AI isn't going anywhere and it's certainly not going away. I know there's a lot of talk about AI spelling 'the end for copywriters' but I would argue the opposite is true. Copywriters who know how to put themselves in the shoes of a potential customer and recognise what problems they are facing, and then put themselves back in the client's shoes and offer the solution are worth their weight in gold.
Those copywriters will create content that connects with an audience and shows them that the company posting that blog, that article, that news item really understands them and has a solution.
And AI will display that content and get you seen – even if your website doesn't get the visit…
Most of us will have seen the AI-generated results when you Google something nowadays; depending on the search and what AI can quickly find, you will see a few paragraphs of AI-generated copy at the top of the search results giving an overview in response to your query. And this means that while search performance can drive traffic to your website, there's a growing percentage of AI generated results that end without a website visit; because AI has gone to your site, read the information and delivered the results that the user would have got, had they clicked through to your website.
Your information – your solution – has been served to a potential customer, they've seen you as someone who understands them, and their opinion of you has (hopefully) gone up… but they haven't visited your website.
Driving actual traffic (potential customers) to your website will always be the holy grail, but there's a growing importance in appeasing the needs of AI as well as the algorithm. By understanding how AI searches and to make sure that when a user gets AI generated results, the content comes from your site, you gain an edge and your reputation goes up. And if AI doesn't get the information from you, you know where it will go? That's right… straight to your competitors.
The key to making sure it's your content that is displayed relies on an understanding of what AI likes. And to a certain extent, there are many similarities to what the Google algorithm likes too, so hitting the mark for one, should get you in the ballpark for the other.
Content should be clearly marked and well-structured to tick the boxes; if Google and/or AI can't (quickly) figure out what your article, blog, or webpage is about, then it will be disregarded. So understanding what your customers – or future customers – are actually looking for, the pain points they are struggling with, and the issues they need solutions to, means your content can be crafted to answer their search query perfectly.
Then whether through click or no-click, the answer comes from you and even if there's no direct web traffic, the perception of your brand is that it helped. It delivered, even without (apparently) trying.
So, if you want to make sure your content is seen, even when it's not viewed, give us a call or drop us an email and we'll make sure your content shines, even if the lights are off and nobody's home.
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