Why ChatGPT Falls Short for Keyword Research and Why SEO Tools Are Superior

So, let’s think about why using ChatGPT for keyword research isn’t the best of ideas. If you’ve been relying on it to find your next top-ranking keywords, you might want to stick around and hear me out.

First off, let’s get to grips with what ChatGPT and other large language models (LLMs) are actually built for. These models are designed to understand and generate human-like text. They’re brilliant at answering questions, drafting emails, even whipping up some marketing copy. They’re trained on vast datasets covering all sorts of information from the web and other sources. That’s why they seem so knowledgeable on just about any topic you throw at them.

But here’s the problem: they’re not trained on real-time, constantly updating data that’s crucial for search engine optimisation. They’re missing that fundamental piece of the puzzle – real search engine insights.

ChatGPT doesn’t have access to the keywords people are searching for right now. It doesn’t know about trends that are gaining momentum or the search volumes associated with those terms. That’s a significant drawback when you’re trying to optimise your content for search engines.

Lack of Real Search Data

LLMs are trained on data up to a certain point in time and aren’t connected to live search data from Google or any other search engine. This means they don’t know current trends, and they lack insights into which keywords have high or low search volumes.

On the other hand, proper SEO tools like KeywordsPeopleUse or others like Ahrefs and SEMrush pull data directly from search engines. They provide accurate search volumes, difficulty scores, and other valuable metrics. With KeywordsPeopleUse, for instance, we utilise live data from Google, including the ‘People Also Ask‘ feature, ensuring you’re tapping into current trends.

No Search Intent Analysis

We all know that understanding search intent is critical for effective SEO. Search engines categorise keywords into various intents like informational, navigational, commercial, and transactional. They’re trying to figure out what you mean and what you’re trying to achieve with your search query.

While LLMs might make educated guesses based on phrasing, they can’t reliably categorise keywords based on intent drawn from actual search engine data. Google knows, for each query, what kind of content people interact with the most, based on user behaviours. LLMs don’t have access to this data. So, you could end up optimising for keywords that don’t align with your target audience’s intent, which isn’t ideal.

No Keyword Difficulty or Competition Analysis

Understanding how difficult it is to rank for a keyword and what the competition looks like is essential. SEO tools can provide this data because they know how people interact with sites, how many backlinks sites have, and so on. LLMs simply don’t have this capability.

Lack of Regional and Language Specificity

LLMs don’t really grasp how people in different countries use search engines and the kind of content they’re after. For example, with KeywordsPeopleUse, you can set the language and country, and we’ll fetch data based on that from Google and other sources. ChatGPT doesn’t offer that level of filtering, so it can’t provide the exact terms people are using in different regions and languages.

No Real-Time Updates

SEO is always evolving. Trends change, algorithms get updated frequently. ChatGPT doesn’t receive real-time updates or have access to live search data, so it can’t reflect these shifts. You’re always going to be looking at a snapshot from the past, which isn’t particularly helpful in the fast-paced world of SEO.

Why SEO Tools Are Superior for Keyword Research

So, let’s flip the coin and look at why SEO tools are the better choice for keyword research.

Comprehensive Data Access

SEO tools pull data directly from search engines. Many use Google’s own APIs or scrape Google to get accurate, real-time data. They’re able to see how trends are changing, how seasonal fluctuations occur, and they can analyse the competitive landscape for keywords.

Keyword Suggestions and Related Terms

A huge advantage of a tool like KeywordsPeopleUse is that we don’t just give you a keyword; we also suggest related terms and intent chains. You can see how, from a seed keyword or question, we can find all the related questions and the subsequent intent chains that follow. This comes from real data, not just educated guesses.

Filtering and Data Manipulation

With a tool, you can filter data, query it, and drill down to get the exact insights you need. This level of interrogation helps you make informed decisions about the content you need to create.

Historical Data

Within KeywordsPeopleUse, you can start collecting historical data. By integrating with Google Search Console, we can provide historical context on how your keywords are ranking against your content over time. This perspective is something you can’t get with ChatGPT.

But ChatGPT Isn’t Useless for SEO

Now, I’ve been giving ChatGPT a bit of a hard time, but to be fair, it isn’t completely useless for SEO. It does have its uses.

Generating Content Ideas

While LLMs aren’t great at finding keywords, once you’ve found them using your SEO tool, you can feed those keywords into ChatGPT to help brainstorm content topics. It can assist in generating article ideas and help you build out subtopics around those keywords.

Drafting Meta Descriptions or Summaries

ChatGPT can be handy when you need to draft meta descriptions or summaries for your content. It can help you craft engaging snippets that might improve your click-through rates.

Content Optimisation Suggestions

It can also suggest ways to improve readability, add context, or break down complex topics. Just be cautious and ensure you review and humanise any content to avoid any penalties from search engines for AI-generated content.

Final thoughts

While ChatGPT and other LLMs are incredible tools, especially compared to what we had just a few years ago, they’re still not built to handle the data-intensive requirements of SEO keyword research. If you’re serious about ranking and driving traffic, you need to use tools that pull real-time data based on how people actually use the web. Tools like KeywordsPeopleUse mine data sources that reflect real user behaviour, helping you determine what content you should be creating and which keywords you should be targeting.

Remember, ChatGPT should be considered an assistant, not a one-stop solution. It can support your SEO efforts but shouldn’t replace the specialised tools designed for the job.