20 Ways ChatGPT Can Change Your SEO Game

With an unexpected but loud debut, ChatGPT made many marketers and SEOs worried that their jobs will soon be taken by artificial intelligence.

But fear not.

After research and hands-on testing I’ve done for this article, I can safely say that ChatGPT is not a replacement, it’s a brilliant assistant. The one that can help automate many of your routine SEO tasks and become an endless source of inspiration.

Below, I’ll briefly touch upon the general information about ChatGPT and will then share 20 awesome ways ChatGPT can change your SEO game.

What’s ChatGPT, in brief

ChatGPT is an artificial intelligence language model developed by OpenAI. It was first introduced to the public in November 2022.

The tool can generate responses to text-based prompts that closely resemble a human-like conversation.

What’s a ChatGPT prompt?

A prompt is any text-based input given to ChatGPT. It can be a question, statement, or phrase. 

Once you feed ChatGPT with a prompt, it generates a response that is intended to be coherent and relevant to the prompt.

From a user perspective, ChatGPT has a typical chat interface you can spot on Facebook or elsewhere. Nothing too complicated. You type in your request, and then your dialogue with ChatGPT starts. And while the outer package may seem trivial, the mechanism that works behind the curtain is massive.

The new AI tool is super multifunctional and can help with content creation, coding, translation, calculations, and many, many other things. 

And, what’s important for us SEOs, ChatGPT can be of great help with SEO tasks we have to perform daily.

Basic tips for using ChatGPT the right way

No matter how good or bad your original prompt is, ChatGPT will always come up with some kind of response. The thing that matters is the quality of that response.

To make the most of ChatGPT's capabilities and get better results, make sure to always follow these tips:

20 ChatGPT prompts to supercharge your SEO

While doing my research on the topic, I came across many posts that shared 50, 100, and even 200 ChatGPT prompts for SEO. 

To keep things simple, I've collected only the best and most interesting prompts. In addition, I have grouped them by the purpose for your convenience. So, feel free to use the navigation menu to the left if you’re looking for specific prompts.

Keyword research prompts

Before you start using ChatGPT for keyword research, there’s one important thing you need to take into account. 

The tool is perfectly capable of giving you endless keyword suggestions but… ChatGPT’s recommendations are based solely on the data it was trained on, which is limited to only up till September 2021.

Plus, ChatGPT has no access to Google Search Console data. Neither it can scrape the SERPs nor crawl the web.

Thus, the keyword list you get from ChatGPT may look fine at first sight. But after a further check, it will likely appear that there are plenty of keywords with low search volume or high keyword difficulty.

For instance, here’s a real-life example. I asked ChatGPT to generate a list of keywords for a car-rental website.

The list looks decent, right?

Not until I check all the keyword metrics using Rank Tracker:

All keywords I got from ChatGPT have a high keyword difficulty score, and half of them have either very low or zero search volume. Not what I asked for, ChatGPT.

Hence, I really recommend that you use ChatGPT for generating only seed keywords if you’d need to.

In other cases, use any of the SEO tools you like most to generate your target keyword list. In our recent guide, we explain how to find thousands of new keywords using Rank Tracker.

Some of the prompts you’ll see below require a ready-made keyword list, so make sure to generate one for yourself before you start working with ChatGPT.

1. Brainstorm topics for your content

Content ideation can get hard sometimes. And ChatGPT is super helpful when you can’t decide what topics to cover on your website.

Here’s an example:

In my prompt, I followed all the best practices we discussed earlier: I made it short, precise, and additionally, I specified the niche and even audience.

Most of the suggested topics in my example are fantastic. But I can go the extra mile and ask ChatGPT to give me more topics:

Don’t be afraid to further adjust ChatGPT’s suggestions, too. For instance, you can ask the chatbot to make its suggestions less generic:

The more you fine-tune the original request, the better the results are. This last iteration is a pure treasure trove of engaging topics for future content.

2. Group keywords by search intent

Remember the times when you had to classify your huge list of keywords based on search intent manually? 

Thanks to ChatGPT, you don’t have to spend hours on this routine task now.

In my prompt, I used the keyword list I previously generated with the help of Rank Tracker:

And here’s the response I got from ChatGPT:

At first glance, ChatGPT's keyword grouping may seem fine. But remember the rule of thumb here – always review ChatGPT’s responses for accuracy. 

For instance, I’d slightly readjust the suggested categorization by simply checking the SERPs for specific keywords.

3. Cluster keywords based on semantic relevance

Using ChatGPT, you can quickly group keywords based on their semantic relevance.

This can be helpful when you have all sorts of keywords in your list. And you want to decide on which pages/sections of your site you want to use them.

Here’s a prompt I fed into ChatGPT:

And here’s how the tool grouped the keywords:

Brilliant work, ChatGPT.

By the way, you can also ask ChatGPT to present the data as a table here. I prefer this format over others much more.

4. Build topical authority

Topical authority refers to a website's relevance and expertise on a particular topic. 

Websites with high topical authority are more likely to rank high on Google for relevant keywords. 

To add to your topical authority, you have to identify the topics you haven’t yet covered and then fill the gaps with high-quality content. ChatGPT can help you do the former really fast.

Before you jump to running the prompt itself, you first need to collect the URLs to the blog posts you already have.

You can do this with the help of Google Search Console or an SEO crawler, for example, WebSite Auditor.

How to collect your blog posts using WebSite Auditor

To collect all the blog pages, I go to Site Structure > Pages and apply a filter. This filter will keep the URLs from the /news/ folder only.

 

Download WebSite Auditor
A few seconds, and here they are:

 

Download WebSite Auditor

Now, I jump to ChatGPT and insert the following prompt along with the URLs I just pasted from WebSite Auditor:

And here are the suggested topics I need to cover:

I purposely haven’t specified all the posts we have on our blog. And that’s really impressive that ChatGPT’s suggestions resonate with what we’ve already written about.

Content creation prompts

5. Generate outlines

As a content writer myself, I know the importance of a good outline. It helps organize your thoughts and ideas into a clear and logical structure.

ChatGPT can help you with creating a decent outline.

The only thing that is needed from your end is to be specific in your request. Also, make sure to note the things you want and don’t want to be present in the outline.

Take a look at my prompt:

And the outline ChatGPT generated for me:

As with any other response from ChatGPT, you can go further and fine-tune the final result. For instance, you can ask the chatbot to make the outline shorter/longer. Or you can ask it to elaborate on a specific point in the outline.

6. Lift writer’s block

If you’ve ever written any content, you are well aware of the phenomenon called writer’s block. It’s when you see a blank page and simply don’t know how to start writing.

It happens frequently even to skilled writers, and luckily ChatGPT can help lift this infamous writer’s block. In multiple ways.

First, it can help you write an introduction for your future blog post:

The suggested introduction is a bit generic, and I like mine more. But the response ChatGPT has given me is a nice source of inspiration. If I had writer’s block, I would definitely use this introduction as a draft version.

In addition to introductions, ChatGPT can help you find inspiration when you don’t know how to start a specific section of your blog post:

And lastly, you can use ChatGPT to write a conclusion for your ready-made blog post:

To make the conclusion even more precise, you can add your blog post right after the prompt.

7. Create long-form content (careful with that)

ChatGPT can assist you in writing long-form content, too.

But for the magic to happen, you will need to:

This prompt (credit to Hamish Davison) will consist of multiple smaller prompts I’ll be sending to ChatGPT one by one. I’ve hidden them under the tab below as there are quite a few.

Using the prompts I’ve put together for you under the tab above, I’ve been able to generate a decent blog post on the topic “How to rent a car”. 

It’s comprehensive and concise with 1,500+ words in it. Still, when I try to assess it, it does seem that we, humans, are more capable of thinking outside the box when it comes to content creation. Hence, I do recommend that you use this ChatGPT’s feature with extra caution.

8. Generate product descriptions

ChatGPT can be an invaluable assistant if you're running an e-commerce website with hundreds of products.

In just a few clicks, you can create compelling and clear product descriptions that will impress your customers. And if you adjust your prompt by adding specific keywords, you can impress Google as well.

Take a look:

Mind, though, that ChatGPT’s data is limited to 2021. So if your product is new, you’d first want to feed into ChatGPT all the details about it. And only then ask the tool to generate the description. 

Also, always review the content generated by ChatGPT before uploading it to your site.

Content optimization prompts

9. Optimize your content for featured snippets

A featured snippet is a great way to boost your visibility in search results and drive more traffic to your website.

It occupies the so-called zero search position, and after the recent Google updates it occupies even more screen real estate:

So, getting one for any of your pages is a good thing. And ChatGPT can help with that.

The tool can generate a piece of text optimized for Google’s featured snippets:

And the only thing you’ll have to do is to add this text to your existing content. 

Note that it doesn’t imply that you will automatically get a featured snippet. Still, you will significantly boost your chances.

10. Generate engaging titles and meta descriptions

A proper title and meta description can skyrocket your organic CTR.

ChatGPT is fantastic at generating engaging titles and meta descriptions.

For instance, let’s see what titles the tool is going to suggest for this article:

Love it! And I can go further and ask for more suggestions:

And now, let’s make ChatGPT generate a few meta descriptions for this post:

A bit too screamy, as for me, but still a very good result.

By the way, if you're running a WordPress site, make sure to use the AIOSEO plugin to easily add title tags and meta descriptions to your WordPress website pages.

11. Find content gaps

Using ChatGPT, you can identify content gaps in your existing content. In other words, the tool can help you find what’s missing in your blog post and how to improve it.

This can be beneficial not only for readers but also for Google, as comprehensive content has a higher chance of ranking.

In this prompt, you first describe the task to ChatGPT and then add your existing copy. Take a look:

And here are the suggestions ChatGPT made for me:

The chatbot has touched upon a few points I actually covered in my guide, but it’s also offered me some theses I missed. I’ll surely consider them when updating the post. Very handy.

Important note: Since my blog post is too long, I only specified its headings in the prompt. If your blog post is short, it’s better to include a full copy. This way, ChatGPT will come up with more relevant suggestions.

12. Rewrite poor content

Let’s say, you have some poorly written content on your site. 

Maybe you were in a rush when working on it, or your freelance copywriter was not good enough. The reasons are countless.

This poor content keeps sitting on your site giving you zero traffic. And, most likely, readers who somehow come across it find it disappointing.

The good news is that ChatGPT can help you resurrect such content.

To make things work, we’ll build a multistep prompt where:

As a result, the tool will analyze passage A and will try to mimic all the writing peculiarities present there.

Once you get a better copy from ChatGPT, fuel it with some relevant keywords. This will increase your chances of ranking high with a newly updated piece of content.

Technical SEO prompts

13. Generate Schema markup in seconds

Schema markup is a semantic vocabulary of standardized tags that are added to a page’s HTML. These tags help Google understand the content of a web page and better represent it in search results.

As a bonus, proper Schema markup boosts your chances of getting a rich snippet on Google:

FAQ snippet in search results thanks to the proper markup

ChatGPT can now help you generate Schema markup in seconds. Take a look:

In my prompt, I asked ChatGPT to generate the FAQPage Schema. But the tool works great with other types of markup as well. 

If you are new to the topic, I recommend that you check these 9 popular types of Schema and use ChatGPT to generate the code.

Always review the results of ChatGPT’s work – here’s a Schema markup validator to help you out. Also, if your site is on WordPress, you can use dedicated SEO plugins to quickly generate all kinds of Schema markup for your pages.

14. Generate Hreflang tags for your local pages

If your site has multiple language versions, you can use hreflang tags to tell search engines which language and locale each page uses.

This will help avoid duplicate content issues. Plus, search engines will be able to figure out which version of your content is relevant to a particular segment of your audience.

ChatGPT lets anyone, even a newbie, generate hreflang tags fast and stress-free. Here’s an example:

Neat! I can even ask the chatbot how and where I need to add hreflang tags so that they work properly:

15. Create rules for robots.txt

ChatGPT can help with editing your robots.txt file. 

This file controls how search engines crawl your website, and you can actually work on it manually. But ChatGPT will save you tons of time on this task. Plus, you won’t need to learn the syntax of the file.

Here’s the prompt I’ve used to create rules for my robots.txt and the response from ChatGPT:

By the way, you can also create and edit robots.txt in WebSite Auditor. Using this method, you can fetch your existing robots.txt, edit it right in the tool, and then instantly upload a new version of the file onto your site via FTP.

16. Redirect URLs with custom .htaccess rules

The .htaccess file is a configuration file used on web servers. This file defines various settings for your website, including URL redirects, access control, and other server-side features.

And again, ChatGPT can help you create rules for the .htaccess file in a simple way.

For instance, I can ask ChatGPT to create an .htaccess rule that will redirect all users from the HTTP version of my site to the HTTPS one:

I mean, wow! Someone who’s just starting their SEO journey would have to read tons of guides to write this manually. Now, it’s a matter of a few seconds and a correct ChatGPT prompt.

You can also use ChatGPT to generate redirect rules for specific pages:

Remember that you should always test and review each piece of code ChatGPT generates for you. This use case is no exception, as even a small error in the .htaccess file can cause serious site-wide issues.

Other must-try SEO prompts for ChatGPT

17. Generate RegEx for easier reporting

Regex, or regular expressions, is a way to search for patterns in content. It's like a special language that allows you to search for specific words or phrases in a large amount of text.

And RegEx is extremely helpful when it comes to SEO reporting. My favorite use case is RegEx + Google Search Console Performance reports.

Before ChatGPT, I’d been crafting RegEx myself, which took a lot of time. Now, I can ask the chatbot to help me with that.

For instance, I want to find all ranking keywords on my site that start with the letter A. I feed this prompt into ChatGPT and get the response instantly:

I then go to Search Console and paste this RegEx to the filter:

And voila, I get all the ranking keywords that start with A:

You can create hundreds of RegEx variations using ChatGPT. Say, you need to find keywords phrased as questions. Easy:

18. Find link-building partners

Backlinks are still crucial for your SEO success, despite Google’s liaisons saying they are less important than in the past. And having high-quality links pointing to your website can improve your search engine visibility and drive more organic traffic to your site.

There are multiple ways you can search for link-building partners. And now, ChatGPT is one of them.

If you want the tool to help you with this task, use this simple prompt:

Don’t be afraid to ask for more prospects. And if the suggested websites seem way too popular and are unlikely to accept your link-building request, ask ChatGPT to share some less popular websites on the topic.

19. Craft outreach emails

One of the most time-consuming parts of any link-building campaign is the outreach process.

You first need to come up with an email and then send it to your link-building prospect. And then, repeat the same thing a hundred times. Exhausting!

ChatGPT won’t help with sending emails, but it can ease the process of crafting one.

Here, you must feed the chatbot with as many details as possible while being super specific:

And here’s what ChatGPT wrote in response to my prompt:

Just like with any other prompt, make sure to review the suggested response for accuracy and relevance. Fix what you don’t like or simply ask ChatGPT to rewrite the letter.

20. Do SEO research the smart way

Last and less obvious ChatGPT prompt. I like this one a lot and use it very often.

When doing my research for various SEO topics, I have to study tons of information. And the fact that nowadays most materials take the form of long reads doesn’t help at all.

ChatGPT is a life-saver here. 

For instance, I’m writing a blog post and I need to quickly check what types of redirects exist:

In just a few seconds, I get a quick and, what’s more important, definitive answer to my question.

This feature is a real gem for newbies in SEO. Say, you’re just starting with your website SEO. All you have to do is just open ChatGPT and ask:

Brilliant. Now you can go into further detail:

It almost feels like you’ve just hired a personal SEO consultant, doesn’t it? 

The only drawback is that ChatGPT’s data is limited to 2021. So, if you want to get any information about recent events like the latest Google updates or something like that, ChatGPT won’t come up with a relevant response.

Need more SEO prompts for ChatGPT?

I’ve made my best to collect some really cool ChatGPT prompts that can help boost your SEO.

As a bonus, I have a Chrome extension for you that integrates hundreds of ready-made prompts into ChatGPT.

The extension is called AIPRM for ChatGPT. 

Once you install it and follow the setup instructions, your ChatGPT’s home screen will look like that:

Find the tab Topic and select SEO. Now you have access to over 500 ChatGPT prompts for SEO.

Final thoughts

Wow, it’s been a long post. Thank you for reading it till the very end!

ChatGPT is perfectly able to revolutionize SEO. However, it's important to note that while ChatGPT can automate certain tasks, it still requires human oversight to work properly. 

With that said, I'm curious to know your thoughts on AI and its role in SEO. Do you believe that AI will eventually replace human expertise in this field, or do you think that there will always be a need for human input? Let me know in our Facebook community!

P.S. And if you still don’t believe in the power of AI… Would you change your mind if I told you this conclusion was written completely by ChatGPT?