Have you heard of semantic SEO before? If you work in the world of search engine optimization and improving the ranking of pages and websites you have certainly heard about this world.
A world that often remains obscure unless a few points are clarified. First, the very concept of semantics, that is, the meaning of words, objects, forms. In short, of communication.
Semantics is that area of linguistics that studies the meanings of terms crystallized in particular cultures. Let’s try applying this to search engines where every day our potential customers type in words to search for something: now the concept of semantic SEO begins to take shape. But also substance. So, shall we explore this topic in clear words?
What is semantic SEO, a definition
By this term – often known as semantic SEO – we mean the work of creating content based on search intent and not on a single keyword. The evolution of this concept goes hand in hand with that of search engines: in the past, Google was tied to the use of keywords in the text.
Today, the process leading to Google ranking allows one to go beyond form to look at substance, the ability of the content-not just text-to satisfy the search intent.
For more: how Google search works
Hummingbird algorithm, what changes?
If we talk about semantic SEO and Google, we have to mention the Hummingbird algorithm update, a decisive step that has allowed the search engine to change its tune.
In fact, anyone who has been working in the web marketing industry for a few decades remembers what text on websites and blogs used to be like: a constant chase after the famous keyword density. That is, the amount of keywords within the text. The assumption: the more times it is mentioned, the greater the opportunity for ranking.
Clearly, the quality of the text was bad. With semantic search, and with the 2013 Hummingbird update, Google has massively revolutionized the world of SEO copywriting by trying to give value not to texts that focus on a keyword but on a search intent. That is, what people really want when they type (or dictate) certain words.
How to optimize for semantic SEO?
First, we need to understand what this path means. We have given the definition, but what changes for those doing on-page SEO optimization? First, we need to abandon the schematism that binds us to the single keyword and the mental cages of various plugins such as Yoast.
Well understood, having a plugin on the website will not harm your path to semantic SEO. But observing the decontextualized rules that push you to have all the green lights will.
So, the first point to adhere to is to stop thinking in terms of single keyword matching but to embrace an overall view of the text. Then, there are some steps to apply semantics to SEO that allow us to improve the creative process of content.
Keyword Research
The first step to work in the surroundings of semantic SEO: adjust the keyword research work on this concept. Thus, one does not pursue a keyword and create a resource dedicated only to that combination. Rather, you study a topic and identify what is the most convenient search intent.
That is, the one that allows us to intercept with a single page the greatest number of searches. Let’s take an example with Seozoom in hand and assume that we have to write a content dedicated to the difficulties of those who cannot pay their mortgages with related solutions to solve the problem.
Thanks to the specific function dedicated to search intent, it is possible to find out whether we are analyzing a key topic or search that can be covered by an article dedicated to a broader theme.
As this screenshot suggests, we are talking about an informational search (the audience types it in to get clarification, not to buy something) and we can write an article dedicated to a different topic but capable of covering a range of searches for which it will be useless to create content.
Defining structured data
Semantic SEO also relies on a set of structured data that allows you to give meaning to what you write in an article or on a web page. A number remains a number but if you accompany it with a string of code you can tell Google that you have entered a price. Or a date of birth.
For Google, we are no longer talking about a keyword but an entity. That is, entity, something that has its own specific meaning within the page. And that the search engine uses to return the best results even if these elements are not a direct SEO ranking factor.
So even before you create your content by managing co-occurrences, correlations, and side ontologies (i.e., terms that describe an object without mentioning it), it’s right to reason about Schema.org to identify possible optimizations on this front. And improve semantic SEO.
Remember that Google will try hard to extract this information and perhaps create a detailed snippet as you see in the image. But the presence of the structured data, which you can check with several tools (google.com/rich-results and validator.schema.org), provides immediate results.
Content creation
After doing topic research-instead of keyword research-we need to write content. Here is the advice: we need to be less schematic and more aimed at natural, simple and direct language. We are talking to certain people, to the target audience, so we need to respect that.
This is done in different ways. First there needs to be an analysis of the serp, that is, the results that already rank and what Google shows on pages related to a given query.
If I want to cover the online writing query it pays to research what works and what people want. Not a text related to the fine art of web copywriting – online writing – but a tool to create different characters to copy and paste on Instagram. So what does this mean?
Simple, on the page not so many words will be spent on online writing but you will give the audience an application already in the above the fold. This is also the work of online semantic SEO. Especially if we proceed with another point, which is to define the structure of the content.
The research around the topic he we have done with the various Seozoom and Semrush allows us to actually understand what people who are searching for that keyword want, what questions they are asking, and what they are trying to solve. The important thing is always to satisfy the beneficial purpose, the positive purpose.