Why semantic search

In fact, they have their internal method for determining semantic relevance. This has significant implications for SEO experts and marketers who are interested in ranking in Google for additional queries. Simply inserting synonyms for a keyword from the thesaurus does not guarantee better Google organic search traffic.

The best case scenario is that you take some of the alternate words, but will also include words that Google does not think are semantically relevant, and you'll miss words completely that Google knows are relevant to searchers. For websites and SEO firms looking to get serious about semantic analysis to drive more targeted keyword traffic, the right approach is the creation of a semantic map which places your target search terms at the center of the map and analyzes primarily related phrases for the words.

Besides, it adds a second layer of analysis to each of those secondary terms to give you a complete viewpoint of the alternate keywords and phrases that you can and should use. Semantic phrases offer several powerful SEO options to a website, from inclusion in page titles and HTML headers to varying backlink anchor text with semantically relevant keywords, to the addition of new internal pages for semantic topics which you then point to the target page to increase its reputation and semantic relevance.

A lot of SEO techniques have changed drastically in the recent times in the context of Google algorithm updates like Panda and Penguin. One thing has, however, remained fairly unabated all the same amid a wave of changes. SEO world is still primarily driven by keyword targeting. Use of keywords in URL structure, meta tags, links and content is still seen.

However, semantic web search is adding a whole new element to this world: the human element. Now, SEO professionals are must base optimizations on the actual meaning of the keyword they are using and to create content accordingly. If document A linked to document B, they could have been seen as related. Both internal and external links from relevant pages using natural anchor text help Google figure out what your content might be about—even before processing it.

Semantic search has changed the whole content ecosystem. Users get more relevant and valuable content, and that motivates publishers to produce such content. While there are sophisticated technologies and algorithms involved, the principles of semantic search are easy to understand. You should now be ready to make any changes necessary and to future-proof your SEO. Do you have any questions or comments regarding semantic search?

Ping me on Twitter. If you want to learn more about the technicalities around semantic search, follow Dawn Anderson and check out her presentations. Marketer and content writer at Ahrefs.

Addicted to SEO, aviation, fragrances, sushi and tacos. Article stats Monthly traffic Linking websites Tweets The number of times this article was shared on Twitter. Share this article. Email Subscription Subscribe. Have you ever noticed that Google can handle almost any question you throw at it these days?

What is semantic search? Why is semantic search important? Which Google technologies play a role in how semantic search works?

How to adapt your SEO for semantic search. In contrast, [where to buy iPhone 12] and [best deals for Samsung Galaxy] both communicate an intent to purchase. Once you understand searcher intent, start creating content that directly addresses their intent instead of creating content around individual keywords or broad topics. Yes, keywords still matter. Use a content analysis tool to mine for common questions and related long-tail keywords that you can incorporate into your content. Include keywords in your title tags, URL, body, header tags , and meta tags, as long as it fits naturally.

Authoritative backlinks remain one of the most important ranking signals. Prioritize content that naturally attracts links. Use Schema markup to help customers find your business and search engines index your site. You can add more detail using review markup and organization markup too.

Try to eliminate redirects whenever possible, only relying on redirects for missing pages. You should have no more than one redirect per page. Maintaining a logical site structure will help search engines index your website and understand the connection between your content.

Search for "restaurants near me"? Search for "corona"? Google understands the context. If it were a search made 12 months ago, you would have seen results about beer; now it is the virus. Search for "Amazn"? Google knows that you misspelled Amazon and returns results accordingly.

Instantly discover your audience's search intent. But let's look at why semantic search is vital for SEOs to understand and consider when planning strategies. You see, users do not always search by using the same words and in the same way as the content that best answers their query. Search in is far more conversational than it ever has been before. And Google has to return relevant results, meaning the need to evolve and adapt to this way of searching.

However, to understand the complexity and development of semantic search in today's world, you must be familiar with its evolution over the past eight years.

The Google Knowledge Graph rolled out in is a collection of entities and the relationship between them. Over billion of them.

And to see how Google describe this, let's take a look at a snippet from their reintroduction to the Knowledge Graph that states:. Sometimes Google Search will show special boxes with information about people, places, and things. We call these knowledge panels. Information within knowledge panels comes from our Knowledge Graph, which is like a giant virtual encyclopedia of facts. You are likely already familiar with the knowledge panel, even if you are not aware of what it is called.

These are what appear to the right of the search results for entities such as people or businesses. For example, here is Apple's knowledge panel :. Google's knowledge graph powers these knowledge panels, and we can think of this as a collection of facts, information, people, places, businesses, and how they are connected. The knowledge graph helps Google to return facts and information about these billions of connected entities.

But we recommend going and exploring the knowledge graph for yourself either your brand or you as an individual using Kalicube's Knowledge Graph Explorer. You can then see how Google understands you:. Google announced its Hummingbird algorithm back in in a bid to return better search results. Think of a car built in the s. It might have a great engine, but it might also be an engine that lacks things like fuel injection or be unable to use unleaded fuel. It also did this so quickly that no one really noticed the switch.

However, the most significant change with Hummingbird was Google's ability to understand conversational search better. The search engine got better at returning results for questions such as, "What is the difference between A and B? Hummingbird was the start of search engines getting smarter. This change was driven partly by the shift to mobile, and that the algorithm needed to recognize different types of searches better and provide better results based on a difference in the way a user was searching.