As a solopreneur, navigating the ins and outs of Search Engine Optimization can seem overwhelming. However, leveraging tools like ChatGPT makes the process a lot easier. Let’s explore the intersections of SEO and AI-generated content, enabling you to create content that not only resonates with your audience but also ranks well in Google.
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First off, Google LOVES AI.
Google’s search algorithm relies on AI to deliver useful, relevant content in it’s search engine results.
And it’s new search product, Bard, relies on generative AI, similar to that which powers ChatGPT.
What Google doesn’t like, is the flood of low-quality AI-generated content polluting the internet.
All that chaff make’s it’s stated mission of organizing the world’s information and making it universally accessible1 and useful much more difficult
With regards to what it displays in search results, Google’s Danny Sullivan has been really clear:
Google’s search algorithm doesn’t penalize AI content.2
Google’s algorithm penalizes UNHELPFUL content.
And a lot of AI-generated content happens to be unhelpful.
If you’re leveraging AI as an assistant to help you produce HELPFUL content that showcases your experience and expertise, you’re going to be just fine.
4 Ways To Use ChatGPT To Support Your SEO Strategy
Content is the core of every SEO strategy and generative AI tools can supercharge your content creation process.
My favorite tool is ChatGPT. While there are a number of ways I use it within my business, here are a few specific uses that support my SEO strategy:
1) SEO Tasks
I use ChatGPT to help craft SEO-titles and meta-descriptions that help my web content show up in relevant search results.2) Developing Content Ideas
Generative AI can help supercharger you content creation process. And in the world of SEO? Content is queen.
ChatGPT is a stellar brainstorming assistant and I use it regularly to help generate ideas for blog posts (and social media posts).
It doesn’t always hit, but it’s incredibley helpful when feeling uninspired or when facing writers block.
3) Creating Outlines
As much as I love to use ChatGPT to help with ideation, I don’t love it to write large blocks of text.
It comes out sounding, well, like a robot wrote it.
But, it is pretty good at writing outlines.
And it’s so much easier to fill in an outline than to start writing on a blank page.
4) Keyword Research
ChatGPT can be helpful for keyword research but take this with a grain of salt.
ChatGPT doesn’t actually know anything about Google’s index. It doesn’t know anything about search volumes and competition. But it does know alot about what words it sees in it’s own index.
You can ask ChatGPT for IDEAS for long-tail keywords related to your topic, but you MUST validate those keywords with Google and other tools to make sure they’re good keywords for you.
Make Your AI-generated Content SEO Friendly
1) Fact Check Everything
ChatGPT hallucinates and doesn’t always report facts.
2) Edit All Output To Make It Sound Like You
Massage the tone and voice so it matches your style.
Incorporate your experiences, personal and professional. Generative AI is competent with facts (except when it’s not!) but it can’t replicate your lived experience. This is THE area where human writers have a huge leg up on AI content.
3) Make Sure You’re Creating Content With Your Audience In Mind
Google rewards helpful content. And helpful content is content created with your audience in mind.
Answer their questions. Provide solutions tailored to them. Share personal experiences and anecdotes that will resonate with them.
Do You Need To Use An AI-Detector?
AI detectors aren’t super accurate and in my opinion, not worth the time.
Since Google isn’t penalizing AI content, the bigger issue is not IF you’re using AI tools but HOW.
Focus on creating valuable, helpful content and if AI helps you do that? It won’t ding your SEO.
Bonus Tip! Try this ChatGPT prompt To Craft Your SEO Titles and Meta-Descriptions:
If you’re new to ChatGPT, here’s a set of prompts to play with. Together, these prompts will help you write an SEO-friendly Title Tag and Meta-description.
Note, the way I’ve provided these prompts, they’re meant to be used in this order and within the same chat.
ChatGPT Prompt 1:
Please create a meta-description for the following blog post, ensuring it is engaging, concise (155 characters or less), and contains the designated SEO focus keyword.
Title of the Blog Post: [Insert Title Here]
Main Topic or Focus: [Briefly describe the central theme or focus of the post]
Key Points or Highlights:
[Key Point 1]
[Key Point 2]
[Key Point 3] [Add more points as necessary]
Target Audience: [Describe the specific group the post is intended for, like personal trainers, pelvic floor physical therapists, birth doulas, etc.]
Desired Tone and Style: [Mention any specific tone or style preferences, e.g. friendly, relatable or authoritative]
SEO Focus Keyword: [List your SEO focus keyword]
ChatGPT Prompt 2:
Please create 10 different SEO-optimized, click-worthy titles for the preceeding blog post. Each title should be around 55 characters and include the specified SEO keyword.
ChatGPT Tips:
You often have to iterate on ChatGPT output.
1) If the SEO title or meta-descreptions are provided with emojis, you can respond and say “Thank you, please provide titles without emojis”
2) If the text isn’t the correct length, you can remind it by saying “Can you please refine the output so that the SEO titles (or meta-descriptions) are limited to X characters?”
3) If it “forgets” to use the SEO keyword, remind it! It usually gets it right the second time if it forgets the first time.
Please do not have the expectation that ChatGPT will get it right the first time every time. It’s an iterative process and you have to converse with it.
Before You Go
Search engines want to reward useful content, they’re not as concerned with the content creation process.
If you keep your compass pointed on producing high quality content that addresses the questions your audience is asking and providing the solutions they need, you’ll be rewarded via great placement in search rankings.
By adding generative AI to your kit of SEO tools, you’ll be able to produce more content for your website and provide more context to Google making it a win-win.
Whether you’d like to better understand how AI can support your workflow or you’d like a hand crafting the perfect AI-prompts, you can book a Power Hour and get my brain on your biz. I’ll help you identify the places where AI can do some heavy lifting and make sure you feel confident putting it into play.
