Artificial intelligence or AI is going to be a real game changer for SEO

Change is the only constant for SEO as Google keeps updating the algorithms in its endeavour to improve user experience and raise the performance bar for providing a level playing field for all. Google leaves everyone guessing about its next move as marketers are keen to decipher updates and understand its impact on SEO performance and ranking. And not only Google, but user behaviour on the internet is also changing very fast as evident from the search patterns entirely different from earlier.  As technology has provided more options, people are trying to move away from the traditional method of searches with some selective words and instead frame sentences for searches in the way we usually speak. 

Search engines are keen to understand what searchers mean beyond the plain words to discover the intent behind searches. Artificial Intelligence or AI is now the most powerful tool with search engines that are set to influence the way SEO works by boosting the powers in analysing searches. What could be the impact on SEO once AI becomes more dominating is the topic under discussion in this article.  How AI is going to affect SEO and searches is what we will try to understand now.

RankBrain

RankBrain, a machine learning system that uses AI is one of the tools that Google uses to sort search results.  It is unthinkable for Google to process search results without using RankBrain; such is the search engine’s dependence on the tool.  If you follow searches closely, the effects of artificial intelligence will become clear as you will discover its role in helping search engines to understand search intent. RankBrain uses its power to help search engines understand the context of search queries instead of confining its role in behaving like a word processor. It goes ahead to discover what lays under the query, which points to what kind of answers users expect. Search intent is gaining even more importance as voice searches are now set to change the search landscape. 

Big Data makes it possible

The advancements in machine learning and AI have been possible only because of Big Data. AI is heavily dependent on Big Data that forms the foundation of its knowledge and information base. Without this, it could not have assisted search engines to adapt to the changes in search behaviour and discover search intent. As users want to access much more information too quickly, AI enhances the data processing capabilities of search engines greatly to match with user expectations. AI can do what humans are incapable of by using their intelligence and the way searches are evolving. It becomes evident that only AI has the required potential to deal with complex queries in a much better way. According to the experts at

Kick SEO Brisbane, the day is not far when humans will have to make way for AI because that is what the writing on the wall tells us.

Bots might do it better

Machines are now the biggest competitor of humans in performing tasks that used to be within the exclusive domain of humans, like content creation.  Trials conducted in Japan by using bots to write content has shown very encouraging results. It has not only passed the initial tests but went ahead to bag a literary prize too. However, the bot’s content quality needs improvement to match with human content. The indications are that it might not be too far when bot created content could challenge the monopoly of humans in creating high-quality content fit for SEO. 

Looking beyond humans

The time has come when search engines have started to reduce human dependency in many areas to improve its search performance for providing a better user experience. With AI, search engines can go beyond human capabilities and create new kind of experience for users to satisfy their ever-increasing desire for accessing more precise information at lightning speed. Search processing has become much smoother and faster with AI besides automating the process.  But still, it will never be a completely human-free process because the creative inputs that give the cutting edge to AI come from humans only. And machines will always be machines because it will lack the humane touch. 

SEO is set to change

As AI is fast spreading its wings, experts are hoping that within the next few years there is going to be some massive shift in SEO.  Hopefully, AI will be able to successfully tackle the issues of spun content and avoid the pitfalls of over-reliance on automated systems. Humans are quickly adjusting to the use of AI to take advantage of its enormous capabilities in handling large data volume and faster learning to gather more insights for discovering search intent. By combining big data and user intent, it will be possible to create the most relevant content aimed at a targeted section of the audience because marketers are aware of the expectations. It becomes easy to fulfil their expectations. With the assistance of AI, SEO campaigns can become much more pin-pointed and powerful that assures better results. This will reflect on the ranking of your website. 

Get ready to adapt changes

 As many of the human tasks keep shifting to machines, marketers must get ready for changing their working ways as new priorities would keep coming up. The way people used to optimize is about to change. Many tasks that took longer time and required more human involvement would no more hold its place. And even if the tasks remain, the ways of doing it will surely change because AI will dictate the new ways of doing it much faster. Marketers would have more time to balance the equation between humans and machines and do more creative work for their specific brands.

Bots will also have a share in content creation and exist alongside human-created content. But human-created content will still have its place of pride because the machine produced content can never match human creativity.

 

 

Bhanu Garg: