Previously Google’s helpful content update, threatened to penalise AI-generated content on the SERPs as they shifted focus to people-first content, however, with the announcement of their new chatbot Bard, they have published new guidance about how you can use AI-generated content on your website as long as it benefits the reader.
Google’s Ranking System
Google uses algorithms to rank content based on relevance and authority. This means that websites with higher-quality content have a better chance of appearing at the top of the search engine results pages (SERPs). To determine which websites are authoritative, Google looks for Expertise, Experience, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness (E-E-A-T). Websites must demonstrate these qualities or they risk being penalised by Google’s spam policies.
Violations of these policies can lead to a website being demoted from the SERPs or even removed from them altogether. If this happens, it can take months for a website to recover from a penalty—or never recover at all. For example, if an article contains too much keyword stuffing or plagiarism violations then it could be flagged as low quality by the algorithm and suffer from poor rankings.
Quality Standards for Producing AI Generated Content
When producing AI generated content, it is important to follow certain quality standards to avoid violating any of Google’s spam policies. The most important thing is to ensure that all AI generated content is original and unique so as not to incur any copyright violations or plagiarism issues. Additionally, it should also contain accurate information that has been thoroughly researched and verified before being published online. Finally, AI generated content should also include relevant keywords that are used sparingly throughout the text so as not to appear “spammy” when scanned by Google’s algorithm.
Google believes strongly in artificial intelligence (AI) as a way to improve its search engine results— so much so that it prioritises content based on relevance and authority using E-E-A-T standards. Therefore, when producing AI-generated content, it is important to follow certain quality guidelines to avoid any violations of Google’s spam policies, which could lead to poor rankings or manual action against your site. By following these guidelines for producing high-quality AI generated content you can help your site rank higher on the SERPs while providing valuable information for your visitors at the same time!
If you’re based in Essex or London and looking for help with your SEO, speak to an SEO consultant today.
Alice Baker, Senior Digital Marketing Executive. Sierra Six Media.
