Best Practice
13 MINUTE READ TIME

What is a Semantic Core?

Simply put, a SEO semantic core is a set of keywords and phrases, carefully chosen in alignment with your website structure and user search intent.

Your website’s design and layout should be your initial guide on determining your primary keywords, and at the same time, the primary keywords you choose can shape how your website is organized. It’s like a two-way street – both parts influence each other. You can either make a list of keywords for each page of your website, or pick yourr keywords first and shape your website from there, both making it more search-engine friendly.

Example: If you run a gardening website, your semantic core might include keywords like "flower gardening tips", "best vegetable seeds", or "urban gardening". If you find that each of these topics are covered on one single page, it might be difficult for search engines and users alike. You may decide to have a page on your website to focus on each one of these areas, making it easier for people interested in those topics to find you on search engines.  

Each web page would have a primary keyword, secondary keywords making up the keyword cluster, and long tail keywords.   

CREATING A  SEMANTIC CORE 


Step 1: identifying the right pages (URLs) on your website to target is fundamental. 

Each page serves a unique purpose and should align with your overarching business objectives. For most businesses, the starting point for SEO optimization typically includes the home page, followed by overview pages that describe products or services, and then individual product or service offering pages.

However, a frequent misstep among small businesses is the misaligned optimization of their home page. It's common to see these pages being mistakenly optimized for product-specific keywords. The home page, ideally, should serve as a general introduction to your business and brand, guiding visitors to more detailed product or service pages. This is where more specific and targeted keywords come into play.

For instance, while your homepage might target broader terms that encapsulate your brand identity or core business value, product pages should focus on specific keywords that directly relate to the particular product or service offered. This targeted approach not only enhances the user experience by directing them to the most relevant content but also improves the overall effectiveness of your SEO efforts by aligning each page with the most appropriate keywords.

In summary, correctly identifying and optimizing the URLs on your website is not just about applying SEO techniques; it's about strategically aligning each page with the right set of keywords that reflect both the content of the page and your business goals. This ensures a cohesive, efficient, and effective approach to SEO.

Step 2: Identifying Your Primary Keyword and Refining Your Keyword Cluster

Each web page should be centered around a primary keyword, which tends to be broad and highly competitive. Examples like "auto parts' ', "massage", or "tropical trips' ' represent extensive search terms that might be challenging to rank for due to their wide appeal and high competition. This is where your secondary keywords become crucial.

Secondary keywords form what's known as a webpage’s keyword cluster. The goal is to rank for as many keywords within this cluster as possible. Over time, this cluster will evolve; you'll add new keywords and phase out less effective ones, in response to changing search trends and user behavior. This ongoing refinement is a critical aspect of a sustained SEO program.

To build a strong keyword cluster, utilize tools like Google's Keyword Research Tool. This tool helps you input your primary keyword and website, yielding a list of related keywords along with key data such as search volumes, keyword difficulty scores, and cost-per-click (CPC) information. When selecting secondary keywords, aim for those with substantial search volume but medium to low competition scores. This strategic selection ensures your webpage not only attracts relevant traffic but does so in a less contested SEO landscape.

Remember, while your primary keyword provides the main theme for your page, the success of your SEO efforts lies in the strength of your keyword cluster. This methodical approach to keyword management is essential to maintain and enhance your website's visibility and relevance in search engine results over time.

HTML and THE SEMANTIC CORE 

The HyperText Markup Language (HTML) is the standard markup language for documents designed to be displayed in a web browser. It can be assisted by technologies such as Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) and scripting languages such as JavaScrip. - wikipedia

You can always view your HTML by right clicking on a webpage and selecting “View page source”

Search engines read your webpage’s HTML as well as the content on your webpage. The critical fields in regards to SEO in your HTML are: Title, Description, H1 and H2. These fields need to be updated using the main keyword and keywords from the keyword cluster.

CREATING AND IMPLEMENTING YOUR SEMANTIC CORE

There is no industry-standard format of a semantic core. If you Google “semantic core examples” you will see a lot of spreadsheets and various keyword tracking tools, which typically track keywords at the website level, and not at the page level.Cruxdata has incorporated an integrated Semantic Core with built in SEO tools and Intelligent dashboards. 

MANAGING & REFINING YOUR SEO SEMANTIC CORE

With a few metrics, insights and easy to use tools you can systematically adjust and refine your SEO program in the new era of AI.  

First thing you need is ‍Patience. You won’t wake up the next day to find your web page ranking in the top 10 organic search results or the source the generative AI chat of a search engine. It takes time - sometimes six to nine months before you start seeing some results, and a year or two to see great results. But, if you do nothing, your competitors will dominate search engine results.  

METRICS TO FOCUS ON: Searching Visitors, Visitor Time on Site, Keyword Rankings. Density, and a Generative AI Assessment of You Targeted Web Pages.

Visitors From Search Engines.  
Visitors from search engines is the most important metric of an SEO program.

Obviously the goal is for visitors from search engines to increase over time as your pages rank for more of the keywords in your semantic core keyword clusters.     Caution - many professionals, including agencies, often gauge success by comparing sequential growth, analyzing whether the visitor count in the last 30 or 90 days surpasses that of the previous 30 or 90 days. While this approach provides valuable insights into whether recent adjustments are starting work, it's important to recognize that short-term fluctuations can be influenced by a variety of external factors.

For a true understanding, it's advisable to examine longer time frames, such as 90 or 180 days, and to make year-over-year comparisons. Almost every business has some level seasonality due to a variety of factors. If both sequential and year over year are up that is great, if short term sequential is down but year over year is up, your base-level traffic is most likely growing. With all of the changes Google has rolled out in the last several years many businesses are seeing drops and just keeping flat. But without attention to your SEO, you will likely experience a drop in visitors from search engines.  

While short-term growth provides quick feedback on your SEO efforts, long-term and year-over-year analyses offer a more accurate and meaningful picture of your strategy's success, accounting for seasonal variations and market shifts. This holistic approach ensures that you are not just seeing temporary spikes, but are building a sustainable increase in organic traffic.


Quality of Visitors:

An integral aspect of evaluating your SEO success is analyzing the quality of visitors coming from search engines. This involves examining key metrics such as the duration of their stay on your website, the number of actions (or events) they engage in, and the average number of pages they interact with.

A crucial metric to monitor is the average time on site. A drop in average time on site or a high number of sessions that are recorded as “a bounces” indicates that it's time to scrutinize the search intent behind your primary keywords. The disparity may indicate that your site is attracting users who are looking for something different from what you offer. Such as they are seeking information and your page is focused on transactions.  Examine which keywords are driving the traffic and align those keywords with an informational web page. Therefore, understanding and improving the quality of your search-driven traffic is not just about increasing numbers; it's about ensuring that your website meets the needs and expectations of those visitors. This alignment not only enhances user experience but also bolsters your overall SEO performance.

  

Tracking Keyword Rankings

An essential component of your SEO strategy is monitoring how your website ranks for the main keywords within each of your keyword clusters. The primary goal here is to consistently improve these rankings over time, ensuring your site climbs higher in search engine results for more keywords.

Keyword Usage - DENSITY 
“Use or lose it” is certainly a saying that applies to your keywords.  It is hard to rank for a keyword or phrase if you have never used it. Your keyword density is the count of how many times each keyword is used on your website, and what percentage that word is used relative to the total word count on your website. Be aware of keyword stuffing! Keyword stuffing is using a keyword over and over in an unnatural way in an attempt to boost your rankings. 

AI Assessment of Your Targeted Web Pages 

Search engine algorithms are increasingly influenced by artificial intelligence, understanding how AI interprets your website is crucial. Cruxdata’s latest capability leverages the power of generative AI to offer a comprehensive assessment of your web pages.


With Cruxdata, the process is straightforward yet powerful. Website owners can input their page URL, relevant keywords, and the specific type of page they want to analyze. What follows is an insightful journey into the AI's interpretation of their web content.

Cruxdata distinguishes itself by initially identifying what it perceives as the intrinsic keywords in your web content, independent of any user-supplied keywords. This autonomous evaluation provides a clear picture of the on-page content and discerns the underlying search intent of the page. This insight is crucial for businesses, ensuring that their web content not only aligns with their strategic objectives but is also accurately interpreted by AI search engines. 

But Cruxdata goes beyond mere keyword analysis. It also predicts the most likely snippet—a critical aspect in the age of featured snippets and voice search—that search engines might extract from your page. This feature helps in optimizing your content to increase its chances of being highlighted in these coveted positions.


One of the standout features is the AI's capability to rewrite on-page text. Upon providing your chosen keywords, Cruxdata's AI engine generates a rewritten version of your content, seamlessly weaving in these keywords. This not only aids in better search engine rankings but also ensures your content remains engaging and readable.


Moreover, Cruxdata conducts a thorough analysis of your website's meta tags. These often-overlooked elements are pivotal in how search engines and social media platforms interpret and display your pages. The AI's assessment helps in fine-tuning these tags for optimal performance.

The AI Page Analysis capability with our integrated Semantic core abd built in SEO tools allows for continuous monitoring and refinement. You can check your pages as changes are made, ensuring that the AI's interpretation aligns with your desired outcomes. This feature is particularly beneficial for business owners and content creators who need to stay ahead of the ever-evolving search landscape.


Periodically Adjust Current Pages and Add New Pages to Your Semantic Core 

It's recommended to conduct a thorough review of your keywords every three to six months. This regular evaluation allows you to adapt to changing search trends and user behaviors. During this process, consider removing keywords from your cluster that haven't shown progress and introduce new ones that might be more effective.

To effectively target these keywords, incorporate them into various aspects of your online presence. This includes not just the on-page content of your website but also in off-page materials such as newsletters and blogsd. Additionally, optimizing your site's HTML data, like meta tags and descriptions, plays a crucial role in enhancing keyword relevance and visibility.

This methodical approach to keyword management and optimization ensures that your website stays competitive and relevant in the ever-evolving landscape of search engine optimization. By continually refining your keyword strategy, you maintain alignment with both search engine algorithms and the needs of your target audience.

In Conclusion

As search engines evolve, the integration of AI into search engine algorithms has introduced a new layer of sophistication. AI technologies are capable of understanding the semantics of sentences, going beyond mere keyword matching. This means that AI algorithms analyze the context and relevance of content, assessing how well it aligns with the queries of internet users, Generative AI seeks to understand the semantics of a web page, website and what users are seeking

  

Preston Derrick

co-founder