Semantic SEO: Semantic Research
Manage SEO semantic search in mind.
Since Google launched RankBrain on October 26, 2015, the way we optimize our website with the goal of finding users through search engines has changed. In simple terms, the objective is to answer the questions that are on the minds of your target audience, whether they are aware of it or not.
Previously, we would choose a few keywords, those with the best chance of return on investment for the time spent optimizing the website. Today, things have changed a bit. Instead of choosing a list of standalone keywords, separated across different websites, we can select a context, a theme related to your market and that is fundamental to your business.
I'll give you an example:
Semântico is a service that optimizes websites for all markets, with clients of various sizes, but mainly micro and small business owners. Therefore, terms such as " SEO Consulting ," "SEO Consultant," or " Website Optimization " would be used in the scenario I described.
But what I do is different: I selected the domains of knowledge where semantics are found, which in my case is consulting and SEO, and within these two domains, the terms that are semantically related to the work I do, that is, those that make sense to be addressed in the content and pages of this website.
But before we begin, we need to define a few things, and the first is: What is SEO?
SEO, in very simple terms, is optimizing your website so that Google understands it. You can understand optimization as improving the website's code, the user experience, the content of the pages, and what you put on your blog, for example.
Discover the power of the Knowledge Graph.
So what is Semantic SEO?
Do SEO and semantic SEO have different meanings?
The definition of semantics for the Portuguese language is:
"Semantics is the branch of grammar that studies the meaning of words, as well as the interpretation of that meaning. It also studies the differences in meaning that words have in different contexts and over time."
Therefore, semantics studies the meaning that words possess, and if we adapt this to SEO, we can define semantic SEO as:
Semantic SEO is the practice of optimizing online through strategies that define a semantic field* for your business and connect data , information, and content so that your business makes sense within that context.
More searches, more clicks: semantic results.
An old calculation we make in the world of SEO:
The more people click on your website pages when they appear in a search result, the more relevant search engines will consider them.
This is one of the elements we are most certain Google takes into account when ranking a website above others. In the past, the most sought-after strategy was to create SERP Domination , that is, to dominate a certain search result (the so-called SERP – from the English: search engine result pages ), which caused competitors to be relegated to the bottom of the list, far from the users' view.
With the advent of algorithms, semantics, and machine learning, this has changed. Nowadays, having structured data is the surest way to bring visitors to your website.
Do you know how to rank on Google?
But what is structured data?
These are data that have been organized in a certain way so that computers can understand them. It's a way of marking (with tags) certain parts of the content, using languages specifically created for this purpose (such as microformats, RFDs , and microdata, for example).
The combination of structured data and semantic markup is what allows us to say that Semantic SEO exists today.
Today, structured data is the best and most foolproof way to drive potential customers from a search to your website.
Semantic Search
Semantic search is the result of research, whether written or spoken, a simple action or question, that produces results with complex meaning.
Even when the response items do not contain any of the query terms, or the search does not involve any query text, as in the case of an image search, for example.
Semantic Optimization, or semantic SEO , call it what you will, will be how the market describes the work of an SEO Analyst in the near future.
entity- based results on Google went through "rich answer cards" and Knowledge Graph results, and now with the company expanding voice search with support for Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence (AI), the sky's the limit.
We are used to seeing Google searches for people, places, and media object results that look like this:
In the case of a search for the term "The Beatles," the results today are increasingly different from the collection of blue links we had years ago. Videos, images, and information from third-party applications are now commonplace in search results.
This is the first implementation of a content tagging process for all websites and databases that contribute to this result. If YouTube, Spotify, and Kboing hadn't tagged their pages that discuss and contain content about the band, they wouldn't appear here, and this page certainly wouldn't be as rich.
Shall we look at another example?
One of my clients, Mais Bonita por Menos, has a result like this:
The optimization work we do uses a lot of data markup, and we are always looking for and applying the latest Semantic SEO techniques.
Notice that in addition to the standard , on the right side we have a cluster of information from different sources (their website, Google Maps, Google Images, and others), where we have a complete information card, known as a Knowledge Graph.
Anyone searching for the term "More Beautiful for Less" will have access, all at once, to all the information they may need, without having to search through various sources.
The modern SEO analyst needs to master these strategies to give their clients this advantage.
But is this semantic SEO for real?
This is a debate that has been ongoing and remains relevant, especially since semantic SEO has been widely discussed lately.
Some people argue that it's just a buzzword (a term that has generated a lot of "noise") and that it's nothing more than that, that optimization is optimization and that's the end of it. Others argue that after the advent of RankBrain and recent improvements with Artificial Intelligence, the way we work has changed so much that it's impossible to talk about Optimization without including semantics.
I agree with that argument.
Through the use of algorithms and the creation of semantic search, largely anchored in technology with complex data capture and understanding systems, the way our websites are optimized needs to change.
Domain-Based and Vocabulary-Based Optimization
As I said, for me, Semantic Optimization, based on structured data markup, is the future of SEO. And this future brings, in addition to great challenges, new terms and working methods to the daily lives of professionals and our clients. Terms like Domain, Vocabularies, Ontology, and others will soon become commonplace.
Since our goal is to write for our clients—owners of micro and small businesses—we'll explain two terms that directly impact how SEO will be used on their websites (in Semântico's case, this is already a reality):
Semantic Domain
A semantic domain is a specific place that shares a set of meanings, or a language that retains its meaning, within a given context. Harriet Ottenheimer (2006), a writer associated with Linguistic , defines a semantic domain as a “specific area of cultural emphasis”.
In SEO terms, a semantic domain is an area of human knowledge (a "place") that encompasses a range of meanings within a context. In semantic SEO work, we define the specific domain that the brand, company, or website wants to be present in and develop a strategy to create content for this "specific area of cultural emphasis."
Let's take the example of "More Beautiful for Less" again.
The business operates on two fronts: Fashion and Beauty. These are the semantic domains in which we want to be present. To that end, we will define a set of terms, with their specific meanings, that we will address on the website, within the context of a business that sells promotions related to these terms.
To achieve this, we will create a Vocabulary, with the ultimate goal of creating our own Ontology.
Vocabulary Creation
The second practical part of the semantic optimization work we are implementing involves creating this vocabulary of terms related to the chosen domain.
To make our work easier, we are using a phenomenal and fundamental tool: Wordlift . But I already discussed it in depth in my presentation " Applied Semantics in SEO" in the "Semantics in Practice" series IA Biblio BR community .
For now, know that the work involves creating posts or pages where you must explain, demonstrate, exemplify, and present (using text, images, videos, and whatever else you can) a specific term.
Discover the new research: Semantic Mapping
Semantic mapping is a strategy created to graphically represent the concepts that make up an ontology, building a semantic map.
During the learning process, a semantic map can be used as a graphical model specifically designed to help you identify important ideas and relate them to the terms of the SEO project you are creating.
But you might ask me:
What does all this have to do with my website's SEO?
The professional responsible for optimizing your website will need to implement the correct markup by choosing the most appropriate structured data schema, regardless of the type of website you have.
The Concept of Triples
Your SEO analyst should pay attention to the concept of "triples." They allow you to not only describe the relationships between two entities, but also map the relationship between other statements about those "things."
Imagine we're talking about a person, Michael Jackson for example. How could we describe him?
Something like this:
- Michael Jackson is a person;
- Michael Jackson was American;
- Michael Jackson was a singer.
Using a standard called RDF , we can relate this set of information in a database about this data, the metadata. A system can use these "statements" about the entity Michael Jackson and define that he is a person, a human being, who was born in the United States and had a singing career.
But what is RDF?
The Resource Description Framework (RDF) is a family of specifications from the World Wide Web Consortium ( W3C ) originally designed as a metadata data model.
Think semantically
When optimizing your website, tell this to whoever you hire, Mr. Micro-entrepreneur.
Together, you will need to define the related topics, themes, ideas, and concepts that you need to use to help search engines understand and rank your website.
And you who work with SEO, do yourself a favor:
Study and learn all about JSON-LD and learn how to connect and mark up data.
Even if it's just to avoid being left out of the loop at the next round of analysts, or at whatever event you attend.
The new content marketing
Digital marketing needs to be aware of this new era of SEO, where a single keyword no longer represents the best ranking .
Connotation** is much more important than denotation*** for web content these days. If your content was created to achieve SEO results but doesn't take these concepts into account, it needs to be rewritten.
If you need any help, just send me a message .
VOCABULARY:
- *A semantic field is a set of words linked by meaning.
- **Connotation:** Connotation, also referred to as connotative meaning and figurative meaning, is the subjective, cultural, and/or emotional association that goes beyond the written or literal meaning of a word, phrase, or concept.
- ***Denotation: direct link of meaning (without derivative or figurative senses) that a name establishes with an object of reality.
