If you're like most, you're probably tired of hearing about AI (specifically, generative AI). Since ChatGPT's launch in late 2022, a lot has happened in the AI field: Google Bard, AI-powered Bing, GPT-4, Microsoft's Copilot, Google's SGE, and RankBrain, to name a few.
But while some say the hype surrounding AI is dying down (read about
Beyond The Hype: What AI Means For Agencies), there are other areas besides
content creation where AI is becoming increasingly dominant. One such area is AI SEO, the game-changer that’s redefining the rules of SEO optimization.
Just so we’re on the same page—this piece is not about how AI-assisted search will likely change SEO as we know it. That’s a different story (which we elaborated on in our DudaCon session:
Is SEO Dead? What AI Means for Client SEO Strategy).
In this piece, I’ll discuss current SEO strategies and how AI can be used to help your clients rank higher and boost Google Search organic traffic as part of your agency’s SEO efforts.
It appears that many marketers have yet to fully embrace this transformative technology.
Astonishingly,
only 10% of marketers have hopped on board the AI SEO train for content generation. However, the tide is turning, and the numbers speak for themselves. According to
Search Engine Land (citing BrightEdge research), 58% of marketers are setting their sights on harnessing AI for SEO content generation in the coming year. The growth trajectory is nothing short of remarkable, with expectations that the use of AI in SEO is slated to surge by a remarkable 5x this year alone. It's a clear indication that while AI SEO might still be a road less traveled, it's a trend that's on the cusp of an explosive ascent in the digital marketing landscape.
But what exactly is AI SEO?
AI SEO is the infusion of artificial intelligence into the world of Search Engine Optimization (big surprise, right?). In essence, AI SEO is about deep learning, machine learning, and natural language processing and how to use these technologies to improve website visibility and user engagement on search engines. But it’s so much more than that.
For marketing agencies, it's a shift in approach. Yes, it’s about automation, but it’s also about leveraging advanced algorithms to understand user behavior, improve content relevance, and fine-tune strategies for maximum impact.
In short, it will allow your agency to work smarter and stay ahead of the ever-evolving digital landscape, and your clients to outrank their competitors.
What exactly does using AI for your clients' SEO strategy mean? Well… AI is reshaping the SEO landscape across various domains. From keyword research and content optimization to metadata enhancement and technical SEO, artificial intelligence is the driving force behind smarter, more effective strategies.
Let's review how you can use AI SEO as a marketing agency to make your clients' websites stand out.
Here’s your chance to capitalize on high-impact keywords and streamline your clients’ keyword research process.
Leveraging natural language processing (NLP) to understand context, search intent, and user behavior, AI SEO complements traditional keyword research and offers a whole new world of keywords (along with your client’s target keywords), whether they are exact matches, synonyms, related terms, and long-tail variations that users might employ in search queries.
In addition, AI SEO can offer user intent predictions with remarkable accuracy. By analyzing vast datasets and considering historical search patterns, AI can identify not only what your clients’ target audience is searching for but also why they are searching for it. This insight is gold for crafting content that addresses user needs.
Another common aspect of any keyword research is competitor analysis. By evaluating your competitors' keyword strategies, AI can highlight gaps in your keyword targeting, identify emerging trends, and suggest areas where you can gain a competitive advantage.
AI can also suggest topics and angles you haven’t considered yet that align with current trends and user interests, uncovering hidden opportunities for valuable content creation.
Just think, If you had an AI tool at your disposal prior to the AI boom last year, it might have predicted that explosion, providing you with AI topics to discuss before everybody else—irony at its best.
Lastly, AI SEO tools can continuously monitor keyword performance and adapt recommendations in real-time. This agility allows marketers to stay ahead of shifting trends and user preferences.
SERP (Search Engine Results Page) analysis takes on a whole new dimension with AI in SEO.
Traditional SERP analysis involves manual review and data extraction, a process that can be time-consuming and limited in scope. However, with AI, digital agencies gain the ability to comprehensively dissect SERPs, revealing valuable insights.
Using AI, agencies can quickly parse SERP features such as featured snippets, knowledge panels, and People Also Ask (PAA) sections, providing a clear view of the competitive landscape. Moreover, AI can track SERP changes in real-time, alerting you to fluctuations and opportunities as they happen.
This level of automation and precision not only saves you time but also empowers you to make informed decisions, adapt strategies swiftly, and stay ahead in the ever-evolving SEO race.
This might read quite obvious, but it goes beyond mere content generation or content writing.
Content generation in the context of AI SEO is more about the bigger picture than any specific piece of content, helping agencies identify trending topics, content gaps, and user preferences in their content marketing efforts that will improve their clients' SEO.
For instance, AI can spot niche topics that are gaining traction but haven't yet reached their peak. By creating content around these subjects before your clients’ competitors catch on, you position your clients as industry authorities, earning trust and boosting SEO (be sure to check out our webinar on
AI-Powered Semantic SEO, and how to use AI to build authority).
Beyond identifying missed opportunities, there’s also the issue of whether the content includes relevant information for search engines. With NLP, AI ensures that content is optimized for search engines; not just crammed with keywords, but also provides relevant, meaningful information, enhancing the chances of higher website rankings and improved user engagement.
Traditionally one of the most time-consuming tasks, AI streamlines this process by evaluating link quality, relevance, and authority. It can also identify emerging trends and suggest areas where agencies can build a stronger online presence for their clients.
As an agency building websites by the dozen, AI-driven on-page optimization represents a seismic shift in fine-tuning clients' web content for search engines and users alike.
Gone are the days of labor-intensive keyword placement and manual content adjustments. With the power of artificial intelligence, we now have algorithms that understand context, semantics, and user intent. These algorithms ensure that our content is not just keyword-rich but also genuinely valuable to readers. They help optimize meta tags, headers, and content structure seamlessly, enhancing search engine visibility and user engagement.
AI-driven on-page optimization is like having a digital assistant who tirelessly ensures every element of your web page is finely tuned for maximum impact, ultimately delivering improved rankings and a superior user experience.
I’ll bring up this aspect further in this article when discussing Duda’s new revolutionary AI SEO tool.
Websites’ User Experience is not just about traffic, it’s also about converting that traffic.
AI-driven UX enhancements, such as chatbots, personalized recommendations, and user behavior analysis, are transforming how agencies create websites that not only rank well but also provide exceptional user experiences.
The symbiotic relationship between SEO and UX is becoming more pronounced with AI.
With 50% of U.S. consumers using voice search daily and Bing Chat and Google’s SGE bringing conversational SEO to the table, it’s no wonder voice search is a key component of AI SEO.
I covered the trend of voice search in our 2023 Essential Marketing Trends For Digital Agencies And Their SMB Clients blog post and Voice Shopping in our 5 ECommerce Trends That Will Shape 2023 And Beyond blog post, but now it’s time to cover it from the AI SEO angle.
Granted, some debate whether voice search is a theoretical issue rather than a practical one (since you can’t really know whether searchers use voice or text to reach a website), but there are still many others who are willing to put their money on it.
If I were you, I wouldn’t overlook this trend, even though it’s debatable.
When powered by NLP, AI can analyze vast datasets of voice searches to identify patterns in conversational language. As an agency, you can use these insights to tailor your clients’ content and keyword strategies to match how users speak rather than type. This means focusing on long-tail keywords and question-based queries, ensuring that content provides direct, concise answers to user questions.
AI-generated content is another interesting aspect of voice search optimization. There is a way to create voice-optimized pieces that address user queries effectively. Moreover, AI aids in structuring content to secure featured snippets, which are crucial for voice search results. And let’s not forget about Local SEO—since numerous voice search inquiries depend on location, it's crucial to fine-tune your clients content for local search (you know the deal, incorporate business info and so on).
Related:
2023 SEO Checklist For Agencies And Clients Using Duda
Your Go-To SEO Checklist For ECommerce Websites
As an innovative website builder made for agencies, we’re all about AI.
Realizing that agencies can’t afford not to include AI in their marketing strategy, we decided to offer these technologies within Duda’s website builder in a way that benefits agencies the most.
You’re probably thinking, “Well, no news here, all website builders are about AI these days”—and you would be right.
So yes, we offer an AI writing assistant built right into the Duda platform to help your agency generate content for clients' sites; but now, we’ve also created a new native AI-powered SEO solution that will completely transform the way your agency does SEO, allowing you to build higher-performing client sites faster than ever, and offer SEO services without the high time and cost investment.
Using SEO software to generate meta tags, or better yet, using AI-generated content for it? Looking for the best AI SEO tools to automate these SEO tasks?
Utilizing Duda’s AI SEO Assistant, you can automatically generate meta tags for all your client’s site pages (meta titles and meta descriptions) with a single click and receive relevant tag suggestions within seconds. Using this tool is more efficient (to say the least) than using 3rd party tools like ChatGPT, Jasper, and more, which require manual prompting and copy-pasting content from one platform to another.
Here’s a short video that demonstrates that magic:
As an agency building multiple sites, this tool is going to change your SEO workflow and SEO tasks, making the on-page optimization work of meta tags lightning fast. Try Duda for Free.
You know the saying, “Artificial intelligence will not replace you, a person using it better than you will”? Well… The same goes for agencies. It’s fair to assume that an agency with better AI tools, preferably consolidated within their commonly used tools, will be way ahead of the competition regarding productivity and efficiency.In website building, we’ve gotten used to using generative AI tools for content creation, even within our website builder of choice. But now, there’s a new sheriff in town: AI SEO.
For agencies, it’s a game changer.
You can automate all sorts of manual, time-consuming SEO tasks (which agencies have plenty of) and get unique insights you wouldn’t have gotten without AI.
That’s why we, Duda, created an industry-first AI-powered SEO automation tool—the only solution of its kind, allowing any company that builds websites at scale —particularly digital agencies, to seamlessly generate SEO metadata and optimize entire sites at once, all within the Duda platform.
Want a piece of the Duda action? Try Duda for free.
