What is Semantic SEO?
When it comes to SEO, using simple keywords and structuring your content in a specific way is no longer enough to capture the attention of a search engine and rank highly. Understanding user intent and search intent have become a new standard to use that reflects not only what a user is searching for at this very moment in time, but also what they are going to search for next! This type of content structure is called semantic SEO and it refers to the process of organising your content in such a way that all possible questions relating to a topic will be answered on your webpage! Writing content in a way that reflects semantic SEO tactics involves understanding not just what the user is asking but also gaining better insight into why. When you understand the intent behind a certain query, it becomes easier to estimate what the next follow up question would be and what kind of information would prove to be useful to someone researching a specific topic. It is possible to find this kind of information through using Google search engine results pages as these results offer insight into what similar intentions a user may have and what they could be searching for next. These hints offer valuable and insightful information that should be used by content creators who are looking to improve the semantic SEO of a webpage.
What Is The Difference Between Semantic SEO and SEO?
SEO and semantic SEO are two different concepts that are intertwined with having the same end results; higher rankings on search engine results pages. While standard SEO practices look to optimise a variety of different elements, ranging from technical aspects to keyword density, semantic SEO is purely looking to gain a deeper understanding of the content that you are writing about or explaining. As search engine algorithms change and become more aware of not just content but context, it is extremely important that you optimise your data with this understanding and one of the best ways to do so is through semantic SEO tactics. While these two concepts are very similar in the goals that they have, each one is designed to go about things a bit differently!
Why Does Semantic SEO Matter?
As the algorithms for search engines have adapted and become more interested in not only keywords and other SEO elements but user intent, it is important that content becomes more active in understanding not just what but also why. A Google user can type a query into the search engine and have an answer in a matter of seconds, with thousands of results answering the same query and often providing very similar answers, so how do you get ahead? having the answer to not just the users first query, but the second, third and even fourth one is a way to gain traffic and new customers and this can be done through using semantic SEO tactics!
What are The Advantages of Semantic SEO?
Semantic SEO has many advantages, but one of the most important and most basic is that it is able to increase the amount of traffic that makes its way to your website. With an assortment of information relating to a certain topic, you have pushed yourself into multiple categories and related search queries that not only keeps users on your web page but also increases the number of different searches your webpage will rank for. Search engines are becoming infatuated with not just providing a user with information on what they have asked, but also understanding why they need the information and what could be asked as a follow-up!
Along with providing better results on search engine results pages, structuring your data using semantic SEO tactics ensures that what you are writing and producing is great content! Having to ensure that you go into detail about your topic and provide an abundance of well-structured information means that you are going to create content that is not only read well by the search engine crawlers who are indexing your page, but also by the readers who find your information. This goes a long way to securing your site as an authoritative one, and as a webpage that users will know that they can trust!
How to Optimise Content in Terms of Semantic SEO?
- Research, research, research: One of the best ways to ensure that your content is optimised in terms of semantic SEO is to do research about your topic. This not only involves understanding the various subtopics that you can speak about but also researching what search engine users may need to know and understand following the information you are given. By finding out this information and including it within various subtopics, you are creating content that a search engine will understand to be created in accordance with semantic SEO tactics. This means that you will rank highly for the searches that involve any aspect of your topic.
- Scope out your competitors: Another way to optimise your content to be more in line with semantic SEO is to look at what your competitors are doing. This provides you with valuable and insightful information about potential topics and checking to see the amount of traffic that these web pages receive will let you know whether they are using content that is attracting customers. Competitor analysis is a big part of any SEO plan and it can go a long way to helping you gain valuable insights into potential topics and how to structure the content to attract the most attention.
What are The Best Practices of Semantic SEO?
Answer “People Also Ask” Questions
One of the best ways to ensure that you are answering all possible questions relating to a certain topic is to go straight to the users who are asking the questions. Through search engines, “People Also Ask” set of questions, you can easily find out what users are also searching for within a certain topic and include this in your content! By doing this, you are providing an assortment of different and relevant information, answering questions that would normally follow on or precede your main topic.
Avoid Long Tail Keywords
One of the best practices to make sure you follow is to not use any long-tail; keywords in your content. Though this advice is different from standard SEO techniques, it can go a long way to helping you improve your semantic SEO. So why are long-tail keywords so bad? These kinds of keywords are often considered to be the most popular when it comes to SEO because there is little competition based around them and they very often have a high conversion rate compared to more popular and used kinds of keywords. Long-tail keywords often have an additional word or two added on to a short-tail, or more commonly used, keyword as this adds a bit of differentiation and can hone in on a topic more specifically. With Google algorithm updates, the tail end of these long-tail keywords is often taken away as Google just acknowledges the main concept being discussed. This is why it is recommended that users rather use medium-tail and semi-competitive keywords as opposed to less popular long-tail keywords.
Write Topically Relevant Content
Topically relevant content can boost your semantic SEO writing and help you to gain views by writing an in-depth account of a relevant topic. Knowing what your target audience is looking for and the things that they are interested in helps to create buzz around your webpage, bringing more visitors who are hoping to read up more on the topic your content is about. When creating this content, it is important that you create an in-depth review of the topic you are writing about, to ensure that you answer all potential questions that a user may have. There are many different tools and platforms that you can use to research relevant topics, and even differentiate between different areas and what they are mostly researching and looking for!
Write content with topical authority
writing content with topical authority involves writing a lot about a certain topic and covering all possible questions that could potentially be asked about it, from the most basic ideas to complex content that could help users answer an assortment of questions. Having content with topical authority that covers many different questions will ensure that you are creating data that will not only answer the first question that a user may have but also the following few!
Use a Semantic HTML
Though HTML semantic SEO elements are a bit technical, it is important that you understand each of the features that can help to improve how your content is read by search engines, and semantic SEO HTML is one of the features. Semantic HTML is the inclusion of markup language that helps a search engine to better understand and process the information that you are placing on your webpage and the reason why it is being added. These tags are each designed to better equip search engines with the information they need to rank your page highly on search engine results pages! The different tags assigned as semantic tags indicate what the content on your page is used for and why it is important that it be considered.
Optimize to Content for the Featured Snippet
By optimising your content to answer all potential questions relating to a certain topic, you are already on your way to gaining a coveted featured snippet spot! Optimising content for a featured snippet involves proving to search engines that you are a reliable and trustworthy source.
Link Internal Pages on Your Site
Any semantic SEO analysis will provide you with detailed information with regards to how your content should be structured across your website. Another way to better equip search engines with the information that they need to index your webpage is through adding internal links. These links make it easier for search engine crawlers to understand the relevance of your content and connect information together. Good content that has been created with semantic SEO being kept in mind should all be relevant, as each page should go into detail about a specific topic that is relative to your website and the information you are providing.
Link To Other Websites With Relevant Content
When it comes to search engines reading your semantic SEO content, linking your webpage with other relevant content can only add to the authority of your webpage. It is important to be sure that the websites you are linking to are of the highest quality only and that they have highly relevant content compared to your own. While it is important o make sure that you avoid your competitors, there may be many other online sources that have a plethora of valuable and insightful information that will add to your content rather than take anything away from it.
Use Structured Data
Structured data, or schemas, do not necessarily correlate directly with SEO but they do help a search engine better understand the content you are providing. Structured data can help a search engine to better correlate user intent with your content, creating understanding outside of SEO elements like keywords. As content and context have become such an important part of SEO, using structured data has become a necessity and there are many different tools that can be used to make sure that the information you use in your schema will help to increase site visits and help search engine crawlers better index your page!
Remove Anything That Slows Down Your Website
Anything on your website that may slow it down and affect the overall experience of your users should be removed from your webpage. In order for users to be able to get to your content and enjoy it, they have to reach it first. Elements that may be responsible for slowing your webpage down and affecting the experience of a user should be removed as soon as possible. Slow web pages often lead to users leaving a webpage before they have even read your content, so ensuring that these elements are removed is an incredibly important step to ensure you do.
How to Build a Semantic SEO Strategy?
A semantic SEO strategy is important to build, and ensuring that include semantic features from the get-go will make sure that it is easier to keep up with the developments and changes in semantic algorithms. When building your semantic SEO content strategy, it is important that your content marketing plan involve doing relevant semantic research, ensuring that you have a list of all inclusions and data that should be present within your data. having this list on hand and constantly adding to it as features and algorithms develop will ensure that you do not fall behind. Semantic SEO tags and features aim to build your content and structure it in a way that makes it easy for both search engine crawlers and readers to make their way through your data. By providing all relevant data, ensuring that you use headings and include relevant links, you are on your way to creating relevant and insightful semantic SEO practices and strategies.
Which Tools are Used for Semantic SEO?
Google Keyword Planner
One of the most productive and effective semantic SEO tools is the Google Keyword planner. This tool effectively helps a user find and use the most productive semantic SEO content, all of which is directly related to your topic! Though semantic SEO keywords are similar to standard keywords and should be used in a similar way, it may be harder to find these semantic words and use them in the correct content. Google Keywords planner is able to provide you with an assortment of keywords that are used in line with specific topics and content, these ideas can help you to structure and create content that is in line with semantic SEO!
Ahrefs
One of the most popular SEO tools to use to help you achieve your semantic SEO goals is Ahrefs. This suite of tools helps you manage and design your SEO strategy, combining a number of different features into one easy to use set of tools. The Ahrefs keyword planner is one that is used to help when it comes to semantic SEO, with different keywords being provided and potential topics offering users the chance to expand on their content and delves deeper into understanding and user intent.
SEMRush
SEMRush has a host of features that make it easier to optimise content for semantic SEO, one of the most effective being Semrush’s Keyword Magic Tool. With billions of different keywords and the ability to track the popularity of each one, creating a semantic SEO strategy has never been easier than it is with SEMRush! With vital information about the most popular keywords and topics in specific locations and over certain periods of time, having the SEMRush tool kit could be the best thing to help you plan your semantic SEO campaign!
How Can Our Expert Team at Markethinkers Help Its Customers to Optimize Content For Semantic SEO?
Our Professional SEO Consulting experts are able to help you to customise your content so that it is in line with semantic SEO. As a search factor that is growing in strength with every algorithm change, we are a team that knows and understands how important it is that content is created with semantic SEO in mind. Our SEO Copywriting team is able to help you create your vision and include all the information that you think is necessary while adding our own unique twist that is developed through our understand and knowledge with regards to SEO. As an agency that specialises in content creation, including semantic SEO consultancy, we are the ideal candidates to help you to achieve your goals when it comes to semantic SEO solutions and other SEO practices.
