Hello, fellow content peeps!

We’re back, and I may sound like a broken record, but there's a lot going on in the world of SEO and content again this week.

This is another jam-packed edition: keep reading…

But, first, an ad from our sponsor. To create best-in-class content with integrity, you need the right tool. With the most accurate AI content detection, fact-checking and plagiarism-checking, this is the go-tool for content creators who care about quality.

Google Faces AI Content Challenges, Updates in Search Features, and Yes, Search Quality is Really Declining

With the onslaught of AI content, Google has had an uphill battle to climb. We all knew this would happen, but we’re really starting to see the full effects, at least when it comes to search quality.

This week, a team of researchers has proven that Google search has gotten worse, but we don’t have to look too far to see the impact on the SERPs.

While Google has been dropping hints that they are making big changes, addressing the spam that has been flooding the SERPs, we can’t help but wonder if things like this will continue to happen to publishers:

Google also announced new ways to search in 2024, including a “Circle to Search” feature and a new image search feature. While I love the update to the image search feature, I think the Circle to Search thing sounds like a cool party trick you’d do with your friends.

But is this what users want from Google?

Google is also seemingly keeping SGE in Labs, which could signal that they are pulling back from this particular AI experiment. Some SEOs are even saying that SGE might not happen.

With all the big changes and promises that Google continues to make, one thing that we’ve learned in 2023 is …

Whether we like it or not, generative AI is here to stay and is making a big impact on our industry.

So, that leaves me thinking about where we stand as content professionals with AI. Should we use AI in our content creation workflows? If we do, what for? Is there an ethical, quality-led way to use AI for content?

The State of AI for Content Creation

In late 2022, I sent out a policy to our writers that we require 100% human-created articles:

Our stance at V4M today is this: we expect 100% authentic, original, fresh content from writers. This has always been our stance. We have a firm anti-plagiarism policy here, which includes spun articles. We want the ideas and information we give our readers to come from you, not be carbon copies of what already exists in Google.

Our main goal here is to create quality content for real humans. As subject matter experts, we want your personal insights, thoughts, and opinions on these topics.

I stand by this. But after many months of experimenting with AI tools, I have a bit of an updated twist.

My thoughts:

• Just because something is 100% human-created doesn't automatically make it better. There is a ton of human-created, awful content out there as well.

• AI is a tool, but it cannot replace the level of expertise and experiential knowledge that we require in our articles.

• We don’t want content that reads like a robot wrote it, so we’ll continue to use AI checkers to help editorial.

• There are ethical ways to employ AI in content creation and unethical methods that border on plagiarism. Remember, AI is merely a tool.

• Ultimately, any AI assistance in content creation should be guided by a true expert and is not a replacement for first-hand knowledge and experiences.

Things I’m Seeing in AI Content Creation

While there will always be SEOs and publishers that look for the quickest, cheapest solutions to publishing content, many publishers and content creators still don’t want to take the risks.

I’ve been testing AI tools in operations and content creation for the past year and have learned a lot about how AI can be a tool, but there are still many people getting it wrong.

Here are some of the things I’ve been seeing.

Most people use AI tools such as Chat-GPT incorrectly when it comes to content creation.

I cringe every time I see someone recommend a new content creation or SEO expert share their secrets to scaling content and tell us the magical prompt that starts with “Please write me a 500-word blog on __,” — This doesn’t work!

I mean, yes, you’ll get an output. You will get words, but you won’t get quality.

I have seen a lot of AI-created content pop up in my day-to-day this year, and while there might not always be a ‘tell’ (which is why I still like to use AI detection tools), there is always something ‘off’ about AI created content that you can smell from the start.

For example, when I submitted a request for expert answers from Help a B2B Writer for an article, the first five responses I got were strangely similar in structure and phrasing. At first, they didn’t seem that bad, but once the third, equally structured answer came through, it was obvious that these were completely AI-generated answers. Apparently, they were all using the same prompts as well.

I believe there are ways we can ethically use AI to help us in the content creation process, but just asking Chat-GPT or any other AI writing tool to pump out some words on a page isn’t one of them.

The more AI-created content we see, the more the real human, expert-driven stuff will shine.

We already live in a world inundated with content. Audiences crave authenticity in content, and in a world where we are not sure who to trust, it’s a risky move to create fake, inauthentic content in any way, shape, or form.

People can feel inauthenticity, even if they can’t put a finger on why. This past week, as I reviewed more writing samples for a role (where we made it clear that we did not want any AI-assisted content creators), I found entire portfolios with AI-created content. This is not a shortcut. While the content seemed factually okay and structured well, something bland and robotic about it instantly stood out.

I don’t think all AI-assisted content has to be bland if a real-deal expert is guiding the ship. AI can be a great tool to help in content ideation and creation; it’s just how it’s used that really matters.

This leads me to ponder the question: how can we, as authentic content marketers, use AI in our content creation processes?

Ways AI Can Support Content Creation 

I use AI every single day in my role in content operations. Only about 5% of what I do with AI is to help in the content creation process.

But here are some great ways to use AI to support content creation:

• Create charts, graphs, or visuals to support content.

• Help summarize articles and drafts to see if any missing elements or topics should be considered.

• Brainstorm article titles or headings.

• Help draft article summaries.

• Help restructure a list or format a list of ideas.

• Review and proofread articles and determine if the article satisfies search intent or covers a topic fully.

• Compile random thoughts and help structure or organize thoughts into an outline.

• Assist in creating a well-structured outline of an article.

• Help rephrase and summarize expert quotes or insights from notes.

• Transcribe videos and podcasts into usable notes and content we can use later.

• Summarize interviews, videos, and articles and highlight sections we may want to use or quote in our articles.

• Help repurpose our original articles into new forms of content (i.e., blog articles into social shares) by finding quotable clips we can use.

• Analyze and review our content creation's bias, sentiment, and overall tone.

These are just a few ways to use AI in the content creation that I love. This is by no means an exhaustive list, but it proves that there are still ethical ways to use AI as a tool that can assist us in our content creation process.

Of course, the way we use AI and the tools we use all matter in the quality of the outputs we may get, but we don’t have time to get into all that today.

The more quality and detailed the inputs we use, the better quality outputs we use is a general rule to keep in mind.

But AI is not a replacement for the real deal expert behind the wheel. Ultimately, great content must stand out from what’s already out there. It's about creating something that resonates with readers, evokes emotions, and offers perspectives only a human can provide.

Let’s remember that great writing is great thinking. It’s our opportunity to connect with our audiences, bring real value to this world, and help someone. AI can help with some of the steps involved in writing, but it cannot replace a real-deal writer. 

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Quality content needs the human touch. Nobody connects to content that sounds like a robot.

It’s really tough to assess AI content at scale without the help of AI detectors.

We’ve been using Originality.ai in our editorial process since its inception as an additional quality checker and have loved the updates along the way. It’s more than just an AI-detector tool; it is a fact-checker and plagiarism checker all in one.

With detailed reports, our editorial team knows where to lean in to greatly improve the content quality overall.

If you haven’t given it a try, it’s definitely worth checking out here.

🤔 Content Musings of the Week

🧐 Having an opinion does not mean you are an expert.

✍️ If you struggle to figure something out, start writing about it. We often underestimate the thinking involved in writing.

🏰 I will die on this hill: A company with a solid content marketing strategy can build a better moat than one without it.

🍽️ This quote from Chef Matty Matheson at the Emmys mirrors how I feel about the content industry these days: “I just love restaurants so much — the good, the bad. It's rough. We're all broken inside, and every single day, we've got to show up and cook and make people feel good by eating something and sitting at a table, and it's really beautiful.”

Things to Read, Watch, and Ponder

▶️ I got out from behind the desk this week and got to talk shop with Jared Bauman on the Niche Pursuits podcast! I share a bit about my personal journey in content as well. I give an honest, open view of the industry and where I think it’s headed. Watch it now!

▶️ SEO expert Alice Rowan has created an in-depth guide on building content clusters for small marketing teams. I love building into content clusters; this is a great starting point. Read it here!

▶️ Want to get super nerdy with Garrett Sussman, who asks and ponders the “How much does it cost to rank for a single keyword?” question? I love thinking about the ROI of content; this is a great analysis. Check it out here!

▶️ Building a great content marketing organization is like building a house, and Tracey Wallace walks through what this looks like. I love this analogy when it comes to content. Read the full article here!

▶️ Sam Knight walks us through this thoughtful 90-day strategy he uses with his clients to make sure there is content market fit. Read the tweet and get the strategy overview here.

▶️ If you’re wondering what other niche site portfolio operators are doing with all the Google updates, you’ll love this interview from Paul Lemley, who walks through the bullets, then cannonballs approach with his portfolio of sites and shares tips and strategies of when to go all in. Watch the video here!

Thank you for reading! I enjoy creating these deep dives every week and sharing my content musings with all of you.

The past few months have been a bit of a rollercoaster in content and SEO, but we must remember that this is just a phase. As someone reminded me this week, many of us easily slip into recency bias, where we place way more weight on recent events than on the big, historic picture.

Reflecting on my journey in the industry proved that there are many ways to make a go of things in this world. I’ve been given many chances to start over in my career.

I’ve been a server, a house cleaner, a radio engineer, a radio DJ, a freelance writer, a corporate communications manager, a media biz owner, a consultant, an editor, and a COO. There’s always room for re-invention for the gritty, curious, and tenacious out there.

With all the buzz about AI taking our jobs, I hope this newsletter can be a positive place to learn, dig in, and help each other navigate the content marketing landscape together.

Have a great week!

Cheers! Amy

Some Bonus Newsletters You’ll Love

If you want to get into the weeds on these topics, here are some newsletters that I read regularly that I think you’ll enjoy: