In the world of search engine optimization (SEO), there is always an emphasis on creating quality content. But what exactly constitutes “quality content?” To answer this question, we must first understand how search engines work.
Search engines are constantly crawling the web, scanning, and indexing billions of pieces of content so that they can be readily accessible to anyone who types in a query.
In order to provide the best user experience possible, search engines use Natural Language Processing (NLP) to analyze and understand the intent behind each query.
NLP is a branch of artificial intelligence that deals with the interaction between humans and computers. Put simply, NLP is what allows computers to understand human language.
Google’s use of NLP has come a long way since the early days of search. In fact, Google’s CEO Sundar Pichai has said that NLP is one of the company’s three main priorities in terms of investments in AI. So how can you use NLP to improve your SEO strategy? Let’s take a look.
What is NLP?
NLP is a field of computer science and artificial intelligence concerned with the interactions between humans and computers. It helps computers to understand human language and respond in a way that is natural for humans. Google uses NLP for their search engine in order to better understand the user’s intent when they enter a query.
How Does Google Use NLP?
Google uses NLP in two main ways: semantic search and voice search. Semantic search is when the search engine tries to understand the meaning of the user’s query in order to provide more relevant results.
For example, if you were to search for “pizza near me”, Google would use NLP to try and understand that you are looking for pizza places near your current location.
Voice search is when you use your voice to enter a query into the search engine. Voice search is becoming more and more popular as people are using devices like Amazon Echo and Google Home.
How Can You Use NLP For Your SEO?
You can use NLP for your SEO by optimizing your content for voice search. This means using long-tail keywords that are conversational and natural sounding. It also means structuring your content in a way that is easy for the computer to understand.
You can do this by using proper grammar and punctuation, using headings and subheadings, and using bullet points when appropriate.
Use Keywords Strategically
As we mentioned before, keywords are powerful tools that can help control your rankings on SERPs. But in order for keywords to be effective, they must be used strategically.
This means using relevant keywords throughout your content in a way that sounds natural and flows well.
Gone are the days when you could stuff as many keywords into your content as possible and hope for the best—search engines are now smart enough to catch on to these kinds of tactics and will penalize you for it.
Instead, focus on using a few key target keywords throughout your content, especially in your title tags and headings.
You should also sprinkle in some long-tail keywords, which are more specific phrases that tend to have less competition than shorter, more general keywords.
Long-tail keywords are great because they help you target a specific audience while also demonstrating your expertise on a certain topic.
Make Your Content Scannable
One mistake that many people make when writing web content is assuming that users will read every word from top to bottom like they would a blog post or news article.
The reality is that most people don’t have the time or patience to do this—they just want to find the information they’re looking for as quickly and easily as possible. That’s why it’s important to make your content scannable by using short paragraphs, bulleted lists, and plenty of white space.
You should also use headlines, subheadings, and bolded text to break up your content and make it easy for users to skim through and find what they’re looking for.
Not only will this make your content more user-friendly, but it will also help improve your click-through rate (CTR), which is one of the factors that search engine algorithms take into account when ranking websites on SERPs.
Pay Attention To User Intent
Finally, one of the most important things you can do to improve your SEO strategy with NLP is to pay attention to user intent. This refers to the reason why someone is searching for something in the first place.
There are four main types of user intent: navigational (looking for a specific website), informational (looking for data or facts), commercial (looking to buy something), or transactional (looking to take action).
if you want your website to rank high on SERPs, then you need to create content that matches the user’s intent.
For example, if someone is searching for “best yoga mats,” then they are likely looking to buy one—so your goal should be to create content that helps them compare different yoga mats and ultimately choose one that’s right for them.
On the other hand, someone who searches for “yoga history” probably just wants some quick facts—so create content accordingly.
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Conclusion: How Google Uses NLP For Their Search Engine
Google uses NLP for its search engine in order to better understand the user’s intent when they enter a query. You can use NLP for your SEO by optimizing your content for voice search.
This means using long-tail keywords that are conversational and natural sounding. It also means structuring your content in a way that is easy for the computer to understand.
Optimizing your content for voice search will help you rank higher in the SERPs and get more traffic to your website.
