Three Huge Pros of 100 Percent Human Written Content
When it comes to copy for business websites, we are seeing a real-time split into two camps:
Those that use AI tools to write as much of it as possible. I especially see this among entrepreneurs on X (formerly Twitter) who talk about buying multiple domains and using AI as a shortcut to get human-like content up on all their pages asap, so they can make money from their websites as quickly as possible.
Those that use human writers for most if not all of their page copy. Folks in this camp might use ChatGPT to develop topics and/or to revise an initial human-written draft, but they rely on humans to create the final, published page that’s target audience-optimized.
I am proudly in the second camp. Here’s why.
As I shared recently on LinkedIn, my blog is 100% written by me, and not even 1% is written by an AI tool. (Note: I do use AI to generate some images. I justify this because both human visitors and search engines are paying much more attention to my words than to the visuals in order to discern if my content is a match for their needs, concerns, and interests — and search queries, in the case of search engines.)
Here is why it’s smart for small business owners — especially solopreneurs — to consider minimizing the use of AI in website copywriting:
You stand out to both human visitors and search engines with your original observations and experiences. As I covered in a recent post, based on new research, firsthand human experience is a top factor that search engines are looking for to rank page content highly.
You strengthen your ability to think critically as well as outside the box, leading to improvement in your product/service delivery. So far, critical thinking, especially when it involves memory (ie, business history), still retains a human advantage. Keeping this muscle “flexed” through the vehicle of content writing and editing will help you to address customer or client curveballs much more quickly.
You position yourself, or improve your position, as a thought leader. For example, based on the strength of my website and social content, I was recently asked to guest on a podcast, and to be a featured speaker at a virtual networking event. I can say with total confidence that this recognition would not have happened if I used 50+% AI copy on my marketing channels.
My website numbers (proof in the pudding)
From the first full month my website has been up (June 2023) through the end of March 2024, I’ve had 1,400+ unique visitors. Here’s how this breaks down among non-paid channels, excluding direct traffic:
14.9% from social (I currently actively post on LinkedIn, X, and YouTube, and I also have a presence on Facebook and Instagram)
5.8% from referrals
5.3% from search
This adds up to 26% of unique visitors finding me based on the quality of my written content. I’m including social because not only do I also write 100% of the copy I use there, but the copy I write for my website gets used there as well in the form of shared-link page titles and topic excerpts that draw in my followers and others that see it based on social network algorithms.
That quarter-plus share of organic and referral traffic is meaningful to my business. I wouldn’t want to live without it in an alternate universe where I decided to use AI to write the majority of my website and social copy.
If you’re in my camp of limiting AI in your online copy…
One recommendation I have is to, at least periodically, shout from the rooftops that you either use AI very sparingly in your copy, or don’t use it at all. That in itself can help to increase the size of your tribe, as you attract folks who do the same for the reasons I listed above — and likely for other reasons as well.
Rubber meets the road in the form of conversions from all that great, human-written content
If you’re using mostly or completely human-written copy on your site and need help understanding how it and your calls to action translate to leads, purchases, and other desired outcomes, let’s talk. I specialize in setting up Google Analytics properties and using Google Tag Manager with it to set up and track conversion events that are customized to your unique business and goals.
