As artificial intelligence (AI) becomes more sophisticated, search engine optimization will have to adapt. AI can already analyze data at a rate that humans can’t, so it’s only a matter of time until it starts to dominate SEO strategies.

The SEO industry is always in a state of flux. Google is constantly changing its algorithms, and new technologies are emerging all the time. Ever since Google’s announcement in 2015 that they would be using RankBrain, an artificial intelligence (AI) system, to help process search results, the SEO community has been discussing the impact that AI will have on the industry.

RankBrain is not the only AI system that Google is using. In 2017, they announced that they were also using machine learning to fight spam.

Since Google’s Search Liaison, Danny Sullivan, confirmed in 2019 that RankBrain was now being used for every search query, several companies have started to experiment with AI and machine learning to try and get ahead of the curve. This gave rise to a whole new plethora of AI-based SEO tools. Some of the prominent ways in which AI tools have proven their effectiveness are SEO keyword research, content creation, traffic and site growth analysis, voice search, and SEO workflows.

These applications have made it evident that the future of SEO is in Artificial Intelligence. The question is not whether AI will change SEO but how soon it will happen. The number of companies interested in AI-based SEO has increased significantly in the past year and is only going to grow in the years to come.

“I think we’re going to see a continued move towards more personalized search results, and that will be driven by both better use of data as well as machine learning models.  I also believe we’ll start to see Google put more emphasis on entities, rather than just keywords, as they continue to try and better understand the searcher’s intent,” said Rand Fishkin, founder of Moz.

Here’s how AI is already changing SEO and how we can expect it to change even more in the future.

Keywords and anchor management

SEO keyword research is one of the most important aspects of SEO. It has always been a time-consuming and tedious task, but AI tools have made it much easier. AI-based keyword capabilities like SEO Vendor’s AI Analysis assist in analyzing anchor text usage, keyword variations and semantic keywords.

Content creation and analysis

Content is still the king when it comes to SEO. Google’s algorithm uses natural language processing (NLP) to understand the content on a webpage and match it with the user’s query. This means that creating high-quality, relevant content is more important than ever before.

In spite of heated debates over Google’s reaction to generated content, we continue to see a greater introduction of tools based on GPT-3, and GPT-4 development is well underway.

Traffic and ranking growth analysis

Understanding your website’s rankings and traffic growth is essential for SEO. Google Analytics is a great tool for this, but it can be time-consuming to interpret the data.

AI-based developments like SEO Vendor’s “Eye In the Sky” and “Rankings Analyzer” can predict and also warn about rankings growth so that it can automate the identification of issues and provide corrective measures.

SEO workflows

SEO is a complex process with many steps, from keyword research to link building to on-page optimization. AI-based tools help you automate various SEO tasks to focus on other aspects of your business.

Interestingly, AI-based SEO tools that analyze data and workflows are lesser-known. SEO Vendor’s CORE AI technology can bridge the AI gap for agencies that lack the technology. 

According to Jim Liu, managing partner at SEO Vendor, “Our CORE-AI technology is capable of analyzing websites more effectively and can vastly improve the accuracy of ranking strategies even with search engine algorithm updates. We use artificial neural networks that can learn from more than 100 factors to identify the right direction for a campaign.” 

It is clear that the SEO industry is getting bolder in applying AI and machine learning. The next few years will be crucial in determining how successful these tools are in helping companies rank higher on SERPs. With the right application of AI tools, the future of SEO looks very bright indeed.

“The future of SEO will be heavily influenced by two key factors: the continued rise of mobile search, and the increased use of artificial intelligence in the search industry,” said Neil Patel, founder of Crazy Egg and Hello Bar.

With many numerous companies working on AI-first projects, it’s hard to predict exactly how AI will change SEO in the future. But here are a few developments that are we can expect from AI in the coming years:

Predict rankings 

There are a number of factors that go into ranking a website, including backlinks, social signals, and on-page optimization. With so many variables, it can be difficult to determine which actions will have the biggest impact on your ranking. 

AI can analyze all of these factors and predict how each one will impact your ranking. This information can then be used to develop an effective SEO strategy that is more likely to result in a top ranking.

While platforms like SEO Vendor’s CORE AI  have this capability, it is expected that other companies will also develop new predictive capabilities in the coming years.

Search engines algorithm analysis

Google’s algorithms are constantly changing, and it can be difficult to keep up with the latest updates. This often calls for regular site auditing, which can be time-consuming. 

In addition, if you make a change to your website that Google doesn’t like, you could be penalized or even blacklisted. This can have a devastating effect on your traffic and revenue.

While current audit technology allows you to keep up with the latest changes, in the future, AI will be able to completely analyze your website and identify any potential red flags that could lead to a penalty. This information could then be used to make the necessary changes to your website before it’s too late.

Businesses in the future will be able to avoid the costly process of recovering from a Google penalty.

Monitoring and analyzing the competition 

In order to stay ahead of your competition, you need to constantly monitor their SEO efforts. This can be a daunting task, as you need to keep track of all the changes they are making and figure out how they will impact your website. 

Currently, there are a number of tools that can help you with this, but they require a lot of manual work. In the future, AI tools like SEO Vendor’s CORE AI can do all the heavy lifting for you. It will identify any changes they make and analyze how they impact your website. 

More control over SERP rankings 

Currently, agencies have limited control over their SERP rankings. If you want to rank higher, you need to prioritize SEO strategies on your own and hope that Google’s algorithms will react favorably to them, relying mostly on experience.

In the coming years, agencies will have more control over SERP rankings. AI-powered tools will be able to analyze your website and not only identify areas for improvement but also prioritize and automate strategies.

Consistent and stable rankings

One of the biggest problems with SEO is that rankings can fluctuate a lot. This volatility makes it difficult to track progress and can lead to a lot of frustration. However, this is something that AI will be able to solve. 

AI will be able to reduce ranking fluctuations and help you maintain a more consistent position in SERP. Even if your ranking does drop, AI such as SEO Vendor’s “Eye In the Sky” will be able to quickly identify the problem and alert the agency of the necessary steps to fix it.

Control SEO focus

AI will have a big impact on SEO strategies. It will change the way businesses approach SEO and how agencies help them achieve better results. Businesses that are able to embrace AI will be able to stay ahead of the competition and dominate the SERPs.  Agencies will be able to better automate communication about the focus or aggressiveness of a campaign where client dashboards, such as SEO Vendor’s AI Dashboard, can allow direct control over AI-based strategies and keyword focus.

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