Are you a fan of good heist stories? Do you enjoy cheering for the anti-hero? A clever plan for one last job?
Well, that’s not what we have here.
Introduction
Here we have a story about how artificial intelligence was used to create what critics have called a “roadmap for how to destroy the internet.”
AI-Powered SEO Heist
Last month, a small part of social media ignited when tech entrepreneur Jake Ward published the results of what he called “SEO theft.”
Was the agency’s SEO theft successful?
For an astonishing period, the plan worked. Over 18 months, the derived site achieved 3,600,000 views.
How did they succeed?
The plan was simple: they downloaded a competitor’s sitemap (a list of all their web pages) and transformed the entire list into blog titles, using those titles as prompts for an AI content writer.
Were there any victims?
The words “theft” and “stealing” came from Ward’s own description, likely calculated to spark controversy and interest. And what his agency did does not really qualify as a crime. But that doesn’t mean there are no victims.
Did this agency create an illegal SEO roadmap?
“I think it’s a legitimate concern,” says Rory Hope. AI makes content creation fast, cheap, and easy – regardless of quality. So, if this content performs as well on search engines, human-generated content might be completely pushed out.
The Future of the Internet
Despite this possibility, both Frost and Hope express their optimism. We’ve seen the rise and fall of hundreds of ways people tried to game Google. “I believe as long as there is a system to exploit – and huge financial incentives to benefit from it – people will naturally use misleading and unethical strategies,” Frost says.
Black Hat Techniques Work, But Not Forever
It seems Google has finally caught on to Ward’s tricks. “Since Ward’s posts went viral, his site’s organic traffic has dropped by 42%,” says Frost.
So what do Frost and Hope say to those who might be tempted to try Ward’s tactic for themselves? “Publicly boasting about manipulating Google’s results is usually a one-way street to a penalty,” Frost says. “I don’t think this technique should be used underground either.”
But that doesn’t mean AI should be completely avoided. “AI gives humans more time for all the tasks that cannot and should not be generated,” Frost says. “Google has stated that using AI for content creation is acceptable,” Hope adds. “However, all of your content must be useful, reliable, and people-oriented according to their guidelines. If you use AI to generate content in bulk, it will not be useful, reliable, or people-oriented.”
Source: https://blog.hubspot.com/ai/seo-heist
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