2024 also saw a surge in marketers using AI tools. These tools have become valuable for streamlining SEO tasks from ideation to generating content
Latest Algorithm Updates – Increased Importance of Author Entities
Another major development was the increased focus on author entities in the latest algorithm updates.
Google is now more adept at recognizing and valuing the authors behind content.
This means that content linked to recognized and knowledgeable authors gains an extra layer of trust and credibility, influencing rankings more than ever.
AI Tools Offer Search Capabilities
Despite the growing capabilities of AI tools in offering search functionalities, we haven’t seen the change in people’s search behavior. People still rely on search engines like Google for their queries.
Most importantly, we haven’t seen a decrease in organic traffic due to these AI tools.
Now let’s talk about SEO trends coming up in 2024.
1. AI Boosts Scale, but Also Make It More Important to Provide Original Value
While AI is shaking the world, we see it both as an opportunity and a threat.
Let us explain.
AI is good at creating generic content that is based on existing content from the SERP.
The real threat is in generic content flooding the internet because of AI.
Think about it – if everyone starts relying solely on AI for content creation, we’re going to see a lot of the same thing, over and over.
This is also true on an individual scale, for your own website.
As a content creator, you now face the risk of overusing AI to fill your blog with content where most of the writing is based on something that’s already been published elsewhere.
How to Use AI to Boost Scale
AI is like a writing assistant with various skills. Here are some ways to use AI’s assistance to boost scale:
- Ask AI to act as an editor and help you in applying an established voice and tone to the draft
- Summarize information that’s already known
- Make existing copy shorter
- Turn lengthy paragraph into bullet points
- Make a table out of the information you already have
- Create top-level outlines (more on that below)
2. First-hand Experience Is the Differentiator of Quality Content that AI Couldn’t Write
First-hand experience in content satisfies users’ queries and aligns with what search engines now prioritize – authenticity and depth.
Since Google updated its EEAT guidelines in December 2022, first-hand experience became one of the factors that determine a content’s trustworthiness.
It’s about giving your readers what they really want, which is often a deep dive into specific, lived experiences.
In fact, first-hand experience is the new differentiator between generic and high-quality content.