What is NLP in SEO?
SEO, or search engine optimization, is a rapidly growing industry where new methods and technologies are changing annually. One of the technologies that has recently become a focus of attention is Natural Language Processing (NLP). NLP is a subfield of AI that deals with communication between humans and machines in natural language. In this guide, we will try to explain in detail what NLP is and how it is being applied as a tool in SEO to rank higher on the SERP and enhance the site’s usability for a user.
What is NLP?
Natural Language Processing (NLP) is an area of AI responsible for empowering computers to analyze, comprehend, and even produce natural human language. From a simple and non-concrete description, NLP is a complex field that integrates computational principles and linguistic and artificial intelligence to enable machines to talk in natural language data written in text or speech. There are two main types of NLP: the subtopics include natural language understanding, popularly referred to as NLU, and natural language generation, or NLG.
Natural Language Understanding (NLU) is the capability of a computer software application to understand natural user discourse, encompassing meaning, intent, related context, etc. NLU is used in speech recognition systems to calibrate voice recognition systems, virtual assistants, and/or chatbots. Due to NLU, computers can provide a relevant response by the user’s intent after identifying the meaning behind the human language.
Natural Language Generation (NLG) is the capacity of a computer to produce human language, either as a text or oral form. NLG means language translation, content generation, and text summarization. Based on the input information received, the NLG systems can give properly formed responses related to the context of the discussion.
How is NLP being used in SEO?
NLP is becoming a significant part of SEO because search engines are becoming smarter and can understand the content of the website more and more. In fact, using NLP techniques, search engines can predict the semantic meaning and audit the context of web pages, thus providing the user with relevant search results.
Below are some ways in which NLP is being used in SEO:
1. Content Optimization
Currently, one of the primary SEO applications of NLP is in search engine optimization and content socialization. Through the capability of understanding the semantic meaning and context of the web page content, NLP helps to identify and rank web page content according to the relevance of the particular keywords and topics. For example, it determines which keywords are most efficient in a campaign, how the content has been organized and presented, and how to format the content in a way that fits the web or as an e-book.
NLP can also be useful in making summaries of content, which could enhance the user experience on a specific website. By summarizing longer articles or blog posts, NLP can provide users with a quick overview of the content, which is valuable for engagement and can decrease bounce rate.
Semantic Search
NLP plays a significant role in a search engine’s organizing search results using natural language processing. Due to the methodology of acquiring the semantic meaning of a search query, algorithms that apply Natural Language Processing are in the condition to provide more accurate search results, which are relevant to the user’s search query. This constitutes issues with search terms and associated terms, the use of keywords, and when the search is being performed.
Let’s consider an example: when a user puts something like “best coffee shops in New York City,” the NLP algorithm can understand that a user is more interested in finding coffee shops in that locality (as opposed to seeing the coffee shops actually). It provides a path for a search engine to return much more useful results for a user’s search, which will result in a happier user.
Named Entity Recognition (NER)
The NER is a process where the NLP system recognizes and categorizes the names of things, including people, organizations, and places in the text. According to its definition, NER can be applied in SEO as a tool that gives search engines a better understanding of the information on the website and, thus, provides more accurate search results.
For instance, if the website is about a specific product or a service, it can help SMEs identify and categorize the named business entities of that particular product or service. In this case, it will help the search engine to give valuable results to the users concerned if they are searching for information regarding the same product or service.
Sentiment Analysis
Sentiment analysis is another SEO tool in the NLP toolbox we can apply to our SEO work. Text mining is also used when trying to find the sentiment of text because it is important to analyze the user’s opinions and feedback about a specific topic or product.
Sentiment analysis enables businesses to understand the customer’s perception of a product, brand, or service through the evaluation of social media posts and other content produced by customers. This information can then be utilized to enhance the content of a site and the interaction of the user.
Voice Search Optimization
One of the primary features of SEO is now utilizing voice recognition through virtual assistants such as Amazon Alexa, Google Home, etc. The term NLP must be understood when it comes to voice search, as it is the process by which search engines interpret what the user is saying to them.
In general, with the help of NLP, businesses have a chance to adapt their content to voice searches: their website must be mobile-friendly and useful for answering questions, and it is recommended to use phrases that sound natural for voice searching.
Bill Yeager, Co-Owner of High Point SEO & Marketing in CT
