As the world of SEO continues to evolve, so do the techniques and strategies used to improve a website’s ranking in search engine results pages (SERPs). One of the latest trends to emerge in the SEO world is semantic SEO – an optimisation that considers the meaning of words and phrases rather than just the literal interpretation. 

Semantic SEO is the process of optimising a website for Google’s semantic search algorithm. Semantic search is a type of search that understands the searcher’s intent and the contextual meaning of the search terms.

In the past, SEO was all about cramming as many keywords onto a page as possible to rank for those terms. However, with the release of Hummingbird, Google using Natural Language Processing (NLP), began to focus more on the meaning of a query rather than the individual keywords. This shift has made semantic SEO essential for websites that want to rank well in Google.

What is NLP?

NLP, or Natural Language Processing, is a branch of artificial intelligence that interprets and understands human language. For example, NLP allows Google to understand the meaning of a query and match it with the most relevant results. 

NLP is used in a variety of Google’s products, including the Knowledge Graph, RankBrain, Bert and Mum. Each product relies on NLP to function correctly and deliver accurate user results. 

This guide will look at semantic SEO, how it works, and why it’s becoming an increasingly important part of any successful SEO strategy.

What is Semantic SEO?

Semantic SEO optimises a website for the meanings of words and phrases rather than just the literal interpretation. It considers the context of words and phrases and their relationships to better understand the user’s search intent.

In other words, semantic SEO is all about understanding the user’s search intent and then providing them with the most relevant and valuable results.

Semantic SEO aims to improve the overall search experience for users by providing them with more relevant and valuable results.

Semantic SEO considers the context of words and phrases to understand the user’s search intent better. Contextual factors that contribute to the meaning of a phrase or word include:

  • The surrounding words and phrases.
  • The relationship between the words and phrases.
  • The position of terms and phrases on the page.
  • Tone.

All of these factors contribute to the meaning of a word or phrase, and by taking them into account, semantic SEO can provide more relevant and useful results for users.

How Does Semantic SEO Work?

Semantic SEO considers the context of words and phrases and their relationships to better understand the user’s search intent.

Several different factors contribute to the context of a word or phrase, including:

  • The surrounding words and phrases (known as co-occurrence)
  • The relationship between the words and phrases (known as co-reference)
  • The position of the words and phrases on the page
  • The tone of the words and phrases

All of these factors contribute to the meaning of a word or phrase, and by taking them into account, semantic SEO can provide more relevant and useful results for users.

Why is Semantic SEO Important?

As the SEO world continues to evolve, so does how users search for information. In the early days of SEO, users typically enter concise, one or two-word keywords into search engines.

However, as search engines have become more sophisticated, so too have the queries that users enter into them. Now, users are more likely to enter longer, more natural-sounding phrases into search engines – long-tail keywords.

For example, rather than searching for “shoes”, a user might now search for “where to buy comfortable shoes for walking”.

This change in user behaviour has meant that traditional SEO techniques – which focus on optimising for short, one or two-word keywords – are not as effective as they once were.

On the other hand, Semantic SEO is designed to help websites rank for long-tail keywords. By taking into account the context and meaning of words and phrases, semantic SEO can provide more relevant and useful results for users, which can help improve a website’s ranking in SERPs.

In addition to helping websites rank for long-tail keywords, semantic SEO can also help to improve the overall search experience for users.

As we mentioned, semantic SEO aims to provide users with more relevant and meaningful results. By understanding the user’s search intent and then providing them with the most relevant results, semantic SEO can help improve users’ overall search experience.

And, as we all know, a better search experience can lead to more traffic, more conversions, and more customers for your business.

How to Optimise for Semantic SEO

Now that we’ve covered the question “what is semantic SEO?”, it’s time to look at how you can optimise your website for semantic SEO.

Here are several tips to get you started:

1. Use Latent Semantic Indexing (LSI) Keywords

One of the best ways to optimise your website for semantic SEO is to use latent semantic indexing (LSI) keywords. These keywords are words and phrases that are related to your primary keyword. For example, if you’re selling shoes, some LSI keywords might be “sandals”, “athletic shoes”, “dress shoes”, “walking shoes”, etc.

Using LSI keywords on your website will help search engines like Google better understand the context of your content and match it with the user’s search intent. As a result, using LSI keywords can help to improve your website’s ranking in SERPs.

2. Optimise Your Title Tags and Meta Descriptions

Another way to optimise your website for semantic SEO is to optimise your title tags and meta descriptions.

Your title tag is the title of your web page that appears in SERPs. Therefore, ensuring that your title tag is relevant to your page’s content and includes your primary keyword is essential.

The meta description is the short description of your webpage that appears below your title tag in SERPs. Like your title tag, it’s essential to ensure that your meta description is relevant to your page’s content and includes your primary keyword.

Your title tag and meta description play an important role in helping search engines understand the context of your page’s content. As a result, optimising your title tag and meta description can help improve your website’s ranking in SERPs.

3. Use Schema Markup

Schema markup is a class of code you can add to your website to help search engines understand the meaning of your content.

Using schema markup on your website can help search engines better comprehend the context of your content and match it with the user’s search intent. As a result, schema markup can help improve your website’s ranking in SERPs.

4. Optimise Your Images

In addition to optimising your website’s text content, it’s also important to optimise your images.

When uploading an image to your website, you should always include a keyword-rich file name and alt text. The file name is the name given to the image file, and the alt text is the text that appears when the image can’t be displayed.

Both the file name and alt text help search engines understand the context of your image and match it with the user’s search intent. As a result, optimising your file name and alt text can help to improve your website’s ranking in image search results.

5. Monitor Your Rankings

Finally, it’s essential to monitor your website’s rankings in SERPs.

You can use a tool like Google Search Console to track your website’s ranking for specific keywords. This information can help you identify areas where your website needs further optimisation.

Bottom Line

Semantic SEO is a type of optimisation that considers the meaning of words and phrases rather than just the literal interpretation. Therefore, it considers the context of words and phrases and their relationships to understand the user’s search intent better. Semantic SEO aims to improve the overall search experience for users by providing them with more relevant and valuable results.

Semantic SEO is becoming increasingly important as the SEO world continues to evolve. However, as users’ search for information continues to change, traditional SEO techniques are less effective than they once were.

Suppose you want to optimise your website for semantic SEO. In that case, you can do a few things, including using LSI keywords, optimising your title tags and meta descriptions, using schema markup, and optimising your images.

Monitoring your website’s rankings in SERPs is also essential, as it can help identify areas that need further optimisation.

We can help you

If you‘re not already using semantic SEO, you‘re missing out on a huge opportunity to improve your website’s ranking. Muon is a digital agency that specializes in helping businesses improve their online visibility. Contact us today to learn more about how we can help you get the most out of your website.