32 Module Ten: AI in Professional Writing and Content Creation

Week 10 Overview

• Include a deeper focus on SEO, content marketing, and business communications.
• Introduce practical exercises on optimizing content for digital platforms.
• Week 10: Video discussion (Prompt Exercise #4) Due Sunday

10.01 Watch Presentation on SEO and AI

This presentation is current as of April 2025. AI technologies change fast, so you will likely need to update this content.

PLACEHOLDER FOR WEEK 10 VIDEO

10.02 Read Cyborgs and Centaurs SEO Terms and Prompts

Read these two brief chapters in Cyborgs and Centaurs.

• SEO Technical Guide: Terms You Need to Know
• SEO Prompting with Large Language Models

Bonus:

Since Google has been a leader in SEO for several years, I asked Gemini to write a Deep Research report on SEO tools and AI for educators. Here’s what it came up with:

The Role and Impact of AI in Professional Content Creation: A Guide to Free Tools for Educational Exploration 

10.03 The Role and Impact of AI in Professional Content Creation

Instructions: Begin your post with 🤖 if you’re sharing AI-generated content or insights, and 😀 if you’re sharing your personal thoughts and reflections.

Address the following in your discussion post:

1. 😀 After exploring AI tools for SEO this week, what are your thoughts on the role AI could play in professional writing and content marketing?
2. 😀 What concerns do you have about relying on AI for SEO optimization and professional content creation?
3. 🤖 Use an AI tool to analyze the SEO effectiveness of a company blog post or professional article of your choice. Share the article link and the AI’s analysis of its SEO strengths and weaknesses.
4. 😀 Reflect on how this SEO analysis connects to our course discussions or your personal views on creating discoverable yet authentic content.

Response Requirements:

• Due Sunday 11:59 PM.
• No responses to classmates are required.

Grading Criteria:

• Thorough completion of all four discussion prompts
• Thoughtful analysis of AI’s role in professional writing and SEO
• Clear presentation of your AI-assisted SEO analysis
• Engagement with peers’ posts that extends the conversation

Example Response:

🤖 After exploring AI tools for SEO this week, my thoughts on the role AI could play in professional writing and content marketing are that it can be a powerful assistant, particularly for data analysis and content optimization. AI can quickly process large amounts of data to identify trends, keywords, and potential content gaps. This can significantly improve efficiency and effectiveness in content creation.

😀 However, I do have concerns about relying too heavily on AI for SEO optimization and professional content creation. One major concern is the potential for content to become generic and lack originality. AI might prioritize keywords and trends over authentic voice and unique perspectives, which are crucial for building trust and engagement with an audience. Additionally, over-reliance on AI could diminish the human element in content creation, leading to a loss of creativity and critical thinking skills.

🤖 I used an AI SEO analysis tool to analyze this blog post from HubSpot: https://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/content-marketing-examples

The AI analysis highlighted the following:

• Strengths:
  • Strong use of relevant keywords throughout the content.
  • Well-structured headings and subheadings for readability and SEO.
  • Effective use of internal and external linking.
  • Comprehensive coverage of the topic, providing valuable information.
• Weaknesses:
  • Potential for more diverse keyword variations to capture a wider audience.
  • Some images could benefit from improved alt text for better accessibility and SEO.
  • Some of the headings could be longer tail keywords.

😀 This SEO analysis connects to our course discussions on creating discoverable yet authentic content by highlighting the balance between optimization and genuine value. While AI can help identify SEO opportunities, it’s crucial to remember that content should ultimately serve the audience’s needs and interests. The HubSpot article, even with minor areas for improvement, provides real value. It is not just stuffed with keywords. The analysis reinforces the idea that effective content marketing requires a strategic blend of data-driven insights and human creativity. We must use AI as a tool to enhance our efforts, not replace our judgment and originality.

10.04 Week 10 Video Assignment: AI-Assisted SEO Blog Post Creation

Overview

In this assignment, you’ll experience the professional writing workflow of creating an SEO-optimized blog post for a business using AI assistance. You’ll document your process in a 5-7 minute video presentation that demonstrates your prompt engineering skills and critical evaluation of AI-generated content. Due Sunday 11:59 pm

Step 1: Select a Business

Choose an existing business for which you’ll create a blog post. This can be:

• Your own business (if applicable)
• A local business you’re familiar with
• A company you admire or would like to work for
• A company where you currently work (with appropriate permissions)

Step 2: SEO Research with AI

Use an AI tool to help you identify effective SEO keywords and strategies for your chosen business:

1. Research the business, their target audience, and competitors
2. Prompt an AI tool to suggest relevant keywords and SEO strategies
3. Select 3-5 keywords/phrases to incorporate into your blog post
4. Document this process with screenshots or by recording your AI conversation

Step 3: Blog Post Creation

Work with an AI tool to draft a 500-800 word blog post that:

1. Aligns with the business’s brand voice and goals
2. Naturally incorporates your chosen SEO keywords
3. Provides valuable content for the target audience
4. Includes appropriate headings, meta description, and call-to-action

Step 4: Critical Evaluation

Review the AI-generated blog post and make necessary edits, considering:

• Factual accuracy (correct any errors or assumptions)
• Content quality and engagement
• Effective use of SEO elements
• Alignment with brand voice
• Overall professionalism and polish

Step 5: Create Your Video Presentation (5-7 minutes)

Create a screen-recorded video that includes:

1. Introduction (1 minute)
   • Briefly introduce yourself
   • Identify the business you selected and why
   • Explain the blog post topic and target audience
2. SEO Process (1-2 minutes)
   • Show how you used AI to research keywords
   • Explain your keyword selection rationale
   • Demonstrate your prompt engineering approach
3. Blog Creation Process (1-2 minutes)
   • Show how you prompted the AI to generate the blog post
   • Highlight your specific instructions for tone, style, and SEO
   • Share examples of how you refined the prompts based on initial outputs
4. Critical Analysis (2 minutes)
   • Evaluate the factual accuracy of the AI output
   • Assess the effectiveness of SEO implementation
   • Discuss the engagement level and quality of the content
   • Explain what edits you made and why
5. Conclusion (1 minute)
   • Reflect on the strengths and limitations of using AI for professional blog writing
   • Share what you learned about effective prompt engineering for business content
   • Suggest how you might apply these skills in your future career

Submission Requirements

• Upload your 5-7 minute video to the assignment link in Blackboard
• Attach your final blog post as a PDF document
• Include screenshots or text of your AI interactions as an appendix

Evaluation Criteria

Your assignment will be evaluated on:

• Thoughtful selection and implementation of SEO keywords (25%)
• Quality and effectiveness of AI prompting techniques (25%)
• Critical analysis and improvement of AI-generated content (25%)
• Clarity and professionalism of video presentation (15%)
• Quality of final blog post (10%)

Resources

Screencast tools