SEO practices are growing. A lot of content is competing for conversions through organic search. Semantic SEO can help your website to win this competition. But before we go any further, what is semantic search? How does semantic search affect SEO? and, what is semantic SEO? Come on, let's just go into the discussion of the definition of semantic SEO.
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What is semantic SEO?
According to Search Engine Journal, semantic SEO is the process of adding value to the words used in content. Therefore, we must start designing content that can answer the user's search intent or search goals.
This means that the content that we create must be able to provide answers to user questions as a whole. That way, users can find solutions to their questions in one place and don't have to look for additional references from competitor content. It is content with thorough discussion like this that Google loves and has the potential to rank higher in the SERPs.
Why is semantic SEO important?
Before discussing tips for content optimization with semantic SEO, it helps us also understand the importance of practicing semantic SEO. The first benefit of semantic SEO is that Google can understand the context and purpose of the content we design, so that content will be displayed when there is a suitable search by the user. In addition, through semantic SEO we are also invited to add value to the content and design it more comprehensively so that it can answer user intent . In addition, content that has used semantic SEO also has a great chance to rank high on the SERPs for a longer time.
Content optimization tips with semantic SEO
1. Create content that is relevant to a topic
The relevance between content and topics (keywords) on your website is one of the crucial things to maximize semantic SEO. Make sure you have prepared a content design that will go into depth about the keywords you want to win in the SERPs. Content that has deep relevance has the potential to quickly top the SERP. You can also update the content periodically so that Google gets a signal that you are always following developments on these keywords. As a result, your pages will stay at the top of the SERPs longer.
2. Include content outline
Outline or table of contents is the simplest thing but is often overlooked by content writers. The outline will clearly show what subtopics you cover in the content. In addition, the outline also makes the content easier to read by website visitors. Content that has an outline also usually has a greater potential to become Google's featured snippet.
3. Design content that can answer “people also ask”
When you search for certain keywords, Google will also show a “people also ask” column in the SERP. The column contains relevant and frequently asked questions for the same keywords. Make sure your content also includes solutions to these questions to increase the authority and credibility of the content in Google's ratings.
4. Target multiple keyword variations on the same page
Google's algorithm has now succeeded in recognizing various variations of a keyword. Therefore, Google will also display similar search results for variations of these keywords. For example, when searching for the keywords “SEO optimization” and “SEO optimization 2021”, Google will return similar results for both searches.
5. Create comprehensive content
We are reminded again that Google really likes comprehensive content, especially if your content can provide solutions to many questions. Another advantage of comprehensive content is the opportunity to get backlinks from other blog pages citing your content. As the number of quality backlinks increases, the greater the potential for your content to win the ranking competition on the SERPs.
6. Include some keywords in your content
Have you ever wanted to target several different keywords in one piece of content but were worried that the content would not perform optimally? Don't worry, Google's latest algorithm can recognize different keywords in the same content. The good news again, your content will potentially appear in the SERP for keywords - keywords that are different. Indirectly, the page views of your content have the potential to increase.
7. Use other semantically relevant keywords
Keyword relevant semantics is also known as LSI (Latent Semantic Indexing) keywords. This keyword group is a keyword or term that is conceptually connected to each other. By using LSI keywords in content, we help Google understand more deeply the context of the content. For example when you create content with the keyword “digital marketing”. Automatically, Google will also scan your content for other keywords that are often used in conjunction with the keyword “digital marketing”, such as “SEM”, “SEO”, “social media”, and others.
8. Content optimization for conversational keywords
Make sure the content you create is written in a conversational style. That is, use language as natural as possible on the content as if you were conveying the content to website visitors orally. Google adds value to conversational content along with the increasing use of voice search via mobile phones and other smart devices.
9. Use structured data
Structured data or schemas serve to give context to your content. As a result, this structured data helps Google to understand the context of your content. In addition, structured data can also help your content appear as rich snippets on the SERPs. Rich snippets are useful because they don't just appear like regular search results, but appear in the SERPs accompanied by supporting data such as reviews, recipes, or events.