I remember launching the SEO strategy for Volant. 10s of hours of boring work writing content about all the different essential oils. Since the launch of Chat GPT 3.5 a couple of months back this have seemingly changed. “Write me a blog post about x” and BAM you have a high quality blog post. Do that 1000 times and you have created a massively valuable SEO blog. Can it really be that easy?

Before you start using chat GPT to create content left and right, let's talk about the risks and benefits. On the one hand, chat GPT can help you generate large volumes of content in a short amount of time, which is great for DTC brands with small teams or tight deadlines. On the other hand, it has inherit risks that can hurt your brand in a big way.

Here are the five biggest risks for using chat GPT in your ecommerce SEO strategy:

1. Plagiarism: Chat GPT can generate content that is similar or identical to content created by other sources, which can hurt your search rankings and damage your brand's reputation.
2. Inaccuracy: It is not always accurate, which can lead to errors or inaccuracies in your content that can hurt your brand's credibility.
3. Impersonal tone: As mentioned earlier, chat GPT-generated content can sound robotic and impersonal, which can make it difficult for your readers to connect with your brand.
4. Lack of control: When using chat GPT, you have less control over the content that is generated, which can make it difficult to ensure that it aligns with your brand's messaging and values.
5. Open AI watermarks its content: It is easy for Google to detect content generated by Open AI as they mark their content clearly.

So, how do you use the new technology without falling into the traps above? Here are some tips for editing chat GPT-generated content:

1. Add your own voice and tone

One of the biggest drawbacks of AI-generated content is that it can sound robotic and impersonal. Be a ruthless editor and weed out all parts of the content that doesn’t fit your brand. I also work on writing prompts that give the AI a guide to how to write as closely as possible to our brand voice. Example: “Write me a paragraph about Eucalyptus essential oils. Write in an playful and engaging way, like you were writing an email to a friend”.

2. Proofread carefully

While chat GPT can generate content quickly, it's not always perfect. Take the time to proofread each piece carefully to catch any errors or typos. This will help ensure that your content is high-quality and professional.

3. Take the risk, but don’t risk your main domain

If Google flag you for “cheating” it will hurt the reputation of everything you do afterwards. If you want to try out a strategy where you go all in on automating an SEO strategy, I’d recommend doing this:

1. Make a dedicated domain for this strategy
2. Make a delicate prompt for Chat GPT to write
3. Run all the blogs through a tool like Quillbot to avoid getting detected
4. Link back to your main site for traffic and link juice

In conclusion, chat GPT can be a powerful tool for DTC brands looking to improve their SEO strategy. But it's important to use it in a thoughtful and strategic way. By approaching it as an editor rather than a content creator, you can ensure that your content is high-quality and engaging, and ultimately drive more traffic to your website. So go ahead, make friends with chat GPT and watch your SEO soar!