Does AI Content Rank?

Running a small business can be a juggling act, and creating engaging content often falls to the bottom of the to-do list. So, what if a robot could do that for you? Sounds futuristic, but with the advent of artificial intelligence (AI), it’s no longer a pipe dream.

For marketers who feel like they're constantly racing against the clock, AI might be the helping hand you need. AI content creation, or Natural Language Generation, has been a game-changer in the digital marketing landscape since the 1960s.

Still, its most significant breakthroughs have just started making waves. Imagine a world where content creation is effortless, freeing up time to focus on other aspects of your business. This can sound like a utopia, but it's what AI promises.

But there's a catch - the question on everyone's mind is, can AI replace talented human copywriters to produce quality content that drives SEO? This piece will paint a detailed picture of AI in content creation and walk you through how it affects SEO, website traffic, and your business.

Understanding AI in Content Creation

Artificial intelligence (AI) has been creating ripples in diverse sectors, and digital marketing is no exception. AI content generation, also known as Natural Language Generation (NLG), has been around since the 1960s but has only recently made significant strides.

The AI industry is projected to surge to approximately $15.7 trillion in global GDP by 2030, a significant increase from its 2021 levels. Specifically within content creation, AI offers potential benefits, primarily by lowering content production costs and effort. However, several essential considerations stand in the way of AI outperforming human content creators, particularly regarding SEO ranking.

Evaluating AI-Generated Content

Search engines, mainly Google, have a complex algorithm that helps them grade, rank, and index content. However, let’s take a step back and understand what AI-generated content truly is. Software processes convert structured data sets into human-friendly prose, made possible with NLG or AI.

For example, consider AI software Jarvis creating a product description for a portable blender. The result is a paragraph that has structure but lacks complete coherence and smooth flow that you would expect in a professionally written piece. The content sounds over-computerized. While AI does the heavy lifting of churning out bulk content, the machine-produced text may lose context, thus degrading the overall content quality.

It's worth mentioning that Google’s ranking algorithm considers more than just content. Website performance, mobile-friendliness, backlinks, and brand power, among other factors, significantly contribute to a page’s ranking. This is something that AI content alone cannot provide.

Influence of AI on Content Ranking

While AI's content creation capabilities are intriguing, particularly for those involved in mass content production, the output would still need human involvement to optimise and maintain context. In its current state of development, AI-generated content might fail to present a logical narrative that flows seamlessly from the introduction to the conclusion.

As per Google's admission, it's not just the quality of content that determines ranking but also other factors such as backlinks, mobile-friendliness, and page speed. These factors impact the overall user experience (UX), which AI content cannot fulfil alone.

Optimizing AI Content for Better Search Ranking

AI should be viewed as a valuable tool and a resource, not as a competition. Integrating AI into content creation can help generate new, creative approaches. For instance, marketers could use AI assistance to draft an initial copy, which can be fine-tuned to meet branding rules and the target audience's needs.

To optimize AI content:

1. Use AI content as a starting point: Use AI as a tool to initiate the content creation process. This can serve as a good first draft that can be honed further. 

2. Consistency in brand voice: AI needs precise inputs to generate relevant content. Provide clear instructions, including specific keywords and any brand-specific language.

3. Combine multiple tools: AI software should be just one tool in your content creation toolkit. Pair AI tools with grammar correction tools and plagiarism checkers to improve the final content quality.

Preparing for AI-Powered Future

AI will likely play an increasingly vital role in content marketing strategies as it becomes more sophisticated. Whether content is generated by humans or machines, the key remains in providing value to the user. High-quality content coupled with a stellar user experience will undoubtedly boost page rankings.

Conclusion

In a nutshell, the rise of AI in content creation is a double-edged sword. On the one hand, it promises to churn out content at warp speed, potentially saving marketing teams plenty of time and effort. On the other hand, despite advancements, AI still lacks the human touch crucial for crafting content that truly connects with the audience. 

While AI has shown significant strides in processing structured data and converting it to prose, it still falls short in providing a seamless narrative and optimizing content for search ranking.

Therefore, to truly flourish, businesses should strategically use AI as a supportive tool to create an initial copy rather than fully relying on it to get the job done. With a dash of human creativity and careful tuning, marketers can use AI to drive brand engagement without compromising their brand voice and overall content quality. 

As we look to the future, one thing is clear - the fusion of AI and human creativity promises an exciting and dynamic journey.

While AI content creation has streamlined several content management processes, it isn't quite there yet for creating high-quality, SEO-friendly content. AI can prove to be a valuable supplementary tool, but it can't replace human insight and creativity in content creation. The key lies in finding a balance where AI and human creativity can coexist harmoniously.