Shushanta Guha: Succeeding in the most exciting era for search marketing
By Shushanta Guha, Director of Search, Merkle, CXM Group, dentsu Singapore.
Search marketing is the most fun it has been in over 15 years. Yet, 2023 is not just exciting, it is also a challenging year for search marketers.
It is estimated that over 1.1 trillion MB of data is created every day. All of this adds up to a complex problem for marketers to solve – how do we work on all the places our consumers are asking questions? What can we do to differentiate and stand out from the ever-increasing crowd?
With the ever-changing search landscape and the introduction of innovative and disruptive technologies, marketers will have their hands full trying to meet their targets.
Leveraging ChatGPT for SEO
Traditional natural and paid search have been shaken to its core by the emergence of conversational AI platforms like ChatGPT.
Although content generated by automation, including AI, for the primary purpose of manipulating search ranking, is against Google’s guidelines, there are still multiple use cases where ChatGPT can be used for search engine optimisation.
For instance, you can do a very thorough job with keyword research by creating extensive keyword lists, sorting them based on search intent, clustering them into relevant topics, and translating them into any language as needed.
ChatGPT can also be used to create search engine optimised titles and meta descriptions. The use of ChatGPT can actually make any marketer’s job easier.
AI in optimising voice search
Voice search has been increasing year on year. With improvements in voice recognition technology and growing popularity of smart home speakers, the use of assistants like Alexa, Siri, and Google Assistant has increased as consumers try to do things instead of finding 10 blue links.
AI platforms like ChatGPT can be used to optimise voice search in several ways. You can restructure your existing content, create FAQs, and generate structured data, all of which will help search engines understand your content better.
You can also optimise for longtail keywords, as well as featured snippets, which will all greatly increase your chances of appearing in more voice search results.
User generated content in improving engagement, building trust and driving sales
We are seeing an explosion in user-generated content with content being created at an unprecedented rate and overpowering traditional businesses on video platforms today.
User-generated content is currently being used by brands to improve engagement, build trust, as well as drive sales. AI tools like ChatGPT can help to summarise content, perform sentiment analysis, and create content at scale for various platforms and personalise it for different audiences.
To top it all, these can all be done in the same brand voice that brands have built up over decades.
Marketplace optimisation is no longer an option
Commercial and transactional searches are being used more on local e-commerce platforms and marketplaces.
With the increasing popularity of marketplaces, simply having a presence on these platforms is not enough. Brands must utilise the tools at their disposal to optimise product listings, analyse and provide insights on competitor pricing, automate customer service as well as identify influencers to partner with, based on relevance to your brand and to your product.
An especially promising development is the emergence of generative AI platforms such as Midjourney or Jasper Art, that can generate massive libraries of high-quality images along with descriptions to further optimise listings.
Maintaining the human touch amidst a boost in automation
We expect that marketing and SEO will receive a much-needed boost in automation. This will help brands finally catch up to the surge in user demand. Yet, as AI tools evolve, adapt and scale, marketers must ensure to maintain the human touch as this will continue to be important in staying relevant to the consumer.