Semantic Analysis: Definition, Why Use It, and Best Tools in 2021
5.00/5Semantic analysis is a mechanism that allows machines to understand a sequence of words in the same way that humans understand it. This depends on understanding what the words actually mean and what they refer to based on the context and domain which can sometimes be ambiguous.
Applied to SEO, semantic analysis consists of determining the meaning of a sequence of words on a search engine in order to reach the top of the sites proposed on Google.
The challenge of semantic analysis is anchored in the inbound marketing strategy that companies have. For them, the objective is very simple: to arrive at the top of Google searches to attract and convert customers.
However, reaching this goal can be complicated and semantic analysis will allow you to determine the intent of the queries, that is to say, the sequences of words and keywords typed by users in the search engines.
In this article, you will learn:
- What exactly semantic analysis is
- How important it is
- How it works
- And how to implement it on your website.
And if you want to go further, we can put you in touch with the best SEO agencies.
Definition of Semantic Analysis for Search Engines
Understanding What Semantic Analysis Is
To understand semantic analysis, it is important to understand what semantics is.
It is the study of the meaning of words in their context.
Semantics consists of establishing the meaning of a sentence by using the meaning of the elements that make it up.
For example, the word “draft” has 3 meanings: air in a tight space, a document, and military duty.
When a user types in the search “wind draft”, the whole point of the search is to find information about the current of air you can find flowing in narrow spaces. The challenge of the semantic analysis performed by the search engine will be to understand that the user is looking for a draft (the air current), all within a given radius.
A more impressive example is when you type “boy who lives in a cupboard under the stairs” on Google. Google understands the reference to the Harry Potter saga and suggests sites related to the wizard’s universe.
All About Semantic Analysis Tools
A semantic analysis tool is a software often based on artificial intelligence. It automatically analyzes the textual data of a website to quickly understand what users of a search engine use as keywords, expressions…
Sentiment analysis tools work by automatically detecting the tone, emotion, and turn of phrases and assigning them a positive, negative, or neutral label, so you know what types of phrases to use on your site.
There are many semantic analysis tools, but some are easier to use than others.
Why Use Semantic Analysis
SEO No Longer Relies Solely on Keywords
Traditionally, to increase the traffic of your site thanks to SEO, you used to rely on keywords and on the multiplication of the entry doors to your site.
However, this is no longer sufficient. Because of the implementation by Google of semantic analysis in the searches made by users.
Google’s objective through its semantic analysis algorithm is to offer the best possible result during a search.
For companies, the objective is to have the best position on Google by boosting their natural referencing.
As you can see, to appear in the first positions of a Google search, it is no longer enough to rely on keywords or entry points, but to make sure that the pages of your website are understandable by Google.
Why Use Semantic Analysis and What Are Its Advantages
By integrating semantic analysis in your SEO strategy, you will boost your SEO because semantic analysis will orient your website according to what the internet users you want to target are looking for.
It will help you to use the right keywords to help Google understand the topic, and show you at the top of the search results.
In addition, semantic analysis will allow you to diversify the entry points to your site, by optimizing all the pages of your site as well as using long-tail expressions that allow you to reach an audience that is looking for a specific product or information and that, therefore, will click more on your site.
The semantic analysis will allow you to answer different types of requests. For this, we categorize 4 types of keywords:
- Commercial: with very low traffic, they will direct the Internet user who is looking for an immediate purchase towards the product or service that you sell.
- Informational: with very high traffic, they will inform the user.
- Transactional: their purpose is to prepare a purchase by comparing the different existing offers.
- Navigational: their goal is for the user to find a site already visited.
Semantic Analysis Tools
SEO Quantum – The Main Reference in Semantic Analysis
SEO Quantum is a natural referencing solution that integrates 3 tools among the semantic crawler, the keyword strategy, and the semantic analysis.
- Semantic analysis: the content of a website is analyzed to make a complete assessment of the pages, content, and their performance in order to optimize it.
- Keyword Strategy: This feature allows you to find relevant keywords used by Internet users. This tool that SEO Quantum offers can also be interesting for the creation of a semantic cocoon that will allow you to better position yourself on Google compared to your competitors.
- Semantic Crawler: this tool allows you to perform a complete semantic audit to identify the pages of a site that are problematic on the semantic aspect and to optimize the others.
Another important point: SEO Quantum includes a tool to generate article topics, which is useful in case of a lack of inspiration.
The semantic analysis report of a topic is also very powerful. It allows analyzing in about 30 seconds a hundred pages on the theme in question.
With this report, the algorithm will be able to judge the performance of the content by giving a score that gives a fairly accurate indication of what to optimize on a website.
In addition, SEO Quantum communicates a very powerful semantic analysis report, sharing with you:
- The type of content scanned,
- The query intent of Google users,
- And the title tags.
Benefits:
- time-saving;
- wide choice of subscriptions;
- accessible and easy interface;
- semantic oriented and specialized.
Disadvantages:
- Used a lot: no specialization and demarcation.
Price:
- 39€ per month: semantic analysis
- 89€ per month: same plus semantic crawler
- 239€ per month: same plus keyword strategy
TextOptimizer – The Semantic Analysis-Oriented Tool
TextOptimizer is a solution that aims to improve the performance of natural referencing of a web page by proposing a list of keywords to be favored as expressions, semantic fields, synonyms …
This tool takes into account the texts entered, returns a percentage score to the proposed content in relation to the query, and will provide a list of keywords to add (or remove) to the content to boost its positioning on search engines.
The Chrome extension of TextOptimizer, which generates semantic fields, is also very useful when writing content, which avoids constantly using the website. Note that it is also possible to load unpublished content in order to assess its effectiveness.
The website can also generate article ideas thanks to the creation help feature. This will suggest content based on a simple keyword and will be optimized to best meet users’ searches.
Advantages :
- chrome plug-in ;
- fast ;
- multilingual (convenient for international companies)
- easy to use ;
- results are customizable (customizable on multiple search engines);
- unlimited search volume.
Disadvantages:
- no keyword data;
- specialized in semantic analysis ;
- sometimes overloaded interface.
Price: Free version available, premium from 60€ per month.
SemRush – The SEO Market Dominator
SEMRush is positioned differently than its competitors in the SEO and semantic analysis market.
Unlike most keyword research tools, SEMRush works by advising you on what content to produce, but also shows you the top results your competitors are getting.
The comparison feature with the competition has been very developed in the last few months and allows you to compare yourself on the SEA, social networks…
The treatment of keywords of the competition is very interesting. Just enter the URL of a competitor and you will have access to all the keywords for which it is ranked, with the aim of better positioning and thus optimizing your SEO.
Advantages:
- Google doc plug-in available (to optimize your texts when writing on Google Doc) ;
- positioning compared to the competition;
- solution extended to other SEO fields;
- clean and easy to use interface.
Disadvantages:
- recommendations sometimes wrong (although this tends to change with updates).
Price: $99.95 per month.
YourText.Guru – An Effective Solution
Like many semantic analysis tools, YourTextGuru provides a list of secondary keywords and phrases or entities to use in your content.
Once the text is written, you can also have your text analyzed. In addition to the top 10 competitors positioned on the subject of your text, YourText.Guru will give you an optimization score and a danger score.
Advantages:
- presence of a risk score
- suggested questions
- full PDF brief
Disadvantages:
- no keyword data provided
In Conclusion
In this article, we have seen what semantic analysis is and what is at stake in SEO. We have also presented 4 semantic analysis tools.
That said, you can consult our Complete Guide to SEO if you want to go further. We can also recommend the best SEO agencies in the United States or your region to help you build your strategy.
