AI-written content and content replacing old, cheap content farms? //
Today’s Verge piece is Inside CNET’s AI-powered SEO money engine. This article covers much of the same information as our story Google Search Responds to BankRate. However, it dives deeper into how CNET is using machines to replace low cost humans to create low-quality content which aims to rank high in search.
Google’s algorithms. This reminds me of Google’s Panda update days. Google created algorithms to detect content farms, and content that was written for the purpose of driving search traffic. The helpful Content update now aims to reduce content written for search engines (and not users). This strategy, which was developed by Red Ventures websites, seems set up to fail – if Google’s algorithm does what it says.
Red Ventures’ goal. The Verge reports that Red Ventures publishes content that ranks high in Google searches for “high-intent queries” and then monetizes it with lucrative affiliate links. This is contrary to Google’s new helpful content update algorithm, which aims to lowergrade websites whose content is written first for search engines. Content written to help people, not rank in search.
This article explains how these sites aim to rank high in credit card search results and convert that traffic into clicks for affiliate revenue. The article states that Red Ventures has discovered a significant niche in credit cards and finance products. They add that this goes beyond CNET. The company also owns Bankrate, The Points Guy and CreditCards.com. “All of these monetize through credit cards affiliate fees.”
“The CNET AI stories that are at the heart of the controversy, “Can You Buy A Gift Card with a Credit Card?” “What Is Zelle?” and “How Does It Work?” clearly show this strategy. These articles are designed to rank high in search results for these topics. CreditCards.com and Bankrate have published AI-written articles on credit cards, with ads for opening them.
Do you sound familiar?
Content farms. Content farms. Red Ventures’ deployment of AI makes complete sense, according to the article. It is filling Google Search with content and trying to rank high for valuable searches. Then it collects fees from visitors who click through to mortgage applications or credit cards. AI reduces the cost of creating content and increases the profits per click. This temptation is impossible to resist for any private equity company anywhere in the world.
Google didn’t already address such issues with Panda, the downfall in content farms. It’s possible, but not yet.
Wordsmith. Wordsmith is the tool used to create this content. They have been using it for over a year and have seen other companies use it. Red Ventures used automated technology to create content before the AI-related byline appeared in November, according to a former CNET employee. Wordsmith, a tool that is often used in mortgage stories, has been around for about a year and half according to them.
It’s not new. This has been going on for over a year. It has been going longer. It is evident in financial earnings news analysis, news stories about sports scores and any other information that can be templated. Machines can extract the metrics and create a sensible article with the updated data. Although it is inexpensive and serves its purpose, is this the kind of content Google wants to rank?
Glenn Gabe has tweeted a picture of how it was done years ago.
It is good enough to rank. With the layoffs at these publishing firms, they found more ways for machines to write search-engine friendly content. According to The Verge, it doesn’t have to be good enough or good enough to rank. “But the CNET robot articles don’t have to be good” — they must rank high in Google searches so that many people open them and click on the lucrative affiliate links.
It won’t last. It can’t be sustained long-term. Google can have their say and want content that helps users. If The Verge is correct in stating that the intent of the content AI creates is to rank high in search results, then Google’s new Helpful Content update should address that. It may not address it right now, but it will in the future.
Why we care. It’s tempting to look for low-cost methods to create endless content that ranks well in Google Search. Who doesn’t want to make lots of money quickly and for a low cost? But will these efforts last for long? This is a long-term strategy. Were these efforts successful?
It will all unfold over time, but it is fascinating to see this play out just like the Panda, Penguin, and other Google Search algorithm update over years.