AI and SEO: How do they go hand in hand?

With the rise of GPT models and their widespread popularity has brought about an immense debate on what is the future of SEO.

If we talk about ChatGPT, it has about 180.5 million users on the platform and has generated 1.5 billion visits in September 2023. That's great news for OpenAI and ChatGPT, isn’t it? But, on the other hand, many people take it as a sign that users could be possibly drifting away from Google search and then going to websites thereafter. But, is it really a threat to the entire SEO industry?

Talking about the present time, we are living in an age that is experiencing AI revolution, and we are yet to understand how certain things would go. For example, on one hand it is making certain things a lot faster for us, in terms of Ad copy generation or image generation, but on the other hand, it is also bringing forward the issue of overcomplicating the information-economy for many subject matter experts. Anyone could go to these language models and prompt it to be a subject matter in a field and then give its opinion on a topic.

But can it really be the game-changer for non-experts where they can outperform the real-experts in bringing forward the right opinion, information and strategies to perform something.

In my opinion, I am not convinced with this idea for certain reasons. Number one is that the language models are available for everybody and from what we have seen, the GPT models tend to be repetitive and bogus for non-generic topics.

For example, if we ask the GPT model to pretend to be a digital marketer, and lay out a strategy for an e-commerce fashion brand, it comes with a list of generic points. To make my point clear these points aren’t wrong in any way, but can a founder read these points and carve a successful campaign? Some obviously could, but it’s unlikely for most of the ones. On the other hand, if we read the guides and strategies, and examples of failed and successful less known case studies, we are more likely to have a grasp on how the campaign should run at all.

Also, even the most sophisticated model GPT 4.0 Turbo has its information limited to April 2023, which is again a challenge when trends and strategies go about in a month or so. At this moment, I’m not complaining about the lack of recent information, but I am simply trying to put forward my perspective on why we need subject matter experts and content driven by experience.

Just to clarify, the models can’t be up to date like Google search engines, because you need to train the models on vast amounts of data, and wait for it to generate results. And, then based on the feedback, the models optimize its results.

So, if you see the basic difference between the Google search engine and GPT models is that the search engines show your opinion, but GPT models try to fetch you answers based on its understanding about the subject-matter.

How does AI and SEO go together after all?

This would be a completely wrong narrative if we say AI has nothing to do with the SEO. From the very definition of the term AI, we deduce that it is meant to optimize the work and processes that only a human could do. It is meant to do things faster and in real time to save time, effort and resources. And the same is true for the SEO industry.

There are various applications of AI in SEO. Be it data analysis to understand the intent.

AI in content optimization

Google's Topic Layer, introduced in 2018, leverages AI to deeply understand topic spaces and their evolution over time. AI content tools adopt similar principles by analyzing web content for a given topic, identifying subtopics, and understanding how they relate to each other.

With the help of AI tools, you could analyze patterns within subtopics to intelligently surface content that users might want to explore next. This pattern recognition enhances the ability to present relevant and engaging content to the audience. Also, when we talk about the updates and guidelines that you get from Google, you could easily feed that information to your custom GPT and let the model analyze and see if there is any angle missing in the topic, or if you need to change the tone or address it in a better way.

Now, if we look at it from the user's perspective, this optimization is helping them in many ways. Firstly, it’s satisfying the search intent and the searcher gets the answer to the query in a better way. Secondly, they don't have to go to multiple long pages for a simple query that could be answered on spot.

Understand and analyze the real time keyword suggestions by Google

See, the present time is not about creating content around search engines with the hope of people clicking to your website, and making sales. Or in all honesty, has it ever been the case? No, right?

The purpose of search engines to exist in the first place is to help users navigate to the right authentic pages that serve their best interests. So, why do we even run a race of chasing keywords and obsessing around search engines.

In today’s time, it’s all about serving the searchers with the right set of information, product or services. And also with generative AI, gone are the days when random newbies used to give generic advice around a topic. 

But, how does it present an option and opportunity for us?

People have been complaining about the low clicks that they are or they might get with the generative AI. But if we see the trend that has been happening for a long time, then ‘Featured snippets’, ‘Knowledge panels’, ‘People also asked’ have all already been employed so far so that people get answers to their generic questions on the spot. And, in the same trend, we are seeing generative AI helping answer the simple questions directly on search engines.

For most SEO strategists, now the bigger opportunity is with real time tracking the keyword suggestions that Google provides based on its model that predicts what the users could actually be looking for. Now with artificial intelligence, we can easily track what searchers are looking for and with the help of NLP models understand the context around the topic, and then write content that actually touches the pain point of the viewers.

Real time keyword rank tracking in any location 

With the help of automation, your model could easily be tracking the real time search engine results page with the right VPNs and find which position your page would be ranking at. The AI model could utilize proxies to automate search queries. Proxies act as intermediaries between the AI system and the search engine, preventing IP blocks and ensuring a smooth, continuous flow of queries. This automation is crucial for tracking rankings in real-time efficiently. 

This dynamic system must adapt to changing search algorithms through continuous learning, providing marketers with actionable insights. Whether rotating through VPNs, processing data, or generating alerts for anomalies, the AI model empowers businesses to make informed decisions and refine their SEO strategies for optimal results.

Marketers utilizing AI and NLP are the best bet to outgrow your competition

When we talk about the ever-evolving space of marketing and advertising, there is a lot of noise about how everything could be automated to an extent where the opinions of experts wouldn’t matter at all. But is it true?

AI could help with data visualization, context interpretation, understanding the trends and so forth. But, to ensure that all this information is used in a way that actually moves the shaft, we need experts at the forefront of this digital attention war. 

With the help of AI, brands today could do a lot of things in real time which wasn’t possible anytime before.

Let’s talk about the process of understanding the customers.

Marketing experts could help you train models to process vast amounts of customer data, extracting meaningful insights into preferences, behaviors, and patterns that traditional methods might overlook. When we have sufficient data about what is working and what’s not, we have the option to conduct in-depth behavioral analysis, identifying trends and uncovering subtle nuances in customer interactions with products, services, and content.

Also, for the stores offering various products and services to their customers, real-time customer segmentation and offering the right products have become the new norm. For the e-commerce stores, this has become more important, as the model could generate personalized recommendations based on individual customer preferences, enhancing the relevance and effectiveness of marketing strategies.

For the longest time, customer segmentation has been the most important part of any marketing strategy but in the present landscape, AI ensures precise customer segmentation by categorizing individuals based on their unique characteristics and behaviors, allowing for more targeted and tailored marketing campaigns.

Why is CodeDesign the right choice for the AI digital attention war?

From my experience at CodeDesign, our Augmented Analytics tool is a game-changer in empowering marketers to achieve a comprehensive understanding of customer behavior and, consequently, optimize their strategies. We have developed our own augmented analytics model to help you with your marketing efforts.

Here's how our tool could assist:

Advanced Data Processing:

CodeDesign's Augmented Analytics employs advanced algorithms to process vast amounts of customer data swiftly and efficiently, extracting key insights that inform strategic decision-making.

Behavioral Analytics:

Our tool conducts detailed behavioral analysis, unraveling patterns and trends in customer interactions that might otherwise go unnoticed. This deeper insight allows for more nuanced and effective marketing strategies.

Personalization Capabilities:

With machine learning at its core, our model facilitates personalized marketing by generating recommendations tailored to individual customer preferences, enhancing the relevance and impact of campaigns.

Segmentation Precision:

Our Augmented Analytics ensures accurate customer segmentation, enabling marketers to target specific demographics with precision and deliver content that resonates with each audience segment.

Real-Time Insights:

There is no optimization without real time insights. Hence our tools provide you real-time insights into customer behaviors, allowing us to adapt strategies on the fly in response to changing trends, preferences, and market dynamics.

Predictive Analytics:

Our tool goes beyond hindsight by incorporating predictive modeling, helping marketers anticipate future customer actions and enabling proactive adjustments to stay ahead of the competition.

Sentiment Analysis:

Leveraging Natural Language Processing, our model enables sentiment analysis, providing valuable insights into customer attitudes and feelings gleaned from sources like reviews and social media comments.

Holistic Data Integration:

CodeDesign seamlessly integrates data from diverse channels, including websites and social media, offering a holistic view of customer behavior across multiple touchpoints for a more comprehensive understanding.

Customer Journey Mapping:

Our tool assists in mapping the entire customer journey, offering a detailed overview of critical touchpoints. This allows marketers to optimize strategies for maximum impact throughout the customer lifecycle.

Continuous Learning Mechanism:

The analytics algorithms continually evolve through exposure to new data, ensuring a continuous improvement in understanding customer behavior. This adaptability enables ongoing refinement of marketing strategies.

---