Embracing Generative AI for Effective Content Marketing

Generative AI has become the hottest topic in marketing, but not without raising some eyebrows. Despite the buzz, many marketers I’ve spoken to are still hesitant, cautiously tiptoeing around its use in content marketing. Why? A lot of this hesitation is rooted in myths and misunderstandings about what Google actually wants when it comes to AI-generated content. Spoiler alert: it’s not the AI that Google dislikes—it’s the low-quality content.
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Just as the Generative AI hype was ramping up in 2023, Google’s Senior Search Analyst, John Mueller, stated that content created with generative AI tools would be considered spam and automatically downranked in the search engine’s results. The company’s Search Essentials (aka Webmaster Guidelines), which cover the technical requirement for Google Search ranking, have long held that automatically generated content would be downranked in search results.

The company’s position stems from the 2010s when search results started to get cluttered by websites providing low-quality answers to common and regularly asked questions. The question-and-answer sites used automatic content generators but provided very low value to the user. Google has since clarified its position statting that they were not banning AI-generated content from search results and focusing more on the quality of the content generated and its utility to search users.

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Appropriate use of AI or automation is not against our guidelines. This means it is not used to generate content primarily to manipulate search rankings, which is against our spam policies.

Automation has long been used in publishing to create useful content. AI can assist with and generate useful content in exciting new ways.

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The search giant emphasizes that its ranking systems aim to reward high-quality content, focusing on factors such as expertise, authoritativeness, and trustworthiness (E-A-T). These principles apply equally to both human-written and AI-generated content.

Beyond fears of being penalized by Google, marketers are grappling with a host of other worries including:

• Copyright Issues and Infringement: While several recent legal cases in the US have indicated that Generative AI does not infringe on copyright material or IP, it remains challenging for organizations to guarantee the original nature of content generated by AI tools.
• Content Originality and Uniqueness: Search engines, and specifically Google, love original content.  If you want to achieve high rankings, you need to focus on content originality, uniqueness and utility to your audience.  Originality comes in many forms – including having a unique POV on a well-established topic or taking a new and differentiating angle to said topic.  Confidence in AI’s ability to be original remains low.
• Risk of Duplicate or Generic Content Across Websites: As regular users of AI tools recognize, Generative AI can create content that sounds very similar.  If multiple companies use the same AI tool with similar prompts, there's a risk of producing nearly identical content across different sites with the same tonality and word usage patterns.  This duplication could potentially harm SEO efforts, as search engines prefer unique content.
• Difficulty in Incorporating Brand Voice and Style: Each brand has a unique voice and style that resonates with its audience.  This is often difficult to generate consistently with generative AI tools

Despite these concerns, marketers shouldn’t shy away from Generative AI. The key is to use it responsibly, ensuring that AI enhances content quality rather than compromising it. With the right best practices in place—balancing automation with human oversight—Generative AI can become a powerful tool that streamlines content production without sacrificing originality, authenticity, or search rankings.

Best Practice for Scaling Generative AI for Content

In fact, many leading companies like LinkedIn, Bankrate, and Seo.ai are already successfully using AI for content marketing. For example, Bankrate published over 200 AI-written articles in the sensitive "Your Money, Your Life" niche, while SEO.ai has generated top-ranking content in competitive search results.

Here are some best practices to consider:

Navigating Google’s Guidelines:

Google's primary concern is the end-user experience. Content that provides value, answers user queries effectively, and offers unique insights is likely to perform well in search results, regardless of whether AI was involved in its creation.  First and foremost, keep the following search guidance in mind:

• Focus on Quality and Relevance: Ensure the content is valuable, informative, and relevant to the target audience. It should address the audience's needs and interests effectively.
• Originality and Uniqueness: Avoid duplicate content. Generative AI should be used to create unique, original content that stands out and adds value.
• E-A-T Principles: Adhere to the principles of Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness. Ensure the content is well-researched, credible, and written by experts in the field.
• User Experience: Create content that provides a positive user experience. This includes easy navigation, readability, and engaging multimedia elements.
• Update and Maintain Content: Regularly update and maintain the content to ensure its accuracy and relevance over time.

Implement Best Practices for Generating Content:

Integrating Generative AI in content creation and SEO represents a significant shift in the marketing landscape. But successful use requires implementing best practices including:

• Human in the Loop: Involve human editors and writers in reviewing, refining, and polishing AI-generated content. This ensures the content maintains a human touch, aligns with the brand voice, and meets quality standards.  Ensure human editors are involved in fact-checking and reviewing AI-generated content to maintain accuracy and reliability.
• Adhere to Content Strategy: Ensure that AI-generated content aligns with your content strategy. This includes maintaining a consistent brand voice, tone, and style across all content. AI should be used to support your strategy, not replace it.
• Leverage AI Memory for Consistency: Use AI tools like ChatGPT's memory features to ensure consistency in tone and style across all content pieces. Gimmefy and Mavic also allow you to craft AI generative content based on brand guidelines. By remembering key details and preferences, AI can produce cohesive and aligned content with your brand’s voice.
• Custom Instructions for Content Distinctiveness: Provide custom instructions to your AI tools to avoid using certain words, phrases, or styles that don’t align with your brand. This helps ensure the content is distinctive, original, and true to your brand’s identity.
• Maintain Originality and Creativity: LinkedIn’s collaborative article program is a great example of how AI can scale expertise while maintaining originality.  The company used AI to generate topics and provide summaries while leveraging human expertise to keep the content distinctive and deliver value to the audience.  
• Transparent Disclosure of AI Usage: Be open about using AI in your content creation process. Transparency builds trust with your audience and ensures ethical standards are maintained.
• Focus on Providing Value in a Highly Scrutinized Niche: In highly scrutinized niches, prioritize creating content that offers significant value and insights. AI-generated content should meet high standards of quality and relevance to compete effectively.
• Implement Feedback Loops: Create feedback loops to continually improve AI-generated content. Collect feedback from readers, analyze performance metrics, and adjust AI inputs and parameters accordingly to enhance content quality and effectiveness.

By following these nuanced best practices, you can leverage Generative AI tools to create high-quality, engaging, and impactful content that aligns with your brand strategy and meets your marketing objectives.

Conclusion

Generative AI in content marketing offers incredible potential for efficiency, personalization, and scale, but many marketers hesitate due to concerns about quality and brand voice.

The solution? A strategic approach that combines human oversight, alignment with your content strategy, and adherence to Google’s quality guidelines. By leveraging AI for tasks like research, ideation, and competitor analysis, marketers can produce unique, high-quality content that boosts SEO and engages audiences. However, it's critical to maintain a human in the loop—ensuring that editors and writers review and refine AI-generated content to maintain accuracy, brand voice, and quality standards. Use AI as a tool to support your content strategy by adhering to a consistent tone and style. Features like AI memory can help maintain this consistency across all content, while custom instructions ensure the content remains distinctive and true to your brand.

By following these best practices and ensuring transparency in your use of AI, you can create content that not only enhances human creativity and productivity but also remains original, ethical, and aligned with your brand’s goals