprioritizes AI-generated content. The post further states that AI-generated content does not automatically violate its guidelines. At one time, though, Google wasn’t very receptive to any sort of automated content.
The post states that using AI content to manipulate SEO ranking violates the policies Google adopted. Manipulation tactics may include keyword stuffing, cloaking, hiding pieces of content, low-quality linking, and other black hat tactics.
However, the post also acknowledges that not all AI-generated content is created equal. Many creators produced automated or AI-generated content with the most genuine intentions in mind, to inform and empower an audience.
As such, the search engine adopted more lenient policies surrounding AI-generated work. Google now allows this type of content to rank in its search engine.
So, will Google penalize AI content at all? The answer isn’t a definite “no.” The search engine will still crawl through content that’s seeking search engine ranking. However, determining that a piece was AI-generated will no longer result in penalties or deprioritization. Instead, Google will evaluate the quality and value of the content before deciding whether it’s worth promoting.
Well-written, relevant, and accurate content can still receive SEO ranking even if the piece was AI-generated. Spammy garbage content won’t receive the same opportunities.
Is AI Content Bad for SEO?
There isn’t a blanket answer to this question, either. Generally speaking, AI-generated content isn’t automatically bad for SEO. That doesn’t mean it’s automatically good for SEO either, though.
AI can streamline a wide array of marketing processes, including search engine optimization, but content creators must apply these programs correctly. AI and SEO can go hand in hand under the right circumstances, but the right circumstances require work. Shelling out a massive volume of AI-generated work and ignoring the human element behind SEO likely won’t generate the results marketers want.
ANY sort of content can be bad for a website’s SEO rankings, regardless of whether a human being or a machine developed it. Quality content that provides accurate answers to a user’s question receives a decent ranking. Content that points users toward the solution they’re looking for will likely receive a decent ranking, too. That is, so long as content creators understand and follow the supplemental guidelines for SEO.
On the other hand, spammy content that promotes inaccurate or dangerous information, uses black hat tactics, and showcases sloppy content will receive a low ranking.
SEO Guidelines for AI Content
Because Google has reversed its initial rejection of AI-generated content, many business owners and marketing teams want to implement artificial intelligence into their SEO and digital marketing strategies.
But how?
Plenty of business leaders and marketing professionals are relatively new to the concept of using AI for SEO and marketing. As such, getting the green light to do so doesn’t exactly address their concerns or point them in the right direction in terms of adopting AI.
Fortunately, in addition to explaining Google’s recent policy change, this article will also cover a few of the Do’s and Do Not Do’s of using AI for SEO.
SEO Applications for AI
AI programs and tools can serve a great many purposes when it comes to developing better SEO strategies. Marketers are already using these programs to achieve the following goals:
- Improving keyword research
- Earning better SEO ranking for existing pages
- Increasing search traffic
- Generating relevant content
- Managing the company’s SEO budget
- Evaluating analytics and metrics
- Automating simple SEO tasks
While this list only covers the broad capabilities of AI for SEO, it should provide marketers with basic tips on how to put AI to its best use.
Combining SEO and Artificial Intelligence for Success
Artificial intelligence can streamline and automate various SEO processes, but these tools are just that, tools. AI is not designed to fully replace human intelligence, creativity, or planning. Machines can enhance the efficiency of a marketing professional’s work with little effort involved. These programs are not supposed to become solely responsible for generating content that skyrockets a company’s content to the top of Google’s search results pages.
A wise person once compared AI-generated content to cooking, saying that if content writing is a casserole, then AI creates a lot of casseroles that are mostly noodles. It’s the human’s job to add the cheese, vegetables, meat, and other ingredients that turn a bland dish of noodles into a respectable casserole.
Much like serving plain, unseasoned noodles at a company potluck and calling it a casserole won’t go over very well with your colleagues, nor will posting an AI-generated mess go over very well with Google.
Editing and fact-checking are still a must when creating any type of content. You wouldn’t post the first draft of a blog post without proofreading it, and you shouldn’t post the first draft of an AI-written post without a thorough review.
Quality Checklist for AI Content
To improve the odds of having your AI-generated content receive a decent SEO ranking, you’ll want to proofread and edit your content so that it follows these guidelines.
- Short, skimmable paragraphs
- Organized content (including headings, subheadings, bullet points, lists, line breaks, and other ways to eliminate walls of text)
- Keywords appearing naturally in the text
- Correct spelling and grammar
- Accurate, relevant information
- Verified facts
- Compelling page titles, meta descriptions, and CTAs
- Natural content length (minimal repetition and unnecessary meandering)
- Original, plagiarism-free content
Enhancing Your AI Usage
Marketers and business owners can help themselves overcome the learning curve that comes with using AI for SEO by using additional tools and programs that monitor the business’s SEO performance. These tools can make it easier to experiment with AI and discover the best possible practices for AI applications.
- Google Search Console
- Google Analytics
- SEO Plugins
- Webmaster Tools
AI Content to Avoid
To avoid having your AI-generated content penalized or deprioritized by Google’s algorithm, make sure the work you produce doesn’t commit the following violations.
- Text that makes no sense and presents no value
- Content that uses keywords completely unrelated to the website or page
- Text that’s produced by scraping feeds
- Repurposed or stolen content that presents no additional value
- Pages with hidden text or links
- Content that participates in link schemes
- Pages that contain sneaky redirects
- Content that’s false, manipulative, or harmful
As you start harnessing the power of AI in your SEO strategy, you’re likely going to discover that there’s a learning curve involved. You’ll need to test and evaluate your methods, adjust your approach, and fine-tune your AI-generated content so that it reaches the top of search engine results pages.
For more on how AI can help you simplify your SEO and marketing efforts, you’re encouraged to try Juno. This simple, comprehensive AI program can create a 10-post SEO strategy using only a few pieces of information. In ten minutes, you’ll have ten blog post titles, meta descriptions, outlines, and blog drafts ready for you to edit as you please.
Give it a try if you want to take advantage of high-quality AI-generated content. If you need help with editing, reach out to Content Cucumber and one of our professional editors can help you deliver the best possible AI-generated results.
