Automated SEO: what to automate and what not to
Key Takeaways
- Which checks can run on a schedule?
- What still needs a person?
- Does automation replace the decision of what to publish?
Which checks can run on a schedule?
The checks your own Search Console property already reports. The Core Web Vitals report groups URLs by Poor, Need improvement, or Good, using field data for LCP, INP, and CLS. A URL group needs a threshold amount of data for both LCP and CLS or it is omitted. The report is a sample of indexed URLs, not a full list.
If the property is new or there is not enough field data, the report says no data is available. For one URL, Search Console points to a live test in PageSpeed Insights or Lighthouse (Core Web Vitals report). A scheduled look at that report, plus a crawler you already trust for broken links and missing titles, is the repeatable part. This page states no tool price.
The related service is search visibility.
What still needs a person?
What to publish, and whether a draft is true. Google's helpful-content page says extensive automation used to produce content on many topics is a warning sign, and that using automation, including AI, to produce content for the primary purpose of manipulating rankings violates the spam policies (creating helpful content).
The spam policies say: "Scaled content abuse is when many pages are generated for the primary purpose of manipulating search rankings and not helping users." One listed example is: "Using generative AI tools or other similar tools to generate many pages without adding value for users." Link spam is creating links to or from a site primarily to manipulate rankings (spam policies).
A person chooses the topic, checks the facts, and edits the draft. A monthly review of the report is the decision. The report is not the decision.
Does automation replace the decision of what to publish?
No. Google says search engine optimization helps when it is applied to people-first content, content created primarily for people rather than to manipulate rankings (creating helpful content). Schedule the checks. Keep the choice of what to publish with a person.
References
- Google Search Console Help. Core Web Vitals report. https://support.google.com/webmasters/answer/9205520
- Google Search Central. Creating helpful, reliable, people-first content. https://developers.google.com/search/docs/fundamentals/creating-helpful-content
- Google Search Central. Spam policies. Scaled content abuse and link spam. https://developers.google.com/search/docs/essentials/spam-policies
- Related service: search visibility.