I've Tried 13 AI SEO Tools (Paid & Free). Here’s What Works
written by
Victoria Kurichenko
updated on
November 6, 2024
I’ve been working in the SEO field since 2019.
I remember those old-good days when most content was human-written and no one talked about using AI for SEO.
Nowadays, it’s hard to find SEO and digital marketing professionals who don’t use AI to facilitate their work.
Without AI SEO tools, we’d probably have more tasks to handle, but that doesn’t necessarily mean the work would be done more efficiently or with better results.
In my opinion, AI tools can easily replace junior SEO specialists, copywriters, and SEO content writers hired to create content for search engines to manipulate rankings.
You’ll likely agree that people don’t need another post on “top X AI tools for search engine optimization,” but I guarantee you’ll stumble upon thousands of similar articles written for ranking purposes.
Like it or not, AI is already an integral part of our lives, and we should learn to leverage it effectively.
As an SEO expert and content writer, I’ve been actively using AI tools since the ChatGPT introduction in November 2022. However, I’ve used Grammarly way before ChatGPT, which is also a kind of free AI SEO tool.
Today, the number and variety of creator tools are impressive. The only challenge is to find tools suitable for your business.
In this article, I’m sharing my feedback from using various AI tools. I’ll also show how my experimental AI-written and optimized articles rank on Google.
Furthermore, I’ll share some tips on how you can use these tools to grow your website without fear of getting a penalty from Google.
Are you excited? Then keep reading!
Here’s a table of contents for your convenience:
Why use AI for SEO?
Statista reports that 49.1% of the 3,812 survey respondents worldwide in 2023 believe there will be a positive impact of AI on website search traffic over the next five years.
Although that’s only half of the respondents, the rest probably don’t know how to effectively use AI.
Here’s what Semrush’s research says about why people decide NOT to use AI tools:
As an SEO expert, I’m optimistic about the future impact of AI on SEO.
Today, AI has become a major influence in transforming a range of industries, including content marketing and SEO.
If you want to leverage the trend to your advantage, it’s time to start thinking about how AI can help your business thrive.
One of the popular ways to harness the power of AI today is by using AI tools to generate content and humanize content with AI.
Let me briefly explain what these tools are and how you can use them to your advantage.
What are AI SEO tools?
These are software products that use artificial intelligence to help businesses improve their search engine optimization efforts.
These tools can automate many of the tasks involved in SEO, such as keyword research, content optimization, and technical SEO. They can also provide insights into how to improve website performance and rankings.
Some people fear using AI tools since they can potentially replace their jobs. I’d say it’s already happening!
One of my former bosses fired a full-time copywriter because he couldn’t justify the costs. He claimed that her writing quality was similar to what ChatGPT could produce. So, he replaced a human content writer with AI.
I’m sure similar situations happen in many companies.
In my opinion, not every field of work is affected nowadays, but the situation can change soon. So, we must be ready to face it.
If you work in the SEO field, calm down! SEO will likely continue existing as long as people use Google search.
However, SEO has been transforming a lot with Google search generative experience. Therefore, you, I, and other SEO specialists should keep an eye on the recent updates and adapt accordingly.
13 AI SEO tools to speed up your SEO work
As an SEO expert and content writer, I’ve used various tools to speed up my work. Honestly, not every tool delivers on its promise. Most tools provide useless advice and AI-generated content that can’t be published as it is.
That’s why I’m very selective regarding AI tools for SEO.
I use some of the tools mentioned below for my own website, like Koala AI, Semrush, Indexly, and ChatGPT, while others come in handy for client projects.
- SEOPital — for generating optimized content
- SE Ranking — for automating SEO tasks
- Semrush — for dealing with all kinds of SEO tasks
- Gremi — for keyword research and SEO writing
- Hypertxt — for generating content with custom writing style
- Addlly AI — for generating content tailored to your brand
- Indexly — to automatically get your website pages indexed and track technical issues
- Koala AI — to accelerate content creation for your blog
- Leap AI — for automating your workflows with AI
- Gemini — for writing creative copy and succinct definitions
- ChatGPT — for rephrasing your drafts and locating online sources
- HubSpot — for streamlining the content creation process
- Frase.io — to research, outline, generate, and optimize your content
1. SEOpital
Best for
- SEO professionals
- In-house SEO teams from small and medium-sized businesses
- SEO agencies
Alternative to
- NeuronWriter
- Writesonic
- Copy AI
Best features
- AI Article Writer
- Real-Time Web Data Integration
- Outline Customization
- Writing Style Cloner
- Image Finder
SEOpital is an AI-powered SEO tool designed to make life easier for SEO pros and agencies looking to create content that’s optimized for rankings.
Here’s how it works:
SEOpital taps into real-time web data to generate content for your target keyword. Plus, it uses algorithms to handle semantic optimization, making sure primary and secondary keywords are seamlessly integrated for top-notch SEO performance.
With options to customize tone and style, SEOpital strives to help you generate content that’s not only optimized but also relevant—helping you drive more organic traffic to your website.
Even though the tool is fairly new, hitting the market in 2023, it’s already letting users quickly create articles and publish them straight to their WordPress site through seamless integration.
The SEOpital team says what sets it apart from other AI SEO tools is “its ability to excel in complex subjects.”
Plus, it’s earned over 49 reviews on Capterra with an impressive average rating of 4.7 out of 5.
2. SE Ranking
Best for
- SEO professionals
- In-house SEO teams from SMBs
- Small and mid-size SEO agencies
Alternative to
- Ahrefs
- Semrush
- Moz
Best features
- On-page SEO Checker
- Competitive and Keyword Research
- Content Marketing Tool with AI Writer
SE Ranking has been in the SEO tool market for years. I’m sure you’ve stumbled upon SE Ranking while trying to find solutions for keyword research, site audits, rank tracking, and more.
Besides offering standard SEO toolkits, it has recently implemented a vast range of AI tools to help SEO pros build and implement effective strategies.
In particular, SE Ranking offers an AI Writer feature that can generate topics, outlines, paragraphs, and even drafts using your preferred tone of voice.
SE Ranking doesn’t just stop there.
Similar to Semrush, it offers a content editor that checks your writing against top-performing pages in the SERPs and gives you suggestions to make your content more optimized based on what works best.
On top of that, SE Ranking uses AI to analyze search results for your target keyword, estimate potential organic traffic, and give you reliable data and insights.
I’ve known SE Ranking for years and even used it myself. It’s a solid and trustworthy SEO platform, backed by over 1,300 reviews on G2 with an impressive 4.8 out of 5 rating.
3. Semrush
Best for
- Online marketers
- SEO experts
- Agencies managing client websites
- Site owners willing to grow their websites
Alternative to
- Ahrefs
- Mangools
- Moz
Best features
- On-page SEO Checker
- SEO content template
- AI Writing assistant
Semrush is an all-in-one tool you can use to manage every aspect of your website growth, from SEO and content marketing to social media and paid advertising.
As an SEO specialist and content writer, I’ve used Semrush for years to conduct site audits, track my website performance, run niche keyword research, and create optimized content.
There are plenty of budget-friendly Semrush alternatives out there, but I still stick with Semrush.
Why?
Because it has a free plan that’s perfect for quick keyword or site checks, plus it features the super handy Keyword Magic tool. With this tool, you can easily generate thousands of keyword ideas from just one seed keyword.
Semrush is transparent about where they get their keyword and traffic info, which sets them apart from other tools. Semrush sources its data from third-party providers who collect actual Google search results for top keywords. They analyze which sites are ranking in the top 100 spots, covering both organic and paid search results, so you get a complete view of a website’s visibility on Google.
And when it comes to traffic estimates? Those are gathered from multiple clickstream data providers, which adds another layer of reliability.
Semrush also boasts the largest keyword database in the SEO world — 26.1 billion keywords. That means more keyword opportunities to boost your site.
You can learn more about my experience with using various Semrush features in this honest Semrush review.
I’m not here to hype Semrush up just for the sake of it. Nope! I’m simply explaining why so many SEOs, including me, continue to trust and use Semrush, even with so many alternatives on the market.
If your goal is to create optimized content for your website, you can also use Semrush SEO Content Template to speed up your work.
For example, Semrush automatically identifies semantically related keywords, minimum text length, and content optimization opportunities. It’s a big-time saver. Besides, it’s available under the Semrush free plan. You can register and try Semrush for free by following this link.
I’ve recently discovered a new AI-powered tool developed by Semrush — ContentShake AI.
It’s basically an AI writing tool that helps content creators with
- Content ideas generation
- Checking what performs best in your target location
- Automatically generating outlines
- Picking keywords for your content
- Generating content with your custom tone of voice
- Analyzing how well your content is optimized for rankings
You can also create AI-generated posts for social media with ContentShake AI, which is a great addition for busy content creators and marketers.
4. GREMI
Best for
- Marketers
- Small businesses
- SEO professionals
- Startups
Alternative to
- Ahrefs’ AI Content Helper
- Semrush
- Koala Writer AI
Best features
- AI-Powered Keyword Research
- Automated Content Generation
- AI-Powered Progress Tracking
GREMI is an AI-powered SEO tool built to be your partner in getting your business higher up in search results.
Here’s how it works:
It kicks things off by taking your product or service description and automatically turning it into a list of keyword suggestions—no extra input is needed on your part.
From there, it gives you pre-generated content to help boost your marketing for each of those keywords.
When you’re ready to see how your efforts are paying off, GREMI’s AI-driven tracking software steps in. It benchmarks where you currently stand in search rankings and tracks your growth over time.
What really makes GREMI stand out from other AI tools is its unique take on SEO SaaS products, showcasing how AI can create powerful resources for today’s entrepreneurs and marketers.
While it was originally free when launched a year ago, you can now try it for $29.99 per month.
Oh, and if you’re curious or have questions, there’s a subreddit where the tool’s creator dives into how GREMI works and interacts with users.
It’s a great resource where you might even find answers to questions you hadn’t thought of. For example, I found out that GREMI pulls keyword data from Google, Bing, and Yahoo, tracking what real people are searching for about products and businesses similar to yours.
5. Hypertxt
Best for
- SEO professionals
- Content writers
- Small businesses
Alternative to
- Koala Writer AI
- Semrush SEO Writing Assistant
- Chat GPT and Gemini
Best features
- Automated content generation
- AI-powered research to collect sources for your content
- Topic clusters generation
Hypertxt is an SEO content generator that makes it possible to automatically research, outline, and generate content.
Here’s how you can make the most of Hypertxt:
- Create keyword-focused content: Just pop in your keyword, and Hypertxt does the heavy lifting, researching the topic and cranking out an optimized article ready for your site.
- Find new topic ideas: Need some fresh inspiration? Enter a keyword, and Hypertxt will serve up 20 topic suggestions. You can pick the ones you like, and it’ll generate interlinked articles to boost your site rankings.
- Generate research-backed articles: Hypertxt even has a built-in research tool that pulls from sites like Reddit, Quora, and others to give your content more depth and credibility.
If you’re already familiar with your target keywords, this tool can really level up your content game. And the cherry on top? You can try it for free with three articles!
6. Addlly AI
Best for
- Content Marketers
- Enterprises
- SEO Specialists
Alternative to
- Jasper AI
- Copy.ai
- Writesonic
Best features
- Zero-Prompt Workflow
- Multiple LLM Integration
- SEO Optimization
- Social Listening
- Multi-Format Support
Addlly AI, a Singapore-based generative AI platform, brings a bunch of AI solutions designed to make life easier for businesses.
In a nutshell, it uses language models and first-party data, so you can simplify content creation without having to rely on prompts.
What’s more, Addlly AI ensures your content aligns with your brand and is SEO-friendly from the get-go.
With handy features like SEO support, social listening, and image generation, you’ll be able to whip up everything from blog posts to newsletters and social media content effortlessly.
7. Indexly
Best for
- New website owners to get their sites indexed faster
- Ecommerce website owners willing to get new pages indexed automatically
- Website owners on a budget
Alternative to
- SEOCopilot
- Indexed Pro
- Brightedge
Best features
- Instant Indexing
- Bulk Index
- Page Inspect
Many content creators assume their content becomes searchable right after hitting “Publish,” but that’s not the case.
If you’ve just launched a website or run an online store with multiple product pages, you may encounter a common issue: “Crawled – Not Indexed” or “Discovered – Not Indexed.”
This is why new URLs or product pages often remain unnoticed.
To keep track of your pages’ indexing status effortlessly, I recommend Indexly.
I use Indexly myself to get my website pages indexed within hours, not weeks.
Think of it as a VIP lane for search engines to quickly discover, index, and rank your pages faster than usual!
One standout feature is auto-indexing, which monitors all page statuses in a single report and automatically submits new pages for indexing. This way, you won’t miss anything—super convenient!
I believe Indexly is a game-changer for new sites that usually wait weeks to get indexed (like mine did). It’s also ideal for ecommerce sites with many product pages, as some can get overlooked by web crawlers.
With the Instant Indexing report, for instance, I can spot problematic pages and use “Bulk Index” to instantly submit them if I think they should rank on Google.
It’s incredibly useful!
Additionally, Indexly has recently introduced more tools for rank tracking and keyword analysis. It’s a super helpful feature on top of everything else technical-SEO-related. Even though it takes some time to get ranking updates, you can use Indexly to track impressions, clicks, CTR, and position for your target keywords.
Black Friday Deal From Indexly
Indexly is giving 50% off on all payment plans with this discount code: THANKS50 (valid until 31st December 2024).
The Solo plan suitable to manage 3 websites will cost you just $14 $7 monthly.
8. Koala AI
Best for
- SEO writers
- SEO professionals
- Website owners on a budget
Alternative to
- Seona.ai
- Jasper.ai
- SEOpital
Best features
- Customize the tone of voice
- Ability to specify the word count
- Ability to customize the outline before generating content
I’ve been using Koala AI for a while to create content for my website. In fact, I even generated my Koala AI review using Koala.
Combined with my expert insights and personal opinion, this AI-generated article now ranks in the top 10 for the target keywords.
I like this tool because it’s user-friendly and provides plenty of customization options before generating content. You can select the tone of voice, set the word count, specify your target keyword for optimization, choose the target country, customize the outline, and even pick from 100 different languages for content creation!
You can generate up to 5,000 words per month for free. That’s enough for 1–2 articles. If you need more content, the Koala’s paid plans start at $25 monthly for 45,000 words.
Black Friday Deal from Koala AI
You can save 40% when buying an annual Koala AI subscription. That’s $300, but only $180 for the Starter plan. Plus, subscriptions purchased during the sale will renew at the same discounted price.
You can also apply this discount code to get 15% off on all payment plans: COUPON15
9. Leap AI
Best for
- Content writers
- SEO writers
- Site owners
- Marketing agencies
Alternative to
- Seona AI
- Jasper AI
- Frase.io
Best features
- AI image generation
- AI content detector
- AI blog post writer
- AI text-to-speech
Leap AI is a powerful set of tools built to simplify your marketing efforts.
Whether it’s handling keyword research, creating AI-powered blog posts, or even finding and acquiring leads, Leap AI makes managing all these tasks a breeze.
From my experience, it’s a solid choice for businesses or solo entrepreneurs looking to harness AI for faster, more efficient content creation.
Plus, it can do some pretty impressive stuff:
- Turning YouTube videos into blog posts,
- Whipping up newsletters,
- Converting articles into podcasts
- Generating tweets from your content.
- And more!
It’s like having a marketing assistant that never sleeps!
10. Gemini
Best for
- Content writers
- Editors
- Copywriters
- Online marketers
Alternative to
- ChatGPT
- Jasper AI
- Grammarly
Best features
- Gemini doesn’t offer any features. But you can upgrade to Gemini Advanced to access a new next-generation model, run and edit Python code, and use Gemini in Gmail and Google Docs.
I’ve written over 38 blog posts using Gemini and even shared my experience using Google’s Gemini with my readers on Medium.
Gemini has become an essential tool for my SEO writing efforts. That’s because I believe Gemini generates conversational, easy-to-read, and human-like content.
Of course, the quality of the output depends on your prompts, but Gemini is good at:
- Generating definitions
- Creating comparisons to explain complex topics
- Completing your sentences when you’re feeling stuck
Plus, the content created with Gemini performs well in search results.
For instance, here’s one of my AI-generated articles that ranks well. It could have ranked even better if I’d included more unique content, but the goal was to test out Gemini.
No matter how you plan to use it, I think it’s a powerful tool for SEOs and content writers alike.
No matter how you plan to use it, I think it’s a powerful tool for SEOs and content writers alike.
11. ChatGPT
Best for
- Content writers
- Web and software developers
- Copywriters
- Marketing specialists
Alternative to
- Gemini
- Jasper AI
- Seona.ai
Best features
- ChatGPT does not have features. However, ChatGPT Plus has Internet access and lets you use additional tools, such as the DALLE, an AI image generation tool.
I am sure you’ve heard of ChatGPT and used it at least once. The hype around AI tools for SEO, content creation, and copywriting started with ChatGPT in November 2022.
I was against using ChatGPT for SEO because no one talked about the consequences. Google says you can use AI content generators for your website. However, creating content for search results manipulation is a policy violation.
Guess what? 99% of site owners use content generation for this purpose. That’s why we must be cautious.
After using ChatGPT for months and analyzing the AI-generated content performance, I can say with certainty that ChatGPT is suitable for:
- Definitions generation
- FAQ generation
- Outline creation
- Explaining complex concepts in a simple way
- Etc.
Google won’t penalize your website as long as you use ChatGPT and other AI tools to improve human writing rather than replace it.
You can find out more about my experiments with ChatGPT on my Medium blog.
12. Hubspot
Best for
- Small & medium sized SEO teams
- SEO professionals
- Professional bloggers
- Small & medium sized SEO Agencies
Alternative to
- Frase
- Surfer SEO
- Semrush ContentShake AI
Best features
- Optimization suggestions
- AI-driven blog topic generation
- Marketing email creation assistance
- Automated content outlines & paragraph writing
- Integration with HubSpot’s CRM and marketing tools
Hubspot’s AI-powered Content Assistant is a great tool for marketers looking to optimize and speed up their content creation. It makes many tasks easier—from brainstorming blog ideas and building outlines to writing paragraphs and even crafting marketing emails—all in one place.
What’s really cool is how well it works with Hubspot’s other marketing tools, letting you manage everything seamlessly.
The real magic happens when you combine these best AI SEO tools with your own expertise. They’re perfect for tackling writer’s block, discovering new angles on topics, and ensuring you cover all the essential SEO points.
Plus, the data-driven insights help you create content that’s not just well-written but also likely to rank well and resonate with your audience.
Just remember, while AI can do a lot of the heavy lifting, it’s your unique voice and industry knowledge that will really make your content shine.
Hubspot has received over 11,996 reviews and boasts an impressive 4.4 out of 5 stars, making it a trusted choice for businesses of all sizes looking to manage their operations effectively.
13. Frase.io
Best for
- SEO and AI content writers
- Individual site owners trying to scale up content production
- Content managers
Alternative to
- Koala AI
- SEOpital
- Jasper AI
Best features
- AI Article Generation
- Automatic content brief creation
- Content Editor
I’ve been familiar with Frase.io since 2022 and used it briefly back then to generate content. At that time, there wasn’t a free version—Frase.io was strictly a paid tool with no trial available. These days, though, you can sign up and try it out for free.
With the free version, you can generate and optimize just one article, but honestly, that should be enough to give you a feel for what Frase can do.
In 2022, I used Frase to create and optimize an article, which I ended up publishing on my website. The tool helped me build an outline and generate content based on its suggested subheadings. The quality was pretty average, in my opinion. But the reality is, AI tools aren’t designed to create truly unique content for you. It may seem solid, but you’ll likey struggle to explain what makes your article stand out from the rest.
Here’s how that Frase-generated article performed on my website over the past year.
From my experience, AI-generated content tends to lose impressions and clicks over time. It’s something to keep in mind if you’re planning to rely heavily on content generation tools.
For more details about my experience, check out my Frase.io review.
How to use AI to optimize your website
Since Google is the most popular search engine, I’ll mainly talk about it in this article.
Google has clear guidance when it comes to AI-generated content on the web. If you haven’t read their statement, here’s the link to their article on “Google’s guidance on AI-generated content” and an excerpt from it:
Basically, Google doesn’t care how you produce content if it’s helpful for people. However, using generated content purely for ranking manipulations is a serious policy violation.
Since most site owners don’t care about these warnings, Google introduced the Helpful Content algorithm updates to remove unhelpful content from top-ranking search results.
Have you seen a decline in impressions and clicks after any algorithm update?
It did not happen to me (thankfully), but I’ve talked to several website owners whose websites were severely impacted by the Helpful Content update.
Here’s just one example from Kristine Schachinger, a fellow SEO expert and consultant:
What does this story teach us?
AI for SEO can be your friend if you know how to leverage AI tools carefully and consider users’ needs and wants while creating new content.
In my case, I use the following proven-to-work strategies to grow my website and client websites with AI.
1. Consider search intent
If your users want to compare art galleries in Toronto, but you want them to visit your landing page, it won’t work!
In many cases, Google knows what users want to see and do when searching for art galleries. Therefore, it serves them with informational content, primarily listicles.
How do you know what your users expect to see when they browse anything on the web?
You can check search intent manually by analyzing the top 10 organic search results, like in the example above.
Additionally, you can use tools, like Semrush or Ahrefs that show search intent for every keyword. Semrush has a free plan that you can use to conduct limited keyword research.
2. Align your content with E-E-A-T
You may have come across the Experience, Expertise, Authority, and Trust (E-E-A-T) quality rater guidelines since it’s been a topic of discussion for a while.
The primary aim of this important update is to assist Google in identifying which sites possess authority and trustworthiness online.
Experts running niche websites, blogging about their areas of expertise, maintaining active social media profiles, and being referenced and quoted on other platforms likely know what they’re talking about.
As a result, Google may elevate websites where it’s evident who is behind them and what their qualifications are.
If you use AI SEO tools to create AI-generated content, and your content is optimized for E-E-A-T, it can rank!
Here is what you can do, in my opinion, to align your website with E-E-A-T:
- If you have a blog, include an author bio section, which will help readers (and Google) understand who wrote the content and whether the writer has enough expertise
- Add links to social media accounts or any other platforms featuring the author
- Mention rewards and recognitions
- Mention content editors if there are any
- Share content on your social media accounts and ask your authors to do the same
- Ask the author to include case studies, stories, and personal opinions in the content
These are my recommendations based on my experience using AI content on my website. However, I’ve stumbled upon similar feedback from other content creators on Reddit:
Note that it’s even more critical for the Your Money, Your Life (YMYL) topics, which include healthcare, personal finances, insurance, investment, and similar topics.
AI tools for SEO will unlikely help you create and optimize content for rankings if you operate in these niches since Google prioritizes content from certified experts only!
3. Use AI tools for SEO to complete these tasks
Based on my experience, free AI tools for SEO, such as ChatGPT and Gemini, can perfectly handle the following tasks:
- Write definitions
- Create short FAQ answers
- Write pros and cons (although fact-checking is required)
- Write code for structured schema
- Write summaries
- Write conclusions
To say more, AI tools are much better at writing succinct and clear definitions than human writers.
Here’s how Gemini replied when I asked it to create a brief answer to the question, “What’s AI SEO?”
I am not ashamed to say that I use the best AI SEO tools, like Koala AI, Gemini, and ChatGPT, to write definitions on my website. I haven’t seen a significant impact as long as I proofread content and align it with E-E-A-T and users’ search intent.
My AI SEO case study
Now comes an exciting part you’ve probably been waiting for.
Since I run a Website Growth Mastery newsletter and share my SEO thoughts on my Medium blog, people frequently ask me how to use AI to create optimized content without getting banned by Google.
I used AI generators to create articles for my website, including the one you are reading now. Nevertheless, my website’s traffic has steadily grown, and no Google updates have strongly impacted my website’s performance.
Here’s a proof.
My website has continued to grow, even though I’ve spent almost no time on it. Thankfully, AI has made content creation faster.
I use several strategies to create content for my site, which can also help you grow yours using AI.
The first step I take before creating content is keyword research.
I suggest using Semrush for keyword research. It’s one of the top tools available, with multiple helpful features for various SEO tasks.
You don’t have to upgrade to the paid plan if you want to check keywords in Semrush occasionally. You can use Semrush free plan for up to 10 keyword searches per day.
I recommend checking the following metrics:
- Monthly search volume in your target country
- Search volume globally
- Keyword difficulty
- Keyword search intent
Does your keyword have a decent search volume and manageable competition? Do you think your website has a realistic chance of ranking for it?
If not, it’s better to look for another one—it’s not worth wasting time and resources.
If yes, that’s great!
I covered the entire process in detail in this niche keyword research guide.
Now, let me guide you on the next steps.
I used to manually review the top 10 search results to build an outline and gather semantically related keywords.
Today, you can do it in a few minutes with AI tools for SEO, such as SurferSEO, Robinize, ChatGPT, and Frase.io.
It’s up to you what tool to use.
I frequently use ChatGPT and Robinize to generate outlines.
In addition to outlines, Robinize can also recommend related keywords, suggest the word count, analyze your content readability, and highlight keywords in the content. You can learn more about the tool in my Robinize review.
You can start typing directly in a tool or use ChatGPT integration to generate content.
I’m still creating most of my website content in Google Docs, but I actively use ChatGPT to write definitions, FAQ questions, and comparisons.
As long as over 50% of your article is unique and human-written, Google won’t flag it as unhelpful.
It’s also a good idea to include your experience and opinion in the article, share a personal story, and add practical recommendations people can apply in real life.
If that’s your personal website, ensure you have an author bio section explaining who you are, your education, and your experience related to the topic. It will help you make your perfect unique and helpful for readers, grow your personal brand, and align your content with E-E-A-T.
Even though ChatGPT and Gemini aren’t very creative, I encourage you to create metadata using AI tools.
I highly recommend reviewing the meta titles of the top 10 ranking websites before using the ones generated by AI. You must ensure your metadata is more catchy than what’s already ranking in the top 10 search results.
Another critical step in the content creation process is on-page optimization.
To improve the chances of ranking in organic search, content must be optimized.
I tried fully handing this task over to AI SEO tools, but it didn’t work as expected.
I used ChatGPT and Gemini, but they couldn’t complete the task effectively.
So, I recommend checking if both your AI-generated and human-written content include the target and semantically related keywords in these key areas:
-
- Meta title
- Meta description
- H1 title
- H2, H3, H4 subtitles
- Content introduction
- Every 300 words of the content in the body
- Alt text
- Image file names
- Page URL
- Etc.
Once you are done, upload the content to WordPress or another CMS system before publishing it on your website.
Once you are done optimizing your content, hit “Publish.”
From now on, your task will be tracking impressions, clicks, and rankings of the recently published article.
Whether you use this strategy for new content creation or content updates, you’ll likely see the first positive results in a few days.
In fact, here is how the performance of my Medium guide improved after following all the steps described above.
My article holds a featured snippet for both the target and semantically related keywords. This is achievable for well-optimized pages that rank within the top 10 organic search results.
If you want to learn more about how I create high-ranking blog posts, check out my SEO ebook.
FAQ on AI and SEO
Concluding an article with an FAQ section is an excellent SEO practice.
You provide answers to the common users’ questions and optimize your article for a possible featured snippet in search results.
I occasionally use AI tools to generate answers, but I fact-check and edit them before publishing. It’s a perfect synergy of AI and human writing.
How AI will change SEO?
As an SEO content writer, I’ve noticed a big shift toward using AI-generated content. These days, many companies and site owners prioritize quantity over quality, and I think this trend will keep growing.
I also think that depending too much on AI content comes with risks, like being affected by Google’s algorithm updates.
Another concern is that some websites might start seeing a decline in organic clicks and impressions now that AI Overviews are rolling out in over 100 countries.
The feature just launched in Canada on October 28th, 2024, and I’m still experimenting to see how it works. So far, it seems to show up a lot for informational searches, which could impact sites that focus heavily on those kinds of queries.
How do you choose the right AI tool for SEO?
When choosing an AI tool for SEO, consider your specific needs and goals, such as content optimization, keyword analysis, or backlink management.
For example, my main goal is to speed up content creation. That’s why I prioritize tools that help me accomplish this. Once the content is drafted, I can either optimize it manually for better rankings or use Semrush to gather keyword suggestions.
So, always start with a “Why?”
Does Google penalize AI content in 2024?
It depends on how you use AI tools and AI-generated content.
Twitter and LinkedIn are full of posts where website owners complain about losing rankings due to Google’s algorithm updates.
Like this:
I assume they’ve published a large number of AI-generated posts without providing any real value to readers, which is why Google is downgrading their pages in search results.
I think this is fair.
As an SEO expert, I believe the most relevant and helpful content, aligned with users’ search intent and properly optimized for rankings, should rank higher.
I’ve already outlined my approach to using AI tools for SEO content creation earlier. I’m confident this method works since my website has never been penalized by Google. In fact, its performance saw a significant boost after the latest Google August 2024 core update.
So, stick to white-hat SEO strategies! While you might not see immediate results, it’s a sustainable long-term approach.
Is ChatGPT good for SEO?
I’ve used ChatGPT for several years to assist with content writing and SEO.
It is a great AI tool for SEO if you use it to:
1. Create outlines for your articles
2. Find resources to back up your statements
3. Paraphrase your rough draft and make it sound more professional
If interested, you can read more about my case study on the impact of AI on SEO from this ChatGPT for SEO article.
How to use AI for keyword research?
In my view, AI tools are great for coming up with keyword ideas based on your seed keyword. But when it comes to digging into the details—like search volume, keyword difficulty, or user search intent—they fall short.
Plus, you have to consider factors like your website’s domain authority and the competition in the search results when figuring out your chances of ranking.
AI tools just aren’t built to provide that kind of in-depth data.
Instead, you can use free AI tools, like ChatGPT or Gemini, to brainstorm lots of keyword ideas related to your niche. Then, bring in SEO tools like Semrush or Ahrefs to analyze those keywords and assess your website’s ranking potential.
In my SEO ebook, I walk you through how to do keyword research, analyze results, and prioritize your target keywords.
Hello there!
My name is Victoria.
I am an SEO expert, Medium top writer, solopreneur, and the founder of Self Made Millennials. I help companies create optimized content and attract potential customers through organic search results. In addition, I share how content creators can monetize their writing skills.
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When it comes to automatically generated content, our guidance has been consistent for years. Using automation—including AI—to generate content with the primary purpose of manipulating ranking in search results is a violation of our spam policies.
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