In today’s fast-paced digital era, small businesses face big challenges in competing with larger tech-savvy companies. To stay current and effectively market their products and services, these businesses need to adapt and embrace more innovative and modern approaches. Fortunately, the emergence of artificial intelligence (AI) has provided a game-changing opportunity for small businesses, which if used effectively, can allow them to stay relevant and competitive.
Small businesses now have the ability to leverage AI tools to revolutionise their SEO and digital marketing strategies, allowing them to maximise their impact, even when faced with limited resources. By harnessing the power of AI, these businesses can attempt to level the playing field with larger companies and achieve greater results.
In fact, according to the gov.uk website, 15% of small businesses in the UK (which translates to about 432,000 companies) have already adopted at least one AI technology into their business and a further 10% plan to adopt at least one in the very near future. So, AI usage is already on the rise in small businesses throughout the UK and leveraging AI sooner rather than later is becoming a priority to stay ahead and continue to thrive in the ever changing digital landscape.
Utilising AI to assist with the ideation, creation, and optimisation of content can be a complete game changer for small businesses. Oftentimes, these businesses lack the necessary staff expertise, time and resources to consistently create and optimise content effectively. So, by utilising AI tools, small businesses can get the assistance they need to create more regular high-quality, engaging and relevant content that caters specifically to their target customers.
Before we get to the list, I should also point out this article is by no means an exhaustive list for AI and digital marketing, there’s literally hundreds of ways AI can now be used to assist with different digital marketing processes, so by writing this article we hope to inpisre and encourage businesses to explore the options out there to find the best AI tools that work for them.
So with that covered off, these are the top 5 ways we believe small businesses can easily start leveraging AI tools today to improve their content creation process, perform better SEO optimisation and increase digital marketing effectiveness, so read on to find out about each of the 5 areas we recommend exploring.
1. Enhanced keyword research
Keyword research is the backbone of any successful SEO strategy. AI tools can analyse massive amounts of data to identify relevant keywords and phrases that potential customers are searching for. By using AI-powered keyword research tools, small businesses can gain valuable insights into their target audience’s search behaviour and optimise their content accordingly.
2. Content creation and optimisation
Creating high-quality, engaging content is crucial for improving search engine rankings and attracting organic traffic. Nothing can replace the personal knowledge and experience of a team with years of experience, so we’d always recommend trying to write at the least the main outline of your content initially so it is unique to your business and customers. Where AI tools can greatly assist small businesses though is in generating insightful and relevant content. Often business owners and their staff are not experts in blog writing and optimisation, so natural language processing algorithms can help analyse existing content and provide suggestions on how to optimise it for better SEO performance. AI-powered content generators can also help small businesses streamline their content creation process by helping to generate blog posts ideas, social media updates, and refine product and service descriptions.
3. Personalised customer experiences
With AI tools, small businesses can offer personalised experiences to their customers. AI-powered chatbots can engage with website visitors, answering their queries and guiding them through the buying process. By analysing user behaviour and browsing patterns, AI tools can provide personalised recommendations and offers, increasing the likelihood of conversions.
4. Improved social media marketing
AI tools can greatly enhance small businesses’ social media marketing efforts. AI-powered social media management platforms can schedule posts, track engagement metrics, and optimise content for maximum reach. AI algorithms can also analyse social media conversations to identify trends, sentiment, and customer preferences, helping small businesses tailor their social media strategies accordingly.
5. Advanced analytics and reporting
AI-powered analytics tools can provide small businesses with in-depth insights into their digital marketing campaigns. These tools can analyse vast amounts of data, identify patterns, and highlight areas for improvement. Small businesses can leverage these insights to refine their SEO strategies, optimise ad campaigns, and make data-driven decisions for better digital marketing outcomes.
Final thoughts
As we’ve hopefully highlighted in this article, AI can provide significant benefits to small businesses looking to improve and increase their digital marketing tasks, however it is important to also state that this article is not meant to suggest AI should replace the human creativity and industry expertise of a company and its employees. Instead, we believe AI should be seen as a valuable tool that can enhance and compliment the human efforts as AI should not replace the personal experiences and shared knowledge found in successful businesses.
By leveraging AI tools specifically for SEO and digital marketing tasks, small businesses can streamline their content creation processes, work more effectively to improve their online visibility, and ultimately drive more potential customers to their website or social channels.
For any advice on AI or automation techniques and processes related to websites and digital marketing, get in contact with our expert team who will be happy to answer any questions.
