{"id":2911,"date":"2025-04-30T07:39:12","date_gmt":"2025-04-30T07:39:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ewebtoolz.com\/blog\/the-advanced-skill-most-seos-pretend-to-understand\/"},"modified":"2025-04-30T07:39:12","modified_gmt":"2025-04-30T07:39:12","slug":"the-advanced-skill-most-seos-pretend-to-understand","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ewebtoolz.com\/blog\/the-advanced-skill-most-seos-pretend-to-understand\/","title":{"rendered":"The Advanced Skill Most SEOs Pretend to Understand"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div id=\"\">\n<p> Semantic SEO sounds complicated, but it simply boils down to doing SEO without cutting corners.\u00a0<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"big\">\n<p> If you do SEO properly, you\u2019re automatically doing semantic SEO. It\u2019s just that most people aren\u2019t doing it properly\u2026\u00a0<\/p>\n<div class=\"quote-info clearfix\">\n<div class=\"quote-photo\"><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Sally Mills, \" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Sally-Mills.png\"\/><\/noscript><img class=\"lazyload\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Sally Mills, \" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Sally-Mills.png\"\/><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>It\u2019s not a different <a href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/types-of-seo\/\">type of SEO<\/a>. You don\u2019t need to do wildly different things. Rather, it\u2019s a mental model that advances:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>The way you think about SEO strategy<\/li>\n<li>The SEO goals you aim\u00a0for<\/li>\n<li>The processes you follow to achieve them<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>This is a no-hype, no-bs guide on how you can implement semantic SEO on your website.<\/p>\n<p>We\u2019ll cover what \u201csemantic\u201d means, how it applies to search engines and LLMs, and how I and the following experts <em>actually do<\/em> semantic SEO and get meaningful results for clients.<\/p>\n<p><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-187360\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/1-semantic-seo-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1820\" height=\"1504\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/1-semantic-seo-1.jpg 1820w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/1-semantic-seo-1-514x425.jpg 514w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/1-semantic-seo-1-768x635.jpg 768w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/1-semantic-seo-1-1536x1269.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1820px) 100vw, 1820px\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Let\u2019s dig\u00a0in.<\/p>\n<h2><a id=\"post-187259-_80fvlmt4bgl0\"\/><\/p>\n<div class=\"post-nav-link clearfix\" id=\"section1\"><a class=\"subhead-anchor\" data-tip=\"tooltip__copielink\" rel=\"#section1\"><svg width=\"19\" height=\"19\" viewbox=\"0 0 14 14\" style=\"\"><g fill=\"none\" fill-rule=\"evenodd\"><path d=\"M0 0h14v14H0z\"\/><path d=\"M7.45 9.887l-1.62 1.621c-.92.92-2.418.92-3.338 0a2.364 2.364 0 0 1 0-3.339l1.62-1.62-1.273-1.272-1.62 1.62a4.161 4.161 0 1 0 5.885 5.884l1.62-1.62L7.45 9.886zM5.527 5.135L7.17 3.492c.92-.92 2.418-.92 3.339 0 .92.92.92 2.418 0 3.339L8.866 8.473l1.272 1.273 1.644-1.643A4.161 4.161 0 1 0 5.897 2.22L4.254 3.863l1.272 1.272zm-.66 3.998a.749.749 0 0 1 0-1.06l2.208-2.206a.749.749 0 1 1 1.06 1.06L5.928 9.133a.75.75 0 0 1-1.061 0z\" style=\"\"\/><\/g><\/svg><\/a><\/p>\n<p> What does \u201csemantic\u201d mean?\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/h2>\n<p>The word semantic means \u201cof or relating to meaning\u201d.<\/p>\n<p><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"590\" height=\"406\" class=\"wp-image-187260\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/the-definition-of-semantic-according-to-oxford-lan.png\" alt=\"The definition of semantic according to Oxford Languages is &quot;relating to meaning in language or logic&quot;.\"\/><\/noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"590\" height=\"406\" class=\"lazyload wp-image-187260\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/the-definition-of-semantic-according-to-oxford-lan.png\" alt=\"The definition of semantic according to Oxford Languages is &quot;relating to meaning in language or logic&quot;.\"\/><\/p>\n<p>For example, the word \u201cdog\u201d has meaning to us, \u201casdf\u201d does not, it\u2019s just a random string of characters.<\/p>\n<p>To machines, all words are random strings of characters. The field of semantics focuses on training them to interpret the meaning of words based on how we (humans) use\u00a0them.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"big\">\n<p> Search engines don\u2019t speak English. They speak code. Semantic SEO is about translating your meaning into their language.\u00a0<\/p>\n<div class=\"quote-info clearfix\">\n<div class=\"quote-photo\"><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Amanda King\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Amanda-King.png\"\/><\/noscript><img class=\"lazyload\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Amanda King\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Amanda-King.png\"\/><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>The more popular a particular sequence of characters is, the higher the chance it has meaning.<\/p>\n<p>The more two separate strings are used together, the more likely they are related.<\/p>\n<p>Notice the language I\u2019m using \u2014 \u201cmore likely\u201d, \u201chigher the chance\u201d \u2014 it\u2019s all a matter of probabilities and calculations because machines cannot truly understand things the way we\u00a0do.<\/p>\n<p>Repetition and patterns in how humans use words are how they infer meaning.<\/p>\n<p>That is the basis of <a href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/semantic-search\/\">semantic search<\/a>.<\/p>\n<h2><a id=\"post-187259-_1xc2i5qcv6pz\"\/><\/p>\n<div class=\"post-nav-link clearfix\" id=\"section1\"><a class=\"subhead-anchor\" data-tip=\"tooltip__copielink\" rel=\"#section1\"><svg width=\"19\" height=\"19\" viewbox=\"0 0 14 14\" style=\"\"><g fill=\"none\" fill-rule=\"evenodd\"><path d=\"M0 0h14v14H0z\"\/><path d=\"M7.45 9.887l-1.62 1.621c-.92.92-2.418.92-3.338 0a2.364 2.364 0 0 1 0-3.339l1.62-1.62-1.273-1.272-1.62 1.62a4.161 4.161 0 1 0 5.885 5.884l1.62-1.62L7.45 9.886zM5.527 5.135L7.17 3.492c.92-.92 2.418-.92 3.339 0 .92.92.92 2.418 0 3.339L8.866 8.473l1.272 1.273 1.644-1.643A4.161 4.161 0 1 0 5.897 2.22L4.254 3.863l1.272 1.272zm-.66 3.998a.749.749 0 0 1 0-1.06l2.208-2.206a.749.749 0 1 1 1.06 1.06L5.928 9.133a.75.75 0 0 1-1.061 0z\" style=\"\"\/><\/g><\/svg><\/a><\/p>\n<p> So then, what\u2019s semantic SEO\u00a0about?\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/h2>\n<p>Semantic SEO is about showing up in search engines and LLMs that surface content or create responses based on meaning rather than word strings.<\/p>\n<p>They typically work by matching the topics in a user\u2019s query with documents that cover that topic\u00a0well.<\/p>\n<p>This is different from old-school search engines that match content based on the exact words used (a bit like how Google Scholar works\u00a0today).<\/p>\n<p><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"2048\" height=\"913\" class=\"wp-image-187261\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/example-of-lexical-search-used-in-google-scholar-.jpg\" alt=\"Example of lexical search used in Google Scholar.\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/example-of-lexical-search-used-in-google-scholar-.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/example-of-lexical-search-used-in-google-scholar--680x303.jpg 680w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/example-of-lexical-search-used-in-google-scholar--768x342.jpg 768w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/example-of-lexical-search-used-in-google-scholar--1536x685.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2048px) 100vw, 2048px\"\/><\/noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"2048\" height=\"913\" class=\"lazyload wp-image-187261\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/example-of-lexical-search-used-in-google-scholar-.jpg\" alt=\"Example of lexical search used in Google Scholar.\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/example-of-lexical-search-used-in-google-scholar-.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/example-of-lexical-search-used-in-google-scholar--680x303.jpg 680w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/example-of-lexical-search-used-in-google-scholar--768x342.jpg 768w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/example-of-lexical-search-used-in-google-scholar--1536x685.jpg 1536w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 2048px) 100vw, 2048px\"\/><\/p>\n<p>The way all senior SEOs I interviewed think about it is as an overlap between:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Brand<\/strong>: To ensure machines understand and represent your brand accurately.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Content<\/strong>: To connect your brand to core topics you want to be a trusted source for.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Technical<\/strong>: To ensure your brand, content, and website are machine-friendly.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-187348\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/2-semantic-seo.png\" alt=\"Semantic SEO visualized as a Venn diagram connecting brand, content and technical elements.\" width=\"1600\" height=\"1536\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/2-semantic-seo.png 1600w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/2-semantic-seo-443x425.png 443w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/2-semantic-seo-768x737.png 768w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/2-semantic-seo-1536x1475.png 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px\"\/><\/noscript><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"lazyload alignnone size-full wp-image-187348\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/2-semantic-seo.png\" alt=\"Semantic SEO visualized as a Venn diagram connecting brand, content and technical elements.\" width=\"1600\" height=\"1536\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/2-semantic-seo.png 1600w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/2-semantic-seo-443x425.png 443w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/2-semantic-seo-768x737.png 768w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/2-semantic-seo-1536x1475.png 1536w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px\"\/><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"big\">\n<p> It\u2019s where brand strategy overlaps with technical and on-page SEO \u2014 and that overlap is growing.\u00a0<\/p>\n<div class=\"quote-info clearfix\">\n<div class=\"quote-photo\"><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Sally Mills, \" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Sally-Mills.png\"\/><\/noscript><img class=\"lazyload\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Sally Mills, \" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Sally-Mills.png\"\/><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>It\u2019s all focused on how machines interpret your brand and content so they can mention you in more responses, accurately.<\/p>\n<h3><a id=\"post-187259-_1bh10l4gysw1\"\/>The goals of semantic SEO<\/h3>\n<p>Rankings and traffic have long been the staple goals of traditional SEO projects. However, they\u2019re concerned with <em>if<\/em> a brand shows up in search results.<\/p>\n<p>It doesn\u2019t necessarily matter <em>how<\/em> because the expectation has been that content will be featured verbatim as it is on the brand\u2019s website. Sure, Google uses different styling to emphasize relevant parts to searchers, but it doesn\u2019t completely rewrite your content.<\/p>\n<p>For instance, this search result displays the post\u2019s first sentence word-for-word:<\/p>\n<p><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"998\" height=\"223\" class=\"wp-image-187262\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/screenshot-of-a-google-search-listing-result-for-a-1.png\" alt=\"Screenshot of a Google search listing result for Ahrefs' multilingual SEO post.\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/screenshot-of-a-google-search-listing-result-for-a-1.png 998w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/screenshot-of-a-google-search-listing-result-for-a-1-680x152.png 680w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/screenshot-of-a-google-search-listing-result-for-a-1-768x172.png 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 998px) 100vw, 998px\"\/><\/noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"998\" height=\"223\" class=\"lazyload wp-image-187262\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/screenshot-of-a-google-search-listing-result-for-a-1.png\" alt=\"Screenshot of a Google search listing result for Ahrefs' multilingual SEO post.\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/screenshot-of-a-google-search-listing-result-for-a-1.png 998w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/screenshot-of-a-google-search-listing-result-for-a-1-680x152.png 680w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/screenshot-of-a-google-search-listing-result-for-a-1-768x172.png 768w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 998px) 100vw, 998px\"\/><\/p>\n<p>The goals of semantic SEO, however, are much more concerned with <em>how<\/em> a brand is featured.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Is the brand accurately described and represented?<\/li>\n<li>Is it showing up as an authoritative, trusted source for the correct topics?<\/li>\n<li>Is the sentiment surrounding the brand mention positive?<\/li>\n<li>Is the brand\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/how-to-become-a-thought-leader\/\">thought leadership<\/a> being recognized and\u00a0cited?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>These are the questions that now matter but traditionally were not a concern.<\/p>\n<p>This is because of how modern search engines and LLMs present answers. Thanks to AI features, they can now rewrite a brand\u2019s content in confident, authoritative-sounding prose. They can (and often are) confidently wrong in a way traditional search results could not\u00a0be.<\/p>\n<p>They also tend not to use your brand\u2019s content verbatim.<\/p>\n<p>Rather, they summarize your content based on their understanding and interpretation (a lot of which is formed from what other people say about your brand or\u00a0topic).<\/p>\n<p>So, to do SEO properly these days, you have to understand how search engines have adapted over the years and what factors now influence your brand\u2019s visibility.<\/p>\n<h2><a id=\"post-187259-_avv3tspk0y3w\"\/><\/p>\n<div class=\"post-nav-link clearfix\" id=\"section1\"><a class=\"subhead-anchor\" data-tip=\"tooltip__copielink\" rel=\"#section1\"><svg width=\"19\" height=\"19\" viewbox=\"0 0 14 14\" style=\"\"><g fill=\"none\" fill-rule=\"evenodd\"><path d=\"M0 0h14v14H0z\"\/><path d=\"M7.45 9.887l-1.62 1.621c-.92.92-2.418.92-3.338 0a2.364 2.364 0 0 1 0-3.339l1.62-1.62-1.273-1.272-1.62 1.62a4.161 4.161 0 1 0 5.885 5.884l1.62-1.62L7.45 9.886zM5.527 5.135L7.17 3.492c.92-.92 2.418-.92 3.339 0 .92.92.92 2.418 0 3.339L8.866 8.473l1.272 1.273 1.644-1.643A4.161 4.161 0 1 0 5.897 2.22L4.254 3.863l1.272 1.272zm-.66 3.998a.749.749 0 0 1 0-1.06l2.208-2.206a.749.749 0 1 1 1.06 1.06L5.928 9.133a.75.75 0 0 1-1.061 0z\" style=\"\"\/><\/g><\/svg><\/a><\/p>\n<p> How semantics apply to search (and why Google\u2019s not truly a semantic search engine)\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/h2>\n<p>Search engines (and now LLMs) can retrieve information and present it to searchers in different ways.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Lexical search<\/strong> is based on matching word strings, like when you search for an exact song lyric. It also treats words like \u201cbat\u201d and \u201cbar\u201d as similar because they start with the same sequence of characters.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Semantic search<\/strong> is based on predicting patterns and inferring the meaning of words and their relationships. Most LLMs use this approach which is why they can better connect \u201chypoallergenic dogs\u201d to \u201clow shedding dogs\u201d despite these terms not having much lexical similarity.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Hybrid search <\/strong>blends the two together, which is what most search engines use today, including Google, Baidu, and others. It allows the best of both types of searches by running on a lexical base with some semantics overlaid on\u00a0top.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Elie Berreby explains this very\u00a0well:<\/p>\n<div class=\"recommendation\">\n<div class=\"recommendation-content\">\n<blockquote class=\"small\">\n<div class=\"quote-content\">\n<p>Let\u2019s imagine you are searching for beautiful new\u00a0shoes\u00a0\ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n<p>Lexical retrieval would be searching your favorite online store using a specific product code: \u201cSHOE-1337-A\u201d. It will find that exact product or nothing.<\/p>\n<p>Lexical search could also mean searching \u201cred leather shoes\u201d, but it would only look for listings containing precisely those\u00a0terms.<\/p>\n<p>With semantic retrieval, imagine you search for \u201ccomfortable red shoes for dancing\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>The system would understand your purpose (to combine \u201ccomfort\u201d, \u201celegance,\u201d and \u201csport\u201d) and use product descriptions, categories, colors, and possibly reviews to suggest suitable items\u2026 even if your exact words aren\u2019t in the product title.<\/p>\n<p>It retrieves based on your needs or on concepts evoked, not just on keywords.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"quote-info clearfix\">\n<div class=\"quote-photo\"><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Elie Berreby\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Elie-Berreby.png\"\/><\/noscript><img class=\"lazyload\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Elie Berreby\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Elie-Berreby.png\"\/><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">The way in which semantic processes are used for information retrieval affects how your content and brand gets surfaced.<\/p>\n<p>For example, Baidu has created both a lexical index and a semantic one, allowing it to index content in both ways. Google, has used vectorization for a long time and heavily relies on semantic processes during the reranking stage, right before choosing which results it thinks will be best for a searcher to\u00a0see.<\/p>\n<p>On the other hand, LLMs are almost completely semantic and rarely use lexical or hybrid methods.<\/p>\n<div class=\"recommendation recommendation-green-bg\">\n<div class=\"recommendation-content\">\n<blockquote class=\"small\">\n<div class=\"quote-content\">\n<p>Some AI models first do a quick yes\/no check to see if they need extra info. Bigger, fancier ones can then grab outside data, run code, or use tools automatically to give you better answers.<\/p>\n<p>They can retrieve from external data sources that are semantically embedded into a vector database ahead of time, usually custom content like PDFs, websites, or docs indexed by the dev\u00a0team.<\/p>\n<p>At query time, the input is embedded and compared to that database using semantic similarity, not search engine rankings or live knowledge graphs.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s all about what\u2019s in the embedding store. Some setups do use search engines to fetch pages first, then embed them, but that\u2019s not the default.<\/p>\n<p>When it does occur, LLM retrieval is almost always semantic, not lexical, though some hybrid methods (e.g. BM25 + vectors) are also\u00a0used.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"quote-info clearfix\">\n<div class=\"quote-photo\"><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Dan Petrovic\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Dan-Petrovic.png\"\/><\/noscript><img class=\"lazyload\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Dan Petrovic\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Dan-Petrovic.png\"\/><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>In a nutshell, LLMs tend to be purely semantic, while modern search engines use a lexical base that\u2019s semantically augmented in different ways.<\/p>\n<h3><a id=\"post-187259-_8cjsn3g3yak8\"\/>Will search engines, like Google, become purely semantic?<\/h3>\n<p>According to Olaf Behrendt (Senior Data Scientist at Yep) and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/bohang-li\/\">Brandon Li<\/a> (Machine Learning Engineer at Ahrefs), it\u2019s unlikely Google or other search engines will become fully semantic and completely replace lexical search for a few reasons:<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>It\u2019s cost and resource prohibitive.<\/li>\n<li>Exact match (lexical) search is still a dominant way people use Google.<\/li>\n<li>Fully semantic results are currently unreliable and untrustworthy.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>Things may definitely change in the future, especially with new features like Google\u2019s AI mode becoming more commonplace. However, until then, keyword-level optimization will remain an important baseline for showing up in traditional search results.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/entity-seo\/\">Entity SEO<\/a> (and other semantic SEO processes) will need to enhance your baseline keyword strategy to increase visibility in LLMs or AI-driven areas of search results, such as AI Overviews.<\/p>\n<h2><a id=\"post-187259-_g3zh69tsx4ah\"\/><\/p>\n<div class=\"post-nav-link clearfix\" id=\"section1\"><a class=\"subhead-anchor\" data-tip=\"tooltip__copielink\" rel=\"#section1\"><svg width=\"19\" height=\"19\" viewbox=\"0 0 14 14\" style=\"\"><g fill=\"none\" fill-rule=\"evenodd\"><path d=\"M0 0h14v14H0z\"\/><path d=\"M7.45 9.887l-1.62 1.621c-.92.92-2.418.92-3.338 0a2.364 2.364 0 0 1 0-3.339l1.62-1.62-1.273-1.272-1.62 1.62a4.161 4.161 0 1 0 5.885 5.884l1.62-1.62L7.45 9.886zM5.527 5.135L7.17 3.492c.92-.92 2.418-.92 3.339 0 .92.92.92 2.418 0 3.339L8.866 8.473l1.272 1.273 1.644-1.643A4.161 4.161 0 1 0 5.897 2.22L4.254 3.863l1.272 1.272zm-.66 3.998a.749.749 0 0 1 0-1.06l2.208-2.206a.749.749 0 1 1 1.06 1.06L5.928 9.133a.75.75 0 0 1-1.061 0z\" style=\"\"\/><\/g><\/svg><\/a><\/p>\n<p> How experts actually \u201cdo\u201d semantic SEO\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/h2>\n<p>So, all this theory is good to know, but you might be wondering what to do with it. Remember, doing semantic SEO doesn\u2019t require anything different than regular SEO.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s just a more advanced way of thinking and focuses on optimizing for meaning. It\u2019s about caring <em>how<\/em> your brand and content show up, not just <em>if<\/em> they\u00a0do.<\/p>\n<p>This is why semantic SEO was cited as one of the <a href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/advanced-seo-tactics\/\">top advanced SEO skills<\/a> in a recent poll among 100+ SEO experts. So, let\u2019s look at how experts apply semantic thinking to common <a href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/seo-sops\/\">SEO processes<\/a>.<\/p>\n<h3><a id=\"post-187259-_2ff84p1yc35u\"\/>1. Define your brand and build a universal brand\u00a0guide<\/h3>\n<p>Creating a brand guide ensures your brand is consistent everywhere it\u2019s featured. It also aligns everyone in your company to refer to it the same way in all communications.<\/p>\n<p>Ensuring a brand is clearly defined and communicated is one of the biggest focus points of semantic SEO since machines cannot infer meaning from your brand name\u00a0alone:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Apple \u2014 could connect to the\u00a0fruit<\/li>\n<li>Nike \u2014 could connect to the Greek goddess of victory<\/li>\n<li>Adidas \u2014 has no semantic meaning outside of its\u00a0brand<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Specifically, it\u2019s all about the technical side of branding and codifying your brand guide so machines interpret who you are and what you\u2019re about correctly.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"big\">\n<p> Brand has to be a distributed source of effort because when you have thousands of employees, you can\u2019t control every touchpoint. You need to codify it to keep it consistent.\u00a0<\/p>\n<div class=\"quote-info clearfix\">\n<div class=\"quote-photo\"><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Amanda King\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Amanda-King.png\"\/><\/noscript><img class=\"lazyload\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Amanda King\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Amanda-King.png\"\/><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Perhaps more importantly, codifying your brand allows you to also explain to others the correct way to refer to you. Think of media kits, public logo files, and correct and incorrect ways to shorten your brand\u00a0name.<\/p>\n<div class=\"sidenote\">\n<p>Sidenote.<\/p>\n<p> Codifying in this context does not mean to turn your brand into code. Rather, it\u2019s about creating a well thought out plan or system about how your brand should be represented and documenting it in clear brand guidelines for internal (company) and external (media) use.\u00a0<\/p><\/div>\n<p>For example, here\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/media-kit\">Ahrefs\u2019 media kit<\/a>, where we make it easy for others to reference our brand the same way we\u00a0do.<\/p>\n<p><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1172\" height=\"1444\" class=\"wp-image-187263\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/example-of-ahrefs-media-kit-ensuring-journalists.png\" alt=\"Example of Ahrefs' Media Kit ensuring journalists and writers mention the brand consistently.\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/example-of-ahrefs-media-kit-ensuring-journalists.png 1172w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/example-of-ahrefs-media-kit-ensuring-journalists-345x425.png 345w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/example-of-ahrefs-media-kit-ensuring-journalists-768x946.png 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1172px) 100vw, 1172px\"\/><\/noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1172\" height=\"1444\" class=\"lazyload wp-image-187263\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/example-of-ahrefs-media-kit-ensuring-journalists.png\" alt=\"Example of Ahrefs' Media Kit ensuring journalists and writers mention the brand consistently.\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/example-of-ahrefs-media-kit-ensuring-journalists.png 1172w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/example-of-ahrefs-media-kit-ensuring-journalists-345x425.png 345w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/example-of-ahrefs-media-kit-ensuring-journalists-768x946.png 768w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 1172px) 100vw, 1172px\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Since LLMs learn a lot about your brand from what others say, the more consistency there is between how you self-reference your brand and how others talk about you, the more likely LLMs will interpret and surface the correct information about\u00a0you.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"big\">\n<p> You need the internet to talk about you in a consistent way. That\u2019s what gives your brand context beyond your own ecosystem.<\/p>\n<div class=\"quote-info clearfix\">\n<div class=\"quote-photo\"><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Amanda King\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Amanda-King.png\"\/><\/noscript><img class=\"lazyload\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Amanda King\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Amanda-King.png\"\/><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Otherwise, LLMs may hallucinate responses based on misleading data or other people\u2019s opinions.<\/p>\n<h3><a id=\"post-187259-_hhbhn9kuy0kv\"\/>2. Connect your brand to features and attributes people care\u00a0about<\/h3>\n<p>Once you clarify who you are and what you do, you\u2019ll need to connect your brand to things LLMs and semantic search engines can use to understand more about\u00a0you.<\/p>\n<p>Connecting your content to core entities and topics is already fairly standard practice.<\/p>\n<p>However, advanced SEOs also connect the brand to <em>features and attributes<\/em> of these entities that matter most. Think of it like\u00a0how:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Apple connects to <em>innovative<\/em> technology<\/li>\n<li>Nike connects to <em>performance<\/em> footwear<\/li>\n<li>Hubspot connects to <em>inbound<\/em> marketing<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Remember, when doing semantic SEO, we\u2019re optimizing for meaning. Brand names on their own have no tangible meaning, so we need to create that meaning for semantic search engines to latch\u00a0onto.<\/p>\n<p>This is more than just adding specific words or entities in your content.<\/p>\n<p>You can\u2019t just say you\u2019re the \u201cbest at X\u201d or \u201cthe most Y.\u201d It\u2019s about other people saying this about you, too. This ultimately comes down to branding, something that traditional SEO has not concerned itself too much\u00a0with.<\/p>\n<p>You can get started with Ahrefs\u2019 Brand Radar. Check out either your brand or competitors\u2019 to spot what descriptive words, audience segments, or product categories get mentioned in AI Overviews:<\/p>\n<p><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1079\" height=\"431\" class=\"wp-image-187264\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/example-of-ahrefs-brand-radar-results-for-ai-over.png\" alt=\"Example of Ahrefs' Brand Radar results for AI Overviews.\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/example-of-ahrefs-brand-radar-results-for-ai-over.png 1079w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/example-of-ahrefs-brand-radar-results-for-ai-over-680x272.png 680w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/example-of-ahrefs-brand-radar-results-for-ai-over-768x307.png 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1079px) 100vw, 1079px\"\/><\/noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1079\" height=\"431\" class=\"lazyload wp-image-187264\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/example-of-ahrefs-brand-radar-results-for-ai-over.png\" alt=\"Example of Ahrefs' Brand Radar results for AI Overviews.\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/example-of-ahrefs-brand-radar-results-for-ai-over.png 1079w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/example-of-ahrefs-brand-radar-results-for-ai-over-680x272.png 680w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/example-of-ahrefs-brand-radar-results-for-ai-over-768x307.png 768w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 1079px) 100vw, 1079px\"\/><\/p>\n<p>These are the features and attributes that LLMs connect to brands in your industry. Pick the one you care most about because this isn\u2019t a matter of being known for everything. Instead, good branding comes down to being known for how well you do one\u00a0thing.<\/p>\n<p>For example, I successfully did this for a local aged care facility.<\/p>\n<p>This was prior to AI Overviews being launched, so I used Google\u2019s autosuggest at the time and noticed that attributes related to quality and price were commonly searched:<\/p>\n<p><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1600\" height=\"846\" class=\"wp-image-187265\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/using-google-autosuggest-to-get-ideas-for-descript.jpg\" alt=\"Using Google autosuggest to get ideas for descriptive words and modifiers used alongside valuable keywords.\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/using-google-autosuggest-to-get-ideas-for-descript.jpg 1600w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/using-google-autosuggest-to-get-ideas-for-descript-680x360.jpg 680w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/using-google-autosuggest-to-get-ideas-for-descript-768x406.jpg 768w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/using-google-autosuggest-to-get-ideas-for-descript-1536x812.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px\"\/><\/noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1600\" height=\"846\" class=\"lazyload wp-image-187265\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/using-google-autosuggest-to-get-ideas-for-descript.jpg\" alt=\"Using Google autosuggest to get ideas for descriptive words and modifiers used alongside valuable keywords.\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/using-google-autosuggest-to-get-ideas-for-descript.jpg 1600w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/using-google-autosuggest-to-get-ideas-for-descript-680x360.jpg 680w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/using-google-autosuggest-to-get-ideas-for-descript-768x406.jpg 768w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/using-google-autosuggest-to-get-ideas-for-descript-1536x812.jpg 1536w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px\"\/><\/p>\n<p>By connecting their new brand to these attributes, we could position them as the #1 choice for people who prioritize \u201cvalue for\u00a0money.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s more than just saying your brand is #1.<\/p>\n<p><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"534\" height=\"467\" class=\"wp-image-187266\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/source-trust-me-bro-meme.jpg\" alt=\"Source: Trust me bro! meme\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/source-trust-me-bro-meme.jpg 534w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/source-trust-me-bro-meme-486x425.jpg 486w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 534px) 100vw, 534px\"\/><\/noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"534\" height=\"467\" class=\"lazyload wp-image-187266\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/source-trust-me-bro-meme.jpg\" alt=\"Source: Trust me bro! meme\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/source-trust-me-bro-meme.jpg 534w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/source-trust-me-bro-meme-486x425.jpg 486w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 534px) 100vw, 534px\"\/><\/p>\n<p>You also have to prove it using authoritative, indisputable sources or some other mechanism that builds trust.<\/p>\n<p>So, for this project, my team and I used government data that allowed us to show how this aged care facility:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Was #1 in their local service area (compared to 238 other local facilities)<\/li>\n<li>Ranked in the top 1.26% of their entire city for \u201cresident experience\u201d<\/li>\n<li>Offered 50% more floor space (compared to 450 alternatives from competitors in their\u00a0city)<\/li>\n<li>Was up to 33% cheaper on average (compared to 148 competitors)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>We integrated this data either as micro-copy or entire sections everywhere it made sense to add it, like\u00a0the:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Home + about\u00a0pages<\/li>\n<li>Accommodation pages<\/li>\n<li>Pricing documentation<\/li>\n<li>Citations + directory listings<\/li>\n<li>Ad titles and descriptions<\/li>\n<li>Page titles and descriptions<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>In my interview with her, Sally also endorsed this approach:<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"big\">\n<p> Don\u2019t silo your identity to your About page. The homepage, service pages, even your footer \u2014 they all reinforce who you are to a machine.\u00a0<\/p>\n<div class=\"quote-info clearfix\">\n<div class=\"quote-photo\"><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Sally Mills, \" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Sally-Mills.png\"\/><\/noscript><img class=\"lazyload\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Sally Mills, \" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Sally-Mills.png\"\/><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Because we used data from an authoritative and immediately trustworthy source, we could be bold in our messaging and say things like:<\/p>\n<div class=\"recommendation\">\n<div class=\"recommendation-content\">\n<blockquote class=\"small\">\n<p> We\u2019re the #1 facility for resident experience in city.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Or\u2026<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"small\">\n<p> Our rooms are twice as big and up to 33% cheaper compared to 450 alternatives in city.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Anyone else who spoke about the brand and saw the stats based on government data could then trust our data\u2019s source and be more inclined to repeat this messaging.<\/p>\n<p>Thanks to this approach, some LLMs selected this aged care facility as the #1 choice when asked about \u201cvalue for\u00a0money\u201d:<\/p>\n<p><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1301\" height=\"601\" class=\"wp-image-187267\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/chatgpts-response-that-listed-a-local-aged-care-h.jpeg\" alt=\"ChatGPT's response that listed a local aged care home first when asked about value for money.\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/chatgpts-response-that-listed-a-local-aged-care-h.jpeg 1301w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/chatgpts-response-that-listed-a-local-aged-care-h-680x314.jpeg 680w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/chatgpts-response-that-listed-a-local-aged-care-h-768x355.jpeg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1301px) 100vw, 1301px\"\/><\/noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1301\" height=\"601\" class=\"lazyload wp-image-187267\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/chatgpts-response-that-listed-a-local-aged-care-h.jpeg\" alt=\"ChatGPT's response that listed a local aged care home first when asked about value for money.\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/chatgpts-response-that-listed-a-local-aged-care-h.jpeg 1301w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/chatgpts-response-that-listed-a-local-aged-care-h-680x314.jpeg 680w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/chatgpts-response-that-listed-a-local-aged-care-h-768x355.jpeg 768w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 1301px) 100vw, 1301px\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Perplexity also went a step further and created a comparison table:<\/p>\n<p><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1074\" height=\"505\" class=\"wp-image-187268\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/chatgpt-created-a-table-in-its-response-to-compar.png\" alt=\"ChatGPT created a table in it's response to compare a local aged care home against other facilities in it's area.\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/chatgpt-created-a-table-in-its-response-to-compar.png 1074w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/chatgpt-created-a-table-in-its-response-to-compar-680x320.png 680w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/chatgpt-created-a-table-in-its-response-to-compar-768x361.png 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1074px) 100vw, 1074px\"\/><\/noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1074\" height=\"505\" class=\"lazyload wp-image-187268\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/chatgpt-created-a-table-in-its-response-to-compar.png\" alt=\"ChatGPT created a table in it's response to compare a local aged care home against other facilities in it's area.\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/chatgpt-created-a-table-in-its-response-to-compar.png 1074w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/chatgpt-created-a-table-in-its-response-to-compar-680x320.png 680w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/chatgpt-created-a-table-in-its-response-to-compar-768x361.png 768w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 1074px) 100vw, 1074px\"\/><\/p>\n<p>It hallucinated some points about typical facilities in the city\u2026 but it got all the remaining stats about this local business correct, most likely due to the consistency, clarity, and frequency with which we communicated them.<\/p>\n<p>This result is a major early win, considering this aged care facility was still a new player in the market, didn\u2019t yet rank organically for related keywords on search engines, and did not use the words \u201cvalue for money\u201d on their website.<\/p>\n<p>That\u2019s a semantic SEO win right there, something traditional keyword-based SEO would be unable to achieve.<\/p>\n<h3><a id=\"post-187259-_519rew7ali6v\"\/>3. Add keywords (and meaning) to \u201calphabet soup\u201d\u00a0URLs<\/h3>\n<p>Have you ever worked on a project where the URLs were automatically created by a CMS and looked like <a href=\"https:\/\/site.com\/kj72376g8js\">site.com\/kj72376g8js<\/a>?<\/p>\n<p>That\u2019s what I call \u201calphabet soup\u201d URLs since they\u2019re just a random string of characters that make no sense to machines or humans.<\/p>\n<p>Converting these to user-friendly and search-engine-friendly URLs improves SEO, but it can certainly be a challenging process. Semantic SEO can help make the process easier, though!<\/p>\n<p>For instance, you can use many tools that provide semantic information about each page on the site,\u00a0like:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Top ranking keywords<\/li>\n<li>Page titles and descriptions<\/li>\n<li>H1 headings<\/li>\n<li>Body content, and so\u00a0on.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>To keep things simple, I like to use Ahrefs\u2019 Top Pages report if the site has been around for a\u00a0while.<\/p>\n<p><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"2048\" height=\"972\" class=\"wp-image-187269\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/example-of-a-website-with-alphanumeric-urls-that-h.png\" alt=\"Example of a website with alphanumeric URLs that have no semantic meaning.\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/example-of-a-website-with-alphanumeric-urls-that-h.png 2048w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/example-of-a-website-with-alphanumeric-urls-that-h-680x323.png 680w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/example-of-a-website-with-alphanumeric-urls-that-h-768x365.png 768w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/example-of-a-website-with-alphanumeric-urls-that-h-1536x729.png 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2048px) 100vw, 2048px\"\/><\/noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"2048\" height=\"972\" class=\"lazyload wp-image-187269\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/example-of-a-website-with-alphanumeric-urls-that-h.png\" alt=\"Example of a website with alphanumeric URLs that have no semantic meaning.\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/example-of-a-website-with-alphanumeric-urls-that-h.png 2048w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/example-of-a-website-with-alphanumeric-urls-that-h-680x323.png 680w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/example-of-a-website-with-alphanumeric-urls-that-h-768x365.png 768w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/example-of-a-website-with-alphanumeric-urls-that-h-1536x729.png 1536w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 2048px) 100vw, 2048px\"\/><\/p>\n<p>In one easy view, you can connect URLs to their best-performing keyword and streamline your approach to changing and redirecting URLs.<\/p>\n<p>Not only that, but for large sites, you also get built-in prioritization since you can arrange the pages in the order\u00a0of:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>The traffic they\u2019re currently getting<\/strong>: so you can bump up the best-performing pages even more or identify the weakest pages that need some extra attention.<\/li>\n<li><strong>The number of keywords they rank for<\/strong>: so you can improve on-page optimization of pages with the highest potential for a quick traffic boost.<\/li>\n<li><strong>The volume of the top keyword<\/strong>: So you can evaluate missed potential due to poor optimization and prioritize pages with the most searches per\u00a0month.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>For newer sites with no performance yet, you can use Ahrefs\u2019 Site Audit instead. Check out the Page Explorer report and customize the columns:<\/p>\n<p><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1844\" height=\"1082\" class=\"wp-image-187270\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/where-to-locate-the-columns-customization-feature.jpg\" alt=\"Where to locate the columns customization feature in Ahrefs' Site Audit.\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/where-to-locate-the-columns-customization-feature.jpg 1844w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/where-to-locate-the-columns-customization-feature-680x399.jpg 680w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/where-to-locate-the-columns-customization-feature-768x451.jpg 768w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/where-to-locate-the-columns-customization-feature-1536x901.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1844px) 100vw, 1844px\"\/><\/noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1844\" height=\"1082\" class=\"lazyload wp-image-187270\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/where-to-locate-the-columns-customization-feature.jpg\" alt=\"Where to locate the columns customization feature in Ahrefs' Site Audit.\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/where-to-locate-the-columns-customization-feature.jpg 1844w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/where-to-locate-the-columns-customization-feature-680x399.jpg 680w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/where-to-locate-the-columns-customization-feature-768x451.jpg 768w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/where-to-locate-the-columns-customization-feature-1536x901.jpg 1536w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 1844px) 100vw, 1844px\"\/><\/p>\n<p>You can use the following highlighted fields in the \u201cContent\u201d section to extract keywords, entities, or other semantically meaningful content to use in your\u00a0URLs:<\/p>\n<p><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-187271\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/content-fields-which-can-provide-semantic-data-inc.png\" alt=\"Content fields which can provide semantic data include title, meta description, H1, H2, keywords, SERP title and page text.\" width=\"401\" height=\"659\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/content-fields-which-can-provide-semantic-data-inc.png 884w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/content-fields-which-can-provide-semantic-data-inc-258x425.png 258w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/content-fields-which-can-provide-semantic-data-inc-768x1263.png 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 401px) 100vw, 401px\"\/><\/noscript><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"lazyload wp-image-187271\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/content-fields-which-can-provide-semantic-data-inc.png\" alt=\"Content fields which can provide semantic data include title, meta description, H1, H2, keywords, SERP title and page text.\" width=\"401\" height=\"659\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/content-fields-which-can-provide-semantic-data-inc.png 884w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/content-fields-which-can-provide-semantic-data-inc-258x425.png 258w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/content-fields-which-can-provide-semantic-data-inc-768x1263.png 768w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 401px) 100vw, 401px\"\/><\/p>\n<p>You can also take it up a notch and use semantic text analytics software to extract the most dominant topics and entities on each page. Some options worth trying (depending on your technical skill level) include <a href=\"https:\/\/cloud.google.com\/natural-language\">Google\u2019s Natural Language API<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.textrazor.com\/\">Text Razor<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>What you\u2019re looking for is a fast way to connect each page to a specific topic it talks about, then turn that topic into the slug to replace the alphabet soup (with 301 redirects, of course).<\/p>\n<h3><a id=\"post-187259-_tal1cikzqrpy\"\/>4. Map out a user and search-friendly information architecture<\/h3>\n<p>Most SEOs think of information architecture as \u201cURL structure\u201d, but it actually also involves:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Navigation +\u00a0menus<\/li>\n<li>Internal linking<\/li>\n<li>Taxonomies (like categories and\u00a0tags)<\/li>\n<li>Labels you use for pages and categories<\/li>\n<li>Filters and faceted navigation systems<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Traditionally, mapping out all these elements is part of the UX design process. Where most designers go wrong is that they don\u2019t align these elements with keywords that people search for.<\/p>\n<p>Advanced SEOs work alongside design teams to ensure these elements are all not only keyword optimized but also semantically optimized.<\/p>\n<p>My approach here is to use the EAV model (entity-attribute-value):<\/p>\n<table id=\"tablepress-393\" class=\"tablepress tablepress-id-393 tablepress-responsive tablepress-ahrefs-width-720px\">\n<thead>\n<tr class=\"row-1\">\n<th class=\"column-1\"\/>\n<th class=\"column-2\">What is it<\/th>\n<th class=\"column-3\">Example in action<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n<tbody>\n<tr class=\"row-2\">\n<td class=\"column-1\">Entity<\/td>\n<td class=\"column-2\">Represents the object or item you\u2019re optimizing.<\/td>\n<td class=\"column-3\">Products, categories, users<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr class=\"row-3\">\n<td class=\"column-1\">Attribute<\/td>\n<td class=\"column-2\">This is a characteristic or feature of the entity<\/td>\n<td class=\"column-3\">Colors, sizes, materials<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr class=\"row-4\">\n<td class=\"column-1\">Value<\/td>\n<td class=\"column-2\">This is the specific information tied to the attribute<\/td>\n<td class=\"column-3\">Red, medium, cotton<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p>This is especially helpful for sites that need to organize collections of listings like:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>E-commerce stores (organizing product listings)<\/li>\n<li>Marketplaces (organizing marketplace items)<\/li>\n<li>Real estate (organizing property listings)<\/li>\n<li>Job boards (organizing job listings)<\/li>\n<li>Directories (organizing business listings)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The listings are the entities you\u2019re optimizing for.<\/p>\n<p>The collections of listings are generally where you\u2019ll need to consider the features and attributes that apply. The exact values that you use will come from keyword research. These tend to be adjectives or descriptive modifiers used in keywords.<\/p>\n<p><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-187272\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/sample-list-of-keywords-about-saws-indicating-comm.png\" alt=\"Sample list of keywords about saws indicating common modifiers and descriptors people search for.\" width=\"578\" height=\"451\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/sample-list-of-keywords-about-saws-indicating-comm.png 1446w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/sample-list-of-keywords-about-saws-indicating-comm-545x425.png 545w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/sample-list-of-keywords-about-saws-indicating-comm-768x599.png 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 578px) 100vw, 578px\"\/><\/noscript><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"lazyload wp-image-187272\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/sample-list-of-keywords-about-saws-indicating-comm.png\" alt=\"Sample list of keywords about saws indicating common modifiers and descriptors people search for.\" width=\"578\" height=\"451\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/sample-list-of-keywords-about-saws-indicating-comm.png 1446w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/sample-list-of-keywords-about-saws-indicating-comm-545x425.png 545w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/sample-list-of-keywords-about-saws-indicating-comm-768x599.png 768w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 578px) 100vw, 578px\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Here\u2019s an example of how I would map out the relevant features and attributes for an ecommerce store selling saws:<\/p>\n<p><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1418\" height=\"358\" class=\"wp-image-187273\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/example-product-matrix-that-maps-existing-products.png\" alt=\"Example product matrix that maps existing products for sale against common features and attributes people search for.\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/example-product-matrix-that-maps-existing-products.png 1418w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/example-product-matrix-that-maps-existing-products-680x172.png 680w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/example-product-matrix-that-maps-existing-products-768x194.png 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1418px) 100vw, 1418px\"\/><\/noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1418\" height=\"358\" class=\"lazyload wp-image-187273\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/example-product-matrix-that-maps-existing-products.png\" alt=\"Example product matrix that maps existing products for sale against common features and attributes people search for.\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/example-product-matrix-that-maps-existing-products.png 1418w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/example-product-matrix-that-maps-existing-products-680x172.png 680w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/example-product-matrix-that-maps-existing-products-768x194.png 768w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 1418px) 100vw, 1418px\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Most SEOs create collection pages based on these features. But the best ones also extend that to the taxonomies (categories and tags), filters, and navigation elements. Even microcopy like page and product titles can benefit with these attributes clearly included.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/posts\/jamie-indigo_if-you-work-in-e-commerce-seo-and-sell-appliances-activity-7318430853682941952--_KD?utm_source=share&amp;utm_medium=member_desktop&amp;rcm=ACoAACCeNrQBZAak_5kRDCf8MZOzqmX2OTiFvvQ\"><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-187301\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Screenshot-2025-04-25-at-12.39.02-pm.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"913\" height=\"445\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Screenshot-2025-04-25-at-12.39.02-pm.png 913w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Screenshot-2025-04-25-at-12.39.02-pm-680x331.png 680w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Screenshot-2025-04-25-at-12.39.02-pm-768x374.png 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 913px) 100vw, 913px\"\/><\/noscript><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"lazyload alignnone size-full wp-image-187301\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Screenshot-2025-04-25-at-12.39.02-pm.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"913\" height=\"445\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Screenshot-2025-04-25-at-12.39.02-pm.png 913w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Screenshot-2025-04-25-at-12.39.02-pm-680x331.png 680w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Screenshot-2025-04-25-at-12.39.02-pm-768x374.png 768w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 913px) 100vw, 913px\"\/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>For large sites with lots of listings, you can automate a lot of the tagging and labeling for your listings and their images with tools like <a href=\"https:\/\/www.filestack.com\/\">Filestack<\/a>. A lot of its intelligence features are semantic in nature since they interpret meaning (and even emotions) behind images and\u00a0text.<\/p>\n<p><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1243\" height=\"1011\" class=\"wp-image-187274\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/filestacks-intelligence-features-.png\" alt=\"Filestack's Intelligence features.\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/filestacks-intelligence-features-.png 1243w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/filestacks-intelligence-features--523x425.png 523w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/filestacks-intelligence-features--768x625.png 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1243px) 100vw, 1243px\"\/><\/noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1243\" height=\"1011\" class=\"lazyload wp-image-187274\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/filestacks-intelligence-features-.png\" alt=\"Filestack's Intelligence features.\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/filestacks-intelligence-features-.png 1243w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/filestacks-intelligence-features--523x425.png 523w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/filestacks-intelligence-features--768x625.png 768w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 1243px) 100vw, 1243px\"\/><\/p>\n<p>This is the secret to continual growth even through multiple algorithm updates. Here\u2019s an example of one of my B2B ecommerce clients for whom I created a semantically-optimized information architecture 4+ years\u00a0ago.<\/p>\n<p><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1282\" height=\"699\" class=\"wp-image-187275\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/performance-of-an-ecommerce-store-that-has-continu.png\" alt=\"Performance of an ecommerce store that has continually grown its organic visibility without major declines since implementing a semantic SEO strategy.\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/performance-of-an-ecommerce-store-that-has-continu.png 1282w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/performance-of-an-ecommerce-store-that-has-continu-680x371.png 680w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/performance-of-an-ecommerce-store-that-has-continu-768x419.png 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1282px) 100vw, 1282px\"\/><\/noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1282\" height=\"699\" class=\"lazyload wp-image-187275\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/performance-of-an-ecommerce-store-that-has-continu.png\" alt=\"Performance of an ecommerce store that has continually grown its organic visibility without major declines since implementing a semantic SEO strategy.\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/performance-of-an-ecommerce-store-that-has-continu.png 1282w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/performance-of-an-ecommerce-store-that-has-continu-680x371.png 680w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/performance-of-an-ecommerce-store-that-has-continu-768x419.png 768w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 1282px) 100vw, 1282px\"\/><\/p>\n<p>They attribute this approach to semantic SEO as the #1 factor that allowed them to grow organically year-over-year, remaining unaffected from algorithm updates along the\u00a0way.<\/p>\n<p><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"2048\" height=\"303\" class=\"wp-image-187276\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/seo-client-attributing-a-semantic-site-structure-a.png\" alt=\"SEO client attributing a semantic site structure as the number one factor contributing to their growth and success.\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/seo-client-attributing-a-semantic-site-structure-a.png 2048w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/seo-client-attributing-a-semantic-site-structure-a-680x101.png 680w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/seo-client-attributing-a-semantic-site-structure-a-768x114.png 768w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/seo-client-attributing-a-semantic-site-structure-a-1536x227.png 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2048px) 100vw, 2048px\"\/><\/noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"2048\" height=\"303\" class=\"lazyload wp-image-187276\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/seo-client-attributing-a-semantic-site-structure-a.png\" alt=\"SEO client attributing a semantic site structure as the number one factor contributing to their growth and success.\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/seo-client-attributing-a-semantic-site-structure-a.png 2048w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/seo-client-attributing-a-semantic-site-structure-a-680x101.png 680w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/seo-client-attributing-a-semantic-site-structure-a-768x114.png 768w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/seo-client-attributing-a-semantic-site-structure-a-1536x227.png 1536w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 2048px) 100vw, 2048px\"\/><\/p>\n<h3><a id=\"post-187259-_4cpibwcufapx\"\/>5. Add information gain to your content<\/h3>\n<p>Adding information gain to content aligns with a semantic approach to SEO, one that prioritizes meaning, relevance, and contribution to a broader knowledge graph.<\/p>\n<p>Content writing is the backbone of most SEO. Yet, traditional thinking (enforced by content optimization tools) is\u00a0to:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>See what already ranks<\/li>\n<li>Reverse engineer it\u2019s on-page optimization<\/li>\n<li>Copy the blueprint and make at least 10% \u201ctruly original\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Most of this comes down to cramming keywords and <a href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/seo\/glossary\/entity-based-seo\">entities<\/a> into your content.<\/p>\n<p>There are a few things wrong with this approach. Firstly, it\u2019s the biggest reason why most SEO content becomes just another indistinguishable drop in the sea of sameness.<\/p>\n<p>Secondly, it\u2019s basically a slightly more nuanced version of keyword stuffing.<\/p>\n<p>More advanced writers will do more than remix existing content. They will aim to contribute something new to the conversation so their content truly stands out and is helpful to their audience.<\/p>\n<p>That\u2019s why at Ahrefs, we took the approach of surfacing interesting and relevant topics in our <a href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/ai-content-helper\/\">AI Content Helper<\/a> instead of providing a list of terms to try and squeeze into your content.<\/p>\n<p><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1184\" height=\"1284\" class=\"wp-image-187277\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/using-ahrefs-ai-content-helper-to-find-relevant-t.png\" alt=\"Using Ahrefs' AI Content Helper to find relevant topics to cover in content.\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/using-ahrefs-ai-content-helper-to-find-relevant-t.png 1184w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/using-ahrefs-ai-content-helper-to-find-relevant-t-392x425.png 392w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/using-ahrefs-ai-content-helper-to-find-relevant-t-768x833.png 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1184px) 100vw, 1184px\"\/><\/noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1184\" height=\"1284\" class=\"lazyload wp-image-187277\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/using-ahrefs-ai-content-helper-to-find-relevant-t.png\" alt=\"Using Ahrefs' AI Content Helper to find relevant topics to cover in content.\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/using-ahrefs-ai-content-helper-to-find-relevant-t.png 1184w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/using-ahrefs-ai-content-helper-to-find-relevant-t-392x425.png 392w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/using-ahrefs-ai-content-helper-to-find-relevant-t-768x833.png 768w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 1184px) 100vw, 1184px\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Here are some helpful guides to help you level up your content further and stand out in the sea of sameness:<\/p>\n<h3><a id=\"post-187259-_lvv0icszeraw\"\/>6. Close page-level topic gaps with content improvements<\/h3>\n<p>One of my favorite use cases of semantic SEO is closing page-level topic gaps when updating content.<\/p>\n<p>Content updates are a stock standard thing people do for SEO these days to maintain freshness. When you also close topic gaps, that\u2019s a semantic task because it\u2019s about covering meaningfully related concepts, not just sprinkling in missing keywords.<\/p>\n<p>But, it\u2019s one thing to say, \u201cadd more topics\u201d to content and it\u2019s another to know exactly what topics to add and exactly where and how to do\u00a0it.<\/p>\n<p>The easiest method is to check out Ahrefs\u2019 AI Content Grader.<\/p>\n<p>You can compare your content alongside the top-ranking posts and get a side-by-side score for how well you each cover specific topics.<\/p>\n<p><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"2048\" height=\"1292\" class=\"wp-image-187278\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/identifying-topic-gaps-within-content-by-using-ahr.jpg\" alt=\"Identifying topic gaps within content by using Ahrefs' AI Content Grader.\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/identifying-topic-gaps-within-content-by-using-ahr.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/identifying-topic-gaps-within-content-by-using-ahr-674x425.jpg 674w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/identifying-topic-gaps-within-content-by-using-ahr-768x485.jpg 768w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/identifying-topic-gaps-within-content-by-using-ahr-1536x969.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2048px) 100vw, 2048px\"\/><\/noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"2048\" height=\"1292\" class=\"lazyload wp-image-187278\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/identifying-topic-gaps-within-content-by-using-ahr.jpg\" alt=\"Identifying topic gaps within content by using Ahrefs' AI Content Grader.\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/identifying-topic-gaps-within-content-by-using-ahr.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/identifying-topic-gaps-within-content-by-using-ahr-674x425.jpg 674w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/identifying-topic-gaps-within-content-by-using-ahr-768x485.jpg 768w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/identifying-topic-gaps-within-content-by-using-ahr-1536x969.jpg 1536w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 2048px) 100vw, 2048px\"\/><\/p>\n<p>You can also get topic improvement recommendations:<\/p>\n<p><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"711\" height=\"576\" class=\"wp-image-187279\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/example-of-topic-suggestions-made-by-ahrefs-ai-co.png\" alt=\"Example of topic suggestions made by Ahrefs' AI Content Helper.\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/example-of-topic-suggestions-made-by-ahrefs-ai-co.png 711w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/example-of-topic-suggestions-made-by-ahrefs-ai-co-525x425.png 525w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 711px) 100vw, 711px\"\/><\/noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"711\" height=\"576\" class=\"lazyload wp-image-187279\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/example-of-topic-suggestions-made-by-ahrefs-ai-co.png\" alt=\"Example of topic suggestions made by Ahrefs' AI Content Helper.\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/example-of-topic-suggestions-made-by-ahrefs-ai-co.png 711w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/example-of-topic-suggestions-made-by-ahrefs-ai-co-525x425.png 525w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 711px) 100vw, 711px\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Another method I\u2019ve had great success with is checking out the keywords a post used to rank quite well for, especially if it was ranking but didn\u2019t explicitly mention the topic in the content.<\/p>\n<p>You can see this in Site Explorer &gt; Organic Keywords. I like to click and drag the graph to compare the peak traffic with the lowest point in a decline afterward. It shows up as an orange highlight like\u00a0this:<\/p>\n<p><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1151\" height=\"592\" class=\"wp-image-187280\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/historical-seo-performance-for-a-blog-post-indicat.png\" alt=\"Historical SEO performance for a blog post indicating an early performance peak in Jan 2021 which steadily declined for 12+ months afterwards.\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/historical-seo-performance-for-a-blog-post-indicat.png 1151w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/historical-seo-performance-for-a-blog-post-indicat-680x350.png 680w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/historical-seo-performance-for-a-blog-post-indicat-768x395.png 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1151px) 100vw, 1151px\"\/><\/noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1151\" height=\"592\" class=\"lazyload wp-image-187280\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/historical-seo-performance-for-a-blog-post-indicat.png\" alt=\"Historical SEO performance for a blog post indicating an early performance peak in Jan 2021 which steadily declined for 12+ months afterwards.\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/historical-seo-performance-for-a-blog-post-indicat.png 1151w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/historical-seo-performance-for-a-blog-post-indicat-680x350.png 680w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/historical-seo-performance-for-a-blog-post-indicat-768x395.png 768w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 1151px) 100vw, 1151px\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Then, check out the exact keywords for which you lost visibility. I prefer to order the list to show the keywords with the greatest traffic change up the\u00a0top:<\/p>\n<p><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"2046\" height=\"800\" class=\"wp-image-187281\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/example-of-using-top-pages-report-to-isolate-keywo.png\" alt=\"Example of using Top Pages report to isolate keywords with the biggest performance declines.\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/example-of-using-top-pages-report-to-isolate-keywo.png 2046w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/example-of-using-top-pages-report-to-isolate-keywo-680x266.png 680w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/example-of-using-top-pages-report-to-isolate-keywo-768x300.png 768w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/example-of-using-top-pages-report-to-isolate-keywo-1536x601.png 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2046px) 100vw, 2046px\"\/><\/noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"2046\" height=\"800\" class=\"lazyload wp-image-187281\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/example-of-using-top-pages-report-to-isolate-keywo.png\" alt=\"Example of using Top Pages report to isolate keywords with the biggest performance declines.\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/example-of-using-top-pages-report-to-isolate-keywo.png 2046w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/example-of-using-top-pages-report-to-isolate-keywo-680x266.png 680w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/example-of-using-top-pages-report-to-isolate-keywo-768x300.png 768w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/example-of-using-top-pages-report-to-isolate-keywo-1536x601.png 1536w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 2046px) 100vw, 2046px\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Usually, a drop in performance can be because:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Your content may be getting stale if it\u2019s a few years\u00a0old<\/li>\n<li>Competitors cover the sub-topics better or more explicitly<\/li>\n<li>Search intent for your target keywords has changed<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>No matter the case, you can look for patterns in the topics you lost visibility for and optimize your content better for\u00a0them.<\/p>\n<p>In the above example, all of the top keywords that lost visibility were about \u201cCGT,\u201d or capital gains tax, specifically in relation to the 6-year rule.<\/p>\n<p>However, the content talked about these terms separately and never optimized them together. For instance, the main heading was \u201cUnderstanding the 6-year exemption rule on property investment\u201d, no mention of\u00a0CGT.<\/p>\n<p>None of the CGT sections in the content mentioned the 6-year rule. So that\u2019s one of the major gaps we closed when updating this\u00a0piece:<\/p>\n<p><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1203\" height=\"646\" class=\"wp-image-187282\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/side-by-side-comparison-of-changes-made-in-a-conte.png\" alt=\"Side by side comparison of changes made in a content update that targeted content depth using Ahrefs' Page Inspect tool.\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/side-by-side-comparison-of-changes-made-in-a-conte.png 1203w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/side-by-side-comparison-of-changes-made-in-a-conte-680x365.png 680w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/side-by-side-comparison-of-changes-made-in-a-conte-768x412.png 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1203px) 100vw, 1203px\"\/><\/noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1203\" height=\"646\" class=\"lazyload wp-image-187282\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/side-by-side-comparison-of-changes-made-in-a-conte.png\" alt=\"Side by side comparison of changes made in a content update that targeted content depth using Ahrefs' Page Inspect tool.\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/side-by-side-comparison-of-changes-made-in-a-conte.png 1203w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/side-by-side-comparison-of-changes-made-in-a-conte-680x365.png 680w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/side-by-side-comparison-of-changes-made-in-a-conte-768x412.png 768w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 1203px) 100vw, 1203px\"\/><\/p>\n<p>This approach made all the difference in performance:<\/p>\n<p><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"2048\" height=\"696\" class=\"wp-image-187283\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/example-of-a-local-business-blog-post-performance.png\" alt=\"Example of a local business' blog post performance after semantic content updates that improved topical depth were implemented.\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/example-of-a-local-business-blog-post-performance.png 2048w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/example-of-a-local-business-blog-post-performance-680x231.png 680w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/example-of-a-local-business-blog-post-performance-768x261.png 768w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/example-of-a-local-business-blog-post-performance-1536x522.png 1536w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/example-of-a-local-business-blog-post-performance-650x220.png 650w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2048px) 100vw, 2048px\"\/><\/noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"2048\" height=\"696\" class=\"lazyload wp-image-187283\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/example-of-a-local-business-blog-post-performance.png\" alt=\"Example of a local business' blog post performance after semantic content updates that improved topical depth were implemented.\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/example-of-a-local-business-blog-post-performance.png 2048w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/example-of-a-local-business-blog-post-performance-680x231.png 680w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/example-of-a-local-business-blog-post-performance-768x261.png 768w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/example-of-a-local-business-blog-post-performance-1536x522.png 1536w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/example-of-a-local-business-blog-post-performance-650x220.png 650w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 2048px) 100vw, 2048px\"\/><\/p>\n<h3><a id=\"post-187259-_5yqmdaid81ce\"\/>7. Build \u201ctopical authority\u201d at a site-wide level<\/h3>\n<p>When semantic SEO is mentioned, many people immediately equate that to \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/topical-authority\/\">topical authority<\/a>\u201d \u2014 the idea that your site should cover a subject deeply and thoroughly so that search engines see you as a trusted source on the\u00a0topic.<\/p>\n<p>A lot of people translate this as writing about anything and everything related to your brand\u2019s main\u00a0topic.<\/p>\n<p>This thinking is responsible for a lot of SEO content spam that has flooded the internet in recent years.<\/p>\n<p>It would be the equivalent of thinking a brand like Nike should create content about<em> everything<\/em> related to shoes \u2014 including banal things like:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>What is a\u00a0shoe?<\/li>\n<li>History of\u00a0shoes<\/li>\n<li>Types of footwear<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Don\u2019t do this. It doesn\u2019t work.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s also not what semantic SEO is truly\u00a0about.<\/p>\n<p>What\u2019s missing in this thinking is the topic\u2019s relevance to your brand. Remember the Venn diagram at the start of this\u00a0post?<noscript><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-187347\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/3-semantic-seo.png\" alt=\"Ahrefs' semantic SEO Venn diagram with emphasis on the overlap between brand and content.\" width=\"1600\" height=\"1536\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/3-semantic-seo.png 1600w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/3-semantic-seo-443x425.png 443w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/3-semantic-seo-768x737.png 768w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/3-semantic-seo-1536x1475.png 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px\"\/><\/noscript><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"lazyload alignnone size-full wp-image-187347\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/3-semantic-seo.png\" alt=\"Ahrefs' semantic SEO Venn diagram with emphasis on the overlap between brand and content.\" width=\"1600\" height=\"1536\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/3-semantic-seo.png 1600w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/3-semantic-seo-443x425.png 443w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/3-semantic-seo-768x737.png 768w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/3-semantic-seo-1536x1475.png 1536w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Connecting your content to your brand goals is what separates advanced thinking from basic thinking. It allows you to take on more nuanced challenges and help brands identify which keywords are worth targeting over others.<\/p>\n<p>For example, the terms \u201cproduct design software\u201d and \u201cproduct design tools\u201d relate to different services and business types. One is about physical product design (like designing tangible products you can manufacture), and the other is about digital product design (like prototyping SaaS apps and websites).<\/p>\n<p>They have very low semantic similarity despite being similar on a lexical (word) level.<\/p>\n<p>You can verify this in Ahrefs\u2019 SERP comparison feature, which shows you how similar results between keywords are and whether you can target them in the same content strategy or\u00a0not:<\/p>\n<p><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"2048\" height=\"1756\" class=\"wp-image-187284\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/ahrefs-serp-comparison-feature-allowing-you-to-co.png\" alt=\"Ahrefs' SERP comparison feature allowing you to compare SERP similarity between two different keywords.\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/ahrefs-serp-comparison-feature-allowing-you-to-co.png 2048w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/ahrefs-serp-comparison-feature-allowing-you-to-co-496x425.png 496w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/ahrefs-serp-comparison-feature-allowing-you-to-co-768x659.png 768w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/ahrefs-serp-comparison-feature-allowing-you-to-co-1536x1317.png 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2048px) 100vw, 2048px\"\/><\/noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"2048\" height=\"1756\" class=\"lazyload wp-image-187284\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/ahrefs-serp-comparison-feature-allowing-you-to-co.png\" alt=\"Ahrefs' SERP comparison feature allowing you to compare SERP similarity between two different keywords.\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/ahrefs-serp-comparison-feature-allowing-you-to-co.png 2048w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/ahrefs-serp-comparison-feature-allowing-you-to-co-496x425.png 496w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/ahrefs-serp-comparison-feature-allowing-you-to-co-768x659.png 768w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/ahrefs-serp-comparison-feature-allowing-you-to-co-1536x1317.png 1536w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 2048px) 100vw, 2048px\"\/><\/p>\n<p>In this case, the same website should not target both; otherwise, you\u2019d be confusing semantic search engines and LLMs about what your brand actually does.<\/p>\n<p>Check out my full process for <a href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/seo-topical-map\/\">How to Build an SEO Topical Map That\u2019s Relevant to Your Brand <\/a>if you want to master this skill more deeply.<\/p>\n<h3><a id=\"post-187259-_c411p9vnvsdy\"\/>8. Create clear, structured data with schema and semantic HTML<\/h3>\n<p>Structured data is a powerful data source for search engineers.<\/p>\n<p>They can pull from several different sources around the web, but you should carefully optimize two on your website: schema markup and semantic HTML.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCareful\u201d is the operative word\u00a0here.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"big\">\n<p> A lot of people use structured data to try and signal things that don\u2019t exist in the real world. That just muddies the data and increases the likelihood you\u2019re ignored.<\/p>\n<div class=\"quote-info clearfix\">\n<div class=\"quote-photo\"><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Daniel Cheung, \" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Daniel-Cheung.png\"\/><\/noscript><img class=\"lazyload\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Daniel Cheung, \" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Daniel-Cheung.png\"\/><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>This sentiment was echoed by Brandon, one of Ahrefs\u2019 data scientists with a robust skill set in knowledge graph architecture. He mentioned structured data as a useful data set if it remains clean, well organized and used properly.<\/p>\n<p>Otherwise, it can \u201cmess up [his] data set,\u201d and he\u2019s less inclined to use any data that\u2019s messy or inaccurate when building out a knowledge graph.<\/p>\n<p>So, the more SEOs pollute a data set by incorrectly optimizing it or abusing it, the less effective it becomes as a way to surface content.<\/p>\n<p>Thankfully, it\u2019s really easy to use schema correctly. Schema is like a translator for your content. It gives it structure so machines can better understand what\u2019s on your website.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"big\">\n<p> Adding descriptive schema markup to a website\u2019s web pages provides the missing piece for machines: context. That is, how one entity is related to another. For example, how the business (Organization Type), offers a service (Product\/Service Type), for a particular audience in one or more geographies.<\/p>\n<div class=\"quote-info clearfix\">\n<div class=\"quote-photo\"><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Daniel Cheung, \" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Daniel-Cheung.png\"\/><\/noscript><img class=\"lazyload\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Daniel Cheung, \" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Daniel-Cheung.png\"\/><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-187346\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/4-semantic-seo.png\" alt=\"Example of schema markup used for semantic SEO.\" width=\"2000\" height=\"2296\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/4-semantic-seo.png 2000w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/4-semantic-seo-370x425.png 370w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/4-semantic-seo-768x882.png 768w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/4-semantic-seo-1338x1536.png 1338w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/4-semantic-seo-1784x2048.png 1784w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\"\/><\/noscript><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"lazyload alignnone size-full wp-image-187346\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/4-semantic-seo.png\" alt=\"Example of schema markup used for semantic SEO.\" width=\"2000\" height=\"2296\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/4-semantic-seo.png 2000w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/4-semantic-seo-370x425.png 370w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/4-semantic-seo-768x882.png 768w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/4-semantic-seo-1338x1536.png 1338w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/4-semantic-seo-1784x2048.png 1784w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Dentsu has a great <a href=\"https:\/\/technicalseo.com\/tools\/schema-markup-generator\/\">schema markup generator<\/a>:<\/p>\n<p><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1399\" height=\"623\" class=\"wp-image-187286\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/dentsus-json-ld-schema-markup-generator-.png\" alt=\"Dentsu's JSON-LD schema markup generator.\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/dentsus-json-ld-schema-markup-generator-.png 1399w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/dentsus-json-ld-schema-markup-generator--680x303.png 680w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/dentsus-json-ld-schema-markup-generator--768x342.png 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1399px) 100vw, 1399px\"\/><\/noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1399\" height=\"623\" class=\"lazyload wp-image-187286\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/dentsus-json-ld-schema-markup-generator-.png\" alt=\"Dentsu's JSON-LD schema markup generator.\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/dentsus-json-ld-schema-markup-generator-.png 1399w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/dentsus-json-ld-schema-markup-generator--680x303.png 680w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/dentsus-json-ld-schema-markup-generator--768x342.png 768w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 1399px) 100vw, 1399px\"\/><\/p>\n<p>You can use this\u00a0to:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Define your brand from a technical perspective by using organization schema<\/li>\n<li>Disambiguate your brand in cases where it shares a name with another brand or entity<\/li>\n<li>Optimize core entities like products and people that connect to your\u00a0brand<\/li>\n<li>Connect your brand to core topics you want to increase visibility for<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>On the other hand, semantic HTML is about the code structure of your content. It uses code that makes more sense to both humans and machines.<\/p>\n<p>For example, instead of using a generic &lt;div&gt; tag for everything, you could instead use &lt;header&gt;, &lt;footer&gt;, and other similar tags to denote types of content on your\u00a0page.<\/p>\n<p><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"900\" height=\"820\" class=\"wp-image-187287\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/webpage-structure-with-and-without-semantic-html-c.png\" alt=\"Webpage structure with and without semantic HTML compared.\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/webpage-structure-with-and-without-semantic-html-c.png 900w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/webpage-structure-with-and-without-semantic-html-c-466x425.png 466w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/webpage-structure-with-and-without-semantic-html-c-768x700.png 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 900px) 100vw, 900px\"\/><\/noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"900\" height=\"820\" class=\"lazyload wp-image-187287\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/webpage-structure-with-and-without-semantic-html-c.png\" alt=\"Webpage structure with and without semantic HTML compared.\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/webpage-structure-with-and-without-semantic-html-c.png 900w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/webpage-structure-with-and-without-semantic-html-c-466x425.png 466w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/webpage-structure-with-and-without-semantic-html-c-768x700.png 768w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 900px) 100vw, 900px\"\/><\/p>\n<p>You should also pay attention to how you structure specific content elements on the page\u00a0like:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Using heading tags to structure your content, not for stylistic purposes<\/li>\n<li>Marking up tables correctly so they can appear in search results<\/li>\n<li>Also, marking up lists using correct HTML\u00a0tags<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Ultimately, most sites on the internet don\u2019t have good schema or semantic HTML markup but they can still be included in search indexes and embedded by LLM\u2019s.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"big\">\n<div class=\"quote-content\">If a brand needs to be in a knowledge graph as a known entity, it should be in that without schema. Schema is an add-on.<\/p>\n<p>Most sites don\u2019t have good schema or semantic HTML, but Google still builds its knowledge graph because of the branding and content they\u2019ve got.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"quote-info clearfix\">\n<div class=\"quote-photo\"><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Sally Mills, \" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Sally-Mills.png\"\/><\/noscript><img class=\"lazyload\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Sally Mills, \" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Sally-Mills.png\"\/><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Advanced SEOs pay attention to these things because they enable search engines and LLMs to more accurately represent and interpret a\u00a0brand.<\/p>\n<p>It comes down to controlling <em>how<\/em> your brand and content are represented in LLMs. Structured data is a big part of that and can work wonders for clarifying your brand identity from a technical standpoint if you implement it correctly.<\/p>\n<h3><a id=\"post-187259-_aq5mswru099e\"\/>9. Use links and mentions to improve brand sentiment and reputation<\/h3>\n<p>Link building remains an essential pillar in SEO. But dominant thinking in traditional SEO has been just to get the\u00a0link.<\/p>\n<p>However, as search engines become more semantic, simply obtaining a link or mention is no longer sufficient.<\/p>\n<p>Modern SEOs are increasingly considering the context around these links, especially in terms of brand sentiment. Semantic search engines can now evaluate not only the meaning behind content but also the sentiment\u2014positive, negative, or neutral\u2014towards a\u00a0brand.<\/p>\n<p>This shift in search engine capabilities demands a more nuanced approach to link building that also incorporates digital PR and reputation management. My favorite example to illustrate is the topic of Taylor Swift and her\u00a0jets.<\/p>\n<p>It all started in 2022 with marketing agency <a href=\"https:\/\/weareyard.com\/insights\/worst-celebrity-private-jet-co2-emission-offenders\">Yard<\/a> when they released a report listing celebrities with the worst CO2 emissions due to their private jet usage. Tay Tay was at the top of the\u00a0list.<\/p>\n<p><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1194\" height=\"932\" class=\"wp-image-187288\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/yards-study-listing-the-top-celebrities-with-the.png\" alt=\"Yard's study listing the top celebrities with the worst private jet Co2 emissions.\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/yards-study-listing-the-top-celebrities-with-the.png 1194w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/yards-study-listing-the-top-celebrities-with-the-544x425.png 544w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/yards-study-listing-the-top-celebrities-with-the-768x599.png 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1194px) 100vw, 1194px\"\/><\/noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1194\" height=\"932\" class=\"lazyload wp-image-187288\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/yards-study-listing-the-top-celebrities-with-the.png\" alt=\"Yard's study listing the top celebrities with the worst private jet Co2 emissions.\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/yards-study-listing-the-top-celebrities-with-the.png 1194w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/yards-study-listing-the-top-celebrities-with-the-544x425.png 544w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/yards-study-listing-the-top-celebrities-with-the-768x599.png 768w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 1194px) 100vw, 1194px\"\/><\/p>\n<p>It became a whole\u00a0saga.<\/p>\n<p>A year later, the topic became even more popular but in a radically different way. She attended a New York Jets game, which caused some journalists to wonder if it was an SEO move to improve her reputation management.<\/p>\n<p><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1644\" height=\"2048\" class=\"wp-image-187289\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/news-article-about-taylor-swifts-attendance-at-a.jpg\" alt=\"News article about Taylor Swift's attendance at a New York Jets game and considering whether it was an intentional SEO strategy to manage her reputation on search engines.\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/news-article-about-taylor-swifts-attendance-at-a.jpg 1644w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/news-article-about-taylor-swifts-attendance-at-a-341x425.jpg 341w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/news-article-about-taylor-swifts-attendance-at-a-768x957.jpg 768w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/news-article-about-taylor-swifts-attendance-at-a-1233x1536.jpg 1233w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1644px) 100vw, 1644px\"\/><\/noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1644\" height=\"2048\" class=\"lazyload wp-image-187289\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/news-article-about-taylor-swifts-attendance-at-a.jpg\" alt=\"News article about Taylor Swift's attendance at a New York Jets game and considering whether it was an intentional SEO strategy to manage her reputation on search engines.\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/news-article-about-taylor-swifts-attendance-at-a.jpg 1644w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/news-article-about-taylor-swifts-attendance-at-a-341x425.jpg 341w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/news-article-about-taylor-swifts-attendance-at-a-768x957.jpg 768w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/news-article-about-taylor-swifts-attendance-at-a-1233x1536.jpg 1233w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 1644px) 100vw, 1644px\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Whether this was an orchestrated attempt at shifting sentiment from negative to neutral or even positive is unknown.<\/p>\n<p>However, we do know it backfired in Feb 2024 when the negative sentiment returned with a vengeance when Swift threatened legal action against the student who manages the jet tracking accounts on social media:<\/p>\n<p><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1717\" height=\"2048\" class=\"wp-image-187290\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/a-washington-post-news-article-in-feb-2024-about-t.jpg\" alt=\"A Washington Post news article in Feb 2024 about Taylor Swift threatening legal action against the student who tracks her jet.\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/a-washington-post-news-article-in-feb-2024-about-t.jpg 1717w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/a-washington-post-news-article-in-feb-2024-about-t-356x425.jpg 356w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/a-washington-post-news-article-in-feb-2024-about-t-768x916.jpg 768w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/a-washington-post-news-article-in-feb-2024-about-t-1288x1536.jpg 1288w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1717px) 100vw, 1717px\"\/><\/noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1717\" height=\"2048\" class=\"lazyload wp-image-187290\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/a-washington-post-news-article-in-feb-2024-about-t.jpg\" alt=\"A Washington Post news article in Feb 2024 about Taylor Swift threatening legal action against the student who tracks her jet.\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/a-washington-post-news-article-in-feb-2024-about-t.jpg 1717w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/a-washington-post-news-article-in-feb-2024-about-t-356x425.jpg 356w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/a-washington-post-news-article-in-feb-2024-about-t-768x916.jpg 768w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/a-washington-post-news-article-in-feb-2024-about-t-1288x1536.jpg 1288w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 1717px) 100vw, 1717px\"\/><\/p>\n<p>This case demonstrates how strategically managing brand mentions and the surrounding content can influence perceptions of a brand in search. It\u2019s a prime example of semantic SEO in action\u2014changing the narrative and sentiment around a brand, rather than simply targeting keywords.<\/p>\n<p>Effective link building today involves not only acquiring links but actively managing the sentiment of brand mentions to enhance online reputation.<\/p>\n<h3><a id=\"post-187259-_6gag9aw9b3sr\"\/>10. Optimize all entities associated with your local business<\/h3>\n<p>Local SEO often gets overlooked when people dive into more complex topics like semantic SEO and entity optimization. However, there are some big wins to be had here, especially when you think beyond traditional keywords and start optimizing the broader semantic context of your business.<\/p>\n<p>The key is to go beyond just services and locations, which are often the basics of local SEO, and really dive into the details.<\/p>\n<p>In other words, this is semantic SEO because you\u2019re helping search engines build a richer, more accurate understanding of what your business does by mapping out the full set of related concepts, services, technologies, materials, and features.<\/p>\n<p>Instead of just saying \u201cwe clean buildings in Sydney,\u201d you\u2019re teaching the model what types of buildings, what materials, what problems you solve, and how you solve\u00a0them.<\/p>\n<p>Take an external cleaning company, for example. You can map out things like:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Parts of the house they clean: <\/strong>Like building fa\u00e7ades, driveways, patios etc.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Types of properties they clean: <\/strong>Like commercial properties, apartments, high-rises etc.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Surface materials they clean<\/strong>: Like brick, concrete, stone, stucco, glass\u00a0etc.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Cleaning solutions they use<\/strong>: Like eco-friendly detergents, mold inhibitors, rust removers etc.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Specific conditions they clean<\/strong>: Like mold and mildew growth, grime buildup, graffiti removal etc.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>These are all the entities and\/or features and attributes related to the service. You can quickly identify many of these using the \u201ccluster by terms\u201d feature in Ahrefs\u2019 Keywords Explorer:<\/p>\n<p><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1393\" height=\"741\" class=\"wp-image-187291\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/ahrefs-keyword-clusters-by-terms-.png\" alt=\"Ahrefs' keyword clusters by terms.\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/ahrefs-keyword-clusters-by-terms-.png 1393w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/ahrefs-keyword-clusters-by-terms--680x362.png 680w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/ahrefs-keyword-clusters-by-terms--768x409.png 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1393px) 100vw, 1393px\"\/><\/noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1393\" height=\"741\" class=\"lazyload wp-image-187291\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/ahrefs-keyword-clusters-by-terms-.png\" alt=\"Ahrefs' keyword clusters by terms.\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/ahrefs-keyword-clusters-by-terms-.png 1393w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/ahrefs-keyword-clusters-by-terms--680x362.png 680w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/ahrefs-keyword-clusters-by-terms--768x409.png 768w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 1393px) 100vw, 1393px\"\/><\/p>\n<p>You can also map them out in a spreadsheet based on common themes that you encounter in competitor content or other content about the\u00a0topic.<\/p>\n<p><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1065\" height=\"581\" class=\"wp-image-187292\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/example-of-an-entity-map-for-an-external-cleaning.png\" alt=\"Example of an entity map for an external cleaning company.\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/example-of-an-entity-map-for-an-external-cleaning.png 1065w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/example-of-an-entity-map-for-an-external-cleaning-680x371.png 680w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/example-of-an-entity-map-for-an-external-cleaning-768x419.png 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1065px) 100vw, 1065px\"\/><\/noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1065\" height=\"581\" class=\"lazyload wp-image-187292\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/example-of-an-entity-map-for-an-external-cleaning.png\" alt=\"Example of an entity map for an external cleaning company.\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/example-of-an-entity-map-for-an-external-cleaning.png 1065w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/example-of-an-entity-map-for-an-external-cleaning-680x371.png 680w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/example-of-an-entity-map-for-an-external-cleaning-768x419.png 768w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 1065px) 100vw, 1065px\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Here\u2019s an example of results achieved doing this for a local business:<\/p>\n<p><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1924\" height=\"950\" class=\"wp-image-187293\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/results-generated-by-a-local-business-that-build-l.png\" alt=\"Results generated by a local business that build landing pages optimized for all relevant entities and their attributes.\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/results-generated-by-a-local-business-that-build-l.png 1924w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/results-generated-by-a-local-business-that-build-l-680x336.png 680w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/results-generated-by-a-local-business-that-build-l-768x379.png 768w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/results-generated-by-a-local-business-that-build-l-1536x758.png 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1924px) 100vw, 1924px\"\/><\/noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1924\" height=\"950\" class=\"lazyload wp-image-187293\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/results-generated-by-a-local-business-that-build-l.png\" alt=\"Results generated by a local business that build landing pages optimized for all relevant entities and their attributes.\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/results-generated-by-a-local-business-that-build-l.png 1924w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/results-generated-by-a-local-business-that-build-l-680x336.png 680w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/results-generated-by-a-local-business-that-build-l-768x379.png 768w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/results-generated-by-a-local-business-that-build-l-1536x758.png 1536w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 1924px) 100vw, 1924px\"\/><\/p>\n<p>For other services, you may also find additional entities that are more relevant.<\/p>\n<p>For instance, in the aged care industry, which is heavily regulated and also part of the <a href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/seo\/glossary\/ymyl-pages\">YMYL<\/a> (your money, your life) category, you might choose to expand your strategy to include entities like:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Profiles of individual staff members and their qualifications<\/li>\n<li>Research your brand or specific experts have contributed to<\/li>\n<li>Photos of the facility indicating a \u201cluxury\u201d or \u201c5-star\u201d experience<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>All these elements build trust, improve E-E-A-T (experience, expertise, authoritativeness, trustworthiness), and enhance the brand\u2019s overall online reputation.<\/p>\n<p>The good news? It\u2019s not hard to\u00a0do.<\/p>\n<p>Most SEO pros overlook these details for local businesses because they\u2019re stuck in the cookie-cutter approach, but taking the time to map out all the connected entities can seriously boost your local SEO game. Whether it\u2019s the services, tools or people, these are all essential parts of optimizing your local presence.<\/p>\n<h2><a id=\"post-187259-_dacjx0ickloi\"\/>Final thoughts<\/h2>\n<p>At the end of the day, semantic SEO is just doing SEO properly.<\/p>\n<p>Sure, there\u2019s a technical side to it, but that\u2019s true for all of SEO. It\u2019s about how machines interpret who you are, what you\u2019re about, and how your content fits into the bigger picture.<\/p>\n<p>At the risk of sounding reductionist, if you\u2019re doing <a href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/geo-is-just-seo\/\">\u201cadvanced SEO\u201d, \u201cLLMO\u201d, \u201centity SEO\u201d, \u201cGEO\u201d<\/a> or whatever other acronym people make up when optimizing for semantic information retrieval, it\u2019s all semantic SEO\u2026 which is regular SEO done properly.<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><script>!function(f,b,e,v,n,t,s)\nif(f.fbq)return;n=f.fbq=function()n.callMethod?n.callMethod.apply(n,arguments):n.queue.push(arguments);if(!f._fbq)f._fbq=n;n.push=n;n.loaded=!0;n.version='2.0';n.queue=[];t=b.createElement(e);t.async=!0;t.src=v;s=b.getElementsByTagName(e)[0];s.parentNode.insertBefore(t,s)(window,document,'script','https:\/\/connect.facebook.net\/en_US\/fbevents.js');fbq('init','1511271639109289');fbq('track','PageView');<\/script><br \/>\n<br \/><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/semantic-seo\/\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Semantic SEO sounds complicated, but it simply boils down to doing SEO without cutting corners.\u00a0 If you do SEO properly, you\u2019re automatically doing semantic SEO. It\u2019s just that most people aren\u2019t doing it properly\u2026\u00a0 It\u2019s not a different type of SEO. You don\u2019t need to do wildly different things. Rather, it\u2019s a mental model that [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2912,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2911","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-seo"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ewebtoolz.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2911","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ewebtoolz.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ewebtoolz.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ewebtoolz.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ewebtoolz.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2911"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/ewebtoolz.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2911\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ewebtoolz.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2912"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ewebtoolz.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2911"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ewebtoolz.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2911"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ewebtoolz.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2911"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}