The New Way to Do SEO in 2024

The way to be successful with SEO in 2024 is vastly different from how it was last year. AI has been a major disruption in search as we know it, but it also presents a ton of amazing growth opportunities. We’ll show you what’s changed and three brand new future-proof strategies that you can use to get ahead of 95% of your competitors, who are probably still stuck in last year’s tactics. These strategies will keep you on the path to higher rankings no matter what comes out of this whole AI revolution.

Changes in SEO This Past Year

First, ChatGPT rolled out, making it much easier to churn out SEO content, articles, and blog posts at scale. So, that’s exactly what people did, from content marketing agencies to small businesses that had never really done any SEO at all. However, this had an unexpected consequence. The internet became flooded with poorly written, artificially generated, bland, generic content that lacked a point of view and felt like it was written by a robot.

Then, in May, Google introduced the Google Search Experience (GSSE). Instead of the usual list of website results, Google now plans to provide AI-generated answers. This change has caused concern among many SEO experts. If AI-powered SEO content is bland and Google won’t show your website’s content in searches, how are you supposed to come out ahead?

Despite these changes sounding bad on the surface, they actually have a positive upside if you know how to play into the new opportunities. Let’s discuss how you can future-proof your SEO strategy while allowing you to scale up your SEO the right way.

Utilizing AI to Enhance Your Content

An MIT study found that unskilled writers using ChatGPT were able to create 40% more content, with quality 18% higher than without it. While this is good, it won’t help you rank in 2024. All SEO really is about is Google playing matchmaker between what the searcher wants and the content they serve up as the answer to that question.

Imagine clicking on a promising Google search result only to find an article that feels like a soulless term paper—no passion, no unique insight, just a regurgitation of facts. This sounds like ChatGPT. If you click away from it to find something better, Google takes note and shows that article less and less until it’s gone.

But it doesn’t have to be that way. You can still use AI to help you create more content, and you should. You just need to boost that content with your human perspective. AI content lacks human experience, opinions, advice, and overall perspective. ChatGPT has never walked out into the world, experienced the pain of a bad decision, formed an opinion based on years of working in a profession, or problem-solved its way out of a jam. But you have, and that’s what people are looking for in most search results.

Steps to Create Humanized AI Content

Here’s how to use ChatGPT to help you create more and go a step further so it reads like a real human being with a point of view:

1. Generating a Powerful List of Topics:
   • Start with generating a topical map—a list of topics that will help Google see you as a true authority in your niche.
   • Use a prompt to generate 30 semantically relevant but unique topics under your main category, along with variations addressing different search intents.
2. Creating Outlines:
   • Pick a topic and ask ChatGPT to write an outline for an article as a professional expert in your field.
   • Make any necessary tweaks to the outline to suit your preferences.
3. Writing Articles:
   • Ask ChatGPT to write the article in a casual, helpful tone, including personal anecdotes if needed to illustrate points.
   • Ensure the content includes H2 and H3 headings and expands on key points to hit at least 1,000 words.
4. Adding Your Unique Perspective:
   • Manually review each article, adding personal stories, expert opinions, and unique experiences to set your content apart from the rest.

Optimizing for Google’s AI Snapshots

To optimize your content for Google’s AI-powered snapshots, which display AI-generated answers with clickable sources:

1. Answer Questions Clearly:
   • Ensure your blog posts answer questions in a precise and concise manner.
   • Use headers that match the question where possible, and provide definitive answers without beating around the bush.
2. Using ChatGPT for Concise Answers:
   • Ask ChatGPT to answer questions completely and definitively in under 300 characters.
   • Include any relevant background information to enhance the answer.

Pivot to Video Content

With more people heading to YouTube for information, pivoting to video content can significantly boost your SEO efforts. Video content is not likely to be taken over by AI in the foreseeable future and can build stronger trust with your audience. Here’s how to optimize your video content for SEO:

1. Keyword Research:
   • Use tools like Morning Fame to brainstorm and land on keyword phrases you can rank well for.
2. Optimize Titles and Descriptions:
   • Use the targeted keyword phrase in your video title and description.
   • Include the keyword phrase toward the beginning of your video.
3. Create Engaging Content:
   • Ensure your videos are engaging and to the point while showing your personality.
   • Aim for videos that keep viewers watching, which increases the likelihood of your content being recommended by YouTube.

By integrating these strategies, you can stay ahead in the SEO game in 2024 and beyond. Use AI tools like ChatGPT to enhance your content creation process while adding your unique human touch, and don’t forget the power of video to reach and engage your audience effectively.