Should You Use AI for SEO? Google Chimes In.

Using AI for SEO: What Does Google Say About It?

Plus 10 AI Content Ideas You Can Implement Today In Your Financial Planning or Law Office Business

Search engine optimization (SEO) has long been a crucial part of any business’s digital strategy, especially businesses like financial planners or lawyers & law offices.

The use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) for SEO is becoming increasingly popular. Many businesses are turning to AI-powered tools to generate content, monitor website traffic, and improve their search rankings. But the question is: is AI the right choice for your business’s SEO?

Google has recently shared its thoughts on the use of AI for SEO. In a blog post, they stated that they are not against AI-generated content, but the inappropriate use of AI for the primary purpose of manipulating search results is a violation of their spam policies. Google aims to reward high-quality content, no matter how it’s produced. So, it’s essential to focus on the quality of your content, whether it is AI-generated or human-created, to improve your search engine rankings.

Automation has long been used in publishing to create useful content, such as sports scores, weather forecasts, and transcripts. AI has the ability to power new levels of expression and creativity, and to serve as a critical tool to help people create great content for the web. However, the use of automation, including AI, to generate content with the primary purpose of manipulating ranking in search results is a violation of Google’s spam policies.  

Google aims to reward high-quality content, no matter how it’s produced.

Poor quality content is not a new challenge for Google Search to deal with, and they have been tackling poor quality content created by humans and automation for years. Google’s existing systems determine the helpfulness of content, and their other systems work to elevate original news reporting. They regularly improve their systems to deal with poor-quality content.

Generating content solely for the purpose of manipulating search engine rankings, also known as “spammy” or “manipulative” content, is a violation of Google’s Webmaster Guidelines because it creates a poor user experience and undermines the quality of search results.

Google aims to provide users with the most relevant and useful information for their search queries. By creating content specifically to rank higher in search results, rather than to provide value to users, businesses are manipulating the search rankings and deceiving both users and search engines. This can lead to a poor user experience, with users finding irrelevant or low-quality content that doesn’t address their search intent.

Google’s algorithms are designed to detect and penalize spammy content, which can result in a loss of search visibility and traffic for the website. It’s important for businesses to focus on creating high-quality, informative content that addresses the needs of their target audience, rather than trying to manipulate search rankings through spammy tactics. This not only helps to comply with Google’s policies but also builds trust and credibility with users, leading to long-term success in search engine rankings.

Who, How, Why

Google’s advice for creators considering AI-generation is to evaluate their content by thinking in terms of Who, How, and Why in relation to how content is produced. This approach will help you stay on course with what Google’s systems seek to reward.

• Who refers to the target audience for the content. AI-generated content should be tailored to the intended audience, considering their interests, needs, and pain points.
• How refers to the quality and presentation of the content. AI-generated content should be high-quality and engaging, with a clear and concise message. It should also be presented in a format that is easy to read and navigate, such as bullet points, infographics, or videos.
• Why refers to the purpose of the content. AI-generated content should aim to provide value to the target audience, whether that is in the form of information, entertainment, or inspiration. It should also align with the overall goals and values of the business or organization.

By considering these three factors, creators can ensure that their AI-generated content is high-quality, valuable, and relevant to their target audience, which can help them to rank well in Google’s search results and earn the trust and loyalty of their customers.

Expertise, Experience, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness

When creating content, regardless of whether it is AI-generated or not, the focus should be on producing original, high-quality, people-first content demonstrating qualities of expertise, experience, authoritativeness, and trustworthiness (E-E-A-T).

AI can be a powerful tool to assist in producing original, high-quality, people-first content that demonstrates expertise, experience, authoritativeness, and trustworthiness. By leveraging the vast amounts of data available on the internet, AI can help identify topics and themes that are of interest to your audience and generate content that meets their needs.

One way AI can help with E-A-T is by analyzing existing high-quality content and identifying patterns and characteristics that contribute to its success. This can include things like tone, structure, language, and formatting. By understanding what makes this content successful, AI can help guide the creation of new content that incorporates these same characteristics.

Additionally, AI can help ensure that your content is accurate and trustworthy by identifying and correcting factual errors and ensuring that your sources are reliable. This can be particularly useful in fields where accuracy and trustworthiness are of utmost importance, such as healthcare, finance, or legal.

Finally, AI can assist in making your content more accessible and engaging by optimizing it for different platforms and formats, and by incorporating multimedia elements like images and video. By making your content more engaging and accessible, you can improve your E-A-T and build stronger relationships with your audience.

Takeaway: Here are five potential ideas for original, helpful content that a business could regularly lean on AI to help shoulder some of the SEO load. In this instance, I have used a law firm or financial planner as the model business, but just about any business could be used here:

1. Explainer videos – Using AI-generated voiceovers and graphics, a law firm or financial planner business could produce short videos that explain complex legal or financial concepts in an easy-to-understand way.
2. Case studies – By analyzing large amounts of data, AI could help a law firm or financial planner business identify patterns and trends in client cases, and use this information to create informative case studies that demonstrate their expertise.
3. Interactive tools – Using AI algorithms, a law firm or financial planner business could create interactive tools that allow clients to input data and receive customized legal or financial advice. For example, a financial planner could create a retirement savings calculator or a debt repayment plan tool.
4. Blog articles – AI could be used to generate ideas for blog articles, based on trending topics or frequently asked questions, and to help with research and fact-checking. This could save time for busy lawyers or financial planners and allow them to produce high-quality, informative articles more efficiently.
5. Newsletters – AI could help a law firm or financial planner business personalize and automate their newsletters, using data on client interests and behaviors to send targeted content that is most relevant to each individual client.

LOCAL SEO

One area that businesses should focus on is local SEO. Local SEO is essential for small businesses, and it is crucial to use the right keywords and phrases to optimize your website for local search. For example, if you run a law firm in Nashville, it’s essential to use keywords such as “law firm in Nashville” or “top law firm in Nashville” on your website.

Local SEO is an area where AI-powered tools can be incredibly useful. Many AI-powered tools can help you optimize your website for local search. These tools can analyze your website and suggest improvements to improve your local search rankings. However, it’s important to note that these tools are only as good as the data that they use, so it’s essential to verify the data and make sure it’s up to date.

Takeaway: Here are five potential ideas for original, helpful local content that a business could regularly lean on AI for to help shoulder some of the Local SEO load. In this instance, I have again used a law firm or financial planner as the model business, but just about any business could be used here:

1. A guide to local tax laws: An AI-powered tool could assist in creating a comprehensive guide to the unique tax laws in the local area, helping residents and businesses alike understand their tax obligations.
2. A list of local resources for small businesses: Using AI, a business could create a list of local resources for small business owners, including networking events, support groups, and funding opportunities.
3. A breakdown of local real estate market trends: With the help of AI, a law firm or financial planner could analyze local real estate data to provide residents with an overview of market trends, including average home prices, sales volume, and other important metrics. (Just remember that most AI is behind the times a bit and may not have up to date metrics – you will need to manually verify!)
4. A guide to estate planning: AI-powered content could be used to create a guide to estate planning that is tailored specifically to the local area, taking into account any unique laws or regulations that may be applicable.
5. A directory of local legal or financial services: By using AI to analyze and categorize local businesses, a law firm or financial planner could create a directory of local services that could be helpful to potential clients, such as accountants, financial advisors, or other legal professionals.

If you see AI as an inexpensive, easy way to game search engine rankings, then the answer is no.

In conclusion, the use of AI for SEO is becoming increasingly popular, and Google has stated that it is not against the use of AI-generated content. However, the focus should be on creating original, high-quality, people-first content that demonstrates qualities of expertise, experience, authoritativeness, and trustworthiness (E-E-A-T). AI-powered tools can be incredibly useful, but it’s essential to verify the data and make sure it’s up to date.

Remember, if you see AI as an essential way to help you produce content that is helpful and original, it might be useful to consider. If you see AI as an inexpensive, easy way to game search engine rankings, then the answer is no.

Helpful Links:

• Google’s Webmaster Guidelines: A guide provided by Google for webmasters to follow in order to ensure that their websites are optimized for search engine performance.
• Google’s AI principles: A set of guidelines and principles established by Google for the ethical development and use of artificial intelligence.
• OpenAI’s GPT-3 language model: A cutting-edge language processing model developed by OpenAI that can generate highly sophisticated natural language responses.
• Hubspot’s guide to content creation with AI: A comprehensive guide to using AI to enhance and streamline the content creation process.
• Moz’s beginner’s guide to SEO: An introduction to search engine optimization (SEO), covering the basics of how search engines work and how to optimize a website for better search engine rankings.
• Yoast’s guide to local SEO: A guide to local SEO techniques, providing insights into how to improve the visibility of a website in local search results.
• SEMrush’s guide to content marketing: A guide to the practice of content marketing, offering tips and advice on how to create effective content that can help a business grow and succeed.
• The Content Marketing Institute: A resource for marketers and businesses looking to improve their content marketing strategies and practices.
• Google Trends: A tool provided by Google that enables users to track the popularity and search volume of specific keywords and topics over time.
• Google Analytics: A web analytics service provided by Google that enables website owners to track and analyze user behavior on their sites.

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