SEO Content for AI-powered Search

10 Predictions for SEO Marketing in 2023

The goal for chatbot development is to make the chatbots understand human conversations. ChatGPT and Google Bard both use AI-powered models that allow users to ask questions using the same words they would use if they were talking to another human. The chatbot then responds also using natural sounding language. There are a few weaknesses with these conversational models, but it won’t be long until the limitations are overcome.

Since the beginning of 2023, AI-powered chatbots and other AI search tools have been growing in popularity at record-breaking speeds. As users migrate from traditional search engines to the AI search, SEO content marketing will take a significant hit. This article explains why this will happen and what marketers can do to keep visitors coming to a website. The ideas here are organized as predictions for the future of AI search and its impact on marketing.

Prediction 1: Keyword Matching Will Lose Power

Traditional search engines allowed for the input of keywords to receive a list of web pages that matched those keywords. Keywords are still used with AI-powered chat searches, but the answers are more than just links. The chatbots provide a response meant to answer all common questions relative to the keywords. In some cases, these responses will tell the users everything they care to know about on the subject and there will be no reason to click through to the websites that provided the information.

Imagine a conversation with another human that works like the old search engines. You start by telling your friend you want a new desktop computer for your bookkeeping business. Your friend responds with a list of places you can look to find out about computers and bookkeeping. That response is somewhat helpful, but not much. Having more intelligence and using natural language, your friend would probably respond with ideas about the kinds of computers that will work for your business and a short list of recommended choices.

As searches transition to more intelligent conversations, the responses will answer questions and offer suggestions far more often than they will send users to a website. When this happens, how will marketers get leads or grow a mailing list of interested searchers? The short answer is: it will be difficult. If AI keeps them engaged, users will be less likely to visit a website.

Prediction 2: Keyword Marketing Will Decrease as Articles Increase

If the AI can answer your questions about a new computer and even recommend possible solutions, the responses will contain any solution found in the training data, i.e. on the Internet. That means the AI might suggest computer brands and models that have been praised in reviews or comparisons and other online conversations. The impact is a shift from a list of websites that have high SEO value and matching keywords to the mention of brands or companies that are most known for their quality, service, and popularity.

I asked ChatGPT the question about a desktop computer for bookkeeping and it was able to respond with the features I should look for and which brands were a good match. While it would not make the buying decision for me, ChatGPT was able to tell me what each brand is known for.?

Prediction 3: Ratings Will be More Important than Keywords

It still makes sense to talk about products and services with common keywords, especially if there are competitors, but on-page SEO efforts to get all of the keywords just right will become less important than authoritative product ratings and reviews from reliable third-party sites. When starting out, marketers should still follow the SEO rules well enough to get indexed, but once the website gets noticed, marketers can switch their efforts to getting more mentions and ratings.

These changes are certain to have an impact on new players and smaller companies who cannot afford a Public Relations campaign to promote their products’ good name. Both Bing/ChatGPT and Google Bard are attempting to include links in their responses, but the responses are likely to be influenced by the ratings and popularity of a product more than matching keywords.???

Prediction 4: Finding a Niche or Unique Offering Will Be Critical

It is not new to talk about having a unique selling proposition (USP), but with intelligent chatbots talking to consumers and buyers everywhere, marketers will need some way to make their products stand out.

When I asked ChatGPT about the bookkeeping computer, it knew which brands were known for reliability, which were known for service, and which were known for shipping defective products. Marketers must decide what they want to be known for and do everything to get into that niche.

Prediction 5:? Branded Features Will Become More Popular

Multiple competitors may all offer “high-quality sound” (or some other great feature) in their products. In a comparison article or a review, equal features might help a buyer to know that all is well with that feature area, but there is no differentiation.?Future product marketers might get noticed more often if their best features are branded for distinction. There is something compelling about a secret recipe or one-of-a-kind sauce that makes a product stand out.

If the secret recipe is never mentioned on the internet, then chatbots cannot give it away in their responses. Marketers might want to make their branded feature a “black box” where the contents are unknown, but the results are considered superior to standard features. "The product not only has high-quality sound, but it has ‘BrandName Sound’ which is a secret technology that users like better."

To drive leads to a website or a company, it might become a best practice to say that the secret recipe will be discussed in a closed webinar or to registered users only. Even then, marketers will likely retain the mystery about their features, so that writers can make mention of the secret, without being able to reveal the secret to the bots.

Prediction 6: Frequent Changes Will Become Part of Company Culture

ChatGPT is able to understand that some information about a brand or product will change so frequently that it is best not to provide that information in a response. Price was one of the features that ChatGPT was not willing to provide, because of how often it changes. Like price, if any features, announcements, products, services, or events are always changing, always new, the AI-powered chatbots will likely suggest that users check the website for the most up-to-date information. Companies will want to put these constantly-changing features behind a registration or in a graphic so that bots cannot search the website right at response time and give away the information that might have been reserved for visitors only.

Whatever a company publishes about its technology becomes training data for the AI-powered chatbots. It will be better to keep the bots guessing, so they will encourage visitors to go directly to a website for the latest details.

Conclusion

Matching content or keywords will not be enough to drive visitors to a website when potential customers start using AI-powered searches and chatbots. Businesses must adapt by shifting focus to ratings, reviews, comparisons, and branded offerings. Embracing change and cultivating a unique selling proposition will help companies thrive in an era where chatbots shape search outcomes. By understanding these predictions, businesses can stay ahead of the curve and ensure their online presence remains relevant and engaging for users.