SEO in 2024: Brace for Disruption as AI and Automation Take Hold

Search engine optimization has never been a field for the fainthearted. Google’s algorithms change constantly, forcing SEO professionals to regularly adapt strategies and stay on top of emerging trends. However, 2024 may bring some of the biggest upheavals yet!

SEO veterans with over a decade of experience warn that once-reliable strategies no longer deliver results. Ranking new websites now takes weeks or months rather than days as authority sites monopolize search real estate. Even veteran SEOs say getting top 3 rankings now is like being at the bottom of page 1 just a few years ago.

The consensus is that SEO is becoming increasingly volatile and less effective, especially for new sites trying to gain traction. While tactics like quality content, backlinks and site speed remain important, they no longer guarantee strong rankings like they once did. Some long-time SEO professionals say they are abandoning the practice altogether as other marketing channels offer better returns.

So what’s behind this mounting frustration? Ongoing algorithm tweaks from Google appear aimed at consolidating power among a handful of dominant domains. The search giant has also taken steps to decrease the weight of certain elements like FAQ schemas and deindex less important pages.

The bottom line, SEOs say, is that Google wants to cut costs by reducing the amount of content it needs to crawl and index. That means relegating smaller, newer sites to the sidelines as big brands continue to swallow up traffic and rankings.

This trend figures to accelerate as AI and automation take on a bigger SEO role in 2024 and beyond. While still in its infancy, AI promises to disrupt search marketing in major ways as the technology improves.

The Rise of Automated SEO

Generative AI tools like ChatGPT can already create decent website copy on demand. While AI content lacks originality and nuance now, it’s likely to improve rapidly with companies like Anthropic developing more advanced AI.

As AI content proliferates, producing high-quality, manual copy will lose its SEO edge. Instead, success will require using AI for large-scale content production to keep pace.

AI will also automate other rote SEO tasks like performing technical audits, analyzing metrics and structuring content. Repetitive human effort will no longer provide an SEO advantage as AI handles optimization at scale.

Link building is another area primed for AI disruption. Current link-building techniques rely on manual outreach, content promotion and other human-driven tactics. AI promises to automate the process of identifying and cultivating link opportunities.

An AI system called GPTZero is already attempting automated link-building with some success. While lacking human finesse, such tools foreshadow a coming shift to AI managing link profile development.

As AI assumes more SEO responsibilities once performed manually, human practitioners will need to adopt automation to remain competitive. Those who fail to integrate AI into workflows will likely see rankings and traffic dwindle.

The Rich Get Richer

AI automation will also further consolidate SEO success among brands with the resources to capitalize on the technology. SEO veterans already complain that major sites are monopolizing search results while smaller businesses and startups struggle for visibility.

As AI levels the SEO playing field in terms of content quality and technical optimization, advantages will accrue to bigger brands that can augment human efforts with AI. The technology will allow large companies to optimize hundreds or thousands of pages at once—a scale unattainable for most manual SEO campaigns.

The net effect will be the rich getting richer as search rankings become even more dominated by household names. Smaller sites unable to employ AI may find even modest SEO success out of reach.

Voice Search Still Lacks Traction

One prediction that has yet to bear fruit is voice search emerging as an SEO game changer. After years of hype about voice search optimization, consumer voice assistant usage remains niche.

Despite the proliferation of smart speakers in homes, people still overwhelmingly prefer typing on phones or computers for search queries. Voice assistant limitations around privacy, accuracy and information depth have stunted mainstream adoption.

While voice search should still be on SEOs’ radar, it likely won’t be a ranking factor in 2024. But if voice AI assistants see major improvements, voice search queries could potentially surge down the road.

Preparing for Disruption

With AI poised to shake up search marketing, SEOs will need to cultivate adaptability and openness to new technologies. Here are some ways to prepare for the coming changes:

• Closely monitor Google algorithm updates for hints of how AI might alter rankings
• Build technical SEO skills to understand how content is optimized for search
• Experiment with AI writing tools to see capabilities firsthand
• Research basic link-building techniques to complement future AI automation
• Focus on quality over quantity for any human-generated content
• Prioritize pages that deliver the most business value to optimize manually
• Keep branding and reputation paramount — AI lacks human judgment

The SEO landscape in 2024 will likely bear little resemblance to today. But by embracing AI as an optimization ally rather than an enemy, SEOs can steer their businesses capably through the coming changes. With strategic foresight and flexibility, search marketers can continue providing clients with results-driven solutions even as AI remakes the rules.