Getting your website ranked in search results is becoming increasingly challenging every day. Unless you have plenty of time to allocate to SEO management, contracting a digital marketing agency is a better solution.
Generative AI is the latest kid on the block. It has been around for a while. Without us knowing, we interact increasingly with generative artificial intelligence. To make life more challenging, you still need the help of Google Search.
What are Google SEO and generative AI? In short, they are two different approaches to improving the relevance of your website or platform in search results.
Let’s break that down for you.
Google SEO is the process you use when you want to optimise your site and rank higher in Google’s organic search results.
Generative AI is the technology that enables Google to create natural answers to the questions we type into Google Search.
What Are The Pros and Cons of Google SEO and Generative AI?
Both approaches have plus and minus points. Let’s make it easier to understand and show you the pros and cons in a bullet point list.
Pros of Google SEO:
- Google SEO helps websites increase authority and trust in their niche or industry. It does this by taking a look at the content on the site. That is why the quality and relevance of content on your site or platform are crucial. These days, an authoritative blog is simply a must.
- Google SEO helps to improve the user’s experience when it comes to delivering fast results. But, there is a snag. When you want your site to rank above other sites, its content should be correct. If you use AI to generate content, you risk providing users with incorrect information. Wrong information means Google does not consider your site to be authoritative.
- The ultimate goal of Google Search is to drive traffic to sites that provide trustworthy, relevant and valuable information.
Cons of Google SEO:
- Google SEO’s limit is the availability of relevant information. When there isn’t enough information to answer a question, Google does not show search results.
- Keeping up with Google’s constantly changing algorithms and qualifying ranking factors is a challenging task. It is time-consuming and often seems like a never-ending process. The best way to describe it is as chasing your tail.
- Google SEO can be negatively affected as well. Scraping and spamming are the worst enemies of quality SEO content. Both can harm the ranking and quality of genuine websites.
Pros of Generative AI:
- Generative AI makes it easier for users to find the information they need. They can click on links and browse multiple web pages.
- Can generative AI generate content? Yes, it can. It is one of its advantages. If it can’t find a web page with relevant information, generative AI may generate the answer itself. The big question is if the answer is correct.
- Generative AI can provide users with a much more natural search experience. If you have ever tried, you know that generative AI has almost a conversational tone. It can even help with more complex topics.
Cons of Generative AI:
- If you are trying to increase organic traffic to your site, you may find generative AI is not your best friend. It can also make it harder for you to retain users as it provides an answer to a question. The user accepts the answer and does not click through to your website even though it appears in search results.
- Can generative AI create unique content? As yet, you can’t take the answers AI generates as gospel. Answers can include wrong information. Using generative AI to create content may get you into hot water with issues such as plagiarism and biased opinions rearing their ugly heads.
- Verifying and researching the information produced by generative AI is challenging. As of now, you should question what sources it used and what data is behind the answer. Generative AI does not hold a doctorate in every topic or science known to man.
Summary of Google Search and Generative AI
It is hard to put your finger on the future of search. Sure, generative AI has a role to play. But from what we know, it can’t help us with genuine authoritative answers. If you were flying a spaceship on its way to March, you may not want to rely on generative AI. Even Captain Kirk has to ask Dr.Spock from time to time.
The best way to think about Google Search and generative AI is as complementary processes. Both concepts present digital marketers, bloggers and content creators with many challenges. On the same note, there are many new exciting opportunities as well.
