How to create a semantic core on your own?

What is the semantic core of the site?

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The semantic core is a group of key phrases that most accurately describe the subject of the site, the content of its individual pages and the essence of the business proposal. The search engine uses it to determine the relevance of a web resource to users' queries and choose the optimal SERP layout.

When creating a semantic core, you need to choose phrases that best match popular queries and reflect users' intentions (intents): buy, find, read, learn, download, compare, etc. The more accurately you choose the keys for the site, the more likely it is to reach the top of search results in certain segments.

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Why do you need to compose a core?

At first glance, everything is as simple as possible: I chose a field of activity, entered an intuitive query into the Google search box and saw what the system offers in autofill. And for the most demanding, we have come up with special services that allow you to select popular keys in one click.

But in fact, the semantic core of the site is not just the repeated repetition of the phrase “buy a bike in Amsterdam”. Modern search engine algorithms are configured in such a way as to bring maximum benefit to people. Ideally, they should get the right result the first time, placing them in the top 3, at most in the top 5 and, at the very least, in the top 10. This is confirmed by inexorable statistics: only 2% of users scroll through the search results below the tenth result, but in order to achieve good results in the shortest possible time, consider the following:

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SEO approach

An SEO approach in business should focus on the needs of the audience, and not just on promoting the site. This means that content should be useful to users, answer their questions and solve their problems. When creating a semantic core, it is important to avoid the desire for artificial optimization for certain keywords. Users will not be interested in boring texts, which will lead to an increase in website bounce rates. This approach can also have a negative impact on the site's position in search results.

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Description of the site's topic

Semantics show what information and what product users are interested in, what queries they enter into search engines, and why they need this information.

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Website architecture development

The semantic core (SA) determines the structure of the resource — how many pages are in each section, and how to get to them.

XIA plays a key role in shaping the structure of the site. Whether you're using Excel or Miro to develop your website/online store plan, always stick to the value of the information to your audience. Queries from the semantic core will help you identify the necessary sections and create appropriate pages.

• Optimization for requests
  Keywords help you customize pages to promote your site. They are one of the ranking factors. Search robots use keys to determine the relevance of pages — they decide what to show the user in response to their request.

It is also important to consider that creating the semantic core of a website is impossible without taking into account the frequency of keywords, which reflects the popularity of queries. The more queries, the higher the frequency of the word. Keys are divided into three categories depending on the number of user searches per month:

1. Low-frequency keywords (LF) — less than 100 searches/month

2. Midrange (MF) — from 100 to 1000 searches/month

3. High-frequency (HF) — from 1000 searches/month

But the breakdown by number of searches is a very controversial issue. The values obtained are average because the frequency depends on GEO and the popularity of the website topic.

• Creating a content plan
  A list of words from the core helps you create content: come up with topics for articles, posts, videos, work through FAQ sections and create an online store's assortment. In turn, this increases the semantics and number of internal website pages that can collect additional organic traffic over time and launch additional paid search campaigns: Performance MAX, DSA, RSA.

• Setting up contextual advertising
  There is no need to re-search for the semantic core and select keys — we take them from a ready-made system and save time on launching advertising campaigns.

This is a simplified example. In fact, the semantic core can be divided into dozens of groups, each of which can be compiled for one specific page or a generalized section of the site. It is very important to understand what exactly the user wants and what the company can give them — this allows you to correctly distribute keys to the text content of a web resource.

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Methods for selecting a semantic core

1. The classic method: this is a traditional approach to SEO. It is aimed at achieving top positions in organic search results to maximize targeted traffic. At the same time, the emphasis is on quick promotion for queries that can provide high traffic. As a result, this method can lead to the loss of potentially sales-promising but low-frequency queries. The main goal is maximum traffic in a short time, rather than ensuring the conversion of requests into orders or sales.

2. Marketing approach: here, the focus is on achieving specific marketing goals, such as increasing sales or the number of applications. SEO content is optimized for keywords, but it takes into account the interests and needs of users. The semantic core is formed on the basis of questions that are most often asked about a product or service with reference to the phrases “buy”, “price”, “order”, etc. This allows you to create a more detailed description of the needs and interests of the target audience.

Popular programs for analyzing and selecting keywords

Since the semantic core has been the basis of SEO for a couple of decades, the emergence of special services to automate its collection was inevitable. Today, there are many programs that can provide accurate statistics on user requests — specialized and complex, paid and shareware. Let's consider the most popular services.

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Google Ads

The same shareware tool for collecting the semantic core for the site. To take advantage of its basic features, just create an account and enter the main words that characterize business activities into the search box. As a result, the service will show:

• the frequency of search queries;

• cost per click in contextual advertising;

• the level of competition;

• the complexity of optimization.

But there is a catch in these statistics. Without a deposit, only approximate figures will be available, for example, 1-5 requests, 500-1000, 10-50,000, etc. Sometimes this is not important, and sometimes a difference of several dozen requests can be extremely important. Therefore, it is impossible to make a semantic core absolutely without investments.

Although Google Ads is very simple, its functionality is not much different from top competitors. Here you can see the dynamics of the number of requests, assess the popularity of key phrases in certain geographical locations or in specific segments of the target audience. If you wish, you can also save key lists and upload them to a spreadsheet, although the number of fields in the free version will be limited.

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Ahrefs

A multifunctional set of SEO tools for all occasions, which also includes tools for collecting site semantics. The service is very expensive for an individual user: a subscription to a basic plan costs $129 per month, and you will inevitably have to pay extra when working with a large online store. Is the subscription worth the money invested? Everyone decides for themselves. In the field of keyword research, the service offers the following features:

• assessment of potential traffic and its distribution across sites;

• detailed analysis of competitors' promotion strategies;

• analysis of the structure of search results and its dynamics;

• grouping keys to fully assemble the semantic core;

• a variety of filters to accurately select search queries.

Ahrefs is also known for having one of the largest keyword databases in the world. Basically, the subscription is worth it. But again, it is more suitable for professionals and agencies than for business owners.

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Serpstat

Another multifunctional service that can be used to build a semantic core. Its unique features include:

• the ability to add custom tags for easy keyword selection;

• analysis of the SERP Features section — special search engine blocks such as tips, short instructions, product selection, etc.;

• selecting key queries related to the main one makes it possible to fill in the gaps in the optimization strategy;

• analysis of top pages in search results and search for the closest competitors;

• working with frequently asked questions.

The service is ideally suited to compiling a semantic core for promoting Russian and Ukrainian-language sites. In the English-speaking segment, its performance has recently improved significantly, but it still lags behind the tops. A basic subscription costs a reasonable $50 per month.

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Semrush

A package of SEO tools in an attractive minimalist design. A simple interface, customizable reports and very detailed menus allow beginners to build the semantic core on their own without spending a lot of time on training. The main advantages of the service:

• tracking site positions in SERP with an analysis of dynamics and a detailed analysis of the reasons for changing positions;

• revealing disguised keywords that are not available in Google's free services;

• the ability to group and organize search queries in the Keyword Manager section.

Unfortunately, the combination of functionality and a minimalist interface is expensive. The minimum subscription fee is $129.95 per month. Moreover, the limits are low: you can process only 500 keywords and upload up to 10,000 lines of reports.

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How to build a semantic core: a step-by-step guide using Serpstat as an example

With special tools, compiling the semantic core of the site will not be such a difficult task — you can create a basic set of key phrases in just a few clicks. Let us demonstrate this using the example of a simple, convenient and fairly affordable Serpstat service. To build a semantic core using it, you need to:

1. Open the web app in a browser and log in. If you don't have an account, you can create one in two clicks using your Google account.

2. Select the “Keyword Analysis” section — the collection of site semantics is presented here. Find the “SEO analysis” section, and in it — “Phrase selection”.

3. Choose a research topic. The basic request may be a product, for example, an “iPhone charger”.

4. Select the country in the report for which keywords are selected. Please note that semantics are collected separately for each region. Requests in different countries can be very different, even if they are in the same language.

5. Enter a query in the search box and click the “Search” button. The service will produce results — up to 10 in the trial version and several hundred in the paid version.

6. If necessary, specify the request by clicking on the “Filters” button. Here you can only select keys that contain two specific words, such as “charging” and “buy”. The feature also allows you to remove misspelled or negative keywords, such as “afyon” or “cheap”. In addition, it is possible to collect the semantics of the site by place names, for example, “in Bucharest”.

7. To expand the semantic core scheme, go to the “Similar phrases” section. Queries in the selected topic that contain synonyms and word forms will be collected here. They will help you increase your reach and become a leader in narrow niches.

8. Be sure to visit the Competitors section. They will show other domains that are optimized in the same direction. A comparative analysis of semantic cores is also available here, which will help you find missed opportunities and improve your online business promotion strategy.

9. Collect the semantic core of the site using the “Search Suggestions” report, adding thematic words that also appear in popular queries. They can be used as LSI keys — they will not directly affect page ratings, but will increase the level of relevance and tell search engines the exact topic of the web resource.

10. Study the “Search Questions” report, which will help you make the semantics complete enough to enter the SERP Q&A section. This is a very important feature for small businesses — it provides a unique opportunity to quickly get to the top, ahead of stronger and more experienced competitors.

11. Knowing what the semantic core is, group and divide the resulting keywords according to user intent. To do this, select the “Clustering, Text Analytics” tool from the menu, click the “Start text analytics” button and wait a few seconds. The service will provide groups sorted in descending order of request uniformity — the farther away, the weaker the connection.

12. Download each of the reports as spreadsheets to use them in presentations, work with key queries manually, or even embed the semantic core into another program. To do this, select the appropriate section, click the “Export” button and specify the required file format.

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How to use the semantic core?

Having considered an example of a semantic core, we received several large-scale groups of requests. For large online stores with popular products, the number of keywords in each of them can be hundreds, if not thousands. Therefore, in most cases, the next step is an even smaller division, which is called subclustering (expanding the semantics of the site).

For example, when working with chargers for iPhones, these can be devices for 5, 7, 11, 15 and other mobile gadget models. This division allows you to create filter pages on the site and send organic traffic to them, increasing traffic.

In addition, it is possible to form the semantic core of the site by identifying subgroups by user intent and additional words. In our case, these are “what kind of charging is needed for the iPhone” and “fast charging for the iPhone 15 Pro”. This solution will help increase traffic on landing pages and in an information section, such as a blog.

All that remains is to answer the question of how to use the semantic core to promote websites. In principle, the scheme is quite simple: you need to saturate the text content with key phrases, selecting them by topic, intent and additional words. The optimal key concentration depends on the specific segment — it ranges from 0.5 to 5%. For additional words — from 1 occurrence to 0.5— 1.0%. In this case, you can rely on services with built-in artificial intelligence that conduct a detailed analysis of competitors and calculate ideal performance. The same Serpstat will help to assemble the competitor's semantic core. Among the specialized applications, Surfer SEO is worth mentioning.

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Why do you need to contact specialists?

This is one of the most popular questions for beginners. Indeed, we have discussed in detail the process of compiling a semantic core for a site. And there is nothing complicated about it. You can create semantics yourself, spending from 10 minutes to a couple of hours on it, depending on the scale of the work.

But the problem is that in modern SEO, the effectiveness of business promotion depends on subtle nuances. It is very difficult to optimize for high-frequency queries — beginners simply cannot compete with strong competitors who have been working in the same direction for years. Therefore, a new landing page requires a semantic core optimized for specific narrow niches. They can quickly “shoot” by increasing traffic, improving brand reputation, and raising domain authority in the eyes of search engines.

It is also important to understand how many queries should be in the semantic core, which words should be excluded, and which ones should be added, despite their absence in web service reports. Some of this information can be obtained by studying your segment of the Internet in detail, and some only with experience and careful monitoring of search algorithm updates.

Can I collect semantics myself? Sure. Will this be effective? It will happen when it comes to optimizing a site for several pages or an online store for a couple dozen items. If the project is large-scale, it is better to contact specialists right away. They will get the job done much faster and more efficiently. In addition, you don't have to waste your time and waste marketing budgets during experiments.