ChatGPT and similar tools have shifted perceptions of how to approach SEO content. Faster content and cost efficiencies, along with eliminating the necessity of writing briefs for each blog post, are attractive for companies seeking to enhance their online presence.
However, can ChatGPT even do SEO? If yes, how much of it can be depended on? The real answer is yes and no and that it is totally dependent on what you consider to be ‘doing SEO’ and in what capacity you are using the app.
How Does ChatGPT Work?
ChatGPT is one of many large language models developed by OpenAI. It predicts the next word in a sentence by evaluating what it has been trained on, one word at a time. ChatGPT has been trained on a lot of content that has an SEO focus, including blog posts and guides.
It does not have a hard time generating SEO related content, or responding to tasks like ‘Write a 500 word post on X and include the keyword Y.’ What it cannot do is tell you what Google is currently in demand, what your specific competitors are ranking for, or whether a piece of content will actually perform in organic search.
What Can ChatGPT Actually Do For SEO?
ChatGPT is a powerful tool that can be beneficial in SEO, from helping you brainstorm or plan content to drafting and editing. It can most definitely be used in a business SEO strategy, however, it lacks depth and SEO requires much more than it can offer solely.
Fast Content Creation
The first ChatGPT and SEO connection that comes to many people’s minds is its ability to craft digital content. It can write full blog posts, copy for service pages, answers to FAQs, meta descriptions and social media content in a fraction of the time.
Content Ideation
ChatGPT is very useful for coming up with ideas for different types of content. Give ChatGPT a prompt to come up with blog post ideas and it will present you with an idea list. This is a nice risk-free way to generate ideas and avoid the hazards of publishing content created by AI.
Drafting Content
ChatGPT is useful for generating a content draft which can then be refined and edited for accuracy and completeness. This can be a very helpful method for speeding up the content production process while maintaining the work quality and creativity that are essential for satisfying SEO requirements.
Benefits Of Using AI For Meta Titles/Descriptions
AI is great for coming up with meta titles and descriptions. These are short descriptions that show up on search pages and affect how many people click on a link. You can create many different versions and select the best one and this is much faster with AI- since the task is low-stakes, the risk of AI inaccuracies is negligible.
Benefits Of AI For Creating FAQs
AI is a great tool to generate FAQ sections. This content is a direct match to the ‘People Also Ask’ results on Google and can further be enhanced with FAQ scheme for greater visibility. By giving ChatGPT a topic and having it create the ten most popular questions with simple answers, you can create content quickly that fills the requirements for a featured snippet.
The Limitations Of ChatGPT For SEO Applications
As mentioned above, ChatGPT is a powerful tool that can help assist in business SEO strategies, however, it is not robust enough to be the sole tool and lacks things like keyword research capabilities, organic search knowledge and it makes things up in a convincing way- making your content untrustworthy.
ChatGPT Cannot Replace Keyword Research
When conducting keyword research, you need real, up-to-date data that will give you accurate results for a particular topic, including search volumes, competition and trending words and phrases- ChatGPT does not have access to this information.
ChatGPT Produces Plausible-sounding Fabrications
ChatGPT often makes things up and with confidence. It will fake statistics, cite bogus sources, make up studies and quote people who never said the quote. Content containing misinformation will hurt your reputation and if your audience finds out, it will cost your brand their trust – you will fail to meet E-E-A-T standards.
ChatGPT Can Not Build Links Or Authority
One of the most important ranking factors in a competitive SEO area will always be backlinks, links from other sites to yours. ChatGPT cannot conduct outreach, build media relationships, create the kind of genuinely original research that earns organic citations, or manage the strategic partnerships through which links are acquired. The authority-building dimension of SEO is entirely beyond what any AI writing tool can address.
ChatGPT Does Not Understand Your Competitors
Understanding search engine optimisation goes beyond simply studying the search. To effectively optimise for SEO, one must understand their competitors. This includes their competitors’ search results, where current search gaps lie and where competitors’ content is vulnerable and where your content can fill that vulnerability.
Which AI Tool Is Best For SEO?
Any business wishing to expand their SEO strategy should be utilising AI tools as they can be a great asset. The paid version of SemRush can help you research keywords, phrases, plan content and check out your competitors for you- making it one of the best SEO tools on the market.
However, ensuring you are using this, alongside ChatGPT or Claude for written copy and brainstorming and constantly reviewing your Google Search Console makes for a more robust SEO plan that incorporates AI tools.
What is Google’s Opinion on AI Content
Google’s Judgment: quality content is the winner and is helpful no matter the author.
Google has affirmed that it does not issue a penalty for content that is generated using AI. The quality of content has always had the same standard: is the content of quality, is it helpful and is it genuinely written for the end user and not the search engine? If content is AI-written, it will only pass Google’s test if it is reviewed and edited by a human.
