To this day, Search Engine Optimization (SEO) remains a cornerstone for achieving online visibility and success. As the digital landscape evolves, mastering SEO becomes increasingly prevalent in a business’s ongoing plan. It can be a little complicated to get started in understanding how SEO works. Fortunately, experts like Andreas Voniatis are dedicated to unravelling SEO’s complexities and sharing insights.
On 31st August, Andreas was interviewed about how he uses data to maximise his SEO efforts – Unleashing the Power of Data in SEO with Andreas Voniatis. He details how to harness data science to boost your SEO rankings with implementable steps you can put to work.
Andreas, a renowned SEO strategist and founder of Artios.io, is an expert in this field. His journey started from a young enthusiast in 2003 to now a data science SEO professional. His work showcases his dedication to understanding search engines and algorithms, and his chat with Anatolii Ulitovskyi from UNmiss AI was insightful.
Below is an overview of the chat so you can recap the key points they discussed during their session.
How to Use AI in a Smart Way Without Going Against Google’s Latest Policy?
Using AI-generated content in SEO has become commonplace, but it’s essential to use it wisely due to Google’s aversion to entirely AI-generated material, Andreas explains. Recently, a company faced consequences for relying solely on AI, like ChatGPT, for content creation without human editing.
Andreas offers a smart approach to integrating AI into your content creation process. “Instead of using it as a shortcut for complete content generation, consider using AI for ideation”. You can use prompts in ChatGPT to help you outline sections of an article, providing a solid foundation.
However, Andreas emphasises the importance of the human element in content creation. “Humans are essential for ensuring AI-generated content is factually accurate and aligns with your brand’s tone and voice”.
Moreover, collecting data should ideally involve manual efforts rather than relying on AI tools for data generation. Experienced individuals are crucial for verifying the accuracy and validity of generated data, distinguishing between what’s right and what’s not.
Can You Tell Us More About SEO Data Science?
Andreas stated SEO data science is simply the officer of SEO best practices, “SEO best practice is quite anecdotal. Of course, not everything can be available to be data science so sometimes you do have to revert to best practices. That’s why I always say best practice SEO is virtually dead.”
Andreas’ Tips for Collecting Data Well
Rather than depend on SEO tools like Ahrefs or SEMRush that sometimes only bring about the average data on any specific cases, here are some tips from Andreas:
- Scale Your Data Collection
- Diversify Your Data Sources
- Apply Mathematical Processes
- Set Hypotheses
- Test with Statistical Modeling
- Refer to Andreas’ Book
- Generate Effective Recommendations
Andreas offers a huge 200% ROI for all of his clients.
“So, the reason we’re able to put ourselves in the position legally and offer 200% ROI on all of our SEO campaigns is that we take the data so every business or seller is in a different position relative to their past and the other thing is that every industry or Market is different so by taking a data-driven approach we’re giving very contextualised and critical path recommendations to all of the businesses that we work with and that means that we get results sooner on later.”
How Can You Be Creative & Stand Out in SEO?
Andreas responded, “I would look at the common elements used by the top 10 articles but I would also look at the things that perhaps nobody is consistently covering.”
Start by building a base for content that is already ranking high, and then make it even better.
Andreas goes on to say, “The sections that maybe one or two are covering but the rest are not covering. I would also look at the losers because by looking at the losers, you can validate whether the top ten are doing things that the losers aren’t doing”.
You can also search through Andreas’ book, Data-Driven SEO, where he wrote more on how to be more creative with data to stand out.
How to Find This Balance Between Enough Data & Needing More Data?
Andreas answered, “I’ve encountered situations where accumulating more data isn’t necessarily the solution. Instead, it’s about enhancing data quality. For instance, although I haven’t seen SEO tools provide a metric for assessing the alignment between title tags and target keywords, it’s an opportunity to improve data quality through creative inquiry.”
Andreas continued, “By crafting hypotheses about potential ranking factors and devising new data columns to test these ideas, we can elevate the value of existing data. So, it’s not always about quantity but rather the ingenuity behind the questions we pose and the hypotheses we develop, as you mentioned regarding headlines.”
What Are the Common Mistakes Companies Can Avoid Even as an SEO Beginner?
Here are concise points on effective data collection in SEO and how to avoid common mistakes, as discussed by Andreas Voniatis:
- Avoid Purchasing Links:
– Steer clear of buying links; focus on organic link-building through genuine outreach and valuable content.
- Customize Best Practices:
– Don’t blindly follow SEO best practices; tailor your strategies to your industry’s unique needs.
- Industry Relevance:
– Recognize that SEO approaches differ by industry; adapt your strategies accordingly, whether you’re in weddings or specialised fields like blockchain or legal services.
- Stay Current:
– Keep updated with the latest SEO trends and algorithm changes to avoid reliance on outdated practices.
- Holistic Audits:
– When conducting technical SEO audits, combine data sources like technical crawls, analytics, and backlinks for a complete picture of your site’s performance.
What Andreas Would Do Differently if Starting Out Today
Andreas simply said, “I would create my own website first and start practising all of the tips, tricks and techniques I would tell my clients before doing it for them.”
Andreas explains that if you haven’t got first hand experience working on a site, you can have all of the knowledge in the world about SEO, but putting it into practice is a different ball game. People should make their own website and start from there.
You can then use these results to get clients or start to implement your SEO techniques on your already ranking website. This method allows you to learn first before you work on a pre-existing site so no detrimental effects are seen during the learning curve.
What Do You Think the Future Looks Like With AI?
There is a lot of excitement around AI at the moment, so it’s worth looking into how AI can help with SEO. When you combine the capabilities of Chat GPT with the potential of augmented reality and automation, the possibilities are endless. This synergy has the potential to give rise to exceptionally intelligent programs.
Andreas says, “If you combine a business model of the likes of Chat GPT and augmented reality, you’re going to see some really smart businesses that can even challenge the likes of Amazon and Google.”
“Whether you’re a startup or an established enterprise, you should be thinking about automation”.
Imagine language models mimicking human behaviour with astonishing accuracy and then picture augmented reality seamlessly presenting this output to users.
Andreas continues, “The future could hold scenarios where our virtual personas enjoy a drink at a beach bar, and even podcasts are hosted by holograms. We may even reach a point where we can create duplicate versions of ourselves, allowing us to be in multiple places simultaneously”.