Using AI to create SEO optimised website content that ranks in search

You’ve got a great business website or maybe you make websites for other people (like us). You know you need great content to get in Google¹ or whatever it is kids use these days. You’ve heard AI can do it for you so you give it a go with chattyGPT.

But what you get sounds like a robot. You know the robot who likes to write things like ‘in the ever-changing world of online marketing’, or ‘let’s delve in’. The robot that sticks hyphens and colons all over the joint, 1000s of bullet points and headings with colon this, colon that every other line.

You want content that ranks. Content that informs. Content that converts. Content that sounds like you, not slop like everyone else.

We’ve been building websites and creating content for Melbourne businesses for years. Content is hard but now there are tools that help non content people do the content stuff. We’ve seen the good, the bad, and the downright terrible when it comes to AI content creation Here’s what we’ve learnt. And how we do it differently.

Most businesses are getting AI content creation wrong. Really wrong.

You’ve probably seen it. Generic content that sounds like it was written by the same computer program. You might not know it, but this content probably ranks nowhere. Worse, it makes your business sound bland and lifeless like everyone else. So, it doesn’t work for SEO or people. Major fail.

Here’s the thing. AI Overviews now appear in 20% of searches². That’s up from just 7% in June 2024¹. Traditional organic traffic is facing real challenges, with research predicting a 25% drop in search traffic by 2026 due to AI chatbots and virtual agents³.

You need a proper methodology. One that combines AI efficiency with genuine SEO smarts. Not the surface-level stuff everyone’s peddling. A methodology that actually works.

What’s actually working in 2025

We work with small businesses every day. We see what works. And what doesn’t.

Research shows that 47% of marketers are already using AI SEO tools to improve search efficiency⁴. 67% of people see better content quality when using AI properly⁵. But here’s what’s even more interesting - 75% of marketers leverage AI to reduce time spent on manual tasks like keyword research and meta-tag optimisation⁶, while 52% of SEO professionals have noticed performance improvement from using AI for on-page SEO⁷.

But here’s what most people don’t understand.

The winners aren’t just randomly typing requests into ChatGPT like your mum and hoping for the best. They’re using them strategically. Within proven SEO frameworks, using carefully crafted prompts. Anyone can ask ChatGPT for a blog post, but it takes industry knowledge to design a prompt that gets the right output.

There’s a massive difference.

Random AI Approach	Strategic AI Approach
“Write me a blog post about plumbing”	Entity mapping + search intent analysis + strategic prompting + humanisation
Generic robot language	Authentic business voice preservation
No SEO consideration	Semantic optimisation built-in
One-size-fits-all content	Custom prompts for specific business needs
Copy-paste without review	Human oversight and quality control
Result: Boring, ineffective content known as slop	Result: Ranking, converting, authentic content that works!

Strategic AI integration works. Not wholesale replacement. Content that shows genuine expertise and experience ranks better. SEO optimisation that goes way beyond basic keyword targeting delivers results. Authentic voice that passes AI detection tools builds trust and is genuine, even when it isn’t.

We get it. It’s tempting to just pump out content fast and cheap, and it’s pretty amazing when you ask an AI for a blog post about something and it writes you a page in a few seconds. You probably don’t even read it, just paste it in to your WordPress admin panel and go and do something more fun.

But Google’s getting smarter. And your customers are getting bored of exploring, delving and diving in. Even when the results are comprehensive guides. The businesses succeeding with AI content creation aren’t the ones churning out thousands of generic articles. You know the ones. Stuff about paradigms, and strategic digital assets.

They’re the ones who understand that quality beats quantity. Every single time. They focus on quality over quantity. User value over gaming algorithms. Long term authority building over short term ranking tricks.

With 82% of enterprise SEO specialists planning to invest more in AI⁸, and 84% using AI tools to identify and leverage emerging search trends⁹, it’s clear the industry is moving fast. But the smart money isn’t on volume - it’s on strategic implementation.

Here’s what the numbers are telling us:

Statistic	What It Means	Action Required
20% of searches now show AI Overviews2	Traditional SEO is changing fast	Adapt content for AI consumption
25% drop in search traffic predicted by 20263	Organic reach will decrease	Focus on quality over quantity
47% of marketers using AI SEO tools4	AI adoption is mainstream	Get onboard or get left behind
67% see better content quality with AI5	AI works when used properly	Learn proper implementation beyond basic prompts
75% use AI for manual SEO tasks6	Efficiency gains are real	Automate the boring stuff
52% see performance improvements7	Strategic AI delivers results	Invest in methodology, not just tools

Our AI content creation process

We’ve developed a systematic approach. One that creates content that ranks, converts, and sounds authentically like your business. We use this exact process for every piece of content we create. Including this article you’re reading right now.

Bear in mind, this isn’t some set and forget template system. Every line of content is written for a reason. It makes your website better, better ranking in search and AI search, and focused on your customers.

Entity mapping

The first phase involves foundation work. The stuff most people skip.

We start by identifying the key concepts and terms your audience searches for. This isn’t just about keywords. It’s about entity associations. The relationships between ideas that Google’s algorithms understand.

For this article, our primary entities include “AI content creation,” “SEO optimisation,” and “website content.” But we dig deeper. We use tools like Ahrefs to gather and review real data. We map how these concepts connect. What your customers really want to know.

Think of it in terms of connections. “AI content creation” connects to “content strategy.” Which connects to “business growth.” Which connects to “customer engagement.” Google understands these relationships. It rewards content that demonstrates them naturally.

We worked with a Melbourne plumber recently. We identified “emergency plumbing” as the main entity. Then mapped its associations to “burst pipes,” “24/7 service,” “water damage,” and “Melbourne suburbs.” Sounds obvious, but there are ways to do this effectively.

Each connection helped us understand what people really search for when they have a plumbing emergency. The content we created covered all these related concepts naturally. Now they rank for dozens of related searches. Not just their main keyword.

Search intent

Then we figure out exactly what people want when they search for your services. Are they looking for information? Comparing options? Ready to buy? Where are they on the scale of 0 to paying customer?

This helps us structure content that actually answers their questions. And guides them towards working with you. We calculate how important each concept should be in your content. Where to mention them. How often. How to connect them naturally. There is some maths to follow here.

This isn’t keyword stuffing like the olden days. It’s strategic content architecture that search engines love.

We create structured content that serves as the foundation. This involves clustering related concepts together in logical sections. For example, when discussing AI content creation tools, we cluster them with content quality, editing processes, and output optimisation. This clustering helps both readers and search engines understand that these concepts belong together.

A practical example? We group “website design” with “user experience,” “mobile responsiveness,” and “loading speed.” Why? Because they’re naturally related in the reader’s mind.

Then we expand semantic coverage. Through related terms your audience uses. Synonyms, industry terms, and natural variations that strengthen your topical authority.

Instead of repeating “SEO” everywhere, we use “search engine optimisation,” “search rankings,” “Google visibility,” and “discoverable online.” This variety sounds more natural. While covering more search variations.

Strategic information

We design how information flows through your content. Making sure it serves both search engines and real people trying to solve problems.

We map out all the related questions and searches your content should address. This ensures you’re not just targeting one keyword. You’re dominating entire topic areas. For AI content creation, people also want to know about costs. Time investment. What tools to use. How to maintain quality. How to avoid penalties. What results to expect.

We optimise how concepts relate to each other throughout your content. This builds powerful semantic signals. Ones that search engines use to understand your expertise.

When we mention “content strategy,” we make sure it appears near “business goals” and “target audience.” When discussing “AI tools,” we connect them to “quality control” and “authentic voice.”

These relationships aren’t forced. They happen naturally when you understand your topic deeply.

We plan how this content connects to your other pages. Building authority across your entire website. Guiding visitors through their journey with you. We analyse what’s already ranking. And identify opportunities to do it better. What are competitors missing? How can you provide more value?

Using Ahrefs again we identify content gaps, we study the top pages ranking for our multiple keywords and find opportunities that give you an advantage. What unique insights can your business provide that others can’t? AI can’t do this itself, it needs us to identify and feed it the correct data.

Technical implementation

We implement the technical elements that help search engines understand and rank your content. Schema markup, structured data, and other behind-the-scenes optimisations. This is where we tell Google exactly what type of content this is. Who wrote it. What it covers. Why it covers it.

Recently we also started using llms.txt, a file structure that tells AI bots the content in another structured format. These are quite new and there’s some debate on if they are necessary or if AI agents actually use them. We’ve built a generator into our publishing pipeline so if it works or not, we’re doing it for our clients and it is taking us zero additional effort.

We craft content that’s designed to capture featured snippets. Those coveted position zero spots in search results. But we do it naturally. Within the flow of helpful content.

A featured snippet is typically a 40-60 word answer that directly responds to a question.

For example, if someone searches “What is AI content creation?”, we write a clear, concise answer like this:

“AI content creation means getting computer programs to write your website copy, blog posts, and marketing content. The trick is mixing smart AI tools with actual human checking so you end up with content that ranks well in search but still sounds like you.”

That was meta. Then we expand on each element naturally.

We establish your expertise across topic areas. While building authentic business credibility. This involves comprehensive coverage. Demonstrating real industry knowledge.

When we write about website security for a tech company, we don’t just cover the basics. We discuss specific threats. Explain technical solutions in simple terms. Share real case studies. Demonstrate deep understanding of both the technology and business implications.

Of course we don’t usually have the domain knowledge for your business, that’s where you come in. You need to check what we generate for mistakes, or anything problematic. We don’t want to make claims you can’t fulfil.

Humanisation and quality

Then we optimise for how the search algorithms read and understand text. While maintaining natural, conversational flow. We optimise how information progresses through your content. Making sure it’s easy to read. Engaging, has personality, and guides people towards taking action.

We conduct a review. Ensuring everything works technically. While maintaining your authentic business voice.

The crucial final step? AI detection elimination.

We transform optimised content into genuinely human writing. Content that passes AI detection tools. While keeping all the SEO benefits. This is where most businesses fail. They let AI flatten their personality into generic corporate speak. Your authentic voice is your competitive advantage. Use AI for efficiency. Not personality replacement.

We add personal touches. Vary sentence lengths. Include genuine opinions. Make sure it sounds like a real person wrote it. We might add phrases like “The truth is, most AI content is pretty dullsville.” Or “We had a client last month who made this exact mistake.”

These authentic touches make the content genuinely human. While preserving all the optimisation work.

The Australian business advantage

Australian businesses have a real opportunity here. While everyone else is creating generic content that sounds the same, you can use your authentic local voice. Your genuine expertise. To stand out.

We work with Melbourne businesses every day. The ones succeeding with AI content creation are combining AI efficiency with their unique local character. Their industry knowledge.

They’re not trying to sound like everyone else. They’re amplifying what makes them different.

For Australian businesses, this methodology works perfectly with local SEO requirements. We naturally incorporate local references. Genuine community knowledge. Regional expertise that AI alone can’t replicate.

This builds both search authority and customer trust. People want to work with businesses that understand their local market.

When we write content for a Melbourne cafe, we don’t just talk about coffee. We mention the laneway culture. The morning commute rush. Competition with other local cafes. The unique Melbourne coffee expectations. The rubbish on Elizabeth street, carrot man, the heavy-handed Myki inspectors. Okay, maybe not that far.

These local entity associations help the content rank for location-specific searches. While building genuine connection with local customers.

Choosing your tools

Don’t get caught up in every new AI tool that launches. Focus on proven platforms that integrate well with your workflow. LLMs have been fantastic for editing and idea generation. But it’s just one part of a comprehensive strategy.

Before you write a single word, establish your content framework. Understand your audience’s search intent. Map your content architecture. Plan your approach.

This prevents the scattered approach that kills most AI content efforts.

Creating huge volumes of AI-generated content won’t improve your search visibility in 2025. Quality is better than quantity. Every time. Focus on creating fewer pieces of genuinely valuable content. Rather than churning out mediocre articles.

We’ve seen these mistakes destroy content strategies.

The volume trap. Where businesses think more content automatically means better results. It doesn’t. Google’s spam policies specifically target automatically generated content that lacks originality¹⁰.

Should you use AI? This is disputed somewhat at the moment. AI content is probably fine for SEO purposes but it can be a painful read. If your business proposition is more compelling than the AI content then you might gain a few sales, but if you can’t be bothered to create your own content why should a customer think much of your business or brand?

It’s also a bit of a race to the bottom as businesses use AI to cannibalise competitors’ content and we end up with bland indistinguishable material.

Generic voice syndrome kills local businesses. AI content often sounds the same across different businesses. This is death for local businesses that rely on personality and relationship building.

Use tools to ensure your content passes AI detection while maintaining optimisation. Content that scores above 50% AI-generated risks algorithmic penalties. This blog post when run through an AI text detector scored a 4.88% possibility that it is AI written. The truth is, except this bit, the entire thing was generated using Claude.ai.

Technical over-optimisation happens when businesses get so caught up in technical SEO that they forget about user experience. The best optimised content is useless if it doesn’t genuinely help your audience.

Many businesses also ignore search evolution. Search isn’t dying. It’s changing. Nobody knows for sure which techniques will work tomorrow, but then they might work again the month after. That’s why content strategy can be a pretty shaky business if you’re just chasing algorithms.

In 2025 one thing’s for sure you need to adapt your strategy for AI Overviews, answer engines, and evolving user behaviour like asking ChatGPT instead of Google.

Measuring what matters

The winners in 2025 will be businesses prioritising conversions over traffic. Quality over quantity. Track engagement metrics. Conversion rates. Customer acquisition, rather than just rankings and visits.

Monitor your progress in establishing expertise across your industry. This involves tracking keyword clusters. Entity associations. Competitive positioning. You might need tools for this and unfortunately the good ones will cost you, but it’s an investment you need to make.

The AI content landscape continues evolving rapidly. The global AI SEO software tool market is estimated to reach $4.97 billion by 2033 from $1.99 billion in 2024[^11]. We’re seeing improvements in AI natural language generation. More sophisticated understanding of user intent. But the fundamentals remain the same. Quality, authenticity, and genuine value.

Build your content strategy on these foundations. You’ll adapt successfully to whatever comes next. The truth is, creating SEO optimised content with AI isn’t about replacing human expertise. It’s about amplifying it.

The steps we’ve outlined give you a systematic approach. One that creates content that ranks, converts, and builds genuine authority. We created the steps and built a series of AI prompts that take the data we compile and generates the type of content we want, in the voice we want.

The AI tools are just facilitators. Your expertise and unique perspective are still what creates genuinely valuable content.

Want help implementing this methodology for your business?

We’ve been helping Melbourne businesses create content that works. Content that ranks. Content that converts. Content that sounds like them, not like everyone else.

The methodology is here. We have the technology (6 million dollar man vibes here). The opportunity is massive.

The question isn’t whether AI will transform content creation. It’s whether you’ll lean into that transformation or get left behind.

Ready to upscale your content creation process? Get in touch with happypath for websites with content that actually work for your business.

The extra bit

What is AI content creation?

AI content creation means getting computer programs to write your website copy, blog posts, and marketing content. The trick is mixing smart AI tools with actual human checking so you end up with content that ranks well in search but still sounds like you.

How do you make AI content pass detection tools?

The key is humanisation - adding personal touches, varying sentence lengths, including genuine opinions, and making sure it sounds like a real person wrote it. We transform optimised content into genuinely human writing while keeping all the SEO benefits.

What is entity mapping in SEO content?

Entity mapping involves identifying key concepts and terms your audience searches for, then mapping the relationships between ideas that Google’s algorithms understand. It’s about entity associations - how ‘AI content creation’ connects to ‘content strategy’ which connects to ‘business growth’.

Why is search intent important for AI content?

Managing online reviews and ratings is essential as they directly impact a business’s reputation and influence consumer decisions. By actively monitoring feedback, responding promptly to both positive and negative reviews while maintaining transparency builds trust among potential customers.

Should small businesses use AI for content creation?

Yes, but strategically. The winners aren’t randomly typing requests into ChatGPT - they’re using proven SEO frameworks with carefully crafted prompts. Focus on quality over quantity, and always maintain your authentic business voice rather than generic corporate speak.

References

Footnotes

1. TikTok or something, probably ↩

2. WordStream. “The 8 SEO Trends That Will Shape Search in 2025.” Available at: https://www.wordstream.com/blog/seo-trends-2025 ↩ ↩²

3. Gartner Research. “25% drop in search traffic prediction by 2026.” Referenced in SelfMadeMillennials. “AI SEO Trends 2025: Key Takeaways for Content Creators.” Available at: https://selfmademillennials.com/ai-seo-trends/ ↩ ↩²

4. SEO.com. “AI SEO Statistics in 2025: AI SEO Trends and Insights.” Available at: https://www.seo.com/ai/ai-seo-statistics/ ↩ ↩²

5. SeoProfy. “60 AI SEO Statistics for 2025.” Available at: https://seoprofy.com/blog/ai-seo-statistics/ ↩ ↩²

6. SeoProfy. “60 AI SEO Statistics for 2025.” Available at: https://seoprofy.com/blog/ai-seo-statistics/ ↩ ↩²

7. SeoProfy. “60 AI SEO Statistics for 2025.” Available at: https://seoprofy.com/blog/ai-seo-statistics/ ↩ ↩²

8. SeoProfy. “60 AI SEO Statistics for 2025.” Available at: https://seoprofy.com/blog/ai-seo-statistics/ ↩

9. SEO.com. “AI SEO Statistics in 2025: AI SEO Trends and Insights.” Available at: https://www.seo.com/ai/ai-seo-statistics/ ↩

10. Flow.ninja. “SEO and AI-Generated Content: The Do’s and Don’ts in 2025.” Available at: https://www.flow.ninja/blog/seo-and-ai-generated-content ↩

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