Entity SEO: A New Approach to Optimization

SEO was once defined by the keywords and synonyms used throughout your website's content. With the rise of entity SEO, a new optimization approach has been embraced.

With the introduction of Google's knowledge graph, SEO shifted away from relying solely on keywords, and search engine crawlers began prioritizing rich snippets and entities on search engine results pages (SERPs).

Google now has more systems to determine the true meaning of keyword searches and queries. Google revolutionized its search capabilities by categorizing ideas into "entities."

While keywords are still important, SEO professionals now use entity-based SEO to help them rank higher. Context and relevance in search engine results are becoming increasingly important, and entities can help improve these factors.

In this article, we'll define entities, explain how to use them, and speculate on the future of SEO.

What Exactly Is Entity SEO?

Entity-based SEO employs context rather than keywords to assist users in finding the information they seek.

SEO is an abbreviation for Search Engine Optimization, which is the practice of increasing the quantity and quality of traffic to your website via organic search engine results.

To increase traffic, SEOs have primarily focused on keywords since the beginning.

Entity-based SEO focuses on entities rather than keywords. It's simple, but it necessitates a fundamental shift in mindset.

Google suggests an additional context for searchers, which serves the dual purpose of speeding up their searches by displaying popular options and reminding them to add more context if none of those are what they need.

Entity-based SEO benefits searchers but has made things slightly more difficult for content creators. The following are three ways entity-based SEO has altered the landscape:

1. Improved mobile capabilities: Entities enabled SEO to improve mobile results. In addition, entities improved mobile-first indexing, which is more common than desktop searches.
2. Snippets integration: Rich snippets, which include photos and customer ratings as part of their results, outperform even the top search results.
3. Translation improvements: Context clues allow entities to be found regardless of homonyms, synonyms, or foreign language use. 

What Is the Difference Between Keywords and Entities?

Entities and keywords may sound similar. They are, in fact, quite different. Here are their differences and why those differences matter.

Keywords

Keywords are words or phrases that appear in search results. They are frequently the focal points of search terms and can be questions, sentences, or single words.

Users looking for makeup tutorials, for example, might type in makeup, tutorial, contour, how to do contour, and so on.

Keywords are still important because they link your content to queries. Your goal is to increase organic traffic to your website by ranking for keywords that customers use to find your brand on search engines.

Keywords have long been the foundation of SEO since search engine algorithms require clear, concise direction to populate relevant search results.

Keyword stuffing, which involves repeating your chosen keyword far too many times or including largely irrelevant, popular keywords, was widely used in the early days of SEO. At the time, search algorithms required specific keywords to be seen repeatedly to rank content properly.

Algorithms have evolved significantly recently, and many old SEO tactics are now frowned upon.

Google has consistently stated that good copy and content are preferred over keyword stuffing and other black-hat SEO tactics.

Entities

An entity, according to Google, is "a thing or concept that is singular, unique, well-defined, and distinguishable." This does not have to be a physical object and can include colors, dates, ideas, and other similar things.

Entities can be individuals, places, products, businesses, or abstract concepts. They should always be distinct from other entities or keywords.

By emphasizing entities over keywords, search engines have become more accurate in their results. However, search engines aren't psychic and require more information to determine which entity you're looking for.

For example, a search for "Amazon" may yield pages about the rainforest or pages about the company. As fascinating as both topics are if you're looking for information on the Amazon rainforest wildlife, reading about Amazon products is unlikely to be helpful. You must include some keywords to indicate to the search engine which entity you are referring to.

Entities can be thought of as large topics in which keywords reside. Entities must link to a search engine knowledge graph representing related information and data across the internet to be considered legitimate. Knowledge graphs enable search engines to scan your website effectively.

Wikipedia served as the primary trusted seed set for Google's Knowledge Graph. Entities can be thought of as anything that could have a specific Wikipedia page assigned to it.

It is worth noting that not every entity has a Wikipedia page. This could be a helpful way of thinking about the concept.

How Do Entities and Keywords Work?

Keywords with context help define entities, but you must first understand what your entity is all about before you can create keyword-rich, well-written content. Your best bet for success is an SEO strategy that considers both factors.

You can create entities for an internal knowledge graph on your site that use keywords to link to different pages. Connect your content to high E-A-T knowledge graphs like Wikipedia or LinkedIn. While this will not directly affect your page rank, it will increase your page authority in search results.

Benefits of Entity-Based SEO

Entity-Based SEO has more relevance, refinement, and granularity than keyword SEO alone.

Improvements in automated language processing and new search methods such as chatbots and digital assistants have led to longer and more complex search queries over time.

Nonetheless, the majority of search queries still refer to an entity. "Things to do in New York" or "What to do in New York today," for example, refer to New York, USA. Even without the USA quantifier, search engines can tailor their results based on prior entity knowledge and context.

Entity-based SEO provides marketers with more concrete discoverability. Making your brand a tangible entity may allow you to include a large number of keywords that were previously unavailable. Adidas, for instance, can be searched through running shoes, workout clothes, fitness and other categories without getting lost.

How to Transition to entity-based SEO

By incorporating an entity focus into your existing SEO strategies, you may be able to better prepare for future algorithm updates.

Understanding which entities your company connects to and establishing it as an entity in its own right will be increasingly important in the coming years.

How do you transition from previous, frequently keyword-focused strategies to entity-based strategies?

List Your Business in Relevant Directories

One way to benefit from entity-based SEO is to list your company in online directories. For example, Google My Business is a data source for the Google Knowledge Graph.

Other services, such as Frase.io, which is an artificial intelligence-powered enterprise search engine that focuses on improving website content. It can help you build solid SEO-rich content for your brand and establish a recognized entity.

Listing sites may differ from one location to the next, so do your homework before deciding where to list. Additionally, select sites with high domain authority to improve your search engine ranking.

Businesses listed here can use this strategy to form entities and begin connecting unique keywords.

Prioritize Brand Development

Another important strategy in entity-based SEO is brand building. Any offline brand presence measures should be brought online, and you should always think of new ways to give your brand a well-defined and distinct identity.

Managing your reputation is also becoming increasingly important, as it may influence entity formation. Be aware of the keywords you currently rank and take note of—and correct—any potential PR issues that may arise.

Consider Your Interface Management Tool Use

As a good approach to collaboration may harm search engine visibility, interface management is a massive factor in entity-based SEO. This may occur despite keyword rankings, which may significantly affect some businesses.

Ultimately, focusing on keywords will not suffice in the future. Businesses and marketers must shift their focus to entity-based SEO and implement tactics to ensure that their content is linked to their entities.

With the help of AI tools such as WordLift, will help you calibrate your SEO and allows you to build entities and schema in no time.

The Bottomline

Entity-based SEO can be the best way to communicate your brand's context and relevance online.

Entities build a bigger picture of your content by targeting ideas and context rather than words or phrases, potentially outperforming traditional keyword research methods.

Marketers will have more opportunities to add depth to their branding strategies by focusing on entity-based SEO.