Search engine optimisation [SEO] is a core component of digital marketing. Optimising your website and page content to ensure you appear and consistently rank for target keywords is central to generating quality traffic, organic reach and overall brand awareness and authority.
With ongoing changes to the Google search algorithm, we’re seeing search engine results pages [SERPs] becoming increasingly dynamic and taking a more user-centric approach. This, combined with developments in machine learning and artificial intelligence, along with shifting user search behaviour, means brands must keep up with changing trends or risk sliding down the SERPs.
Search Generative Experience
Google have been working on an AI-powered snippets tool called Search Generative Experience [SGE]. SGE works by essentially providing an AI generated result to user search queries, with the associated snapshot appearing on the results page and including links to sources alongside additional prompts for users to explore a topic in more depth.
Though currently still in the experimental stage, and with some doubt around whether SGE will be released in its current form, the technology is indicative of an increased focus on integrating AI into how search results are ranked and displayed, and how such a tool could impact user search behaviour.
From an SEO perspective, it’s important to note that users will always need detailed, authoritative and human-generated content, meaning traditional SEO best practices still apply. However, brands can get a head start by integrating some of these features into content, such as organising blocks of text into defined sections to make it easier for tools like SGE to parse, as well as focusing on developing better authority within your brand’s niche.
Topical authority is becoming critical to successful SEO content, ensuring your brand is the go-to voice for its subject matter niche. This means not only producing high quality and authoritative content, but also ensuring the architecture of your website makes it easy for both humans and search engine bots to explore and discover this content.
User Experience Optimisation
A positive user experience for visitors to your website is not only important to ensure your target audience has a good experience interacting with your site, it also feeds directly into your SEO. With Google’s increased emphasis on users, websites that provide a positive experience are more likely to climb the rankings in the SERPs.
Take page load speed, for example. Fast loading websites are no longer optional if you want to avoid users giving up on your website and visiting a competitors site instead. Google Analytics provide performance monitoring tools to measure load speed, and Google have published extensive guidelines for loading speed. 1 to 2 seconds is considered acceptable, but in practice, people expect pages to load within half a second. Running regular audits is essential to ensuring your ranking isn’t being impacted by slow loading times.
Other concerns for providing a positive experience should be mobile friendliness and responsiveness, streamlined navigation and clear, attractive design, and of course, high quality content. All of these factors influence how long your users remain on your site, explore pages and engage with content, and this is reflected in better organic metrics and in turn, higher rankings.
AI vs. Original Value
The ability to use artificial intelligence and machine learning tools and technology to streamline time-consuming tasks is shaking up every sector, including marketing and SEO – but when it comes to content, the human touch remains the gold standard.
While it might seem tempting to use AI to write vast amounts of content, this risks flooding the SERPs with generic, machine-written copy that does little to help your brand stand out and climb the rankings. Google are already aware of these risks, and its renewed focus on user-centric content means the algorithm is more adept than ever at placing value and emphasis on knowledgeable and authoritative authors.
So, while offering novel, quality content should still be the cornerstone of your SEO content strategy, this does not mean AI tools don’t have a place. Rather than using them to replace human writers, AI and machine learning can boost the scale of your content strategy through summarising, editing, precising, and a whole host of other applications that streamline the content creation process at scale.
Final thoughts
SEO remains one of the most important aspects of a robust digital marketing strategy, offering long-term return on investment and a reliable way of targeting and connecting with audiences. However, as SEO methodologies continue to evolve and user search behaviours shift, brands must ensure they get a head start in optimising both their website and their content or face being left behind in the SERPs.
Jesse Pitts has been with the Global Banking & Finance Review since 2016, serving in various capacities, including Graphic Designer, Content Publisher, and Editorial Assistant. As the sole graphic designer for the company, Jesse plays a crucial role in shaping the visual identity of Global Banking & Finance Review. Additionally, Jesse manages the publishing of content across multiple platforms, including Global Banking & Finance Review, Asset Digest, Biz Dispatch, Blockchain Tribune, Business Express, Brands Journal, Companies Digest, Economy Standard, Entrepreneur Tribune, Finance Digest, Fintech Herald, Global Islamic Finance Magazine, International Releases, Online World News, Luxury Adviser, Palmbay Herald, Startup Observer, Technology Dispatch, Trading Herald, and Wealth Tribune.