Harnessing Google's Gemini for SEO: A New Perspective on AI Content
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Chapter 1: Introduction to AI in SEO
If you've been following my journey, you're likely aware of my extensive experimentation with optimized content on my website. As an SEO specialist, my goal is to uncover the secrets of crafting high-ranking content, identifying the most effective optimization strategies, and determining the ideal content structure.
Additionally, I strive to streamline the content creation process, as managing my website's design, technicalities, keyword research, SEO writing, and optimization all by myself can be overwhelming. This is why I began to explore AI-generated content.
Despite my reservations about utilizing AI for SEO, I've seen promising results. For instance, my review of Robinize, which I created with the assistance of Bard, Google’s language model, currently ranks 8th on Google according to Ahrefs. I published this piece on June 8, 2023, and it continues to perform well without any updates.
Similarly, my KoalaWriter review, which was generated using Koala AI, made its way to the first page of Google a few weeks post-publication.
It’s important to note that I don’t solely rely on AI tools to create content. As an SEO expert, I ensure that each blog post meets Google’s content quality standards before it goes live. I even share my tried-and-tested SEO writing process in my ebook. Ignoring Google’s guidelines can lead to a drop in your website’s organic search ranking.
However, I have one major concern regarding AI-generated content: it often lacks depth. You won’t find high-quality articles with unique insights; instead, AI tends to recycle existing content from the web. This means that while the output is original, it may not be genuinely unique.
As a reader, why would you choose to engage with an article that the author didn’t even write from scratch? This is why refining and enhancing AI-generated content is vital for SEO.
Nevertheless, not every AI-generated piece performs well, even on established websites.
Section 1.1: Experimenting with Gemini
In my latest experiment, I utilized Gemini to create a blog post about SEO newsletters. I conducted keyword research, compiled a list of target keywords, and developed an outline focused on user search intent. The plan was to let Gemini generate content about five different SEO newsletters while I would write about my own "Website Growth Master" newsletter.
I assumed this approach would yield results similar to my prior experiences since this topic didn’t require extensive research. However, this time, things didn’t go as planned.
I completed the article in a few hours, formatted it in WordPress, crafted engaging metadata, and hit the "Publish" button. The article was promptly crawled and indexed, which is generally a positive sign. I anticipated that impressions and clicks would soon follow.
To my surprise, instead of being ranked, Google removed my webpage from its index. Instead of seeing the green "Indexed" status, my page was listed as "Crawled — currently not indexed."
This video discusses whether Google's new AI tool is superior to ChatGPT for SEO purposes, providing insights into the performance of AI-generated content.
Google explains this status as follows: "Crawled — currently not indexed: The page was crawled by Google but not indexed. It may or may not be indexed in the future; no need to resubmit this URL for crawling."
While Google doesn’t clarify the specific causes of this issue, I’ve encountered it multiple times while working on client websites. Essentially, Google can choose to remove any page from its index due to technical or content-related issues.
In my case, my website has no significant issues that would impede Google’s crawlers, leading me to believe the problem lay with the content itself.
Section 1.2: Monitoring and Adjusting Content
Since I actively track the indexing status of every page on my site, I can swiftly make necessary adjustments and resubmit the URL for indexing. I always advise my clients and fellow content creators to keep an eye on newly published content because Google might exclude it from indexing without notice.
So, what can you do if your content isn't indexed by Google? You can request reindexing in Google Search Console. If your URL gets indexed within a day or two, you’re in good shape.
But what if the resubmission fails? In such cases, I apply the following strategy:
- Rewrite 30–50% of the content (Google considers a page unique if it contains over 50% original content).
- Modify the meta title and description.
- Add new paragraphs.
Once you've made these enhancements, you can resubmit the content for indexing.
Chapter 2: The Future of AI in Content Creation
Ultimately, whether you embrace AI or not, it’s here to stay. The best approach is to learn how to use it effectively to enhance our lives. Despite my reservations about AI-generated content, I acknowledge that the internet will soon be saturated with it.
Content creators often prioritize engagement statistics over user experience, making it increasingly difficult to find valuable information. This shift in focus has diluted the quality of content.
I firmly believe that by concentrating on your niche and adding real value to your content, you can achieve growth in organic search results, even when utilizing AI-generated material. My confidence stems from successfully applying this philosophy over the years.
If used wisely, AI can be a valuable ally in your content creation journey.
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