Hi Friends 👋

Welcome to the 3568 new subscribers this week!

In this week’s Google-focused email:

• The Future of SEO: How To Benefit From Google’s New AI Search

• Google’s big news in ad AI and SEO

• ChatGPT: A search history plug-in and a prompt that boosted email open rates by 20%

• A roundup of TheBoost for our new subscribers

• And more…

Let’s get started…

AI for Marketing Links

🔎 Google Search

Google search is changing. The Search Generative Experience (SGE) is uprooting SEO [Link]

Apply to Google Labs for early access to new AI tools [Link]

Google AI for ad creation [Link]

Google on AI-generated content. Google will reward high-quality content however it is produced [Link]

💬 ChatGPT

A Chrome plug-in enabling you to search your ChatGPT history [Link]

The email subject line prompt I used to get a 20% increase in last week’s newsletter open rate [Link]

Soon your thoughts will no longer be private due to ChatGPT [Link]

🚀 New Subscribers: In case you missed these…

Don’t forget to use ChatGPT as a consultant. If I had done, it would have saved me $700,000 [Link]

Create memes using this 2-step AI process [Link]

We’ve added more Prompts to the Magic Marketing Toolkit, including plugin and web browsing prompts [Link]

InterviewerGPT: Chat with this prototype AI and create blog content effortlessly [Link]

Deep Dive

The Future of SEO: How To Benefit From Google’s New AI Search

This week I’m covering a huge change to Google search with a story to demonstrate what you can do to benefit.

Why you should care: Google is #1 for traffic with intent and ready to buy. But the status quo is changing. If you rely on SEO traffic or want free traffic in the future, you need to read this.

What you need to know: Google is changing its search interface to AI first. This means some of the free search engine listings are going away. But you can use AI to ensure you don’t miss out by creating authortive content.

On with the story…

Do you have a friend who is a fountain of knowledge but downplays their skills?

That's my client called Phil. Phil, is an architect with vision and an expert in building regulations and planning permission.

Here's the thing – Phil wasn't sharing his knowledge with the world. It remained in his brain.

A wasted opportunity.

Now, what does this have to do with SEO and AI?

Everything. To understand why you have to know Google’s plans for search.

Yup, it’s AI first…

Google has made a new search called Search Generative Experience, or SGE.

SGE is like having a chat.

It's better at answering tough questions within the search result page. Google says this new tool can help you with all sorts of things, like planning a trip or understanding complicated news stories.

Seeing this screenshot, your heart will sink if you rely on SEO. There are fewer organic listings!

But don’t worry just yet.

AI can help us be ready for this new world of AI search. I’ll explain how later in the post…

…back to the story of Phil the architect.

Off the back of search marketing, Phil went from a startup with zero revenue to a team of 6 and a strong 6 figure business.

Despite our work together, Phil, a busy business owner, didn't have time to prioritise blogging or social media.

Sitting down to write even on a blog post could take a day, but it hardly happened at all.

If you run your own business, you’ll get this.

Your skills lie in leadership and managing a business. Not digital writing for the internet.

While working with Phil, I was privy to some fascinating stories he'd share during our meetings.

For example, he talked about a planning loophole. His region was behind in their new housing quota.

As a result, the local authority had to make planning regulations more lenient. It means you can get planning for amazing plots that previously would have been a straight-out refusal.

This was juicy info. The stuff you wouldn't find in any newspaper or blog. I thought, Phil you've got to share this!

Easier said than done, right?

Here's what we did. We hopped on a Zoom call and chatted for an hour about everything from his client needs to the planning permission loophole.

I recorded this natural conversation and transcribed it. Voila, we had the material for a series of blog posts. This required just an hour of Phil’s time, and some editorial time to tidy up the transcripts into blogposts. This was pre GPT-4.

Did it work?

Of course! The post got attention on social media and some new clients.

Why? People dream of building their own homes, but the UK’s planning rules are a nightmare. Phil had the solution.

Now, let’s bring AI into the mix.

With tools like GPT-4, it's simple to create generic content.

Ask ChatGPT to write a 1000-word piece on the UK planning permission laws and it'll return up something decent. This could rank well for long-tail keywords with high search volumes but low competition.

But, and it's a BIG BUT, anyone can produce this kind of content with the right prompts.

I know cookie-cutter content works short term, but I learn from my mistakes with Blurtit…

I built a Q&A community called Blurtit, which amassed written content and traffic from Google SEO.

16 million unique visitors per month at its peak.

But guess what?

The traffic died because the content wasn't up to par.

The same will happen with AI-generated content. If you don't offer real value from within your personal knowledge, ie something AI can't replicate, your audience will disappear.

With non-human lead content creation, you’re playing a game where everyone has the same skill set.

Sure, you can use AI to produce mass content for a short-term win, but that advantage will be worn away over time.

So how can YOU stand out?

With your unique knowledge.

This applies to businesses of all sizes - from Solopreneurs to Fortune 500s.

The future of search is about becoming an authoritative source for the AI.

Google have stated: “Google will continue to be your jumping-off point, to what makes the web so special.”

In this AI-driven future, we've got to leverage AI to build an authoritative brand on social media, newsletters, or product usage.

If AI can't clone your product or service, potential customers will seek you out.

The more niche or specialist your knowledge, the better you can compete with AI. 

That’s why the approach I took with Phil was successful. We recognised the importance of quality content. I knew it didn’t need to be a Shakespearean masterpiece, but sharing his knowledge was key.

He's now dedicating weekly time to transcribe and share his knowledge online.

Using AI To Unlock Your Inner Knowledge

AI can assist in creating high-quality content by extracting and restructuring information tucked away in people’s minds and company databases.

It's like having a virtual interviewer, asking and answering questions, and tidying up the format, structure, and grammar.

The lesson here?

You can get quick wins from mass-produced AI content for SEO now, but if you want to future-proof your content strategy, look towards creating authentic, unique, and compelling content.

In the end, it all comes down to sharing your unique knowledge and insights. AI can help, but your knowledge will give you the edge in the long run.

Phil, the architect, is a perfect example of this. After seeing the success from his first few blogs, he now fully understands the power of sharing his expertise online.

So, embrace AI, but remember - your unique insights are what will make you stand out in the sea of AI-generated content.

(This deep dive was created with the assistance of InterviewerGPT.)

That’s a wrap! Don’t miss the next issue…if this newsletter is in your spam folder, please don't forget to move it to your primary inbox.

Doing so really helps ensure you don’t miss future issues.

Finally, if you got value from this email, please share the love and forward it to your friends.

Thanks for reading,

Tim

Tim O'Shea
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