Guide to Artificial Intelligence in Search Engine Optimization

Most of the concepts surrounding AI are based on speculation collected from search engine behavior and patents. Unfortunately, misconception gives rise to fear and this has lead to the current situation where many are unable to utilize AI in favor of SEO.  Before we delve deeper into the subject, we need to know what AI is all about.

What is Artificial Intelligence in SEO?

Artificial Intelligence, unlike popular belief, is not a static formula. It is a continually developing system that has been designed to identify, sort and present the required data to meet user demand at that particular point of time from available variables that go far beyond the keywords typed.

How is AI changing SEO?

The year 2015 saw the introduction of RankBrain by Google to its algorithm chart thereby cementing the significance of Artificial Intelligence in SEO.

3 years down the line and search marketers are using AI to uncover new insights, automate labor-intensive tasks to offer an entirely new level of personalization to end users. The AI revolution is real, and it is happening. The significant areas where AI is changing SEO include:

  • Web Development
  • On-Site Content Display
  • Ads
  • Testing
  • Interactive Buttons

AI and Machine Learning

AI and machine learning are not the same.  Machine learning is a subset of AI. It relies on algorithms to collect data from the existing surrounding to take actions without being explicitly programmed to do so. In other words, they rely on their experience to deliver the desired results. For example:

1. Google uses machine learning to analyze the context of the content to offer better search results.

2. Amazon’s Echo analyses the user’s behavior and of other similar customers to provide new product ranges to choose.

3. Apple uses machine learning to increase the security of the device whereby the user’s face and fingerprints are recognized to unlock the hardware.

4. Facebook uses machine learning to identify the user image and their context.

How Will AI and Machine Learning Impact Content?

Content that fails to engage is no longer of any importance. “Content is King” is an outdated adage. The main focus is on creating a content that “engages” the end users and leads them to go for the services offered and the products displayed.

For example: to improve user experience, RankBrain interprets the environment from which the content is derived and thereby aims at providing better search results.

The goal is to offer search results that are matching to the closest answer to the query enquired. If the content generated for SEO purpose fails to live up to the need of the time, it will get lost amidst thousands of contents created daily. To step up and become visible, the content has to be “concept-related content” rather than “keyword-related content.”

How to use AI for SEO?

In this tricky environment, it becomes equally important for the SEO professionals to survive the challenges thrown at them. The following 5 strategies can change your game plan completely:

1. Keyword Optimization through keyword gathering, grouping and generating exemplars.

2. Use of Cluster Analysis & Predictive Analytics. Regroup your content on a single chosen topic and use the trends to predict the user demand to arrive at the search results.

3. Leveraging Customer Reviews to the hilt. There is nothing better than authentic customer feedback to create better awareness and higher page ranking.

4. Utilizing the available Customer Data to predict shoppers buying habits.

5. AI powered Chatbots are a great way to attract customers towards a sale.

AI SEO software and tools

The popular AI SEO software and tools can be summarized as mentioned below:

  • Acrolinx – For analyzing and optimizing quality content
  • Automated Insights
  • One Spot – For customizing marketing channels
  • Narrative Science – For generating immersive narratives from the data available
  • Market Brew – For figuring out SEO rankings
  • CanIRank – For SEO strategy formulations
  • Albert – Use AI for online marketing tricks
  • Pave AI – For analyzing Google Analytics

Simple AI strategies in SEO for amazing results

AI strategies are not always complicated. Gooogle’s RankBrain aims to offer the best possible search as per the query generated. To make sure that your SEO tactics attract the attention of RankBrain, keep in mind the following attributes:

  • Mobile Friendly Pages are the key.
  • Page Speed determines the success rate of your website. A slow loading webpage irks the customer and affects their attention span.
  • Controlled Bounce Rate.
  • Improved Dwell Rate.
  • Enhanced Click Through Rate (CTR).
  • Use more of Latent Semantic Indexing keywords.
  • Related Internal & External Links.
  • Structured Data Usage rather than random information available

AI and Link Building

At present, AI has not reached that stage where they can build links for your content. However, it can assist you at each stage of content planning.

Use AI for data collection through natural language processing. This will help to determine whether the information collected is genuine and relevant or not.

AI can also be used for site analysis to determine whether the site in question will have an impact on the page ranking or not.

Smart Tips for Improving Your AI based SEO

An effective SEO strategy takes time to develop and even more significant time to show favorable results. Data and data analysis is an integral part of any SEO strategy.

However, the human brain can process so many data available at any given point in time.  To maximize the data crunching, you need AI.

Artificial Intelligence based SEO offers refined and better search ranking results. It can gather data, identify cross-selling audience segments and follow it up by determining the relevance and effectiveness of the content.

How Can AI Improve Your PPC Campaigns?

Give your PPC campaigns a boost with AI. The trick lies in using the AI to carry out repetitive tasks, which is a full-time job in itself. Use AI to monitor and fine-tune paid ads.  To improve your PPC campaigns through AI opt for the following measures:

1. Opt for dynamic ads that show different ads to different users based on their preference and purchase history.

2. For any PPC campaign to be successful, the ad delivery has to be at the right time to the right people. AI helps to optimize ad delivery.

3 .Instead of manual bidding, make use of automated bidding with AI.

4. It is not necessary to use AI for your PPC campaigns. You can use AI to find out about customer searches, buying the pattern and use the relevant information in creating your PPC campaign strategy.

5. AI can use data analysis to uncover relevant keywords for your industry, thanks to the real world conversational language.

Future of Artificial intelligence in SEO

To sum it up, we cannot undermine the role played by AI in SEO strategy nowadays. The question remains what lies in the future? If the recent trends are anything to go by, then the following can be predicted for the future:

1. AI will interfere with SEO practitioners using Black Hat SEO tactics like the use of excessive keywords in the content, backlinking.

2. Real-time data will require real-time adjustments with better-personalized care – all thanks to AI algorithm.

3. Conversational keywords will rule

4. The demand for visual content will be on the rise.

Final Thoughts

As technology progresses, we will see many more changes. Who knows, a time might come when you will type in your requirements and mention the budget while the rest will be taken care of by AI.

How AI and Machine Learning Will Shape the Future of SEO

Since the inception of Search Engine Optimisation (SEO), it has been going through various transformations. It is evident that Artificial Intelligence (AI) and machine learning is going to change SEO soon.

AI is a system which is constantly evolving and changing. Nowadays, SEO prioritizes more on content, links and user experiences.

Machine learning

It is a form of artificial intelligence. Machine learning gives the opportunity to computers to learn without being programmed.

That means software programs will be able to change and grow accordingly when exposed to new data. This will make computers more adaptable to new data.

Machine learning is not a new concept. Even in 1990s, basic machine learning algorithms existed but with minimal usage of applying it.

From recently only, Google started making use of it in its searches and we started seeing rapid changes whenever there are new major updates.

RankBrain

RankBrain is Google’s new game changing algorithm introduced in conjunction with Hummingbird. It was introduced to help in identifying and interpreting the intent of the content and showing result pages which don’t include the words users searched for; but contains information related to the category or idea of the query.

RankBrain is designed in such a way to continuously determine and integrate new features on its own. Even though, you may not have noticed any major changes in searching; RankBrain is definitely doing an outstanding job.

On the billions of searches Google process everyday, 15% of those enquiries had never been processed before. From 2016, Google uses RankBrain to process each of them; where its resources are used to learn how to investigate all kind of queries including the rare ones.

To analyze how AI and machine learning will shape the future of SEO, we need to study about the history and current scenarios of SEO. Let’s take a look at those:

How SEO evolved?

When SEO started, it was very easy to rank top in a search engine as the results were based on keywords used. If you wanted a top position in search results, all you needed to do was use the phrase suitable for your title and the content and you are done! You were guaranteed one of the top most positions in search results.

The basic idea was that the number of times the keyword used was more on your page; your ranking will be higher.

But this also paved ways for some unethical search engine optimisation practices by various companies such as hiding keywords in the background of websites or putting keywords off screen.

Different types of tactics were developed for ranking high on search engine which led Google to change the algorithms used.

As Google had enough with the unethical SEO practices, Penguin 1.0 was introduced by Google on April 2012. It was developed to block various web spam tacticssuch as duplicate contents, stuffing of keywords, link schemes and also unwanted redirects.

Based on Google’s quality guidelines, Penguin decreased those sites’ ranking where it felt has violated the guidelines.

Current scenario of SEO

Various algorithms used by Google have helped a lot in kicking out spam filled sites. Also this scenario forced marketers to create high quality contents to get into search results.

In the past, if the SEO techniques were based on keywords; at present, it’s based on technical SEO, link building and speed of the page.

In the past, technical SEO only makes sure whether you use suitable keyword, but now it also focuses more on creating greater user experiences.

Now it includes various factors such as user behaviour, page speed and responsiveness of mobile pages.

Now Google focuses more on quality content rather than keyword stuffed contents. Engaging on high quality content will always decrease the ranking of low quality content even if it has high keyword density.

Future of SEO

The future of SEO will mostly rely on artificial intelligence rather than relying on a formula to create organic search result listing.

AI will be relying on machine learning, big data and user experience. Using AI and machine learning, search engines can learn from user behaviours and will be able to provide a list of contents users will most likely search for.

The following are the trends that are more likely to shape the future of SEO:

In 2015, Google has introduced RankBrain into its search algorithm. As said before, it has made keyword phrases irrelevant.

RankBrain is the third most important ranking factor in their search algorithms.

  • Understanding user intent

It will play an important part in ranking as major part of search results are based on artificial intelligence. Now, when marketers are thinking of creating content for their website, they need to think more than just keywords to hit the ranking on the search engine results page.

They also need to think what users will hope to find on your web page when they click from the results on search engines.

Marketers should be vigilant to get clues from search intent from their queries. There are four types of queries based on the user intent:

  • Navigational: A user looking for a specific information on a specific website
  • Informational: A user trying to get some information to read
  • Transactional: User trying to pay a bill, creating a new account or even trying to subscribe newsletters
  • Commercial: A user wishes to purchase or trying to get information to purchase later
  • Schema Markups

It is code or semantic vocabulary that you create on your webpage which helps the search engines to have a better understanding of your content.

This in turn enables search engines to give informative and accurate results for the users. It looks like Google will be making use of new schema markup supports for carousels, data feeds, job listings etc.

Impact of AI and machine learning in the future of SEO

Emergence of machine learning and artificial intelligence will definitely bright up the future of search engine optimization. In favour of SEO, AI not only delivers useful content to users but also makes sure of what fits to user’s need.

Rather than sending users to a page that has more likely content, machine learning AI system will send users to the page that not only answer their initial queries but also can answer follow up queries.

It is very evident that AI and machine learning are definitely going to revolutionize SEO in delivering a greater user experience.

So don’t even think of compromising the quality of content on your website because no one wants to get listed last on the search engine ranking.

If you are not sure in creating content that will hit the top rankings in SEO, you can definitely outsource them. Our team is happy to help you with. Learn more about our products and services.