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Is AI the End of Keyword Optimization in SEO?
The way we did SEO before AI
I still remember when I first started learning about SEO many years ago. The rule was simple: find the keywords people were searching for, and add them into your articles, titles, image names, and website tags. We even counted how many times the keyword appeared in the text. Many experts suggested using your keyword around 1.5 to 2 percent of the time.
If you wanted to rank higher, you also needed backlinks. These were links from other websites that pointed to your page. The more backlinks you have, the better your page will perform. It was like a popularity contest.
During that time, keyword optimization was the most important part of SEO. Your website traffic could increase quickly if you found the right keyword and used it correctly. Many bloggers built entire businesses around long keywords, like “best shoes for hiking under $100.” They picked very specific searches and wrote articles around them.
No one was thinking about AI. We were only thinking about ranking on Google’s first page.
