The way people search for information online has undergone significant changes over the years. With the ongoing use of virtual assistants and AI-enabled search features, users have changed the way they search for answers, new products, or services on Google.
For businesses, this means there needs to be a shift in how content strategies are managed. While targeting high-volume keywords and phrases was once a critical element of SEO, semantic keywords are becoming even more important today.
Below, we’ll explore what semantic keywords are and why they should be an important part of your SEO initiatives moving forward.
What Are Semantic Keywords?
Semantic keywords are related terms, phrases, or concepts associated with a primary keyword. If you were to consider a primary keyword as your main topic or subject, then semantic keywords are all of the supporting subtopics related to it.
As an example, if your main keyword was “coffee,” semantic keywords or phrases could be anything like “how to make coffee,” “best coffee machines,” “most popular coffee brands,” etc.
In the past, semantic words weren’t always looked at as an important element when trying to rank for primary keywords. However, as search algorithms have evolved over the years, semantic phrasing has become an increasingly important factor in determining content relevance.
Evolution in Search
Over the years, Google has continuously modified how its Search feature works. In the past, keyword density was used as a primary factor for ranking web pages. Unfortunately, this led to many businesses spamming users by “stuffing” primary keywords unnaturally throughout their website to game search engines and rank their pages higher.
To help avoid this issue from happening, Google realized several major updates to its algorithm, starting with its “Hummingbird” update back in 2013. This started a pattern of updates focused on uncovering the “intent” of user searches instead of only matching keyword usage patterns.
Why Semantic Keywords Matter
Semantic keywords help search engines understand the meaning behind user searches. As a result, it enables them to deliver more relevant results, resulting in a better experience for everyone. As a business, using semantic keywords effectively helps to:
Aligns Content with Search Intent
An essential element to get right with modern-day SEO is recognizing and responding to user search intent. This means looking beyond simple keyword targeting and focusing on the reasons why users enter various search terms. Typically, search intent falls into one of four different categories:
- Informational - The user needs to answer a question
- Navigational - The user is looking for a specific website
- Commercial - The user wants to compare different services or solutions
- Transactional - The user is ready to make a purchase
Improves Content Depth and Authority
Incorporating semantic keywords into your content marketing strategy naturally helps you to create more in-depth, valuable content for users. It helps you identify helpful subtopics worth discussing and allows you to answer more questions closely related to a user’s initial search query.
Taking this approach benefits your business in several ways. First, it helps to prove to Google that you’re an authority on specific topics. Secondly, by providing more helpful information, you can keep your users more engaged, which in turn helps reduce your website's bounce rates. Both of these create strong signals to Google that your content is worth referring more users to.
Supports Better Search Engine Understanding
Semantic terms spread evenly throughout your content help search engines to better understand the context of your web pages. When search engine crawlers can classify your content more accurately, it helps them reference it when responding to a broader range of search queries.
How to Find Semantic Keywords
Searching for potential semantic keywords to use isn’t always easy since there are multiple different ways users now search for the information they need. However, there are various tools and techniques businesses can use to narrow down relevant search terms to focus on:
Use Keyword Research Tools
Fortunately, there is a range of free and paid keyword research tools available to businesses, each with specific features focused on semantic keyword discovery. Most popular SEO tools, such as Semrush, Ahrefs, and Surfer SEO, all have updated search tools that help businesses identify semantic terms closely related to primary keywords.
While each platform has its own set of navigation features, most have sections that reference “related keywords,” “questions people ask,” or “competitor analysis” sections, highlighting opportunities for incorporating more semantic terms into your content.
Leverage Google SERP Features
While there is a wide range of external SEO tools that can help with semantic keyword research, Google’s own SERP features can also help you identify related terms. Some of these features include:
- Autocomplete - As you start typing searches into Google, you may notice that Google tries to autocomplete what it thinks you’re trying to say. Past user searches actually drive this information and can help you identify what terms or phrases are most likely to be used.
- “People Also Ask” (PAA) - PAA boxes tell you the most commonly searched terms and phrases used that are closely related to certain topics.
- “Related Searches” - At the bottom of Google’s SERPs you’ll find a list of related searches to your topic. These are another great source of semantic keywords or phrases you can use.
Analyze Search Intent
To choose the right semantic terms for your content, you first need to try to understand exactly why someone may be using a specific word or phrase in their queries. One way to do this is to look at all the pages that currently rank for a primary keyword and see if you can find some commonalities between them.
Some of the things to look for include:
- Blog pages that are trying to educate users on a particular subject, or ones that are directly selling a product or service
- Step-by-step guides or listicles are designed to give users helpful tips surrounding a particular topic
- Detailed review summaries on various products, comparing other brands against one another
How to Optimize Content Using Semantic Keywords
Once you’ve created a list of semantic keywords or phrases you want to target, you’ll want to have an effective strategy in place for using them. Some good places to start include:
Content Planning
When seeking ways to incorporate more semantic keywords into your content planning strategy, utilizing topic clusters can be highly beneficial. To initiate this process, you will first want to start with a pillar page. These pages essentially cover a broad category and will interlink to other relevant topics.
Once your topic pillar is created, focus on building out several cluster pages. Each of these individual pages delves deeper into a topic, specifically focusing on subtopics (semantic keywords) that support the primary content pillar.
Once all pages are created, link all of your cluster pages to the primary pillar. This creates a comprehensive resource for readers when exploring a topic, making it easier for them to drill down into their research as needed.
On-Page Optimization
Weaving your chosen semantic keywords into the content you create is crucial when demonstrating to Google the relevance of your content to user searches. Look for natural ways to incorporate your keywords on webpages, including your meta titles, descriptions, and content headers (H1-H3).
While semantic keyword inclusion is important, it should never be done at the sacrifice of readability. Your content should read naturally, and you should always try to avoid overly using specific terms.
Instead, focus your attention on creating helpful information and covering a broad range of subtopics related to your primary keywords. Keep your answers to specific questions brief and to the point.
Internal Linking and UX
Internal links are a great way to provide a more impactful user experience on your website while also helping to show a correlation between your primary and semantic keywords. However, there are certain interlinking strategies you should use to make sure your content isn’t inadvertently flagged as spam.
When you create links from one page to another, make sure the information you’re redirecting your audience to is actually relevant to the topic being discussed. Make sure the anchor text is descriptive and gives users a clear idea of the type of information they’re accessing.
Measuring the Impact
As you begin making SEO changes to support semantic keyword targeting, ensure you measure their impact over time.
Track SEO Performance
To know whether or not your inclusion of semantic keywords is helping to increase your web traffic, you’ll want to track your SEO performance. This means tracking your website analytics and benchmarking your search performance before and after changes you make.
Keep a close eye on your page impressions, click-through rates (CTR), and bounce rates. This can help you gain a clear understanding of how well your pages are ranking on search engines, while also showing you whether your changes are actually proving valuable to site visitors.
Iterate and Improve
Like with all SEO elements, your semantic keyword targets may become less effective over time. Because of this, you should regularly look for ways to improve where and how you use these terms throughout your website.
This may mean that over time, you’ll want to update or remove older articles while focusing on more relevant terms. By continuously monitoring and refining your content based on the performance data you receive, you will reduce the likelihood of experiencing significant drops in traffic in the future.
Benefits of Using Semantic Keywords
- Getting Found More Easily in Search - One of the most significant benefits of focusing on semantic keywords is being able to improve your search engine ranking results. Google is actively seeking content that proves relevant to user queries, and incorporating semantic keywords is an effective way to achieve this.
- Improving Content for Site Visitors - By focusing on using semantic keywords, you can explore more relevant subtopics that add value to site visitors. This provides them with a better site experience and reduces their need to leave the site to get additional information from other brands.
- Meeting Google’s SEO Guidelines - Google has made it clear to website owners over the years that it values helpful, authoritative content when deciding on how it ranks websites in Search. By incorporating more semantic keywords into your content, you demonstrate that you’re covering a broader range of topics and ideas, which is essential for providing greater value to users.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
Overusing Exact Match Keywords
Although using semantic keywords throughout your content is important, some businesses make the mistake of overusing these terms, which is another form of “keyword stuffing.” The goal should always be to demonstrate relevance to supporting topics without overwhelming readers with unnecessary content that has been created solely to improve search engine rankings.
Ignoring Search Intent
Sometimes it can be easy to get caught up in trying to include semantic keywords without first determining the intent associated with user search queries. Understanding the intent, or the “why,” behind search terms should inform your decisions on which semantic keywords are most applicable to use.
Using Unrelated Semantic Terms Without Context
It’s important to keep in mind that the semantic keywords you’re targeting should always have meaningful connections with your primary keywords. Sometimes, certain words or phrases could have multiple meanings. Before you start creating a targeted keyword list, you’ll want to make sure each of the terms naturally fits together and doesn’t cause any unnecessary confusion to readers.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are semantic keywords?
These are the words, phrases, and ideas that are closely connected to your main topic. They help search engines understand the depth or meaning of your content.
How do they differ from LSI keywords?
LSI keywords stand for “Latent Semantic Indexing.” These are essentially a subset of semantic keywords that are much more narrowly scoped than those that cover a wider range of topics.
Can semantic keywords replace exact-match terms?
Not specifically. Semantic keywords are crucial for providing additional context to broader topics. An optimal strategy is to choose an exact-match primary keyword and then use semantic keywords to support it.
How often should I update content with new semantic terms?
A good rule of thumb might be to review and potentially refresh your content with new semantic keywords every 6-12 months. However, this will vary depending on the specific industry you’re in and the type of topics you’re covering.
In Summary
As Google continues to adapt its Search algorithms to the new ways that users enter their queries, semantic keyword recognition has become an essential element for businesses to take note of.
By following this guide, you’ll be able to leverage the use of semantic keywords and phrasing to your advantage, ensuring your content ranks higher and you can secure more organic traffic.