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Discover how AI-generated content and social commerce trends, mirroring the PPC revolution, demand adaptation. Get 7 SEO tips to cross-pollinate strategies for greater online success.
“Alright, we fired our SEO guy and paid for this software that uses Chat GPT to generate website content!”

Navigating the AI Content Landscape and Cross-Pollinating with PPC Trends
Just as the PPC world is being revolutionized by AI and the rise of social commerce, Search Engine Optimization (SEO) in 2025 demands a parallel understanding and adaptation to these significant shifts.
This post explores the evolving SEO landscape, particularly the impact of AI-generated content, and draws parallels with the trends we’re observing in the PPC arena.
Before we jump in…
A quick test – is it AI or is it human?
Okay, so that video is more for fun.
Because it’s obvious who’s the human and who’s the AI.
But where many businesses are getting it wrong is…
They don’t understand search engines can spot the difference just as easily.
The AI Content Conundrum: Balancing Scale with Search Quality
AI writing tools have become increasingly sophisticated, offering the allure of rapid content creation at scale. However, the SEO implications of relying heavily on AI-generated content are complex and require careful consideration.
The Search Engine Perspective on Using AI

While search engines like Google haven’t outright banned AI-generated content, their primary focus remains on providing users with high-quality, original, and helpful content.
Content that lacks depth, expertise, authoritativeness, and trustworthiness (E-E-A-T) – often hallmarks of unedited or poorly prompted AI – is unlikely to rank well.
Use AI, but always ensure thorough human editing, fact-checking, and the infusion of your unique brand voice and expertise.
This parallels what we know from PPC trends.
In PPC, low-quality landing pages or irrelevant ad copy, even if generated quickly, lead to poor Quality Scores, higher costs, and lower conversion rates.
Similarly, low-quality AI content will likely result in poor organic performance.
- Actionable SEO Tip 1: Humans are Still Involved
- Use AI as a tool to assist with research, outlining, and drafting initial content, but always ensure thorough human editing, fact-checking, and the infusion of your unique brand voice and expertise.
- Focus on creating comprehensive and valuable resources that truly answer user queries.
The User Experience Imperative

Ultimately, content is for users. If AI-generated content is generic, factually inaccurate, or fails to engage the audience, it will lead to poor user signals (high bounce rates, low dwell time), negatively impacting SEO.
Just as personalized ads in PPC drive higher engagement, SEO content that resonates with the target audience and provides a positive user experience is crucial for organic success.
- Actionable SEO Tip 2: Target Pain Points
- Focus on understanding your target audience’s needs and pain points.
- Use AI to help identify relevant topics and keywords, but craft your content in a way that is engaging, easy to understand, and provides genuine value.
The Rise of E-E-A-T
Google’s emphasis on Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness (E-E-A-T) is more critical than ever in the age of AI content.
Your content should be tied to real humans with actual bios and social handles.
Demonstrating these qualities is essential to building credibility with both users and search engines.
In PPC, building trust through transparent ad copy, clear value propositions, and trustworthy landing pages is vital for conversions.
Similarly, SEO requires demonstrating your authority and expertise in your niche.
- Actionable SEO Tip 3: Anonymity is Out
- Showcase the expertise of your content creators through author bios, link to credible sources, and build a strong brand reputation.
- If you have firsthand experience related to the topic, highlight it.
- Your content should be tied to real humans with actual bios and social handles.
Cross-Pollinating PPC and SEO Trends for 2025
Interestingly, the trends we’re seeing in PPC offer valuable insights for shaping your SEO strategy in 2025.
- Stat 1: In 2025, global ad spending in the search advertising market is projected to reach a staggering $351.55 billion.1
- Stat 2: In 2024, 54% of Gen Z shoppers and 58% of Millennials believed that social media platforms were better than traditional online searches for discovering new products.2
The Social Commerce Influence on Content
The rise of social commerce in PPC highlights the importance of creating content that facilitates transactions and product discovery.
In SEO, this translates to optimizing product pages, creating engaging product reviews, and potentially even integrating shoppable content on your website.
- Actionable SEO Tip 4: Social is the New Authentic
- If you’re selling products, ensure your product pages are highly optimized with detailed descriptions, high-quality images, and clear calls to action.
- Consider creating blog content based on your social posts.
The Power of Personalization (SEO Adaptation)
While PPC excels at ad personalization, SEO can learn from this by focusing on understanding user intent and creating content tailored to different stages of the buyer’s journey.
- Actionable SEO Tip 5: Focus on Intent
- Develop content that caters to various user intents – informational, navigational, and transactional.
- Use keyword research to understand the questions your audience is asking at different stages and create content that directly answers those questions.
The Importance of Visual and Engaging Content
Just as visual ads and video perform well in PPC, engaging multimedia content is becoming increasingly crucial for SEO.
- Actionable SEO Tip 6: Improve Engagement Signals
- Incorporate high-quality images, videos, infographics, and interactive elements into your website content to improve user engagement and dwell time.
- Optimize these visuals for search with relevant file names and alt text.
The Focus on User Experience
Both PPC and SEO ultimately aim to provide a positive user experience. In PPC, this means relevant ads and seamless landing pages. In SEO, it translates to website speed, mobile-friendliness, clear navigation, and valuable content.
- Actionable SEO Tip 7: Speed Over Everything
- The moment a user is waiting for a site to load, UX is gone.
- Prioritize website performance, ensure your site is mobile-responsive, and focus on creating a user-friendly experience that encourages visitors to stay longer and explore further.
Navigating the Future of SEO
In 2025 and beyond, a successful SEO strategy will involve a nuanced approach to AI-generated content, leveraging it as a tool while prioritizing human expertise and E-E-A-T.
The opportunities lie in:
- Knowing that your competitors are likely churning out AI slop.
- Some of your competitors believe SEO is dead.
Both these mindsets and viewpoints are utterly poor, and make it easier for your business to succeed.
By observing the trends in PPC, particularly the rise of social commerce and the importance of personalization and engaging content, SEO professionals can gain valuable insights into optimizing their strategies for the evolving digital landscape.
The key takeaway is that quality, relevance, and a focus on the user will remain paramount in both SEO and PPC. It’s in the interplay between these disciplines where the insights are. By thoughtfully adapting to the impact of AI, small businesses can build a robust and effective online presence.
Sources
7 SEO Tips
- Humans are Still Involved
- Target Pain Points
- Anonymity is Out
- Social is the New Authentic
- Focus on Intent
- Improve Engagement Signals
- Speed Over Everything
- Albert Badalyn holds a PhD in Business Studies and shares recent PPC research at https://www.digitalsilk.com/digital-trends/top-ppc-statistics/ ↩︎
- SEO is not dead – it’s evolving to include more search channels such as social commerce channels. https://electroiq.com/stats/social-commerce-statistics/ ↩︎
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