Introduction

Plug “generative AI and blogging” into Google and you’ll get over 200,000,000 search results.

So how did I get you to find this blog post against the millions of others out there on the same topic?

Read on to learn my insights on making your content stand out in a sea of AI-generated articles and confusing Google updates.

Generative AI’s Role in SEO and Content Marketing Share on X

Generative AI and Blogging

I’ve been in the digital marketing industry since 2009 and understand that the web constantly changes.

However, I’ve noticed in the past year that the digital marketing landscape is wilder and more complicated than ever.

Generative AI is the biggest change I’ve ever seen in my years of digital marketing. And in the last few years, AI capabilities have absolutely skyrocketed.

Whether it’s the rapidly increasing capabilities of AI or tough Google updates, it takes an immense amount of effort and ongoing education to keep up.

AI made it easy — and cheap — for companies to cram their websites with mass-produced AI articles.

But what good is loads of content if it doesn’t rank?

The Problem with AI Blogs

There’s no doubt AI tools like ChatGPT4 can easily spit out articles in a matter of minutes.

But AI has limits.

AI-generated articles can pull from seemingly endless sources of information and rewrite this info.

This may sound great but being limited to existing web content means AI-generated writing lacks human intuition and fresh perspectives.

AI cannot conduct interviews or surveys and does not have personal experience and expertise on topics.

No emotions, no common sense, no new insight, and zero intuition. AI simply isn’t capable of these human traits.

The result is bland content that is doomed to the depths of Google.

Assuming a reader does manage to find your post, will they find value in it?

An article that simply emulates millions of other articles that already exist will leave your readers disappointed.

Rather than saving or sharing your content, visitors will leave your site and be less likely to trust it in the future.

Risks of using ChatGPT and AI-generated writing carelessly include:

Reduced trust and credibility with your readers

Poor SEO performance

Lack of fresh ideas and unique content

Repetitive, choppy content

Reduced brand authority

Decreased site traffic

Google penalisations due to content that prioritised keywords rather than reader value

Google’s Response

So does Google approve AI-generated content?

This isn’t a simple ‘yes’ or ‘no’ answer. Rather, I’d say the answer is “It depends”.

Google’s focus is promoting relevant, quality, valuable content — regardless of whether it is AI-generated or written by a human.

And that’s where Google’s most recent Helpful Content Update comes in.

This update intends to prioritise content that:

Demonstrates information gain (any new value, information, or content that is not available from other articles)

Shows first-hand expertise, industry authority, and personal knowledge and insights in content

Covers topics definitively and comprehensively and prevents further searches (e.g. readers don’t need to go back to another article to find the answer or info they are looking for).

How to Use AI and New SEO Best Practices to Stand Out

To use AI and new SEO best practices to stand out, I recommend writing quality content and longer articles.

Do you see how awful that advice was?

I can’t stress this point enough: Skip the generic, low-quality content.

Whether it’s AI-generated or not, a low-quality mix of existing articles is exactly what Google will NOT highlight as ‘helpful content’.

Uploading generic, bland content to your site is a surefire way to get it buried under thousands or even millions of other articles.

Instead, here are 3 techniques I use to harness the power of AI and new SEO best practices to write content that ranks.

1. Demonstrate E-E-A-T Principles

Google — and your readers — want to know you are an expert on the topic you are writing about and have personal experience with it.

My biggest recommendation for accomplishing this is focusing on E-E-A-T principles — Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness.

Make your content stand out by incorporating firsthand experiences, personal stories, and unique research into your articles.

Using these tactics will allow Google to recognise your article as helpful and promote it in search results.

2. Use Original Media and Content

Including original media and images is one of the easiest ways to set your content apart from AI-generated writing.

AI can’t replicate new content like original images, infographics, and media like videos. I always aim to add in at least one new image or infographic to each blog post on our site.

3. Use AI Tools to Your Advantage

I don’t recommend using AI to churn out a bunch of low-quality content. But, AI does have its place in the SEO world.

I suggest skipping the AI-generated content and opting to use AI for a better purpose: evaluating your content.

The last thing you want is for a visitor to find your site based on a topic they look up only to leave your site in search of a more complete article.

The right AI tools can evaluate your content to make sure it isn’t missing any key information.

My go-to AI tools for evaluating content performance and an article’s topic coverage are Frase and ClearScope.

I’d recommend Frase for anyone who is new to AI tools and needs the most user-friendly option. I’m constantly impressed by Frase’s analytic capabilities.

ClearScope has a higher price point, but it is an excellent option for medium to larger businesses that want an easy way to evaluate and optimise content.

Conclusion

Google wants to see content that is helpful, full of expertise, trustworthy, and published on a reputable site.

Succeeding despite these harder content signals by Google and mass-produced AI pieces is daunting.

However, it is possible to navigate and conquer Google’s ever-changing landscape.

If you only take away three things from this article for your future content, I recommend remembering these points:

AI can be a useful tool but it shouldn’t be the only thing you rely on to create content (think AI-assisted writing rather than AI-generated writing)

Add at least two or three firsthand stories or insights to every piece of content or blog post you write

Add at least one original image to your blog posts

I hope this article helps you feel a little more confident about tackling the world of SEO best practices and content creation!

Generative AI’s Role in SEO and Content Marketing

Introduction

Generative AI and Blogging

The Problem with AI Blogs

Google’s Response