Keeping up with the best AI SEO tools can feel like a full-time job. While we all know that tools help us to do our jobs better and faster, finding the time to research the tools and integrate the new tool into an existing workflow is a considerable undertaking. That’s why I wrote this article.
I’ve been testing AI tools for years.
I was a pretty enthusiastic adopter of AI and started with Jasper before ChatGPT was on anyone’s radar. I earned my Jasper Certification in June 2022, just a few months before ChatGPT launched and AI adoption exploded. Since then, existing tools have layered in AI, and entirely new tools have hit the market at a rapid pace.
This guide will help you make sense of the leading AI SEO tools and how to use them effectively. I’ve been selective about tools included because I didn’t want to write an article listing a bunch of AI for content creation. (I feel like this is the AI we all know about!) Instead, I’ve provided a tool for as many components as AI and SEO as possible, including internal linking, technical SEO, and backlinking.
I’ll uncover the essential features to look for in each tool you consider and share valuable insights gained from testing top solutions. Whether you’re a freelancer, in-house marketer, or consultant, this guide will help you identify the AI SEO tools that align with your goals.
How Marketers Use AI
I’ve worked in marketing for over a decade now. My primary role is SEO, but as the co-founder of boutique SEM agency, Forank, I also use AI tools to help manage the SEO side of my business.
Here are some ways in which AI supports my marketing workflows:
- Research and brainstorming.
- Project management.
- Analytics.
- Content creation tasks (including creating briefs, writing copy for social posts, emails, blogs, websites, and more).
It’s easy to get wrapped up in the AI versus humans argument, but AI doesn’t replace humans. It enhances it through intelligent automation. AI unveils insights and optimization opportunities that would be challenging for SEO professionals to identify manually and in a timely manner.
AI in SEO involves using advanced algorithms, including machine learning and natural language processing, to process and analyze large volumes of data, allowing SEO professionals to optimize their SEO strategies and automate specific tasks.
Simply put, AI allows SEO professionals to do the work they love while they outsource the time-consuming and mundane.
The impact of AI on SEO is significant, with 98% of organizations increasing AI usage. Better, marketers are measuring AI success in the form of ROI across many dimensions, including:
- Increased productivity. When AI takes the time-consuming and mundane tasks, humans can work more productively on the work they love.
- Time saved across teams. With AI taking a portion of the work, time is better spent.
- Better overall performance. Some tasks are better completed by an AI. Data analysis, for example, can be better with AI as it can analyze large data sets fast, leading to better performance.
According to HubSpot’s recent State of AI report, data shows that 86% marketers who use AI for creative ideation save an hour a day, which equates to 37 working days per year, assuming a working day is five days per week and seven hours per day.
Here are some of the key ways I’ve used AI in my SEO process.
1. Brainstorm topics based on your target audience.
LLMs like ChatGPT and Perplexity are pretty useful for brainstorming topics based on your target audience.
Currently, I’m using ChatGPT more than anything else.
To get the most out of topic brainstorms, try a strong prompt like:
I’m creating a content strategy for a leading [industry] brand. I need content ideas tailored to my target audience, who are [demographics, psychographics, job roles, industries].
They are typically at the [awareness/consideration/decision] stage of the buyer’s journey and struggle with [pain points, common challenges]. Their key goals are [primary objectives or motivations].
We’ve already created content on [list existing content], and our top-performing content includes [examples or content types that have resonated well]. However, there are gaps in our content around [missing topics, underperforming themes], which we’d like to address.
Right now, I want to focus on the topic cluster of [main topic or theme], and ideally generate ideas that explore related subtopics such as [related keywords, long-tails, semantic variations]. It would be helpful to factor in [seasonal trends, news, industry updates], if relevant.
Please generate ideas for the website, including [service pages, landing pages, blog posts]. The content should support our goals of [increase traffic/drive leads/educate/generate backlinks/improve engagement].
Our key competitors are [competitor names or content examples], and I’d like to differentiate our ideas from theirs by [unique POV, targeting a niche angle, depth, storytelling, etc.].
We plan to promote this content primarily via [SEO and the website], so please factor this into the ideation.
Pro tip: if you export your sitemap to an XML file, those on ChatGPT subscriptions can provide the file, and ChatGPT will analyze and understand topics already covered, which might help the ideation process. You can also add competitor sitemaps if you’re interested in closing content gaps.
2. Detect and fix technical issues, such as broken links.
Technical SEO can feel like a minefield. It’s complex and there’s nearly always a lot to do, especially on a site that’s been a little neglected. Usually, it’s nothing to worry about, but lots of little issues that are better resolved.
Technical SEO can become more palatable with AI and SEO tools that bring issues to the forefront and break down how to fix them, and how important they are.
Here’s what that looks like in HubSpot:
