Muhammad Saleem

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is transforming the multi-billion-dollar industry of search engine optimisation (SEO) in many ways. Muhammad Qamar, a digital marketing expert specialising in SEO, told WealthPK that the scope of reaching customers through proper keyword targeting is expanding with every passing day. He said that without SEO, businesses cannot reach their desired audience.

“That's why professionals from plumbers to real estate agents and doctors are now engaging with clients through websites, apps, and even social media platforms,” he added. “I am working for a company that provides digital services to clients in the United States. We charge a minimum of $500 per month from small clients. Currently, our company is serving more than 300 clients,” he said.

He said that many clients are now being managed with the help of AI, as various tools are available that perform multiple SEO tasks and deliver the desired results. Qamar said that some educational institutions are misleading learners by claiming that SEO is dead and discouraging them from pursuing it, warning of a bleak future. These institutes are spreading such rumours merely to promote and sell their own alternative courses,  he said.

“The reality is that AI is reshaping the SEO industry – not replacing it,” he emphasised. “Sooner or later, we will all have to adopt AI tools to take SEO to the next level.” “Globally, smart professionals have already started using AI to save time, improve quality, and reach wider audiences. For professionals of Pakistan, this is a golden opportunity to catch up and begin exploring opportunities in the global digital world,” he suggested.

Muhammad Afzal, a faculty member at the University of Agriculture Faisalabad, said that SEO helps websites, Google Business Profiles, and apps rank higher on Google and other search engines, bringing in more visitors. He said that SEO is a global business helping both small and large businesses to reach their clients — and now, AI is playing a major role in its advancement.

He said that in the past, SEO experts had to dedicate weeks to identifying the suitable keywords to boost their clients' project rankings on Google and drive lead generation. Similarly, he said creating backlinks for websites and apps was a time-consuming task for professionals. “But now, the game has changed, thanks to AI tools that make these tasks much easier.” “AI helps professionals automate their tasks.

The automation generates detailed reports, which professionals can present to clients to help devise a future course of action,” he said. He said that AI is now at the heart of SEO, as it enables experts to better understand what users want by studying search trends, user behaviour, and content performance. He said several tools are available in the market helping professionals to devise SEO strategies for their clients.

He said before the advent of AI, professionals had to do all these tasks manually, taking a lot of time and hard work. Afzal said that Google was one of the first companies to use AI to understand what people really want when they search on the internet. He said that thanks to AI, Google doesn’t just look at the exact words people type. Instead, it tries to understand what the person truly wants to find.

“For example, if someone searches for ‘best android phone under 40k,’ Google now understands that the person probably wants to see phone reviews or comparisons, not just a list of phones,” he added. Afzal also said that Google watches how people behave on websites. “It checks things like how fast people leave a page, how long they stay on a page, and how often they click on links.” “If people stay longer on a website, Google thinks the content is helpful. Then, Google shows that website to more people by ranking it higher in the search results,” he explained.

Credit: INP-WealthPk