Ever thought about how to make your webpage content easy to understand for search engines? Well, many business owners have found a way to make their websites rank well on search engines and address the needs of their users. Known as Semantic SEO, this strategy entirely focuses on developing content for relevant topics instead of focusing on keywords.
As the value of high-quality, comprehensive content is on the rise, implementing such a strategy has become extremely important for many websites. With such an approach, your website will be able to improve its ranking well in SERPs.
In this blog post, we will shed light on Semantic SEO and the importance it carries in any SEO strategy. We will also share tips to use it for your digital marketing strategy.
What is Semantic SEO?
Semantic SEO is a procedure of giving more depth and meaning to web content and its overall theme. It helps Google’s crawlers and other search engines to understand your content effectively. The main focus of Semantic SEO is on understanding search intent and offering high-quality and comprehensive information that meets the user’s expectations.
In simple terms, semantic SEO is a process where you optimize the content on your website for a particular topic, not for a keyword.
In this approach, the relationships between the related entities and concepts are considered to optimize your website and deliver valuable content to the audience.
Let’s say in the international car market, users are searching for “Sports Utility Vehicle.” Google will understand that they could also mean “crossover SUVs,” “pick-up trucks,” or “4X4 SUVs,” as all these words carry similar semantic meanings.
This is why it is important to include multiple synonyms and relevant terms to develop content that is natural and more engaging.
Why Semantic SEO is Extremely Important?
A long time ago, in the 2010s, Google used to evaluate a page’s topic as per the relevant keywords found in it. For instance, if you wrote a page that used the keyword “cybersecurity services” repeatedly, that made Google realize: “The keyword appears all over the pages. This page must be about cybersecurity services.”
However, things changed for the better in 2013 when Google released its Hummingbird algorithm. This search engine algorithm revolutionized how Google Search worked in a major way. Instead of only looking at keywords, they may now read and interpret the entire topic present on a webpage, similarly as a human would do.
For example, if you typed “security services benefits” in the search bar prior to Hummingbird, Google would’ve shown you pages with an exact phrase on the webpage.
However, Hummingbird is much smarter than that. On the other hand, Google still relies on keywords, yet not relying on them completely.
So, instead of scanning pages for keywords, they seek pages covering the core topic “Cybersecurity services and their importance” in the best possible manner. It will also showcase the result in front of the user on the screen.
How Can AI and NLP Influence Semantic SEO?
You should have an understanding of how Google ranks websites and showcases information on SERPs. This will help you develop relevant content and optimize your site’s rankings and visibility on search pages.
Firstly, you need to keep in mind that Google has been constantly moving towards a semantic SEO approach that is more humanized. This approach helps them to understand and rank content accordingly.
Apart from Hummingbird, Google has been utilizing various other tools to improve their semantic SEO approach constantly:
-
Knowledge Graph:
Since 2012, Google has utilized this sophisticated and large database to organize information and enhance its understanding of the relationships between various concepts and entities involved in a specific topic.
-
RankBrain:
Since 2015, this machine-learning algorithm has assisted Google in understanding search intent better. It also offered more relevant search results to the users.
-
BERT:
In 2019, Google introduced a revolutionary technology that significantly improved conversational search and search intent. It emphasized “less important” words and phrases, such as conjunctions and the way they were placed between the queries.
Flash-forward to 2023, Google finally announced that it would redefine traditional search by integrating generative AI with it. It also began the early phase of the search generative experience, which would be released in the future as AI Overviews.
On May 14, 2024, Google released the AI Overviews. This feature generated engaging AI snippets at the top of the search pages.
Best Practices to Follow For Semantic SEO
Here are some of the best practices you can follow while implementing the semantic SEO strategy:
-
Publish Content That is Topically Relevant:
Recently, Backlinko conducted research using Google Analytics, in which over 11 million search results were analyzed. They used Clearscope, an AI-powered platform, to discover that comprehensive content with high content grades performed majorly better than content that didn’t cover a topic deeply.
Hence, you need to write content that covers an intended topic in-depth. It should cover everything your target audience would be looking for.
-
Create Your Topic’s Outline:
This is the best approach to ensure that your content remains topically relevant. This includes a list of subtopics that you will be covering in your content. They further help you write content that will be easily understood by Google. Let’s say you are writing a blog post describing the benefits of pay-per-click. You will describe everything involved, from the strategies to ad copies.
-
Answer Frequently Asked Questions:
In recent times, Google has also added a box labelled “People Also Ask” in search results. This box is basically Google showcasing the most important questions people ask. When you answer these queries in your content, not only do you rank on your target keyword, but also you will show up in such boxes.
To Summarize
Getting to the top of SERPs is made easier with Semantic SEO. It helps you shape up your content in such a way that it addresses the query of your potential readers in a satisfactory manner. This will further help you rank well with search keywords that resonate with your content. That’s how Semantic SEO works for your website.
At SEO Toronto Experts, we bring you a wide array of semantic SEO services. From Local SEO to website development, we offer you a comprehensive range of services that will help you establish your business online and drive more sales and revenue. Contact us now and script a success story for your business with our digital marketing prowess.
