The Importance of Semantics in the Google Algorithm

The Google algorithm is the black magic of the SEO world. Marketers from across the globe write grimoires on the subject. Each one is a combination of experimentation and soothsaying that strives to perceive the machinations of the great machine spirit that seemingly controls the fortunes of everyone who uses the Internet. Inside these tomes detail the spells of SEO, use a keyword X times in an article of Y size and be sure to include it in the header or build a myriad of links that reference the keyword.

Gianluca Fiorelli provides a break from the evocations. In his article, he pieces together how Google’s Hummingbird system works along with its future, semantics. Google’s aim with semantics technology is to have its search engine rank pages by what they mean in contrast to what they say.

The realization of this technology will transform SEO. Analyzing and competing over keywords will be a thing of the past because computers will come to understand the information they’re indexing. It will understand that the context of the searcher, that who they are, why they’re asking, etc., is as relevant as the question being asked.

This technology still has a long way to go, but we will feel its effects in the near future. Google will roll out semantic features and then tune them in the coming future. Each time the SEO world will need to adapt.

I strongly recommend that you read all of Fiorelli’s article on moz.com on the subject. He goes in depth on the Hummingbird system and what semantics technology means.