{"id":2538,"date":"2024-03-31T22:59:03","date_gmt":"2024-03-31T22:59:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ewebtoolz.com\/blog\/how-deep-content-will-protect-your-seo-in-the-ai-era\/"},"modified":"2024-03-31T22:59:03","modified_gmt":"2024-03-31T22:59:03","slug":"how-deep-content-will-protect-your-seo-in-the-ai-era","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ewebtoolz.com\/blog\/how-deep-content-will-protect-your-seo-in-the-ai-era\/","title":{"rendered":"How &#8220;Deep Content&#8221; Will Protect Your SEO in the AI Era"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div id=\"\">\n<p>SEOs are panicking that AI is taking over and their jobs are done. But I\u2019m uncharacteristically optimistic this isn\u2019t the\u00a0case.<\/p>\n<p>Yes, AI has changed SEO forever (and will continue to do so), but it\u2019s not going to kill it. We just need to adapt. How? By prioritizing \u201cdeep content\u201d about topics that can\u2019t be answered quickly or easily.<\/p>\n<p>Here are three reasons why I think this is the future of\u00a0SEO.<\/p>\n<div class=\"post-nav-link clearfix\" id=\"section1\"><a class=\"subhead-anchor\" data-tip=\"tooltip__copielink\" rel=\"#section1\"><svg width=\"19\" height=\"19\" viewbox=\"0 0 14 14\" style=\"\"><g fill=\"none\" fill-rule=\"evenodd\"><path d=\"M0 0h14v14H0z\"\/><path d=\"M7.45 9.887l-1.62 1.621c-.92.92-2.418.92-3.338 0a2.364 2.364 0 0 1 0-3.339l1.62-1.62-1.273-1.272-1.62 1.62a4.161 4.161 0 1 0 5.885 5.884l1.62-1.62L7.45 9.886zM5.527 5.135L7.17 3.492c.92-.92 2.418-.92 3.339 0 .92.92.92 2.418 0 3.339L8.866 8.473l1.272 1.273 1.644-1.643A4.161 4.161 0 1 0 5.897 2.22L4.254 3.863l1.272 1.272zm-.66 3.998a.749.749 0 0 1 0-1.06l2.208-2.206a.749.749 0 1 1 1.06 1.06L5.928 9.133a.75.75 0 0 1-1.061 0z\" style=\"\"\/><\/g><\/svg><\/a><\/p>\n<div class=\"link-text\" data-anchor=\"Deep content answers questions AI can\u2019t answer\" data-section=\"answers-questions-ai-cant-answer\">\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><a id=\"post-174064-_n1cm3p1nwzg9\"\/>Deep content answers questions AI can\u2019t answer<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>If you ask ChatGPT <em>how to reinstall macOS<\/em>, you can easily follow its instructions to get the job done. It clearly explains <em>what<\/em> you need to do and <em>how<\/em> to do\u00a0it.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1510\" height=\"1292\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/word-image-174064-1.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-174065\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/word-image-174064-1.png 1510w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/word-image-174064-1-497x425.png 497w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/word-image-174064-1-768x657.png 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1510px) 100vw, 1510px\"\/><\/figure>\n<p><strong>This is the kind of \u201cshallow\u201d topic that AI is coming for.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Once Google rolls out SGE to the masses (which will <a href=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/google-starts-testing-ai-overviews-from-sge-in-main-google-search-interface-438680\">probably happen soon<\/a>), searchers won\u2019t need to click for answers to these kinds of questions. They\u2019ll be right there in the search results courtesy of AI. The robots will steal the traffic.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1600\" height=\"1208\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/my-prediction-is-that-clicks-to-shallow-topics-wil.png\" alt=\"My prediction is that clicks to shallow topics will go to AI in the future. The only way to future-proof your SEO is to tackle deep topics\" class=\"wp-image-174066\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/my-prediction-is-that-clicks-to-shallow-topics-wil.png 1600w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/my-prediction-is-that-clicks-to-shallow-topics-wil-563x425.png 563w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/my-prediction-is-that-clicks-to-shallow-topics-wil-768x580.png 768w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/my-prediction-is-that-clicks-to-shallow-topics-wil-1536x1160.png 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px\"\/><\/noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1600\" height=\"1208\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/my-prediction-is-that-clicks-to-shallow-topics-wil.png\" alt=\"My prediction is that clicks to shallow topics will go to AI in the future. The only way to future-proof your SEO is to tackle deep topics\" class=\"lazyload wp-image-174066\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/my-prediction-is-that-clicks-to-shallow-topics-wil.png 1600w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/my-prediction-is-that-clicks-to-shallow-topics-wil-563x425.png 563w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/my-prediction-is-that-clicks-to-shallow-topics-wil-768x580.png 768w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/my-prediction-is-that-clicks-to-shallow-topics-wil-1536x1160.png 1536w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px\"\/><\/figure>\n<p>Compare this to ChatGPT\u2019s answer for a topic like <a href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/content-audit\/\"><em>how to run a content audit<\/em><\/a>:<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1540\" height=\"1164\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/chatgpt-explaining-how-to-run-a-content-audit-the.png\" alt=\"ChatGPT explaining how to run a content audit. The result leaves a lot to be desired.\" class=\"wp-image-174067\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/chatgpt-explaining-how-to-run-a-content-audit-the.png 1540w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/chatgpt-explaining-how-to-run-a-content-audit-the-562x425.png 562w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/chatgpt-explaining-how-to-run-a-content-audit-the-768x580.png 768w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/chatgpt-explaining-how-to-run-a-content-audit-the-1536x1161.png 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1540px) 100vw, 1540px\"\/><\/noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1540\" height=\"1164\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/chatgpt-explaining-how-to-run-a-content-audit-the.png\" alt=\"ChatGPT explaining how to run a content audit. The result leaves a lot to be desired.\" class=\"lazyload wp-image-174067\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/chatgpt-explaining-how-to-run-a-content-audit-the.png 1540w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/chatgpt-explaining-how-to-run-a-content-audit-the-562x425.png 562w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/chatgpt-explaining-how-to-run-a-content-audit-the-768x580.png 768w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/chatgpt-explaining-how-to-run-a-content-audit-the-1536x1161.png 1536w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 1540px) 100vw, 1540px\"\/><\/figure>\n<p>Even with half the answer cut off, the issue is clear: it tells us <em>what<\/em> to do but not <em>how<\/em> to do\u00a0it.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>How do we choose the right objective?<\/li>\n<li>How do we pull data from Google Analytics, our CMS, and website crawlers to compile a content inventory?<\/li>\n<li>Which are the \u201cappropriate tools\u201d that will help with the\u00a0audit?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Because this is a deeper topic, it needs a deeper answer. You can\u2019t get that from AI. You need to click a result to find a tutorial from someone with actual experience performing content audits.<\/p>\n<p>These are the kinds of topics you should be prioritizing in an AI\u00a0world.<\/p>\n<p>How can you find \u201cdeep\u201d topics?<\/p>\n<p>There\u2019s no exact science. It\u2019s largely about knowing your industry well and applying common sense. However, if you\u2019re doing <a href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/keyword-research\/\">keyword research<\/a>, you can narrow things down by excluding keywords that trigger featured snippets. After all, if Google thinks a query can already be answered well with a featured snippet, an AI answer will definitely do the\u00a0job.<\/p>\n<p>You can do this in <a href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/keywords-explorer\">Keywords Explorer<\/a> with the SERP features filter:<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image is-resized\"><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1094\" height=\"754\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/filtering-for-keywords-without-featured-snippets-i.png\" alt=\"Filtering for keywords without featured snippets in Ahrefs' Keywords Explorer\" class=\"wp-image-174068\" style=\"width:611px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/filtering-for-keywords-without-featured-snippets-i.png 1094w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/filtering-for-keywords-without-featured-snippets-i-617x425.png 617w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/filtering-for-keywords-without-featured-snippets-i-768x529.png 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1094px) 100vw, 1094px\"\/><\/noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1094\" height=\"754\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/filtering-for-keywords-without-featured-snippets-i.png\" alt=\"Filtering for keywords without featured snippets in Ahrefs' Keywords Explorer\" class=\"lazyload wp-image-174068\" style=\"width:611px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/filtering-for-keywords-without-featured-snippets-i.png 1094w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/filtering-for-keywords-without-featured-snippets-i-617x425.png 617w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/filtering-for-keywords-without-featured-snippets-i-768x529.png 768w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 1094px) 100vw, 1094px\"\/><\/figure>\n<p>You can also use the \u201cIdentify intent\u201d button in Keywords Explorer to learn more about what searchers are looking for. If it seems like something that couldn\u2019t be answered quickly or easily, it\u2019s probably a \u201cdeep\u201d topic.<\/p>\n<p>For example, it tells us that many of the people searching for \u201ccontent audit\u201d want \u201ca detailed process for conducting a content audit, including templates\u201d:<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image is-resized\"><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"846\" height=\"546\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/using-ai-to-identify-keyword-intent-in-ahrefs-key.png\" alt=\"Using AI to identify keyword intent in Ahrefs' Keywords Explorer\" class=\"wp-image-174069\" style=\"width:578px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/using-ai-to-identify-keyword-intent-in-ahrefs-key.png 846w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/using-ai-to-identify-keyword-intent-in-ahrefs-key-659x425.png 659w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/using-ai-to-identify-keyword-intent-in-ahrefs-key-768x496.png 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 846px) 100vw, 846px\"\/><\/noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"846\" height=\"546\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/using-ai-to-identify-keyword-intent-in-ahrefs-key.png\" alt=\"Using AI to identify keyword intent in Ahrefs' Keywords Explorer\" class=\"lazyload wp-image-174069\" style=\"width:578px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/using-ai-to-identify-keyword-intent-in-ahrefs-key.png 846w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/using-ai-to-identify-keyword-intent-in-ahrefs-key-659x425.png 659w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/using-ai-to-identify-keyword-intent-in-ahrefs-key-768x496.png 768w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 846px) 100vw, 846px\"\/><\/figure>\n<p>It\u2019s going to be virtually impossible for generative AI to give searchers this\u2014especially the templates.<\/p>\n<p>If you\u2019re still not sure whether a topic is \u201cdeep\u201d enough for AI to fail, paste your topic into ChatGPT or Gemini and see what it generates. If it leaves much to be desired and only tells you the <em>what<\/em>, not the <em>how<\/em>, then it\u2019s probably a deep\u00a0topic.<\/p>\n<div class=\"post-nav-link clearfix\" id=\"section1\"><a class=\"subhead-anchor\" data-tip=\"tooltip__copielink\" rel=\"#section1\"><svg width=\"19\" height=\"19\" viewbox=\"0 0 14 14\" style=\"\"><g fill=\"none\" fill-rule=\"evenodd\"><path d=\"M0 0h14v14H0z\"\/><path d=\"M7.45 9.887l-1.62 1.621c-.92.92-2.418.92-3.338 0a2.364 2.364 0 0 1 0-3.339l1.62-1.62-1.273-1.272-1.62 1.62a4.161 4.161 0 1 0 5.885 5.884l1.62-1.62L7.45 9.886zM5.527 5.135L7.17 3.492c.92-.92 2.418-.92 3.339 0 .92.92.92 2.418 0 3.339L8.866 8.473l1.272 1.273 1.644-1.643A4.161 4.161 0 1 0 5.897 2.22L4.254 3.863l1.272 1.272zm-.66 3.998a.749.749 0 0 1 0-1.06l2.208-2.206a.749.749 0 1 1 1.06 1.06L5.928 9.133a.75.75 0 0 1-1.061 0z\" style=\"\"\/><\/g><\/svg><\/a><\/p>\n<div class=\"link-text\" data-anchor=\"Deep content earns more backlinks\" data-section=\"earns-more-backlinks\">\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><a id=\"post-174064-_7kcfkvf8wu4k\"\/>Deep content earns more backlinks<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Backlinks are still a ranking factor. AI hasn\u2019t changed that. You need to earn them if you want to rank for anything competitive, and the best way to do that is to showcase unique experiences, expertise, and data in your content.<\/p>\n<p>For example, we got a link from <em>adobe.com<\/em> (DR 96) when they cited a statistic from <a href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/search-traffic-study\/\">our study on how many pages get no search traffic<\/a>:<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1512\" height=\"456\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/example-of-a-backlink-earned-with-data.png\" alt=\"Example of a backlink earned with data\" class=\"wp-image-174070\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/example-of-a-backlink-earned-with-data.png 1512w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/example-of-a-backlink-earned-with-data-680x205.png 680w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/example-of-a-backlink-earned-with-data-768x232.png 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1512px) 100vw, 1512px\"\/><\/noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1512\" height=\"456\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/example-of-a-backlink-earned-with-data.png\" alt=\"Example of a backlink earned with data\" class=\"lazyload wp-image-174070\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/example-of-a-backlink-earned-with-data.png 1512w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/example-of-a-backlink-earned-with-data-680x205.png 680w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/example-of-a-backlink-earned-with-data-768x232.png 768w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 1512px) 100vw, 1512px\"\/><\/figure>\n<p>And we got a link from <em>hubspot.com <\/em>(DR 93) when they cited the <a href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/seo-report-template\/\">SEO report template<\/a> we\u00a0made:<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image is-resized\"><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1116\" height=\"372\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/example-of-a-backlink-earned-with-a-template.png\" alt=\"Example of a backlink earned with a template\" class=\"wp-image-174071\" style=\"width:702px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/example-of-a-backlink-earned-with-a-template.png 1116w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/example-of-a-backlink-earned-with-a-template-680x227.png 680w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/example-of-a-backlink-earned-with-a-template-768x256.png 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1116px) 100vw, 1116px\"\/><\/noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1116\" height=\"372\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/example-of-a-backlink-earned-with-a-template.png\" alt=\"Example of a backlink earned with a template\" class=\"lazyload wp-image-174071\" style=\"width:702px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/example-of-a-backlink-earned-with-a-template.png 1116w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/example-of-a-backlink-earned-with-a-template-680x227.png 680w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/example-of-a-backlink-earned-with-a-template-768x256.png 768w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 1116px) 100vw, 1116px\"\/><\/figure>\n<p>But here\u2019s the problem:<\/p>\n<p><strong>It\u2019s hard to do this for shallow topics because there\u2019s not much you can\u00a0add.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>For example, take the topic of <em>how to reinstall macOS<\/em>. What exactly can you write here beyond the same basic instructions featured in every other post? Nothing. It\u2019s virtually impossible to make \u201clinkable\u201d content about this topic. It\u2019s too shallow.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s hard to rank for shallow topics because your content is never unique. It\u2019s just a bunch of words that have already been said a million times. There\u2019s nothing underneath the surface for people to cite and link\u00a0to.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1600\" height=\"1800\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/its-whats-below-the-surface-of-your-content-that.png\" alt=\"It's what's below the surface of your content that earns backlinks!\" class=\"wp-image-174072\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/its-whats-below-the-surface-of-your-content-that.png 1600w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/its-whats-below-the-surface-of-your-content-that-378x425.png 378w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/its-whats-below-the-surface-of-your-content-that-768x864.png 768w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/its-whats-below-the-surface-of-your-content-that-1365x1536.png 1365w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px\"\/><\/noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1600\" height=\"1800\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/its-whats-below-the-surface-of-your-content-that.png\" alt=\"It's what's below the surface of your content that earns backlinks!\" class=\"lazyload wp-image-174072\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/its-whats-below-the-surface-of-your-content-that.png 1600w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/its-whats-below-the-surface-of-your-content-that-378x425.png 378w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/its-whats-below-the-surface-of-your-content-that-768x864.png 768w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/its-whats-below-the-surface-of-your-content-that-1365x1536.png 1365w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">It\u2019s what\u2019s below the surface of your content that earns backlinks!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<div class=\"post-nav-link clearfix\" id=\"section1\"><a class=\"subhead-anchor\" data-tip=\"tooltip__copielink\" rel=\"#section1\"><svg width=\"19\" height=\"19\" viewbox=\"0 0 14 14\" style=\"\"><g fill=\"none\" fill-rule=\"evenodd\"><path d=\"M0 0h14v14H0z\"\/><path d=\"M7.45 9.887l-1.62 1.621c-.92.92-2.418.92-3.338 0a2.364 2.364 0 0 1 0-3.339l1.62-1.62-1.273-1.272-1.62 1.62a4.161 4.161 0 1 0 5.885 5.884l1.62-1.62L7.45 9.886zM5.527 5.135L7.17 3.492c.92-.92 2.418-.92 3.339 0 .92.92.92 2.418 0 3.339L8.866 8.473l1.272 1.273 1.644-1.643A4.161 4.161 0 1 0 5.897 2.22L4.254 3.863l1.272 1.272zm-.66 3.998a.749.749 0 0 1 0-1.06l2.208-2.206a.749.749 0 1 1 1.06 1.06L5.928 9.133a.75.75 0 0 1-1.061 0z\" style=\"\"\/><\/g><\/svg><\/a><\/p>\n<div class=\"link-text\" data-anchor=\"Deep content is interesting\u2026 and that\u2019s what Google wants\" data-section=\"interesting\">\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><a id=\"post-174064-_bf7ddvppwa9n\"\/>Deep content is interesting\u2026 and that\u2019s what Google wants<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>It\u2019s hard to make shallow topics interesting. I think that\u2019s why there\u2019s so much dull \u201cSEO content\u201d out there. You know the kind of stuff I\u2019m talking about: no personality, just vague answers to boring questions nested under keyword-rich H2s.<\/p>\n<p>Now, I know what you\u2019re probably thinking:<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote\">\n<p><em>\u201cBut Josh, this is what works! We\u2019re only doing it because it\u2019s what Google wants!\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>That might be true for shallow topics, but we already discussed how AI will steal the traffic from these in the not-so-distant future. For deep topics that require more explanation, your content needs to be engaging and interesting.<\/p>\n<p>There are (at least) two reasons for\u00a0this.<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><a id=\"post-174064-_vefd2ld9yjez\"\/>Interesting content = \u201cinformation gain\u201d<\/h3>\n<p>Even if bringing something new and interesting to the table doesn\u2019t earn you more backlinks, it <em>may<\/em> still help you <a href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/how-to-rank-higher-on-google\/\">rank higher in Google<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>That\u2019s because Google cares about the originality of content and almost certainly has mechanisms in place to identify and reward it. They even <a href=\"https:\/\/patents.google.com\/patent\/US11354342B2\/en\">patented a mechanism<\/a> for scoring \u201cinformation gain\u201d back in\u00a02022.<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><a id=\"post-174064-_8a8gl7yjtgnr\"\/>Engaging content = better user signals<\/h3>\n<p>If you want to spark debate among SEOs, steer the conversation towards user signals.<\/p>\n<p>Many in the industry have been convinced for years that user signals like click-through rate are ranking signals. You might even be familiar with Rand Fishkin\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/randfish\/status\/461673158588649472\">infamous mini-experiment<\/a> from 2014 where he asked his Twitter followers to click on a search result en masse, leading to a #1 ranking that evening.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Care to help with a Google theory\/test? Could you search for \u201cIMEC Lab\u201d in Google &amp; click the link from my blog? I have a\u00a0hunch.<\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Rand Fishkin (follow @randderuiter on Threads) (@randfish) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/randfish\/status\/461673158588649472?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">May 1,\u00a02014<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p>Google says signals like these aren\u2019t ranking factors <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=VxDf-eDu3Yo\">because they\u2019re too noisy<\/a>.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"small\">\n<div class=\"quote-content\">\n<p><em>If you think about it, clicks in general are incredibly noisy. People do weird things on the search result pages. They click around like crazy, and in general it\u2019s really, really hard to clean up that\u00a0data.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"quote-info clearfix\">\n<div class=\"quote-photo\"><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Gary Illyes\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/google-gary-illyes.jpg\"\/><\/noscript><img class=\"lazyload\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Gary Illyes\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/google-gary-illyes.jpg\"\/><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>But\u2026 they also say this on their \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/search\/howsearchworks\/how-search-works\/ranking-results\/\">How Search Works<\/a>\u201d page:<\/p>\n<p><em>We also use aggregated and anonymised<\/em><strong><em> interaction data<\/em><\/strong><em> to assess whether Search results are relevant to queries. We transform that data into signals that help our machine-learned systems better estimate relevance.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>Tomayto, tomahto. <\/em>Directly or indirectly, user data influences Google\u2019s algorithms. If all you\u2019re publishing is dull, uninspiring content that AI could write in a heartbeat, nobody is going to read or engage with it. This might negatively impact your ability to\u00a0rank.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><a id=\"post-174064-_c3ow36ojjwgi\"\/>Final thoughts<\/h2>\n<p>If you want the ChatGPT-esque summary of this post, it\u2019s this: prioritize deep topics that AI will struggle to answer and create interesting and engaging content about them. That\u2019s how you build an SEO moat in an AI\u00a0world.<\/p>\n<p>I know that can seem like a waste of time, especially in a world of ever-decreasing attention spans. It\u2019s easy to convince yourself that dull AI answers are what people actually want.<\/p>\n<p>This is exactly how I felt a few months ago\u2026 before Tim kindly set me straight\u00a0\ud83d\ude05<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image is-resized\"><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"622\" height=\"322\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/tims-comment-to-me-a-few-months-ago-very-wise-i.png\" alt=\"Tim's comment to me a few months ago. Very wise, if you ask me :) \" class=\"wp-image-174074\" style=\"width:464px;height:auto\"\/><\/noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"622\" height=\"322\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/tims-comment-to-me-a-few-months-ago-very-wise-i.png\" alt=\"Tim's comment to me a few months ago. Very wise, if you ask me :) \" class=\"lazyload wp-image-174074\" style=\"width:464px;height:auto\"\/><\/figure>\n<p>Maybe it\u2019s just because he\u2019s my boss and I respect him, but I think there\u2019s some real truth to this comment. <strong>People still want to read content, but only if it\u2019s engaging and\u00a0deep.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>So, let\u2019s make it our collective mission to pick wiser battles and craft interesting content that stands the test of\u00a0time.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><script async src=\"\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><br \/>\n<br \/><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/seo-ai-deep-content\/\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>SEOs are panicking that AI is taking over and their jobs are done. But I\u2019m uncharacteristically optimistic this isn\u2019t the\u00a0case. Yes, AI has changed SEO forever (and will continue to do so), but it\u2019s not going to kill it. We just need to adapt. How? By prioritizing \u201cdeep content\u201d about topics that can\u2019t be answered [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2539,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2538","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-seo"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ewebtoolz.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2538","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ewebtoolz.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ewebtoolz.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ewebtoolz.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ewebtoolz.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2538"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/ewebtoolz.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2538\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ewebtoolz.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2539"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ewebtoolz.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2538"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ewebtoolz.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2538"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ewebtoolz.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2538"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}