Human SEO vs. AI SEO: Why You Still Need Human SEO Experts
- November 27th, 2023
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Marketing
- Swarm Digital
Every successful marketing strategy includes SEO: search engine optimization. If you’re looking for someone to do high-quality SEO work for your business, does it even make sense to choose a human writer anymore? After all, can’t artificial intelligence write content that meets all your specifications? As of 2023, 35% of businesses have adopted AI in some capacity. What’s more, that number is expected to rise exponentially over the next few years. So the big question today is simple: Human SEO vs. AI SEO, which is better? Does it matter? and what should I ultimately use for my website.
It’s true that artificial intelligence has evolved to incredible heights. AI isn’t going anywhere, and the most successful businesses understand how to make the most of its capabilities. However, they also understand the risks involved with jumping on board the AI bandwagon too completely. In some scenarios, human labor simply can’t be replaced – and high-quality SEO work is one of those scenarios. At Swarm Digital Marketing, we believe in leveraging the best that the latest technology has to offer, without sacrificing quality or results. Keep reading to learn more about why Swarm values human SEO work so highly – and what we can do to boost your brand’s visibility and your bottom line.
AI Content Presents Ethical Risks That Can Tarnish Your Brand
We spoke with Matthew Weitzman, the co-founder of Swarm Digital Marketing, about the limitations of artificial intelligence in SEO work. Matthew has been doing SEO work since 2009 (which represents more experience in the industry than many of today’s SEO companies combined). One of his many concerns with using AI for SEO work comes down to ethics. AI can’t do moral reasoning or understand morality in context. Unfortunately, AI is likely to cut moral corners in ways that could be considered “manipulative or unethical,” according to Matthew.
AI doesn’t understand the subtleties of bias (both conscious and unconscious) and how it hurts our society. AI has been known to discriminate against minority groups in blatant ways. Unfortunately, artificial intelligence often functions as a mirror of today’s societal problems. While AI is a futuristic tool in many ways, it can create content that keeps us stuck in harmful ways of thinking. And the last thing your brand image needs is to be associated with racism, sexism or other dangerous ideologies.
Humans Understand How Language Works, Better Than The Best AI Tools Can
Matthew explains that humans can understand “user intent, context, and the nuances of language” better than the most sophisticated AI tools. SEO isn’t just about publishing content with the right keywords. Effective SEO content has to resonate with real people, especially when your business has a local customer base. Human content creators can understand the users in specific localities, from a hyperlocal level (like a particular neighborhood or ZIP code) to a national level. Reaching a targeted audience requires cultural knowledge, linguistic flexibility, and social skills that artificial intelligence simply doesn’t have.
Artificial Intelligence Can’t Produce The Creative Content That Will Make Your Brand Stand Out
As Matthew explains, “humans can produce creative, original content – artificial intelligence can’t.” While AI is capable of technical excellence, it can’t present a unique perspective on issues that matter to your audience. Today, AI detection tools can tell whether many pieces of writing were produced by a human. Of course, it’s never a great look for your organization when you’re caught using AI to produce content without clearly admitting that fact.
One reason these tools are so successful is that AI writing is simply too perfect. AI may use language in ways that are clear, grammatically correct and efficient, but it can’t produce creative new ideas. Besides, the average US consumer is reading at a 7th to 8th grade level. They’re not looking for perfection – they’re looking for content that’s relatable, down to earth, and interesting.
Furthermore, search engines like Google have ranking factors on websites based on their originality and quality. The whole point of investing in an SEO strategy is to get your site to rank higher on Google and other search engines. But if your site is filled with AI-generated content that sounds just like a dozen others out there, your rankings will take a hit.
Local SEO for Small Businesses
Human Content Creators Can Add The Personal Touches That Make Sense For Your Brand
Your business has specific needs and goals. You’re trying to reach a specific audience, with complex preferences and desires. When AI tries to produce SEO work in light of these complexities, Matthew says, “AI just simply gets it wrong.” When it comes to SEO content, getting awkwardly close to the mark can be more embarrassing than missing it by a mile. Human SEO experts can help you avoid the cleanup and backtracking that becomes necessary when AI gets things “99% right.”
Human SEO Specialists Can Quickly Adapt To Change
A winning SEO strategy is a bit like a winning chess strategy. If you’re not planning several moves ahead – and if you’re unable to quickly adapt to a changing environment – you can’t succeed in the long run. As Matthew puts it, only human SEO specialists can “quickly adapt to changes in search engine algorithms and understand the broader implications of these changes.”
SEO Strategy: Driving Organic Success
AI Has Too Many Unknowns To Be A Reliable SEO Tool
The type of artificial intelligence that can help with SEO work hasn’t been available to the public for long, when weighting Human AI vs AI SEO, AI SEO for this reason, its success and effectiveness are largely untested. The best tests we currently have are less than a year old. The quality of Human SEO work is incredibly important, and it can make or break a business’s success. Using artificial AI for SEO tasks is simply too risky at this stage.
Furthermore, there’s a lot we don’t know about how AI-produced content affects Google rankings – both today and in the future. While all of Google’s ranking factors evolve over time, AI is poised to have a significant impact on the world of search engines (including Google and its competitors like Bing). How AI-produced content will impact a brand’s ranking over time remains to be seen.
The Advantages Of Artificial Intelligence-Produced Content
If there are so many downsides to using AI for SEO work, why has this approach become so popular? For many business owners, the prospect of producing grammatically flawless content for free – and on demand – is simply too tempting to pass up. However, for most SEO purposes, quality is every bit as important as quantity. Despite its significant strengths, artificial intelligence is no match for human intelligence when it comes to getting results for your brand. We’ve tested it out on our own website, and we implore you to find the AI generated content vs human generated content. If you can, we may just give you 10% off your next service!
Want To Work With The Best Human SEO Experts Around?
When you choose Swarm as your digital marketing partners, you’ll work with a team of dedicated, experienced professionals who don’t cut corners or sacrifice quality. Instead of assigning you an AI assistant, you’ll be working with a designated project manager, content writers and SEO technicians. Contact us today to get a conversation started. During your no-obligation consultation, we’ll learn more about your goals and challenges, and you’ll discover how we can help you succeed.