This is Part Two in a Six Part Series.

Semantic Analysis is the new frontier for search engine relevance, ever since premier search engines like Google and Bing began using synonyms to understand the content of web site pages. Some 70% of search queries on Google now involve the use of synonyms, therefore knowing how to research semantic keywords that have direct relevance to your web site is critical to increasing your page relevance and improving search engine rankings for your targeted search terms.

This is Part Two in a Six Part Series.

Semantic Analysis is the new frontier for search engine relevance, ever since premier search engines like Google and Bing began using synonyms to understand the content of web site pages. Some 70% of search queries on Google now involve the use of synonyms, therefore knowing how to research semantic keywords that have direct relevance to your web site is critical to increasing your page relevance and improving search engine rankings for your targeted search terms.

Benefits Of Synonyms

Previously, web developers and SEO companies would optimize their web sites around target keywords and phrases, and while it’s still important to know what keywords and phrases you are targeting, the use of synonyms has a number of very tangible benefits to your search engine rankings. These include:

• stronger page titles,

• improved page copy,

• opportunities to create new internal pages for semantically-relevant terms, and

• the ability to vary the anchor text of pages which point into your target page with additional terms that still have high semantic relevance.

Most importantly, synonyms not only improve your page content relevance but they provide additional keywords for you to rank in the search engines for search phrases that people are using every day to discover your content.

Example

Google associates the search term ‘Kitchen Utensils’ with another term that has a direct synonynmous relationship – Cooking Utensils – therefore a web page trying to rank for the primary term of Kitchen Utensils could include the term ‘Cooking Utensils’ inside their Page Title, and also early in the page text to increase search engine relevance.

How To Find This On Google

To see this example in action, enter the search term ‘Kitchen Utensils’ (without the abbreviation) into the Google search box by first inserting the ~Tilde symbol directly before the search term like this; ~Kitchen Utensils. Using Google Advanced Search and setting the number of links displayed on the page to 100 provides you with a long page of search results containing useful synonyms including ‘food utensils’ and ‘cooking’.

Here’s another example for the search term ~Baking which displays many more semantically relevant terms including; Baked, Bakery, Recipes, Dessert Recipes, Cakes, Muffin, Bread, Culinary, Cook Recipes, Bread, Making and Pastry. One of the really great benefits of Search Engine Semantic Analysis is that the search results immediately show you additional keywords and phrases that really make sense to your primary word or phrase, and if you can relate to these words then so can your audience!

This Is An On-Going Process At Google

The search engines are less concerned today with ‘keyword frequency’ than with page context or page themes as a means to define the relevance of a web page. Using semantic analysis and synonyms has already become essential to understanding how people discover content, and then knowing how to create pages that resonate with your visitors and with the search engines.

The development of synonymous terms is an ongoing process at Google and occasionally you will spot a synonym that makes no sense to your target phrase, such as the Google search results for ~Fly Chicago which include listings for Chicago Fly Fishing Outfitters, but these are anomalies that will disappear over time.

As a final note, Google is unique in how it handles and defines synonyms. Google uses it’s own taxonomy combined with trillions of pieces of search data accumulated over years of keyword searches rather than simply plugging a Thesaurus into it’s back end to define synonyms. In other words, Google knows what synonyms people are actually using in the real world to discover useful content.

Web sites that want to sustain and increase their organic search engine traffic (and beat out their competition) need to play close attention to this whole new frontier of Search Engine Semantic Analysis. It’s the newest biggest game in town for content relevance.

Chris Lewis is the author of this post. Chris Lewis is the Founder of Search Engine Semantics, a site which offers consulting services, information guides and online resources for the correct implementation of Semantics for SEO.
———————————————————————–
CONVERT BREAKS: __default__

Benefits Of Synonyms

Previously, web developers and SEO companies would optimize their web sites around target keywords and phrases, and while it’s still important to know what keywords and phrases you are targeting, the use of synonyms has a number of very tangible benefits to your search engine rankings. These include:

• stronger page titles,

• improved page copy,

• opportunities to create new internal pages for semantically-relevant terms, and

• the ability to vary the anchor text of pages which point into your target page with additional terms that still have high semantic relevance.

Most importantly, synonyms not only improve your page content relevance but they provide additional keywords for you to rank in the search engines for search phrases that people are using every day to discover your content.

Example

Google associates the search term ‘Kitchen Utensils’ with another term that has a direct synonynmous relationship – Cooking Utensils – therefore a web page trying to rank for the primary term of Kitchen Utensils could include the term ‘Cooking Utensils’ inside their Page Title, and also early in the page text to increase search engine relevance.

How To Find This On Google

To see this example in action, enter the search term ‘Kitchen Utensils’ (without the abbreviation) into the Google search box by first inserting the ~Tilde symbol directly before the search term like this; ~Kitchen Utensils. Using Google Advanced Search and setting the number of links displayed on the page to 100 provides you with a long page of search results containing useful synonyms including ‘food utensils’ and ‘cooking’.

Here’s another example for the search term ~Baking which displays many more semantically relevant terms including; Baked, Bakery, Recipes, Dessert Recipes, Cakes, Muffin, Bread, Culinary, Cook Recipes, Bread, Making and Pastry. One of the really great benefits of Search Engine Semantic Analysis is that the search results immediately show you additional keywords and phrases that really make sense to your primary word or phrase, and if you can relate to these words then so can your audience!

This Is An On-Going Process At Google

The search engines are less concerned today with ‘keyword frequency’ than with page context or page themes as a means to define the relevance of a web page. Using semantic analysis and synonyms has already become essential to understanding how people discover content, and then knowing how to create pages that resonate with your visitors and with the search engines.

The development of synonymous terms is an ongoing process at Google and occasionally you will spot a synonym that makes no sense to your target phrase, such as the Google search results for ~Fly Chicago which include listings for Chicago Fly Fishing Outfitters, but these are anomalies that will disappear over time.

As a final note, Google is unique in how it handles and defines synonyms. Google uses it’s own taxonomy combined with trillions of pieces of search data accumulated over years of keyword searches rather than simply plugging a Thesaurus into it’s back end to define synonyms. In other words, Google knows what synonyms people are actually using in the real world to discover useful content.

Web sites that want to sustain and increase their organic search engine traffic (and beat out their competition) need to play close attention to this whole new frontier of Search Engine Semantic Analysis. It’s the newest biggest game in town for content relevance.

Chris Lewis is the author of this post. Chris Lewis is the Founder of Search Engine Semantics, a site which offers consulting services, information guides and online resources for the correct implementation of Semantics for SEO.
———————————————————————–
• Don’t forget to propose your startup for our Semantic Web Impact Awards. The deadline is Sept. 15.

SemTechBiz is Less Than 2 Weeks Away

The Semantic Tech & Business Conference (SemTechBiz) is coming to San Francisco on June 3-7! Join us for case studies, innovative panels, tutorials, and keynotes that will provide you with practical advice, hands-on guidance, and breakthrough approaches to solving business problems with semantic technology. Passes go up $200 at the door. Sign up now and save !