Scaling SEO content with AI — Michael Farr // Paylocity

Michael Farr, Senior SEO Manager at Paylocity, delves into in-house SEO and AI for SEO content. When generative AI first emerged, executives were fearful of being outpaced by competitors able to produce more content than their companies. However, as SEOs, we must set the right expectations to ensure we leverage AI content strategically for long-term success and not short-term wins. Today, Michael discusses scaling SEO content with AI.
About the speaker

Michael Farr

Paylocity

- Paylocity

Michael is Senior SEO Manager at Paylocity

Show Notes

  • 02:43
    Paylocitys use of AI to scale content
    Theyve introduced a component of AI in the Paylocity product and used it to build a glossary. Based on the success of that project, SEO is leading a marketing-wide effort to scale AI across the company.
  • 05:25
    Acknowledging the risks of AI content and setting clear expectations
    Its crucial to acknowledge that AI content can be low quality and set realistic expectations for executives regarding AI's potential in SEO. While AI content can provide short-term wins, it's essential to prioritize content quality as Google favors human-driven content for long-term SEO success.
  • 08:22
    Strategic use of AI in SEO content creation
    Employing AI in SEO content creation can be effective for glossary-tye content. AI content works well with glossary-type content because it doesnt require as much of a brand spin and unique voice.
  • 09:23
    Metrics for assessing content utility
    To gauge the usefulness of content on your site, regardless of whether its AI or human-written, there are several measures. Metrics include click-through rates of CTAs, dwell time, and interaction with page elements like Table of Contents.
  • 10:20
    Establishing trust between SEO and leadership to scale SEO content
    Establishing trust with leadership is foundational in steering the scale of SEO content within a company. Prior successes help to increase buy-in for future content initiatives and provide SEOs more leverage to set realistic but ambitious goals.
  • 12:04
    Understanding when to use AI content
    While Paylocity leverages AI to generate outlines and summaries for glossary articles, humans are still required to work on the copy within the body. While leveraging AI for these elements saves it, human involvement ensures the pieces provide value to readers.
  • 13:43
    Using AI to augment human creativity and skills
    Rather than replacing humans, AI will help us do our jobs better as SEOs. Humans will still be required to develop content strategies, determine the structure of the website, decide on the topics to cover, and ultimately contribute to those in-house conversations.

Quotes

  • "There's a specific type of content that works well with AI. We didn't turn all of our content generation efforts over to our AI tools. We use it for glossary-type content, which doesn't require as much brand spin." - Michael Farr

  • "Googles always optimizing for human-driven content. So any short-term wins we get from AI content wont pay off in the long term." - Michael Farr

  • "As SEOs, we must establish trust with our leadership. Otherwise, there isnt going to be a healthy two-way conversation where they trust you to set goals that are both comfortable and ambitious." - Michael Farr

  • "AI will help us do our jobs better. But the strategy and architecture in deciding what to write about will always require someone with an SEO mind to contribute to those conversations in-house." - Michael Farr

About the speaker

Michael Farr

Paylocity

- Paylocity

Michael is Senior SEO Manager at Paylocity

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