What Is Semantic Search and What is the Context in Today’s SEO?

Search engine technology has progressed substantially and will continue to do so. Semantic (context-based) search has become increasingly important for SEO. It is important and can work for you.

SEO is transitioning from multitudes of backlinks and keywords to high quality backlinks and from long tail keyword and search queries to fast websites with semantic search.

The Search Algorithms have added, replaced or modified many of the variables that are used for placement/ranking. Previously, the focus has been on speed, cohesive content and congruity, The focus since early summer 2021 has been on understanding intent and action, as well as the context (semantics) that surrounds them.

Optimization has changed. The days of reverse-engineering content to improve rankings are gone and just discovering keywords is no longer sufficient.

You must provide rich information that provides context surrounding the long-tail keywords and have a strong grasp on the user’s purpose. This combination is essential for SEO, since AI and NLP (natural language processing) are being embedded in to search engines in order to better understand the context and users of search. So, in short, semantic search is a search engine’s attempt to produce the most accurate results possible based on the end users’ intent, query context, and word relationships. In another word, semantic search, tries to process and understand natural language in the same manner as a human would.

Semantic search on the web extends nearly two decades. Whether it was Powerset or SHOE in the 2000’s or the google knowledge graph in 2010 which eventually led to Hummingbird, RankBrain and BERT. All these engines are attempting to create the Semantic Web where intent and query is matched as closely as possible with the provided content.

How do you succeed with semantic search?

Most of you who know me (Nami), know that I have been a strong advocate of structured data. Going back to 2013, DWG first advised our clients that they need to create structured data to inform search engines of their shows, events, products, content, and location.

Well, don’t be surprised then if I tell you the structured data is more important than ever. But structured data by itself, especially if not used properly can prove to be detrimental.

First as always, is your content. The age of keywords alone has long passed, so look through your pages and give your audience, a comprehensive answer and include long-tail (4 – 5 words). Before digging into more technical information, provide content that answers a typical inquiry simply and concisely at the top of the page.

Consider providing “comprehensive guidance” and more complete resources that your readers will find useful instead of dozens of small, disjointed pages, each with its own topic. Think of big themes in your field that you can go into detail about. By focusing on people’s intentions, you can build a comprehensive, creative, and high-quality content strategy.

This strategy will focus on a list of subjects for content generation that focuses on the searches that bring users to your or your competitor’s website. Focus on the real question that is being answered and not the individual keywords.

Now that you have these pages, circle back and recheck the basics:

  1. Long Tail keywords, Nice URLs, Meta tags, H1, and H2 Tags
  2. Authoritative Backlinks
  3. Use Schema.org (structured data) to help the search engines present your information in more ways
  4. Accessibility and WCAG audit – Even though it is intended for accessibility testing, this will help you find many of possible short falls of your SEO and even help your SEO in places.
  5. Site Speed – getting your site speed up is essential – Minify resources, compress images, use caching, and if possible, use a CDN.
  6. Information Design – Create a logical Information structure for your site and make sure there is a logical relationship between your content for a better user experience.

–Nami

Breaking up or Together Forever?

I (LaMae) have probably advised you on vendors, set-ups or other miscellaneous curiosities.  I’m always happy to chat and advocate for you.

One of the things we talk about most often is how to determine vendors and whether to use a vendor with packaged services or purchase the services individually.  My answer still remains -keep them separate.  But when you consider how to make that decision, think about control, integration, and cost.  I’ll offer some examples that may help.

Credit Card Processing:  As you know, you will need a Merchant Account, a Gateway, Bank Account, and a form/cart/shopping tool.  You have the option to use an integrated service such as Stripe and quickly add your bank account and that can work great.  Or you can put things together on your own, work a bit more upfront and pay less over time.  I have selected our gateway provider and merchant processor separately and then linked them together.  Why?  So if one doesn’t work out, I can quickly find a replacement to connect in and I have not lost a minute.  If I purchase everything together, I feel a bit at the other’s mercy.  If an all-in processor turns out not to work as expected,  you have to start all over.

Domains:   Always own and keep access to your own domain — end of the story.  (I’ve spent hours and hours helping folks untangle domain ownership)

So with these examples in mind, here are my general guidelines

  • Make sure control is key — you should own what is yours and have an understanding of what an exit path may be.
  • How much work is it to change…both from figuring it out and the actual changes needed.
  • Read reviews
  • Ask an expert

And for the cost decision — that will probably become clear when you review the above items.  Technology is becoming more flexible, interchangeable, and cost-effective.

Compare apples to apples and do your homework.

How can we help? E-commerce? Virtual Interaction? Questions?

Now is not the time to profit – so please know in advance that our consultations will be free and our pricing will be at sustainable rates for our team.

DWG understands how dramatically your business/life/business-life have changed in the last few weeks and perhaps, minute-by-minute.  Perhaps we can help….24/7.

Do you need online access to your business such as selling products online, updating your clients, hosting your digital messages?  DWG will brainstorm and implement promptly.  We stand ready to be your digital support whether you are a long-time client or someone with a new need.  Let’s talk.

Phone:  818.610.3316
Email:  dreambig@dreamwarrior.com
Top Software Companies in Los Angeles

LaMae and Nami

Corona / COVID 19 Web Thoughts

Clients / Friends / Humans:  First, let me take this moment to wish you health and well-being in every way.

Those of you who are our maintenance clients have already heard from us about how we can help you communicate your message.    Dream Warrior is happy to pitch-in during this chaotic and critical time.

Here are some thoughts and recommendations to consider (and we know most of you have already done this):

  • Put a pop-up or popover on your site so you patrons and customers can readily find information.
  • Designate a new and separate  advisory webpage that you can update and change as information changes.  That should be the place where everyone can go to for current information – which will help your internal team as well as clients.
    • Include the latest updates regarding programs / services
    • Include the best local and national resources for information such as WHO and CDC.
    • Put best personal care practices as a service
    • Let them clearly know what you are doing on a schedule and maintenance basis — we are cleaning in this way or here is our refund/exchange policy.
    • Update them on the best way to reach you — phone lines and emails are very busy…explain that.
  • Then pass this information and page everywhere…
    • Post on social media
    • Create a link on menu
    • Include a link in email footers (of course send an email as well)
    • Consider your PPC or retargeting campaigns – how can you adjsut them to best serve your customers.  Do you need to change your ads letting them know of cancellations?  Can you give the options to work with you during this process – alternatives to refunds?

Please call us if we can help:  818.610.3316 x1

As for us, we are keeping safe and helping the best we can.  I am off to New York this weekend to speak at the Arts Reach conference – I expect there will be plenty of seats on the plane.  I will be careful and keep you updated.

LaMae

Blog Content for the Rest of Us

No one will argue the need for organizations to publish meaningful content these days, one of the best ways to capture audience interest and increase organic search rankings. If you run Apple or Coca Cola, your sizeable in-house marketing department with their social media specialists are pumping out engaging content like clockwork and receiving the lion’s share of engagement and spiraling rankings. How do the “Rest of Us” hope to compete with far more limited resources?

Some of the Rest of Us put out occasional blogs, stuff them with desired keywords, and receive varying levels of audience engagement. Others, often non-profit and arts organizations, either rely on head office efforts or hope for the best with storefront or event engagement. The world of social media, with its relentless advances and audience trends, is a difficult one for the Rest of Us to ever feel fully on top of, and it can be easier to simply hope for the best. But does it have to be so daunting?

Information on the main blog types is easy to find and generally includes the how-to, list-based (think top ten), curated slide-show, and news story links. A few other interesting ideas include a quote and your interpretation of it, behind the scenes on a project of yours, an insiders look at your facility, a profile of an affiliated business, whose reposting can boomerang leads back to you. Others could be a Q & A, customer stories, (usually veiled testimonials) asking your audience an industry-related question, a review of your process, a personal story, or steps to take from start to finish. For maximum impact, your blog should be what is known as long-form, or at least 2,000 words.

Sound scary? Any of the above ideas could also be handily covered by what is undoubtedly the king of social media, video. A weekly video diary of a current project’s progress, a quick tour of your office or studio, or a behind-the-scenes moment, (of interest to your niche) can produce viral results. These days smartphones can provide an excellent quality video, so there is no need to hire this out.

Okay, so you have your idea, and you want to write it up. Editors know that any piece of writing needs to have an intention. So, if your company sells widgets, your intention should be more specific than to sell widgets. Your intention could be to inform your audience about the breakthroughs in titanium widgets, evidenced by how they are transforming Nasa’s Satellite Production System (news story). By the way, I have no idea if they use titanium in widgets or if Nasa even builds satellites, but you get the picture. Your intention here is to educate your audience about the value and effective industrial use of titanium widgets, which you just happen to manufacture.

Hand in hand with defining your intention is clearly defining your audience. In the widget scenario, the audience is likely corporate widget buyers or tool companies. They would most likely want to be in the know with such developments as industrial widget metal advancement. If your audience is dentists, they might be less impressed with industrial use and more impressed with dental or medical applications (dental x-ray widgets, tooth drill widgets) that could impact and improve patient health and comfort.

Once you define your intention and your audience, you can choose any blog style you like. For instance, the curated collection or slide show blog is popular with shoppers and recipe seekers, but other audiences can find the sometimes “salesy” tone off-putting. Current trends show that audiences are increasingly drawn less to sales pitches and more to meaningful and relatable content. FREE meaningful content that is. This content trend also means the Rest Of Us may have to do some research to ensure all facts are accurate and be sure to cite sources.

So you know your intention and your audience; be sure to gauge your content, tone and pace for maximum audience relatability. Are your itty-bitty titanium widgets used in hearing aids that can last longer with specific care? You might choose a “top ten tips” style blog, and ensure your tone is factual and clear, using a moderate pace. Are your titanium widgets used in skateboard wheels? An action-filled video would probably work best, but if you do write, your tone would be punchier, far less wordy and at a quicker pace.

So, writing. Remember high school essay writing? A basic blog writing can follow a similar structure without overdoing the thesis arguments. Grab your audience with a super exciting title and introduction, and then follow up with a few points that support it. In your conclusion, circle back to the exciting intro point. Don’t forget to include one or more eye-catching and relatable images. Luckily you will have something in your library, but if not, numerous royalty-free image sites abound, such as Unsplash, Pixabay or Pexels.

When it comes to keywords, gone are the days of the more, the merrier. This practice resulted in inauthentic sounding copy and google now punishes “keyword stuffing.” One of the core concepts behind current SEO (Search Engine Optimization) best practices is improving the user experience with relatable content. When it comes to optimizing, the user comes first. If there are marketing funds available, a good SEO resource is invaluable, since they can monitor and adjust much more quickly than The Rest Of Us. If not, there is much detailed information out there on this topic.

Finally, it would help if you pulled audiences to you with consistency. It can be helpful to create an editorial calendar of weekly or monthly topics, such as the ever-popular “Throwback Thursday.” Search leading sources in your industry for their editorial calendars and try following their topic timings to grab pre-existing and trending audience interest. Several content pre-scheduling sites are available to send out your content automatically once you produce it and schedule the timings. Hootsuite is a good one.

Over time, your audience will tell you what they like. You won’t know overnight, after two blogs and probably not after twenty, but if you start paying attention to your content and intention, the audiences of The BEST of Rest of Us will vote with their feet, I mean – fingers, or possibly thumbs.

Karen Stewart
www.kstewartcommunicatons.com
A DWG partner