Why Human Content on Your Website is Better than AI
Human content is better than AI-generated content on your website. Only human content can provide experiential material that builds trust and resonates with visitors. Google and other search engines actually reward human-created content despite being at the forefront of the generative AI industry. That might seem like a contradiction, and it is. If you’re interested in getting to the bottom of this contradiction and why human content on your website is better than AI, keep reading.
Estimated reading time: 5 minutes
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What I’ve Recently Learned
I was sitting in the barber chair, chatting it up with my barber, Ryan. The subject of AI came up, and he said he was trying to resist using AI, but for some business applications, it was a real time saver. He went on to say that he used AI to help develop his website. I told him that AI is creating a lot of web content, but Google rewards content created by humans, not AI. He looked puzzled and said, “But Google has an AI engine. Why wouldn’t they reward AI content when AI is part of their business?” That’s a great question, I said, and I decided to write this blog to explain it.
Google Rewards Original, High-Quality Content
Google’s quality guidelines (7.1) define quality content as showing evidence of
Human Content is Always Better than AI Content
Artificial Intelligence is neither artificial nor intelligent. AI scrapes the internet for information based on the query. Therefore, AI content is nothing new, nothing that can’t already be found, and nothing worthy of ranking. AI simply regurgitates everything already published on the web, and Google considers it to be low-quality content. Worst of all, AI can’t distinguish between fact and fiction, so it can quickly spread misinformation.
Human content, on the other hand, can do everything AI can do and more. Human content can present new ideas, draw conclusions, and make recommendations. These new ideas draw people in and establish the writer as a thought leader and authority on the subject. Only human beings can describe their experiences. These experiences give proof of expertise. And as we all know, Google rewards website content that demonstrates experience, expertise, and authority. To learn more, read my recent blog, “If you’re Hungry for Higher Google Rankings, It’s Time to EEAT.”
Most importantly, human-created content that focuses on experience and expertise creates trust between your website, your company, and your visitors. Visitors are more likely to buy from a website or company they trust. Therefore, human-created content, if written properly, is the most important content on your website.
Yes, Google is Contradicting Itself
Google develops several artificial intelligence applications. Their search results often include AI overviews at the very top of the page. Additionally, Google’s earnings reports and announcements consistently highlight the significant contribution of AI to its overall revenue and growth. That can lead people, like my barber, to think that using AI to build content on your website is good.
The fact is that Google needs human content more than ever. AI cannot grow without human-created content. Without human input, AI-generated content will become stagnant and outdated. And mistakes in content only get worse without fresh content to update and correct them. That’s why Google rewards human-created content despite its stakes in artificial intelligence.
How Using AI Can Hurt You
Your creativity will suffer if you rely on AI. Creativity is a skill that can be learned and developed. According to an article published in Business News Daily, “Everyone can increase [their] creativity, just as everyone can increase [their] musical or athletic ability, with appropriate training and focused practice. We can all learn tools and techniques that enhance creativity and build environments that foster innovation.”
Relying on AI to write your content will dull your skills and make you less effective in problem-solving. Coming up with new ideas to solve problems is a skill that gets sharper with frequent use. According to an article published by the World Economic Forum, “AI cannot support all skills essential for idea development. Various studies have shown that inspiring peers at conferences, learning new skills, or simply unwinding, reflecting, and daydreaming are activities associated with idea generation.”
Imagine where the world would be today without ongoing human innovation and problem-solving. We need smart people working in think tanks, brainstorming groups, and creative teams to shape the future of our society.
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Conclusion to Why Human Content is better than AI
Human content is better than AI for your website. Although AI is a fast, shiny new toy, it scrapes the web for existing content to create content. It’s not new content, just the same content that already exists. There is nothing AI creates that is new and worthy of ranking. Human-created content can demonstrate all the virtues that Google rewards, like experience and expertise. These virtues lead to establishing authority and, most importantly, trust. Authority will get your content ranked by Google, but trust will get people to buy your products and services. So, if you want to increase sales, create your own content. Base it on your experience and expertise.
And if you’re too busy to create your own content, hire a writer who can articulate your experience and expertise for you. SK Website Works builds websites and creates content written by hand. With nearly a decade of experience writing and developing content, our articles and storytelling will engage with your website visitors and establish the trust necessary to convert them into customers.
SK Website Works offers website services and creates digital content for businesses of all sizes. Our business writing services create web pages, editorial copy, and blog posts, using proven storytelling techniques, tested for readability and optimized for SEO. We conduct extensive keyword research, provide technical SEO services, and maintain websites to deliver the best possible user experience. For a free website audit, send an email to michael@skwebsiteworks.com. Thanks for your time, but now we’ve gotta run. I have websites to build, blogs to write, eCommerce to manage, and photos to edit. Until next time, take care.