Auto Generated Content: How It Impacts your SEO

Creating high-quality content that ranks well on Google SERP is not easy. Therefore, there are various ways to manipulate PageRank by auto-generated content that neglect the quality of the content.

Auto-generated content or AGC is often a shortcut to creating a lot of content in the hope of getting a high ranking in SERP. Then, how does this strategy affects your SEO implementation? and, how does Google view this method? see the following explanation to get the answer.

What is AGC (Automatically Generated Content)?

Auto-generated content (AGC) is content that is created automatically using a program or code. This practice is one of the techniques for creating content that aims to manipulate search engines to get higher rankings and traffic.

Web owners who are reluctant to create high-quality content or incur additional costs to hire a professional writer will usually choose a shortcut to generate a lot of content automatically.

Instead of creating content that helps users, auto-generated content usually only copies information from other content and has significant similarities to the original source. Therefore, this practice actually contradicts the search engine's goal of providing high-quality content to its users.

Characteristics of Auto Generated Content

Although it does not violate the grammar rules, auto-generated content is usually unnatural when it is read by users. Therefore, website users prefer content that is written directly by humans over content that is created automatically.

Here are the characteristics of auto-generated content according to Google's view:

• Content with text that makes no sense but contains keywords that internet users are looking for.
• Content that has been automatically translated by machine without any review by authors or editors prior to publication.
• Content is created automatically using the Markov Chain algorithm, which creates new content based on existing content and adds new variables based on probability.
• Content is generated using an automatic synonym technique to distinguish it from the original content. The language used tends to be confusing, ambiguous, and difficult to understand.
• Content is created automatically from data retrieved via RSS Feeds (Really Simple Syndication) or search results.
• Combined content from several different sources without adding additional information that is unique or different from the original form.

Is AGC Violating Google Guidelines?

John Mueller, one of Google's advocates, stated that content created automatically using AGC scripts or AI tools will be considered spam, which can certainly lead to penalties.

Mueller thinks that automatically generated content is basically the same as copying other content by scrambling words in the content, looking for synonyms, or performing translation tricks. It makes the strategy is considered a violation of webmaster guidelines.

However, Google's algorithms may have limitations to detect content created by these AI tools without the help of human reviews.

How Does Google Detect Auto Generated Content?

Google does not explain in detail whether it can detect auto-generated content or not.

However, if Google's webspam team finds that content is indicated to be auto-generated, then they have the authority to take action on that content, and web owners must be prepared to be penalized by Google.

Impact of AGC on SEO

Although it offers convenience in content creation, in fact, auto-generated content has some bad effects on SEO.

Automatically generated content usually only repeats information from other websites and the content tends to be more difficult for readers to understand. In other words, the content is low quality and under-optimized.

Meanwhile, Google places a high priority on quality, useful, and unique content to display as relevant search results. Because content that can answer users’ needs will provide a good user experience. As we know, user experience is a Google ranking factor that you don’t want to ignore.

If you only focus on quantity and not the quality of content, then this can degrade your web performance in organic search. In addition, users may leave your page if the content is below their expectations.

Not only that, auto-generated content is like a ticking time bomb for your website. This is because, from time to time, Google's webspam team may find that your content is automatically generated and you should be prepared to be penalized by Google.

Tips for Avoiding Auto-Generated Content

Web owners are supposed to produce high-quality content in accordance with Google's rules to avoid Google penalties. They can also use professional SEO services to improve their website's performance in organic search.

However, we have summarized some tips to avoid auto-generated content that you can apply in your content production process.

Do Keyword Research to Produce More Content

You can still produce a lot of content even without using the auto-generated content tool. Do keyword research to gather as many keyword ideas as possible. Next, you can create various kinds of content from the list of keywords that you have.

Create A Clear Editorial Plan

Creating an editorial plan can increase your productivity in producing SEO-friendly content. The editorial plan also makes it easier for you to schedule content, track the status of content work, see who is in charge of content, and see the publication date.

Follow these steps to get started with creating an editorial plan that's useful for your business:

Choose Editorial Plan Format

You can choose the most suitable editorial plan format to achieve your business goals. Things that you can take into consideration in choosing the editorial plan format are the ease of access and also the convenience of the display presented. In addition, check whether these tools can be accessed for free or require a subscription fee. 

There are several editorial plan formats that you can use, namely:

• Google Calendar - this calendar tool from Google is the easiest editorial plan format you can use to track content work.
• Spreadsheets - You can use excel or spreadsheets to organize content planning. These tools are easily accessible and provide enough space for the information you want to add.
• Kanban Board - this tool is widely used for project management, where there are several cards that are divided according to project stages. With this editorial plan format, you can also track the progress of content work simply and easily.

Define a Marketing Channel

After determining the editorial plan format, you also need to define the marketing channels that will be used to publish the content. You can choose organic channels such as social media, websites, or online forums. In addition, you can also use paid channels such as search engine marketing, online publishers, or social media marketing.

Plan Content Production Consistently

Having an editorial plan can help you plan for consistent content creation. The more high-quality content you have, the more credibility your website will have.

Competitor Post Frequency Analysis

See how often competitors in the same niche as you publish new content. Next, you can observe the strategies they use to achieve content success. However, make sure the content you produce remains unique and doesn't plagiarize their content!

Adjust Editorial Plan If Needed

If the editorial plan that you created previously has not shown optimal results, such as bringing in more traffic to potential leads. You can evaluate and adjust your editorial plan.

Create High-quality and Relevant Content

Content created using AGC usually has poor readability. Sentences used in the content often make no sense, simply copy information from various sources, and are even difficult for readers to understand.

In fact, users and search engines prefer high-quality content and covey the information in depth. Content that is difficult to understand can provide a bad user experience. They will choose to leave your web page and look for information on other websites.

Therefore, creating high-quality and original content is better than AGC. Also, don't forget to add keywords that users might search for so that your content can be displayed as one of the relevant search results.

Create Appealing Content with Images

Besides improving the quality and relevance of your content, making your content more attractive with visual elements can also help you provide the best experience for users.

Add multiple images to improve the appearance and quality of your content. For optimal content performance, make sure to always add captions and alt tags to your images. That way, search engines can better understand the information contained in your content.

Use Professional Content Writing Services

If you have no experience in writing SEO content, there's nothing wrong with using a professional content writing service. They will help you produce high-quality content that complies with Google's rules.

With experienced experts in the field of writing, they can make content that brings in more organic traffic, increase website credibility, and make web visibility in organic search better.

That's a thorough guide to what AGC is and tips for avoiding it. Although it can generate a lot of content automatically, auto-generated content makes your website potentially subject to a penalty from Google.

Therefore, we do not recommend that you produce auto-generated content. The best solution to increase your traffic and web ranking is to create quality content independently or use professional content writing services.