Hello dear reader! In this article we will speak about how using AI for SEO can turbocharge your position in search engines, the challenges you could face, and how to avoid them! So sit back, relax, and enjoy!
Introduction to using AI for SEO
AI is all the rage nowadays. Ever since the inception of OpenAI’s LLM (Large language model) ChatGPT in 2021, the world has scrambled to implement AI in everything. Nowadays you can find AI powered software solutions for businesses, schools, hospitals, and anything else you can think of.
Naturally, SEO has also benefited from the use of AI systems. Today, SEO experts can use AI to generate optimized content, research keywords, and find the best strategies to rank their content high.
However, as is the case with all new technologies, AI has posed a set of new problems and issues that the world is struggling to deal with. Unfortunately, many of these problems stem from a legal standpoint, so they require extra care.
Let’s take a look at some of the important issues of this nature and see how we can avoid them.
Pitfalls of Using AI for SEO
If you’re using AI for SEO without care or forethought, then you can fall in one or more of the following pitfalls.
- Risk of Copyright Infringement
The first issue of using AI content is that there is a high likelihood of copyright infringement.
OpenAI, the creator of ChatGPT, has had to face 13 lawsuits that allege copyright infringement. You can read all about them in detail here, but the gist of the matter is as follows:
- OpenAI used copyright protected content for training their AI model.
- They did so without asking for permission or paying licensing fees.
- In doing so they caused damage to the copyright holders.
Now, you may think, what does that have to do with you, an SEO expert? The fact of the matter is that, if you are using ChatGPT to generate content for your SEO needs, then you may be indulging in copyright infringement unknowingly.
The ChatGPT LLM may use copyright protected content in its responses and that can land you in legal hot water. So, a lot of care is required if you are using AI generated content.
- Accidental Plagiarism
The second problem that can surface is accidental plagiarism. It is similar to copyright infringement because plagiarism is ultimately infringing upon another’s intellectual property. However, the cause is different.
AI generated content is not actually “generation.” LLMs do not produce new content. They simply remix what they have been trained on. Most of the time, this is not a problem as the “new” content they produce is sufficiently unique to avoid plagiarism.
However, sometimes, LLMs produce content that is almost a verbatim copy of another author’s content. If you use this content, then you will be charged with plagiarism allegations and that can spell doom for your SEO campaign.
Search engines do not like plagiarized content. They tend to rank it lower on the search engine results pages (SERPs). In extreme cases, they simply do not index it at all. Both outcomes are bad for your SEO campaign.
- Anti AI Policies
Plenty of websites and platforms on the internet do not tolerate AI content. The reasons for doing so are numerous. We have already discussed some of them and they include risk of plagiarism and copyright infringement.
This is why many platforms online have anti-AI policies. So, if you are trying to create links using guest posts, then AI generated content will be rejected. Search engines also have some semblance of anti-AI policies.
They don’t outright condemn AI generated content, but what they do is that they penalize content that has poor qualities. AI content requires a lot of work to make it appear high-quality. People who use AI content to simply churn out content faster do not put in the required effort to improve the quality.
This means that more often than not, their content gets flagged by the search engine and ranked consistently low on the SERPs.
- Lackadaisical Content
The contemporary internet has not taken well to AI generated content. Most people have the following thoughts about it.
- It is uninspired
- It lacks the human touch
- It is not interesting
- It is low effort
You can see this kind of sentiment on social media when people post something with AI-generated art, video, or even text. Most people are smarter than we give them credit for. They can spot AI generated content quite quickly, and they are just as quick to reprimand it.
And they are not wrong either. AI content is not that great when held up to scrutiny. It can mimic a certain level of human-generated content but as soon as you compare it to a real work of art, it falls flat.
Another reason for AI content being lackadaisical is that people use it in the laziest way possible. They just give basic prompts and use the answers as is without any post editing.
This results in content that violates policies like Google E.E.A.T (Experience, Expertise, Authority, and Trustworthiness). So, it is not received well by search engines or your audience.
This is one of the most common pitfalls of AI in SEO.
- Risk of Breaking Data Privacy Laws
The EU is very strict about data privacy. They have a whole law called the GDPR or General Data Protection Regulation. It stipulates that the data of all consumers in the EU cannot be obtained by anyone without the users’ explicit consent and that they can remove this consent whenever they want.
That’s why websites in the EU always tell you very clearly that they want to collect your data and if you consent click yes and if you don’t then no. Similarly, California has a law called CCPA (California Consumer Privacy Act). It has similar postulates and gives customers more power over their data.
The problem with AI is that it is not clear whether it violates these laws or not. As we mentioned previously, Open AI has faced many lawsuits most of which are on-going. One of them is alleging that Microsoft and OpenAI are using consumer data without consent.
If you are using AI for SEO for collecting data on our consumers, you may be possibly violating data privacy laws without knowing about them. This can come to bite you later. So, it’s important to be aware of data privacy laws of regions you operate in and get customers from.
How to Avoid Such Pitfalls
Now, it is not all doom and gloom. Sure, there are many pitfalls but these can be avoided with responsible behavior. Given below are some ways in which you can avoid these pitfalls and legal challenges.
- Only Collect and Use Data/Information with Consent
So, to begin with, do not use copyrighted content. If you have to use copyrighted content, then obtain written and legally binding permission to use it. Thankfully, SEO is not a field where you need to use copyright protected information that much, so you can avoid this pitfall quite easily.
Just do your due diligence and don’t be lazy with content creation. As long as you do your research and plan your content, you will be fine.
- Detect and Remove Plagiarism Before Using AI Content
If you are using AI for a lot of content generation, then make the effort to check it for plagiarism. Don’t use basic or free checkers either, those are quite poor at plagiarism detection.
Opt for a paid tool that can find plagiarism just by identifying the ideas and outcomes discussed in the content. This way, you will be able to find plagiarism that is easy to miss.
Take the appropriate steps to remove the plagiarism such as:
- Citing the sources
- Removing the plagiarized part
Plagiarism checkers can help you find the sources of text material, but what if you are generated AI pictures or videos. What then? Then you need to use tools like reverse image search and reverse video search. These tools can help you find images and videos that look extremely similar to the one generated by AI.
If you do get results, then it is safer to edit the media to remove the resemblance.
- Keep up to Speed on Search Engine Policies about AI Content
Search engines are always updating their SEO policies. As an SEO expert, it is your job to stay on the lookout for changes that affect AI content. For example, we mentioned that E.E.A.T is a mandatory requirement for content to rank on Google SERPs.
E.E.A.T also affects AI-generated content. A savvy expert would change the way they create content with AI to fall in line with the E.E.A.T guidelines. That’s just one example.
There are plenty of changes in each update that warrant changing your strategy to get the best SEO results. Just keep them in mind and alter your AI content strategy to get better results.
- Use AI to Compliment Your Content
We learned that one problem with AI content is that it is lackadaisical. Which turns off both the readers and the search engines. This problem naturally arises due to over reliance on AI.
People need to realize that AI is supposed to complement their efforts not replace them. So, instead of using it to create content, use it to improve your content. This way you won’t lose the qualities of human writing while also eliminating its faults.
As a result, your content quality will skyrocket. Truly the best of both worlds.
- Know About Your Regional Laws
As for the data side of using AI for SEO, there is no way around it. You have to learn about any and all data protection and privacy laws in the regions you operate. AI or not, your data collection methods must adhere to the law.
This means no collection of data without consent, no use of customer/consumer data for training your AI model, or anything else of the sort. If you are based in the USA, then each state has different laws, so you must know the ones that deal with your state to avoid accidentally breaking them.
Conclusion
So, there you have it, using AI for SEO, what kinds of problems it causes and how you can stay ahead of them. AI is relatively new, that’s why there is a lot of confusion surrounding it. What counts as legal and what doesn’t is subject to change in the future.
All we can do is keep up with the regulations as they come to stay out of legal trouble and other pitfalls.
As always, thanks a lot for reading How to Learn Machine Learning and our article on Using AI for SEO. Have a wonderful day!
Tags: Using AI for SEO, Artificial Intelligence, AI for SEO
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