SEO Expertise vs AI SEO: Which is Best?
Artificial intelligence software is making big waves in the marketing sector, part of what’s called Marketing AI.
There’s big hope and hype, and yes, we will have to learn how to use these tools soon. AI SEO Content Creation tools are beginning to make a contribution, at least for most content creators despite the fear of AI technology and its capacity for creating unemployment. The tools aren’t what we’d call Advanced SEO, but within 5 years, they might be. Why? Because, they’ll be modeled after an actual top-level search engine optimizer — duplicating how we think and design content.
It seems we’re headed to a true blending of expertise and technology and it should create a sizeable advantage for SEO enabled companies. It’s actually exciting, and in this day and age, we have to appreciate the value of technology, and how it makes our work easier and maybe more profitable and enjoyable.
Influencer Marketing Hub’s report suggests only 28% of SEOs are actually using AI SEO software thus far and 4% are using deeply in most processes. It’s only one source yet they report that AI SEO-generated content is outranking human-generated content in ranking and engagement (they likely studied general content published by non-professional publishers who lack SEO expertise).
AI SEO Software Solutions to Investigate
You can find 10 to 20 potential solutions available as affordable monthly subscribable SaaS services. From Jasper AI to Surfer AI SEO to SemRush and Alli SEO, you can have an AI system guide your content development and search engine optimization strategy.
I’ve been using Jasper, ChatGPT and others and I enjoy their improvement tips. However, their output has a novice, academic, common, voice that just doesn’t create peak experiences. I think they’ve been trained on a lot of academic-type content. They need to be retrained on peak-performing content.
SEO and Content Strategy combined are very complex. These tools don’t understand the subtleties of ranking well to get through Google’s unfair filters. And AI doesn’t understand quality very well. They’re working on it.
There is a lot of mental agility and gymnastics needed to create winning content. Content must serve many masters and purposes, in different ways, and keyword rich copy doesn’t really serve anyone. Google’s well beyond keyword based ranking.
However, what an opportunity AI SEO SaaS companies have to introduce this level of sophistication. There’s an incredible big-money pay off for audacious startups and investors. If these AI SEO tools magnify the techniques of expert SEO strategy, then yes, it would be very powerful. And it likely isn’t an either-or matter. We’re already integrating them into our work.
I hope I’m the one that can introduce you to the technology and more importantly, apply it to help you win big.
Let’s Define SEO Again So We’re Not Lost
Search engine optimization is a very sophisticated use of words that resonate with the customers search intent, reflecting the information, goals and search experience they’re hoping for. And to match Google’s complex algorithm.
At this point, AI SEO software follows a templated system to guide optimization. They offer up suggestions for keyword insertion, meta tags, headings, linking and some text manipulation. For an amateur copywriter, it can create improvements.
But one day, the systems will be designed to be our best assistant to help us generate content that is true to our keyword ranking goals and perhaps even consistent with our client’s actual brands. That would be great. Like a gifted copywriter, an SEO pro could also have a powerful style that can be applied continuously on new projects much like formatting your Word document. It certainly speeds up SEO development time!
But in the meantime, SEO is still the realm of clever content-meaning manipulators, communicators, hypesters and promoters.
But It Says It Will Research and Create High Ranking Content for my Keywords?
It’s all hype, an empty promise. It creates templated “AI written” content which is easy for Google to spot and demote. And when publishers pump out thousands of these content pages, you can see how it can ruin Google results. This may be why Gemini, Perplexity and ChatGPT are so popular, given Google Search is having difficulty filtering out trillions of spam content produced every month. Some are suggesting AI will create the end of SEO.
If Google believes you’re using AI-generated content, your trust factor will likely fall. Users can employ AI copy detector software to help rewrite copy to avoid issues with Google’s AI spam detection system.
What are some differences between SEO Experts and AI SEO Software?
Feature/Aspect |
Expert SEOs |
AI-Driven SEO Software |
Strategy Development | Develops custom strategies tailored to client needs and evolving trends. |
Relies on pre-set algorithms; may lack nuance for unique needs.
|
Content Quality Control | Prioritizes high-quality, engaging, human-centered content for user experience. |
Focuses on keyword density, readability scores, and general guidelines.
|
Adaptability | Quickly adapts to Google algorithm changes and market trends. |
Slower adaptation; requires updates to handle major changes.
|
Data Analysis | Interprets data contextually, considering market insights, trends, and competitor analysis. |
Processes large data sets rapidly but may miss context-based insights.
|
Human Creativity | Brings creativity in content, link-building, and engagement strategies. |
Limited creativity, often following patterns rather than innovating.
|
Efficiency & Speed | Slower due to manual processes, but focuses on quality and precision. |
Fast and scalable, processing data instantly and recommending actions.
|
Cost | Higher due to personalized approach and expertise level. |
Generally lower, as it’s automated and requires minimal human intervention.
|
Keyword Research | Offers nuanced research with a focus on user intent and competition. |
Analyzes keywords quickly, focusing on high-volume terms but doesn’t understand semantics and user intents.
|
User Intent Understanding | Strong understanding of user psychology and intent for targeted campaigns. |
Limited to pre-set assumptions, may struggle with nuanced or emerging trends in user intent.
|
Technical SEO | Effective in handling complex site structures, custom fixes, and diagnostics. |
Good for standardized fixes but may struggle with complex custom issues.
|
On-Brand Copywriting | Excels at creating brand-aligned content with voice, tone, and message consistency. |
Limited by standard language patterns, often lacks the unique tone of the brand.
|
Best Use Case | Best for businesses with complex SEO needs, high competition, and brand focus. |
Ideal for small to medium businesses needing quick, cost-effective, and scalable SEO.
|
Beating Google’s RankBrain is Not Easy
Google is extremely sophisticated with AI-enhanced comprehension where it almost reads like a human. Google is looking past keywords to understand content more deeply — to understand “what does this content mean” and whether it matches up exactly for the user’s strongest intent. Does it match up to the different intents of different visitors, subtopics, variations, and for influencers and brand fans?
A pro has to consider these issues and respond.
So we’re talking about multipurpose, surgical precision, and repeated/varied techniques within content, but expressed uniquely with different words, topics and themes. Google actually trusts this clever/diverse approach more. Consider that Google is trying to ignore keywords altogether and look for alternative signals. So having the AI SEO software write high school-level copy with keywords inserted can make Google evaluate your content as less relevant, trustworthy and authoritative.
Today, as an SEO pro/content creator, my aim is deliver your content to Googlebot in a digestible fashion where we get important signals across such as:
- keyword and topic relevance matching the user’s search intent
- authoritativeness and credibility on specific topics
- trust and authenticity in specific pieces of content
- useful, informative, and actionable information
- good information presentation and a nice content experience
- easy to comprehend and not confusing
And if you’re hoping to rank in the top 3 spots, you have to take your search engine optimization, content quality, brand presentation and value offer to the next level. Because all of them influence your bounce rates, engagement, and backlinks. If visitors don’t trust your content, then they won’t cite it or recommend it. They share it and endorse it when it resonates with their beliefs and values.
What’s Really Exciting About AI SEO Software?
Let’s summarize what AI SEO tools might do for your advanced SEO Strategy:
- automate and reduce time to research your keywords and content ideas and produce content briefs/outlines
- research competitor’s content and keyword strategy
- assistance with brand-friendly content and copy
- web listening tools for content/news trends
- conducting technical SEO audits and automating schema markup
- suggestions on content clarity, reading ease, and structure
- understanding user intent based on keyword usage
- insights on user behavior
- content at scale (risk)
- link building sources and ideas (competitor/ranking analysis)
Data Driven AI SEO?
There’s a lot of talk about producing content at scale with data-driven, constantly updated optimization capabilities. It sounds tantalizing, but I do know Google is more suspicious of such changes, including too frequent fresh updates. It’s so alluring to think you can put SEO on autopilot and go for a coffee, but it’s actually insulting to the level of real expertise needed today.
I like these tools as a helper and source of insight, but high-ranking content must be carefully and consciously crafted. Our key, pillar content usually drives most of our success. I’ve produced million-visit blog posts and would like to produce more. Perhaps I should be duplicating my approach using AI SEO?
Good luck with your transition to AI-powered SEO. It’s where I’m going.
📞 Contact me now at 416 998 6246 about joining your AI marketing team.