Posted 20 hours ago20 hr comment_12848 AI is coming for your organic search traffic. More people are turning to ChatGPT for quick answers, and AI Overviews are rapidly improving at delivering the kind of fast, surface-level information your website used to provide. But as long as people are searching, there will be demand for content created by those with real-world experience. The SEOs who will continue to capture traffic are the ones focused on producing unmistakably human content – the kind AI simply can’t replicate. Right now, the industry is fixated on what AI can do, while largely ignoring what it can’t. Your edge over generative AI is clear: real-world experience that adds depth, nuance, and trust. There’s still a need for the kind of content marketers excel at producing – but to drive results, we need to shift how we think about content strategy. That’s what this article is about. I’ll share how to: Identify which content to leave to AI – and which topics still drive meaningful, qualified traffic. Create unmistakably human content that resonates with real readers and moves them to act. Measure whether your content is delivering the impact you’re aiming for. Authenticity must be top of mind in the age of AI AI-generated answers dominate the top of search results, often answering basic informational searches satisfactorily. There are, however, topics where searchers want to hear from human beings with real, firsthand experience with a subject – not an AI-generated response. In these cases, users scroll past these AI-generated snippets and toward organic search results – often only to find content that is often indistinguishable from the AI-generated content at the top of the results. It’s a bit of a slap in the face: your reader scrolled past an AI answer, clicked on your website, and got another AI answer. This is understandable. SEOs are trying to figure out how to best use AI. However, the result has been that we’re often not delivering the only thing that ChatGPT and the AI Overviews are not able to provide: a unique perspective derived from real-world, firsthand experience with a topic. This needs to stop. If someone turns to Google instead of ChatGPT – and scrolls past the AI Overview – they’re probably looking for a human perspective (not your lightly edited AI output). We need to do all we can to make it clear to visitors that they are getting exactly that when they read our content: real perspectives from real people. How to identify topics where an individual’s insight is essential How do you identify topics where searchers are inclined to bypass ChatGPT and AI Overviews to hear from an actual human being? The ‘A’ in ‘BARS’ When doing keyword/topic research for blog content, we have a framework we use to qualify topics we refer to as “BARS.” Is the topic: On the buyer’s journey? Potentially answerable by AI? Ranking for keywords we can rank for? Able to drive enough search volume to be worth our time? The “BRS” parts of this framework are classic SEO-driven content marketing skills, but the “A” is new. Emotional, experiential, expert insights are key We’ve determined that the types of topics where people want to hear from real people typically want insights that are: Emotional: “What did it feel like when __________ ?” Experiential: “What was your experience with __________?” Expert insights: “Would someone prefer to hear what individual experts think vs. the consensus on a topic?” Examples include: Personal health journeys (emotional), such as mental health, chronic illness, weight loss, and recovery stories. Product reviews (experiential), especially for beauty, fitness, and tech products where personal use matters. Parenting advice (emotional): Real stories and experiences from parents who lived through what you’re dealing with. Career growth and job advice (expert): Examples from people who have achieved the growth a person wishes to achieve. Travel experiences (experiential): Nuanced tips and firsthand impressions make destinations feel real. Lifestyle and self-improvement (emotional, experiential, and expert): Covers productivity or personal development. When done well, this is the first “E” in E-E-A-T – experience. Blog topics need to be qualified by determining how well the content producer can deliver emotional, experiential, or expert insights. Get the newsletter search marketers rely on. Business email address Sign me up! Processing... See terms. 4 tips for making content that is unmistakably human 1. Include video in your blogs Adding video to your articles – or using a video-first SEO strategy – is one way to help your content connect with visitors in a way that is unmistakably human. While there are tools that create convincing avatars for video, they all lack the most important aspect of connecting with your audience: Personality. Personal experience. Viewpoints. When searchers scroll past the AI Overview and land on your article, finding a video that clearly features a real, engaging human ready to share their experience and perspective on a topic, they are primed to hear what you have to say. At this point, it’s just a matter of being engaging and delivering value. Including video also has the added benefit of driving organic search traffic to your social media, where your social media can nurture it down the funnel. 2. Focus your content on topics that demand a unique perspective AI excels at summarizing existing consensus on a topic. When they scroll past the AI Overview, they often want to hear your perspective, not the consensus. Let’s look at an example: I had to make a choice about a lens for my cataract surgery last summer (odd, I know, I was only 45). I assure you, I was only interested in hearing from individual ophthalmologists who had implanted these in hundreds of patients, not the AI Overview – these are my eyes we’re talking about. In this case, some ophthalmologists feel that these lenses are only appropriate for people with perfectly healthy eyes. Others feel that the only reason to forego them is the additional cost. This is the kind of unique perspective I was looking for. 3. Focus your content on topics where the user may not trust AI There are many searches where the user is less likely to trust the AI Overview. Let’s look at an example: In this case, the AI Overview fails to deliver a consensus on the topic (there is no blanket “yes or no” consensus around this topic). A person wishing to explore HRT to address the symptoms surrounding menopause is likely to want to hear from breast cancer research organizations and doctors for a topic like this that still lacks consensus: I would argue that both topics meet the “A” in “BARS.” 4. Put your writers front and center in your blog layout This topic has been discussed as an E-E-A-T signal for a long time, but I don’t think Google’s systems are why we need to do it. Actual human beings want to know who is providing them with information, which is why we should prominently feature our authors in our blogs. Using the results for “parenting a child with ADHD” as an example, there’s one reason I have to scroll past the AI Overview. I want to hear from a professional (or perhaps several) who has formed a unique perspective from their years of experience. How likely are readers to feel that they are getting this if they land on a page that doesn’t even mention who wrote it? Want to make your content unmistakably human? Show us who wrote it and share their credentials: If users are clicking on the blue links because they want to hear from an expert, tell them who that expert is and what makes them an expert. Even better, embed video: Video gives people a chance to see and hear from the real subject matter behind your brand, whether that’s a clinician, founder, or patient. It builds trust faster than text alone and adds depth to your message. Measure success beyond clicks Too many SEOs focus on nothing beyond rankings and organic search traffic. What is the point of getting traffic if the reader leaves after 15 seconds? What is the point of organic search traffic if a typical reader spends two minutes reading your content and leaves without knowing who you are or what makes your organization unique? Develop KPIs that go beyond clicks and rankings; determine whether people are satisfied with your content. Here are a few suggestions: Are you shooting accompanying videos for all your blogs? Shoot for audience retention above 60% at 30 secs and a total view through above 40%. Establish a baseline for your average time on page for your blogs per 100 words – then identify your outliers to learn what works and what doesn’t. Start paying attention to scroll depth on your articles. Identify outliers and learn from them. Figuring out how to measure engagement with your content will enable you to learn what works as far as driving toward your business goals. Unmistakably human content will be key to making SEO drive business outcomes in the age of AI We have a burning platform. More people will turn to generative AI tools to get certain types of information and if we do not learn how to avoid spending resources on that type of content, we will not drive business outcomes for our organizations. Unless we are able to provide value that generative AI is unable to deliver, we will see our jobs, budgets, and engagements ended. Beyond that, we need to have a compelling narrative surrounding our role in a business world where there is a growing perception that AI should be able to do everything we do. The ability to show stakeholders that people still want to hear from other people – and that we know how to identify and deliver that content – is what will keep SEO-driven content marketing funded. View the full article
