Optimising content for search engines isn’t just about keywords and backlinks. Authorship has become an increasingly important factor, and overlooking it could mean missing out on valuable traffic and authority.
Verifying authors and including author profile links is more important than ever for building credibility and gaining the trust of your audience, but how is authorship changing in the age of AI-generated content?
Why should you value authorship?
Credibility is so important where SEO is concerned, and it’s never been more critical than today, with the potential for so much misinformation online. Authority influences page rankings and Google has emphasised this with its E-E-A-T guidelines which values Expertise, Experience, Authoritativeness and Trustworthiness.
Authorship makes it easier to build trust with your audience as well as Google, because both humans and algorithms are likely to trust the guidance of an expert over a novice. Google recognises expertise by identifying authors of web content – the more an author has written online, the more credibility their content has.
Google also recently announced its Perspectives filter at the top of search results which provides access to long and short-form videos, posts and images shared on forums, Q&A sites and social media. It’s user-generated content, personal stories and advice from commenters who have lived experiences of the topics they’re talking about – proof once again that search engines value authentic experiences.
Now, many companies are happy to receive AI-led content that has the human touch, so long as the blogs and articles are tailored to their site and niche and have been fact-checked for accuracy. As AI evolves further, writers like myself will likely come into contact with even more sites who are happy for this hybrid approach to producing unique content.
Diverse perspectives are also a key contribution that human writers can provide. Through our work, we bring forth a range of backgrounds, experiences and viewpoints that AI can’t deliver. Human authors can provide fresh ideas, original research and personal anecdotes that contribute to a well-rounded digital environment and enhance content to make it more engaging.
Humans possess the ability to adapt their content to suit different cultural contexts, audience preferences and ever-changing trends. They understand the evolving needs of their readers and can deliver tailored solutions. Where AI relies on algorithms and data, humans rely on empathy and a deep understanding of the human experience that can’t (and shouldn’t) be ignored.
How the world of content is evolving
The digital content landscape has seen significant changes in the past few months, with numerous AI content generators popping up and revolutionising the way we produce digital content. While my own focus has always been on writing original content from scratch, and remains that way for many of the clients I work with, I’ve noticed a shift in some of the tech sites I write for.
There were initial concerns that Google would penalise AI-generated content, but a recent update stated that this way of producing content isn’t against its search engine guidelines. In fact, leveraging AI technology in the right way can assist with keywords or analysing new trends which can help writers to create a winning formula that is the right balance of human creativity and AI-led data.
While AI-generated content has its merits in certain applications, the importance of authentic authorship remains important. Human authors bring invaluable qualities such as authenticity, a unique voice, creativity, diverse perspectives and emotion, all of which is vital for connecting to audiences. Moving forward, the focus will be on finding ways to utilise AI to streamline content marketing without losing the all-important human connection.
Get in touch
As an experienced freelancer, I’ve spent many years developing my voice and bringing my own perspective to the content I produce for my clients. If you’re interested in working together, please get in touch!
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