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When it comes to expanding your dental surgery website SEO, you need to look at more than keywords, mobile optimisation, and fast-loading website pages.
Indeed, getting to the top of search engine pages will require you to look at entities. If you haven’t heard of these, read on for a quick crash course which will showcase their importance.
What is an entity?
In dental SEO (Search Engine Optimisation), an entity refers to a distinct object, person, place, or concept that has its own unique identity and can be referenced or searched for online. It can be a physical entity like a specific brand, organisation, or landmark, or it can be an abstract entity like an idea, event, or topic.
Entities play a significant role in SEO because search engines aim to understand the content and context of web pages in order to provide relevant search results. By identifying and associating entities with specific keywords, search engines can better understand the user’s search intent and deliver more accurate results.
Search engines use various methods to determine and interpret entities, including analysing structured data markup, evaluating the content and context of web pages, and utilising external sources such as knowledge graphs. By understanding entities, search engines can connect related information and provide users with more comprehensive and relevant search results.
Optimising your website for entities in SEO involves creating high-quality content that accurately represents and references relevant entities. This can include using structured data markup to highlight specific entities, providing detailed information about entities on your web pages, and ensuring that your content is contextually relevant to the entities you are targeting.
How do entities differ from keywords in SEO and searches?
When it comes to differentiating between the 2, there are some similarities and differences that need to be considered. So, here is a quick comparison!
Definition
Keywords are specific words or phrases that users enter into search engines to find relevant information.
Entities are distinct objects, people, places, or concepts that have their own unique identities and can be referenced or searched for online.
Context and Meaning
Keywords primarily focus on the specific words or phrases used by users to search for information. They may not provide much context or semantic meaning.
An entity goes beyond specific words or phrases and aims to understand the underlying context and semantic meaning behind the search query. They consider the relationship between different entities and the intent behind the search.
Search Intent
Keywords are often used to determine search intent, but they may not provide a clear indication of what the user is looking for.
Entities help search engines understand the search intent more accurately by considering the relationships between entities and the broader context.
Optimisation Approach
SEO optimisation traditionally focuses on targeting specific keywords and incorporating them into content, meta tags, and other SEO elements.
With the evolution of search engines and the increasing importance of understanding context, SEO has shifted towards optimising for entities. This involves creating comprehensive and relevant content that references and associates with specific entities.
User Experience
Traditional keyword optimisation sometimes led to content that was created solely for search engines, potentially sacrificing the user experience.
Optimising for entities emphasises providing valuable and user-focused content that satisfies the search intent and delivers a better overall user experience.
How do entities work in Google searches?
Entities play a crucial role in how Google processes and understands search queries to provide relevant search results. Google employs various techniques to leverage entities in search, including the use of knowledge graphs, natural language processing, and machine learning algorithms.
Google maintains a vast structured database called the Knowledge Graph, which contains information about millions of entities and their relationships. Entities in the Knowledge Graph can include people, places, organisations, landmarks, events, and more.
When a user enters a search query, Google’s algorithms attempt to identify the entities mentioned in the query. This involves analysing the query’s language and context to understand the specific objects, people, places, or concepts the user is referring to.
Google’s algorithms go beyond simple keyword matching and aim to understand the semantic meaning of the search query. By identifying entities and their relationships, Google can infer the user’s search intent and deliver more relevant results.
Once entities are recognised and understood, Google’s search engine retrieves information from various sources, including web pages, structured data markup, and the Knowledge Graph itself. The search results are then tailored to provide a mix of information directly related to the entities in the query.
Google uses the relationships between entities to make connections and provide a more comprehensive understanding of the search query. For example, if the query is about a famous actor, Google may include related entities like movies they have starred in, awards they have won, or other notable figures in the entertainment industry.
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