SEO EVALUATION WITH AI AND CONVENTIONAL TOOLS: CASE STUDY OF HIGHER EDUCATION WEBSITES IN CROATIA

This study evaluates the SEO performance of three Croatian higher education websites by comparing conventional SEO auditing tools with generative AI-based analysis. The research identifies key technical and on-page deficiencies such as missing meta descriptions, poor heading structures, and a lack of schema markup and XML sitemaps. While AI tools like ChatGPT and ClaudeAI offer valuable strategic and content-level suggestions, they fall short in technical precision compared to traditional tools like RankMath and SpeedTest Insights. The study also highlights the effectiveness of open-source and free SEO tools in low-resource environments. Results suggest that a hybrid approach, combining AI and conventional tools, provides the most comprehensive SEO evaluation. The paper concludes with suggestions for future research to explore long-term SEO improvements and broader institutional comparisons.