Automate SEO: 8 tasks you shouldn’t do manually
▼ Summary
– AI can automate repetitive SEO tasks like content audits, page outlines, and keyword research, but always do a final check yourself.
– To find automation opportunities, ask if you would assign a task to an intern; let AI do 70% of the work, then complete the final 30% yourself.
– Automation works for tasks like building content calendars, keyword research, internal linking, and creating outlines, saving hours per quarter or per page.
– It does not fix broken systems, incomplete data, or lack of resources for making changes.
– Use simple tools like formulas and custom GPTs for tasks like data validation, metadata optimization, and formatting, with time savings compounding through repeated use.
Take a hard look at your SEO checklist. Chances are, you’re buried in the same repetitive tasks week after week, from data entry to content audits. The good news is that AI automation can transform these mundane duties into fast, efficient workflows, freeing you up for higher-level strategy.
Beyond note-taking and reminders, you can now automate keyword research, page outlines, and performance audits. Start small with simple automations for daily drudgery, then scale up with custom GPTs. Just remember: always do a final human review. Large language models rarely nail every detail, so treat them as a powerful assistant, not a replacement.
How to spot automation opportunities
A quick litmus test: Would you assign this task to an intern? If yes, you can likely automate it. Let the AI handle the heavy lifting (research, rough drafts, data analysis) for about 70% of the work. You then refine the output with better prompts, final edits, and publishing.
Based on typical intern duties, these tasks are prime for automation:
- Analyze traffic, engagement, and ranking trends from raw data.To find more automation wins, audit your current workflows, review onboarding docs, and ask your team what they dread most. Also, ask AI directly what it can handle.Automation won’t fix broken foundations. If your tracking is incomplete, your data is unreliable. If you lack resources or approval processes are slow, automation can’t force change. You still need solid systems in place.
8 high-impact SEO tasks to automate now
1. Content calendar
The first thing I automated was our team’s content calendar draft. Using formulas like UNIQUE, MAXIFS, IFERROR, and VLOOKUP, I pulled data from multiple reports into a master sheet to flag pages due for updates (most content needs refreshing every 1-2 years, especially for freshness signals). Pair this with a performance audit and a custom GPT to generate the first draft.
Prompt example: “Based on the sitemap, performance report, and last quarter’s content plan, give me a table of pages due for an update. Include URL, title, writer, sessions, bounce, conversion rate, and notes. Also add pages that dropped more than 30% in sessions or conversion rate. For duplicates, add performance data to the notes column without creating a new row. Format notes as: ‘Sessions -XX% L90D, conversion rate -XX% L90D’.”
Time saved: 8 hours per quarter.
2. Keyword and prompt research
Ahrefs and Semrush content gap reports are powerful but often cluttered with irrelevant data, like branded keywords you don’t want. AI can refine your list. Start with your longest-tail keywords from Google Search Console (sort by length), then ask AI to generate similar ones.
Watch out: AI often misreads user intent. It might suggest targeting “cats” for a local vet homepage. You won’t rank for that broad term, but “cat vet” or “cat care” is realistic.
Prompt example: “You’re an SEO analyst updating this page. Using this Ahrefs report with competitor analysis and keywords, identify the 20 most important keywords ranked by MSV and relevance. Exclude branded keywords. Then list 10 ways to improve the page for those keywords, with exact quotes from the copy you’d change.”
Time saved: 15 minutes per page.
3. Internal linking
Internal links are critical for crawling. Export an Ahrefs backlink report (don’t group similar links) showing pages with few internal links, then feed it into a GPT with your sitemap. Ahrefs also offers internal link ideas, though it’s best for simple sites. Encourage your editorial team to use this during drafts.
Prompt example: “Using this internal link report, sitemap, and linking best practices, suggest 5-10 pages I could link to. Only include pages with fewer than 10 internal links. Exclude pages with ‘author’ or ‘about’ in the URL.”
Time saved: 10 minutes per page.
4. Outlines and briefs
Document a basic template for different tasks, then set up a GPT to create stronger outlines and add alerting. Input a template, an example page, and specifics for the current draft. Link your keyword research or internal linking GPT to fill intent gaps. Each custom GPT should focus on one major task, then link to supporting tools.
Automation example: Create a Jira survey that auto-generates a ticket, use a custom GPT to refine it before grooming, and set up a Slack channel with Jira notifications for ticket updates.
Time saved: 20 minutes per ticket.
5. Brand standards and compliance
If you face strict compliance or legal reviews, create a custom business GPT with those teams. Let writers run high-risk drafts through it to catch issues before final review.
Prompt example: “Does this page use correct terminology for the client? Highlight passages that violate editorial, compliance, or brand standards. Include a one-sentence explanation, a citation with page number from the standards, and three better alternatives.”
Time saved: 10 minutes per page.
6. Data validation and reports
Manual data validation is tedious. Use conditional formatting in Sheets to highlight rows with more than a 10% deviation, or apply a color scale. Use a GPT to diagnose why data doesn’t match across reports.
Prompt example: “Review this page performance report and data troubleshooting guidelines. Identify rows that skew the average most. Export a table with those rows and a column explaining why each may cause issues and how to investigate.”
Time saved: 1 hour per 100 rows.
7. Metadata and schema
Write or edit title tags and meta descriptions from scratch. Even if Google rewrites them, they still signal page content. Review top-performing combinations for similar pages (CTR is useful, though higher-ranking pages often get higher CTR regardless). For schema, use formulas to generate it, then validate after publishing.
Prompt example: “You’re a website writer updating a page. Turn these FAQs into valid FAQ schema using the sample provided. Remove unnecessary formatting, keep links, and convert bullets into paragraphs.”
Time saved: 10 minutes.
8. Formatting and shortcoding
If you use HTML, inline CSS, or shortcodes, automate to reduce errors. Use Excel or Sheets functions to concatenate code and content, or format tables for your CMS. For advanced needs, create a formatting GPT that applies best practices. If your AI tool can’t read live pages, paste the code first.
Prompt example: “Using the formatting reference and brand guidelines, format this page using best practices. Include links, tables, CTAs, and engagement elements. Then check for issues like incorrect wording, missing closing tags, or stray brackets.”
Time saved: 15 minutes per page.
Make automation work for you
Automation doesn’t have to be complex or time-consuming. The time savings compound with repeated use, allowing your team to focus on strategic work that requires human judgment. Encourage your team to identify manual drudgery and experiment with custom GPTs to streamline repetitive tasks. The goal is to let automation handle the heavy lifting so you can do the thinking.
(Source: Search Engine Land)
