Important semantic SEO concepts

Semantic SEO plays an important role in the world of search engine optimisation (SEO), which is constantly changing and evolving. But what is semantic SEO, and what are the most important semantic SEO concepts? 

What is semantic SEO?

While traditional SEO focuses on keywords, and applying these appropriately throughout the content to help improve rankings on the Search Engine Results Page (SERP), semantic SEO takes a different approach. Semantic SEO is all about the deeper meaning of the keywords, i.e. the user intent. As such, semantic SEO often leads to the creation of content around a topic or theme, instead of standalone pieces of content. 

What are the important semantic SEO concepts?

So to get the most out of this particular SEO technique, there are a number of important factors to consider. In fact, there are a range of  semantic SEO concepts that can help to improve your website performance. These include:

• Search engine evolution- the online world is ever changing and for search engines and SEO, this is no different. In fact, many changes are fuelled by the evolution of search engines, including the development of semantic SEO itself. Google, as the biggest Search Engine and the industry leader is often the source of these developments, including shifting the focus from simple keyword matching to semantic search. The aim of the ranking algorithm is now to understand the intent behind the search terms used by the user, and to show the results that will best match the user intent. These results will be more relevant and useful.
• Natural Language Processing (NLP)- NLP is a fascinating area of AI that is able to help search engines to understand the nuances, synonyms and context associated with human language. This development is what has fuelled the evolution of search engines, and this is why creating content that aligns with user intent, making use of NLP, is very important.
• Latent Semantic Indexing (LSI)- LSI is a process that allows a range of phrases and terms, relevant to the main keyword, to be identified. As such, this has become a crucial aspect of semantic SEO, as by including LSI keywords in your content, you can allow search engines to better understand your content, improving your SERP ranking. 
• User intent- understanding what your potential customers or clients are searching for is a big part of semantic SEO, as this allows you to create company content that truly aligns with the user intent. This expands SEO from simply trying to rank highly for certain keywords, to a role that also involves creating content that will meet the requirements of your user. This could be content that answers common questions, provides solutions to problems, or gives specific product or service details. Not only can this approach to SEO content improve SERP rankings, but this can also improve the user experience on your website.

Here at Pumpkin Web Design we are Preston’s leading web design and web marketing professionals. We provide a wide range of high quality, effective website solutions and content marketing services across Preston and the North West, from Southport to Wigan, as well as Manchester. For more information or advice about professional SEO why not get in touch today?