For a deeper dive into the evolving digital landscape, including the role of AI in digital marketing, content strategies, and SEO for marketers around the world, we recently spoke with one of the most recognizable names in the industry: Neil Patel.
Patel is recognized for his expertise in digital marketing, working with major brands such as Amazon, Microsoft, Airbnb and Google. A New York Times bestselling author and co-founder of NP Digital, he has been recognized by the Wall Street Journal as one of the Web’s Top Influencers and by Forbes as a Top 10 Marketer.
His ideas not only capture the attention of respected brands, but also attract hundreds of thousands of followers on social media, with his blog attracting 4 million visits each month.
In our discussion, Patel discusses how AI is revolutionizing SEO and digital marketing, how brands can leverage generative AI for content creation and performance, and what the future holds for digital marketing, including including hyper-personalization, voice search trends and evolving algorithms. and more.
How is AI reshaping the SEO landscape and what innovations do you see becoming essential for marketers to stay competitive?
Marketers can stay competitive by embracing technology and using it for things like data and analytics. They can use AI to analyze their data to identify where there is ROI.
“Now marketers need to optimize all of these platforms, including AI platforms like ChatGPT and Perplexity, to recommend their product, service or brand. »
The way AI is reshaping the SEO landscape is that people are not just using Google to search but are using different platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Tiktok, and ChatGpt as these platforms attempt to integrate AI into their systems. Now, marketers need to optimize all these platforms, including AI platforms like ChatGPT and Perplexity, to recommend their product, service or brand.
Generative AI is revolutionizing content creation. What are the most effective ways for brands to leverage this technology to enhance their content strategies and improve their SEO performance?
Generative AI helps the most when it comes to SEO, especially when it comes to research and ideation. Although some of the content it creates may still be mediocre, it is a great research and ideation tool. The biggest benefit is how it speeds up the process, freeing up time for teams to refine content or focus on other important tasks. By using AI for routine work, brands can boost their SEO efforts while keeping a strong human touch in their content.
“While some of the content created by AI may still be poor, it is a great research and ideation tool.”
You’ve already said that human-made content ranks higher. Can you talk more about this and how you see the role of human expertise evolving in an industry where AI is increasingly used for content creation and marketing strategies?
Human-created content will perform even better in the long run because it carries EEAT experience, expertise, authority and trust. From our case studies at NP Digital, we found that on average, human-created content drives more traffic than AI. That’s not to say that AI content can’t do just as well, but historically we’ve seen human-created content outperform.
“From our case studies at NP Digital, we found that on average, human-created content drives more traffic than AI. That’s not to say that AI content can’t do just as well, but historically we’ve seen human-created content outperform.
Even as AI evolves and becomes more integrated into the content creation process, it is still difficult for AI to fully capture the “Experience” element that comes naturally with human input.
What are the potential risks and challenges of using AI for content creation, and what does the data tell us about audiences’ willingness to engage with AI-generated content?
When using AI for content creation, the main risks include inaccuracies, bad data, and potential copyright and other legal issues. In one of our tests at NP Digital, we used a site with 1.8 million visitors and experimented with a third of them. We’ve edited the author bio, title, and content to reflect that the article was written by AI, even though it was actually written by a human.
Image by Jezael Melgoza
Average reading time has fallen by half. It’s not the content itself that has changed, but people’s perception of it. This shows that audience engagement can decrease simply because content is labeled as AI-generated, even if the quality is the same.
With the growing popularity of voice search, what specific strategies should marketers adopt to optimize their content for this medium?
To maximize voice search, marketers need to leverage the schema of their websites because voice search comes directly from the web. It is also important to optimize brand mentions and reviews for AI, as these increase relevance for AI platforms. By doing this, when people use voice search, which relies heavily on AI technology, the brand or product is more likely to be featured.
“To maximize voice search, marketers need to leverage the schema of their websites because voice search comes directly from the web.”
Hyperpersonalization can significantly improve user experience, but it also raises privacy concerns. How do you think brands can get the balance right and who do you think is currently doing it right?
Although no brand has perfected it yet, in my opinion, Amazon would be a good example of using AI in a useful and non-intrusive way. If you can use AI to personalize in a useful way, that will be great. If you’re creepy, it’s not as good.
Can you share some recent digital campaigns that impressed you with their creativity or strategic approach?
An offline digital campaign run by a non-profit organization – Misereor.
An offline digital campaign from McDonald’s Europe.
One of ours, which we really likedwith the Universal Technical Institute:
Quick hits:
Book everyone in the industry should read: The dip by Seth Godin
Most useful app or tool you’ve discovered recently: HeyGen Tool, which allows you to adapt your content and easily dub it into all the different APAC languages.
Something you want to learn or wish you were better at: I’d love to surf one day, but it’s not going to happen.
