With the rise of AI tools, many search engine optimization (SEO) tasks that once required extensive manual effort can now be automated, streamlining processes and saving valuable time.
In this guide, I explore how ChatGPT, an AI-powered chatbot, can assist with various SEO tasks, from keyword research to content creation, and its limitations.
What you will learn
- What ChatGPT is and which versions you can choose from
- How to use ChatGPT for SEO (with example prompts)
- Which obstacles you might run into while using ChatGPT
What is ChatGPT?
ChatGPT is an AI-powered chatbot developed by OpenAI. It uses natural language processing (NLP) to create human-like text based on the provided input/prompt.
The tool runs on a powerful large language model (LLM) called Generative Pre-trained Transformer (GPT), and there are currently three popular variants to choose from:
- GPT-3.5—This model comes with the free version of ChatGPT, and it's best suited for language-related tasks like text creation and translation.
- GPT-4—Available with a paid ChatGPT subscription, this version introduces multimodality to accept image prompts and has a more extensive general knowledge than GPT-3.5.
- GPT-4o—The latest and most capable GPT model as of this writing, GPT-4o ("omni"), can process text, image, and audio prompts to perform a broad range of complex tasks.
Can ChatGPT help with SEO?
ChatGPT can help you execute a successful SEO strategy in many ways. Still, it's not an SEO tool and shouldn't be viewed as such. It mainly supports different SEO tasks like content creation and technical optimization.
While any version of ChatGPT can be useful for SEO, you might need a paid subscription to get the most out of the tool. This is because the web browsing capabilities start with GPT-4 and are particularly useful for SERP analysis and competitor research.
14 ways to use ChatGPT for SEO
ChatGPT has many SEO use cases—let's go over the most common ones.
1. Aid keyword research
If you're getting started with keyword research and want to brainstorm ideas, ChatGPT can give you a decent foundation.
It's particularly useful for finding long-tail and LSI (latent semantic indexing) keywords, which you can do through simple prompts. Here's an example:
You can also ask ChatGPT to group keywords according to their semantic relevance to streamline content planning.
This is only one of the many ways ChatGPT can support your keyword research efforts. You can also ask it to find related keywords for a given search term, provide suggestions according to a user's search intent, and perform many actions you'd otherwise have to do manually.
What you can't do is understand a keyword's SEO potential because ChatGPT doesn't provide insights into the search volume and ranking difficulty.
That's why you may not be able to use ChatGPT for comprehensive keyword research, especially if you opt for the free version.
Instead, you can use the tool as a starting point and cross-check the ideas you get with a dedicated keyword research tool like Surfer.
Using Surfer's keyword research tool you can view important keyword data such as monthly search volume, keyword difficulty, and search intent.
2. Brainstorm content ideas
If you get stuck at any point while planning your content strategy, ChatGPT can help you get out of the rut by providing content ideas.
All you need to do is provide the overarching topic like you would for keyword research, and you can get dozens of ideas in no time.
ChatGPT can also help you create topic clusters—groups of closely related content consisting of a pillar article and supporting content.
Clusters are crucial to SEO because they help you build topical authority and show Google your website is the go-to source of information.
You can build clusters using a similar approach to the one we took in the previous section—ask for a list of topic ideas, and then tell ChatGPT to categorize them according to semantic relevance.
Still, you can avoid the need for multiple prompts by outright asking for topic clusters. Here's how:
As you can see in this prompt, we included details about the number of topics and preferred content type. Feel free to do the same and be as specific as possible to get solid ideas without too much back and forth.
While ChatGPT can give you content ideas, it still doesn't tell you much regarding the SEO potential of these topics.
On the other hand, an SEO tool like Surfer can help you build a better content plan.
Simply enter your main topic into Surfer's Topic Explorer, and it will generate relevant topic clusters in seconds.
For instance, Surfer has generated 33 topic clusters on "time management." You can find information on each topic's average keyword difficulty and search volume there.
This way, you know which topics and clusters to prioritize for the best SEO results.
3. Create article outlines
With a good prompt, ChatGPT can create comprehensive article outlines you can use to streamline content production.
If you're only looking for high-level ideas on what to include, you can use a simple prompt like "Create an article outline for a blog post about [Topic]". Here's an example:
Still, it might be a better idea to supplement the outline with details like:
- The article's word count
- Outline structure
- Target audience
If you do, the prompt could look something like this:
Keep in mind that in most cases, you won't be able to use the outline as given. Instead, you'll want to enrich it with additional research and unique perspectives so that the final article stands out among the competing content.
If you want to generate an article outline based on research and actual SERP data, then you can use Surfer's free outline generator.
4. Write content
Content creation is among ChatGPT's most common use cases.
This isn't surprising, considering that the tool can write elaborate pieces quickly. This makes it a popular option among those looking to scale their writing process.
Still, there are two major caveats to using ChatGPT for content writing:
- Lack of a personal touch—While ChatGPT can create coherent content, it can't provide personal experiences and insights that the reader might find valuable.
- Possibility of AI hallucinations—ChatGPT might make up facts and present inaccurate information, damaging your content's credibility and authority.
Due to the above issues, ChatGPT requires human oversight and should be paired with a capable writer or editor to ensure uniqueness and factual accuracy.
Another notable issue is that ChatGPT doesn't give you SEO-friendly content out of the box.
ChatGPT can help you create content but can't optimize it for search engines.
If you're looking for an SEO AI writing tool that creates ready-to-rank content without hassle, you can turn to Surfer AI.
With Surfer AI, you can generate a fully optimized article in just a few steps—you won't even have to go back and forth with the AI to achieve that. Instead, Surfer AI has a streamlined process you can follow.
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The only thing left for you to do is humanize the AI content by adding your own insights and examples.
You can go about it manually or use a dedicated AI content humanizer, such as Surfer's Humanizer.
5. Brainstorm article titles
Captivating headlines leave a solid first impression and encourage users to engage with your content.
If you're fresh out of ideas, ChatGPT can help you spark some creativity by recommending them.
All you need to do is give it the overarching topic alongside any specific instructions, like so:
Sometimes, you may not want to use overly creative or flowery headlines.
In this case, you can adjust the so-called "temperature," which influences ChatGPT's creativity. It ranges from 0.1 to 1, with the higher values corresponding to more creativity.
Here's what happens when we tell ChatGPT to bring the temperature down:
You can use temperature adjustments no matter what you're writing, and they can be quite useful for adapting your content to different styles and target audiences.
6. Write meta tags
Title tags and meta descriptions show up in search results and serve two crucial purposes:
- Attracting users to your content
- Communicating the content's relevance to the search query
Similar to headlines, ChatGPT can automate the creation of meta tags so that you don't need to spend too much time trying to fit everything that matters into a limited character span.
You need only provide the title (or at least the overall topic of the article) and tell ChatGPT to create meta titles and descriptions while honoring their corresponding character limits.
For best results, you can also clarify the primary keyword and tell ChatGPT to include it in the meta tags. Here's an example prompt that brings all of this together:
As you can see in the following image, ChatGPT followed all the provided instructions:
You can browse the suggestions to find your favorite meta title and meta description, which you can then tweak to ensure they're concise and compelling.
7. Edit content
ChatGPT can also be an excellent companion for proofreading and improving an existing piece.
For example, you can paste a piece of content and tell ChatGPT to do any of the following:
- Perform a quick grammar check
- Suggest readability improvements
- Rephrase text to help avoid plagiarism and duplicate content
To test this, we took a small section of our existing article and intentionally made a few typos. We then told ChatGPT to proofread it and highlight any issues. Here are the results:
As you can see, ChatGPT highlighted and automatically corrected the errors to provide an accurate version. To stay on the safe side, though, you should still review the final result to ensure the tool didn't overlook anything.
8. Create FAQs
ChatGPT can help you uncover your audience's frequently asked questions on a given topic.
You can get FAQs through a simple prompt like the one shown here:
You can also ask ChatGPT to answer the questions, so you don't need to do it manually.
Don't forget to tell the chatbot to keep it brief, though, or it might get into too many unnecessary details. Here's an example of what the prompt can look like:
Remember that ChatGPT might not have the most up-to-date information (especially the free version). As a result, it might miss some important questions.
To overcome this and ensure all FAQs are relevant and current, you can complement ChatGPT with SERP research and tools like AnswerThePublic. Such tools use real-time search data to suggest questions surrounding your target keywords, offering valuable insights for creating FAQs.
9. Identify linking opportunities
If you have a paid version of ChatGPT, you can use it to find internal linking opportunities. You need to subscribe because GPT-3.5 can't browse pages, so you need GPT-4.0 or higher.
If you find it worth the investment, you can ask ChatGPT for a list of pages on your website that you can link to when writing about a specific topic.
We tested this on the article you're reading right now, and ChatGPT didn't disappoint. Here are the results it provided:
The chatbot can also be useful for external link building, which is crucial for improving your website's authority in the eyes of search engines.
If you're looking for backlinks but aren't sure where to get them, you can ask it to give you a list of blogs in your niche that accept guest posts. Here's an example:
Once you have your outreach list, you can start pitching guest posts and exploring your options. ChatGPT can help you write effective outreach emails, but make sure to tweak them so they're not too generic.
10. Write structured data
Structured data helps search engines understand the meaning behind specific pieces of your content. This way, Google can index and interpret the content more easily to serve it in the form of a rich snippet.
For example, if you search for a meal recipe, you'll see a rich snippet that includes the recipe's rating and prep time.
Structured data can vary greatly depending on the content type, and you can define it through schema markup. As the process can be laborious (especially for beginners), you can ask ChatGPT to automate it.
Here's an example prompt we used to generate schema markup for a hotel in New York:
Instead of creating the code from scratch, you can copy ChatGPT's schema markup and add it to your website.
You can then test it using Google's Structured Data Testing Tool to make sure everything works.
11. Create sitemaps
A sitemap tells Google about your website's structure and organization, helping it index pages more easily.
If you don't want to create your sitemap manually, you can instruct ChatGPT to do it. All you need to do is provide all the links you wish to include, like so:
Of course, this is a simplified example, and your sitemap will likely contain numerous links. When ChatGPT creates it, you can modify different parameters and metadata, like update frequency, to enhance search engine crawling.
12. Generate regular expressions (Regex)
A regex is a series of characters used for text searches. It lets you identify patterns of text you can then locate and manage without manual searches.
In SEO, a regex can be used for many tasks, such as:
- URL analysis
- Identification of HTML elements
- Log file analysis
Still, one of the most common use cases is keyword performance analysis. You can combine ChatGPT with Google Search Console to find keywords you are (or aren't) ranking well for.
First, you should tell ChatGPT to create a regex that shows all the matches of your target keywords. Here's what the prompt should look like:
When you get the regex, go to Google Search Console and paste it into the Query filter. You'll see all the search terms that include the keywords from the regex.
You can then sort the search terms in descending order to find the best-performing ones or do the opposite to find the keywords that require more work.
13. Build crawl directives for Robots.txt
Robots.txt is a file that tells search engine crawlers which of your pages they should and shouldn't access. Think of it as a set of instructions on how you want Google to index your website.
Creating robots.txt rules is an elaborate and potentially tedious process, which is why many webmasters decide to automate it. ChatGPT can be quite helpful here as it can turn any text-based prompt into the corresponding rule.
Let's say you don't want Google to index your About and Testimonials pages but want it to index everything else. In this case, the prompt could look something like this:
After creating your robots.txt file, make sure to verify the syntax so that search crawlers can follow the instructions as intended. You should also upload the file to your website's root directory, so check whether it's available at the right location (https://www.websitename.com/robots.txt).
14. Leverage different GPTs
ChatGPT used to have a rich library of plugins designed for specific purposes, from generating keyword ideas to writing social media posts. However, OpenAI decided to discontinue plugins and replace them with GPTs.
There isn't much practical difference here because GPTs work similarly to plugins. You can access them from the Explore GPTs section in the sidebar, and there are plenty of options to choose from.
You can use GPTs like KWFinder and Keyword Planner to find related keywords directly from ChatGPT without exploring SERPs or using dedicated tools.
Other GPTs, like WebPilot, somewhat compensate for ChatGPT's limited knowledge by allowing it to access websites in real-time and fetch up-to-date information.
There are dozens of SEO-focused GPTs to choose from, and they can significantly expand ChatGPT's usability.
The limitations of ChatGPT for SEO
ChatGPT can assist you in performing various SEO tasks. However, it's not a dedicated SEO tool.
You get keyword research capabilities but not the detailed metrics necessary for choosing keywords with the highest ranking potential.
It's also good for generating content ideas and even entire pieces, but they still need a human touch to be original and rank well.
Besides, AI-generated content must be fact-checked due to AI hallucinations. There have been many instances of the chatbot making up facts and data, which can be dangerous, especially if you cover YMYL topics like health and finances.
This doesn't mean you shouldn't use ChatGPT at all. It can still be helpful, but it's best to complement it with dedicated SEO tools like Surfer's SEO Toolkit.
Key takeaways
- ChatGPT is an AI chatbot that generates human-like text based on prompts, useful for a variety of SEO tasks.
- It can streamline SEO tasks like keyword research, content creation, editing, and technical SEO, saving time and effort.
- While it can generate keyword ideas, it lacks detailed metrics like search volume and ranking difficulty, making dedicated keyword research tools more reliable.
- ChatGPT can write entire articles but requires human oversight foring and SEO optimization due to potential inaccuracies.
- The tool can assist in creating structured data for rich snippets, sitemaps, and robots.txt directives, simplifying technical SEO processes.
- It helps brainstorm content ideas, create article outlines, and write meta descriptions and meta tags, though human input is necessary for refinement.
- ChatGPT can identify link building opportunities, especially with the paid version's web browsing capabilities.
- Despite its capabilities, ChatGPT is not a dedicated SEO tool and should be used alongside specialized SEO software for the best results.
Conclusion
ChatGPT offers a range of capabilities that can significantly streamline various SEO tasks, from keyword research to content creation and technical optimizations. However, it is not a replacement for specialized SEO tools.
While it can provide valuable assistance, human oversight, and additional reliable SEO platforms are essential for achieving the best results.
As AI technology continues to evolve, the potential for tools like ChatGPT in the SEO landscape will only grow, making it an exciting addition to any digital marketer's toolkit.
