The Future of SEO in the era of ChatGPT (暫時只提供英文版本)

Author: LazyKar

Search engine optimization (SEO) has been a critical aspect of digital marketing for many years. It involves optimizing websites and content to improve their rankings in search engine results pages (SERPs). However, with the advent of ChatGPT, the future of SEO is poised to undergo a significant transformation.

ChatGPT is an artificial intelligence language model developed by OpenAI that can understand and generate human-like responses to natural language inputs. It has the potential to revolutionize the way people search for information online and interact with websites. As ChatGPT becomes more widespread, the SEO landscape is likely to change in several ways.

First, ChatGPT is likely to place even greater emphasis on the quality and relevance of content. Unlike traditional search engines that rely on keyword matching and other technical factors to determine rankings, ChatGPT can understand the meaning and context of the text. This means that websites that produce high-quality, informative, and engaging content are likely to be rewarded with higher rankings.

Second, the rise of ChatGPT is likely to result in a shift away from traditional keyword-based search queries. Instead, users are likely to use more natural language when searching for information online. This means that websites will need to optimize their content for a broader range of search queries, including long-tail keywords and conversational phrases.

Third, the use of ChatGPT is likely to result in a greater focus on user experience (UX) in SEO. ChatGPT is designed to provide personalized and contextually relevant responses to user queries. This means that websites that provide a positive user experience, such as fast loading times, easy navigation, and mobile optimization, are likely to be rewarded with higher rankings.

Fourth, the rise of ChatGPT is likely to result in an increased focus on voice search optimization. With the growth of voice-enabled devices such as smart speakers and digital assistants, more and more people are using voice search to find information online. Websites that optimize their content for voice search are likely to be better positioned to capitalize on this trend.

Finally, search engines, such as Bing, are adding ChatGPT in the search results. According to Yusuf Mehdi, Corporate Vice President & Consumer Chief Marketing Officer at Microsoft, more than 1 million people have joined the waitlist in 48 hours for New Bing. According to statcounter, the market share for Bing is 2.81 % from Feb 2022 to Feb 2023. We can expect Bing will gain more market share worldwide in the coming months.

(source: statcounter)

(Source: Yusuf Mehdi's Twitter)

With AI-powered Bing, some features like Featured Snippets, may impact as the results can be replied by ChatGPT easily. The answer for featured snippets is associated with a reference web page and link to the web page for users to quickly gather more information, however, according to bing demo, over 7 websites will be associated with the answer as a support.

According to OpenAI, gpt-3.5-turbo, and costs $0.002 per 1,000 tokens – ten times cheaper than existing GPT-3.5 models, allows the AI services to be integrated into applications and products with lower cost. Companies like Snap and Shopify are already using the model. Therefore, we will need to adapt our strategies to account for the new channels and the growing importance of conversational AI technologies like chatbots and voice assistants. Here are some ways SEO experts can adapt to the changes:

1. Focus on natural language optimization

ChatGPT’a language understanding ability relies on its ability to read, analyze and learn from available content, which most are written in basic and simple grammar and content structure. As such, besides traditional keyword optimization, we also need to think of natural language optimization to help ChatGPT to better understand, if not, misinterpret content. This means optimizing content for longer, more conversational keywords and phrases that users are likely to use when speaking with a virtual assistant.

2. Optimize for voice search

With the rise of voice assistants like Siri, Alexa, and Google Assistant, we will need to optimize content for voice search queries. This will require a focus on natural language optimization and the use of long-tail keywords and phrases that are more likely to be used in spoken search queries.

3. Optimize for featured snippets

Featured snippets are designed to provide a quick answer to a specific question or query, and ChatGPT could be used in a similar way. We will need to optimize content for featured snippets by providing clear and concise answers to common user queries, and by using natural language optimization techniques to ensure that the content is easily understood by virtual assistants. Also, we need to know user intent and tailor the content with more in-depth or more authority content for search engines to pick as supporting websites.

4. Create high-quality, relevant content

Although search engines have become more sophisticated in their ability to understand user intent and deliver personalized search results, creating high-quality, relevant content that meets the needs and interests of specific user groups is still very important. This will require a focus on content that is both informative and engaging, and that addresses the specific needs and interests of target audiences.

5. Embrace new technologies

We will need to stay up-to-date with the latest trends and technologies in order to remain competitive in the era of ChatGPT. This may require a willingness to embrace new tools and techniques, such as chatbots, voice search optimization, and structured data markup. For example, at the moment this article is written, ChatGPT 4.0 is on the way rumored to support multimodal.

In conclusion, the rise of ChatGPT is likely to have a significant impact on the future of SEO. As users increasingly turn to natural language search queries and demand more personalized and contextually relevant responses, websites that prioritize high-quality content, positive user experiences, and voice search optimization are likely to be the most successful. ChatGPT is not just changing users’ search behavior, it can also help us write an article, and do keyword research/meta titles/meta descriptions easier and faster.