The Pros and Cons of AI SEO

If you’ve been paying attention to the news, it’s likely you’ve already heard about the cultural revolution that is artificial intelligence.

Claims about artificial intelligence range from realistic to fantastical; some claim it will surely put human creatives out of work, while others question whether its fame will dissipate in a matter of years.

Regardless of how AI shapes other industries, one thing is clear: AI SEO can be a great option for businesses looking to produce SEO content quickly and easily. But that doesn’t mean AI SEO tools can take over the job of a human; instead, it means they can be highly-useful resources.

Below, we explore what AI SEO tools look like, how they can help, and how they can hurt. Working with an SEO professional can help you utilize these tools appropriately and successfully.

What is AI SEO?

When we reference “AI SEO,” we’re talking about artificial intelligence (AI) search engine optimization (SEO). This technique uses AI tools to improve a website’s ranking on search engine result pages (SERPs).

AI tools for SEO are on the rise since many can automate much of the work involved in SEO, including keyword research, content creation or editing, and brainstorming. Likewise, AI can help analyze data and identify trends businesses can use to improve their website’s ranking.

So, will AI replace SEO done by humans altogether? Probably not. Though AI-driven SEO can help businesses save time, money, and effort, it isn’t foolproof. Trusting AI to completely run your SEO strategies from start to finish is like trusting Google Translate to convert an entire novel accurately.

With room for small errors and inaccuracies, AI still needs human monitoring and intervention to create useful content. It’s best to think of AI SEO as an option businesses can use to make things easier rather than to replace content creators, SEO strategies, and marketers.

Why AI SEO Matters

Smart and strategic AI-based SEO decisions can help businesses achieve goals like:

• Boosting visibility
• Establishing a credible brand
• Driving traffic to pages and services
• Becoming a trusted source of information
• Increasing profits

By leaning on AI content for SEO purposes, businesses of all kinds can streamline the work that goes into connecting with potential consumers. In doing so, businesses set themselves ahead of the competition and pave new ways to expand into their niche.

Pros of AI SEO

The main benefit of AI SEO is its efficiency. Even if content still needs to be refined and tweaked, having a stronger foundation to build on can cut the time it takes in half. Let’s take a look at some more pros of AI-driven SEO.

• Speed: Using an AI tool for SEO produces nearly instant results. Generating page titles, meta descriptions, and even lists of potential keywords takes seconds or minutes.
• Volume: AI tools can produce a high volume of content that might cost a lot to outsource. Businesses can create dozens of unique page descriptions, product listings, and other pieces of content daily.
• Oversight: AI is particularly good at navigating large amounts of data at once. AI SEO tools can analyze every page on a SERP to find out which keywords are used most often. It can also help a business’ website by scanning all pages at once and noticing readability or structure issues a human might miss.
• Brainstorming: When businesses need topics, ideas, and other resources to help with planning, AI SEO tools are a great resource to turn to.
• Keeping Up With Change: As AI becomes more popular, the structure of most keywords might change as voice search becomes more common.

Cons of AI SEO

Like all good things, AI SEO, in excess, can prove to cause more harm than anything else. Many limitations keep AI content for SEO from acting as a true replacement for human strategy. Some of the most significant ones include those below.

• Prematurity: As of right now, many AI tools are just not ready to take the wheel.
• Unreliability: Sometimes, AI makes errors or creates inaccurate information.
• Instability: There have been rumors that Google will “punish” AI-driven SEO content in search rankings.
• Lack of Engagement: AI SEO content can sound robotic, which can negatively affect engagement.
• Poor Interpretations: AI still has trouble interpreting things like search intent.
• AI Inbreeding: As AI-generated content floods the web, quality may degrade over time.

The Bottom Line

Overall, AI SEO tools can help make optimizing content for search engines faster, easier, and cheaper. But that doesn’t mean it’s time to throw caution to the wind and abandon the idea of human content creators, marketers, and SEO experts.

The best way to use AI SEO tools is as what they’re intended to be: tools. These are resources that content creators can utilize to discover new ideas and streamline research.

If you want your business’ SEO strategy to stand out from the rest, you can’t fall back on technology that pulls only from competitors. You’ll need the expert advice of experienced SEO companies with a passion for helping you connect with your target audiences.

If your business could benefit from a highly-efficient SEO strategy, look no further than Firestarter. We are an award-winning SEO agency trusted by customers for over 12 years.

No matter your goals, we’re here to get the job done right, with or without AI SEO tools. Get in touch today to learn more.