Embracing automation and maximizing SEO performance

Creating an automation strategy should be top of mind in 2019 – indeed, it was identified by 61 percent of marketers as the top priority for optimizing marketing automation efforts in a recent industry survey. Researchers also identified the delivery of personalized content and integration of marketing systems as the most challenging barriers to your success with marketing technology. SEO and Automation is a big part of the solution.

Automation is critical in making informed, data-driven decisions in a world in which the amount of data companies are attempting to manage is unprecedented. But we’re at the point now where, as marketers have attempted to automate various tasks, many are struggling with unwieldy stacks of different technologies all vying for resources and budget.

If you or your clients are spending more time trying to find workarounds for your tech than putting insights to work, money is being left on the table. As creative marketers with technical and analytical skills, SEOs are in a great position to lead the creation and implementation of automation strategies companies now need to succeed.

SEO, automation and the customer experience

Automation in your SEO and content process can create efficiencies and ease the burden of redundant tasks, but we’ve evolved so far past that (and quickly). Today, automation alone is not enough. SEOs must automate intelligently — not only to complete tasks but to analyze data and make decisions about which tasks to prioritize (and how to carry them out), as well.

AI is enabling the collection and analysis of datasets we simply cannot get through on our own. Layers of natural language processing and machine learning enable smarter optimizations driven by predictive analytics, pattern recognition, and evidence-based learning.

Source: Search & the Customer Experience: Utilizing AI to Drive Continuous Performance

Site audits, competitive analysis, monitoring rankings and other SEO tasks are made easier and more efficient with automation. But are you ready to take the next steps?

AI is already reshaping content marketing, all the way from ideation, planning and optimized content creation through to promotion to specific market segments. This isn’t new technology; in fact, the Associated Press has been using artificial intelligence to write business news since 2014 (and even then, the program could churn out 2,000 articles per second). We’re now at the point where automation can help identify new revenue opportunities and make recommendations on content topics, attributes, optimizations, strategic CTAs and more.

Intelligent automation also allows SEOs to schedule tasks and immediately activate data, to inform smarter optimizations. You can target specific content to searchers who interact with your chatbot, for example, depending on what led them to the interaction in the first place.

Automation – Data analysts, real-time research, content and communications

Intelligent automation is giving SEOs greater insight into – and control over – how search optimizations impact customer experience throughout every stage of the journey. Now, the insights gleaned from the real-time analysis of customer interactions can help shape every aspect of the customer experience, from discovery to conversion.

Source: PWC

How AI is driving superior search performance

Google’s dedication to AI is resulting in far more interactive search results that speak directly to searcher intent, as in these three similar queries that each produces different results:

Google is using taller organic cards, the local three-pack, Quick Answers, images and video, carousels, site links and dozens of other enhanced results to better answer searchers’ needs. The algorithm is listening to searcher cues and constantly learning to bring back the most relevant result. More and more often, that result will answer the need in such a way that the searcher doesn’t even need to click through to learn more. This is Google’s RankBrain technology at work.

Last year, research by BrightEdge (my company) revealed that 80-plus percent of queries return universal search results. Optimizing, structuring and marking up your content to show Google its relevance for queries of varying intents helps increase your visibility when and where it matters most. At the same time, you’re providing more compelling content and may even convert searches to sales without the consumer ever having visited your site.

SEO is moving further away from the static website; what you are optimizing for spans the entire search-based experience. And as Google’s ability to determine intent continuously improves, SEOs and marketers need to keep pace with AI and automation to stay on top and produce properly structured content.

• Optimize for voice search. Use a more conversational tone in your content and incorporate longer-tail keywords. Applying a question and answer format to some content can help you rank in Instant Answers and as the best voice response. Be sure to apply proper schema markup, too. Read how visual and voice search are revitalizing the role of SEO for more.
• Enable voice search on-site, where possible. Incorporate speech recognition in your app or on-site, if possible. You can extend the same hands-free convenience that delivered a searcher to your site by enabling some voice-free functionality.
• Make good use of descriptive text. While many of your audience members crave visual imagery and video, some will not be able to render, watch or hear this content. AI can help in the creation of descriptive text and also with categorizing all kinds of content to improve both your accessibility and SEO.
• Use intelligent automation to complement your skills. It’s important to understand that automation can’t ever entirely replace the creative and the strategist—they will continue to decide which technology to apply, and where. However, the Intelligent use of automation will help you do your job more effectively, so you can focus on more important and higher impact tasks.
• Monitor regularly for new opportunities. Google is constantly testing and launching new features in the SERPs. It’s not a static space, and you cannot afford to sit still. Use automation to regularly analyze your search presence, as well as that of your most important competitors. Ensure that you have properly formatted, optimized and marked up content in place to take advantage of new SERPs features.

Embracing automation will be increasingly important to your ability to scale and succeed in all facets of digital. If you’re just getting started, try automating time-consuming, repetitive tasks like keyword research, data visualization, reporting, data collection, SERP similarity comparisons, testing JS rendering, generating content ideas, link building and technical auditing.

Next, look to AI to begin simplifying complex decision-making and prioritizing your SEO and content efforts, all with improved consumer experience in mind. SEOs who can embrace automation are making great strides in positioning themselves as the digital marketing leaders of tomorrow.

Opinions expressed in this article are those of the guest author and not necessarily Search Engine Land. Staff authors are listed here.

About The Author

Jim Yu

Jim Yu is the founder and CEO of BrightEdge, the leading enterprise content performance platform. He combines in-depth expertise in developing and marketing large on-demand software platforms with hands-on experience in advanced search, content and digital marketing practices.