More Semantic Search Cheerleading: My Ears Hurt

February 8, 2017

I read “Semantic Search. The Present and Future of Search Engine Optimization .” Let’s be clear. The point of this write up has zero to do with precision and recall. The goal strikes me as generating traffic. Period. Wrapping the blunt truth in semantic tinsel does not change the fact that providing on point information is not on the radar.

I noted this statement and circled it in wild and crazy pink:

SEO in the current times involves user intent to provide apt results which can help you to improve your online presence. Improvement is possible by emphasizing on various key psychological principles to attract readers; rank well and eventually expand business.

When I look for information, my intent is pretty clear to me. I have learned over the last 50 years that software is not able to assist me. May I give you an example from yesterday, gentle reader. I wanted information about Autonomy Kenjin, which became available in the late 1990s. It disappeared. Online was useless and the search systems I used either pointed me to board games, rock music, or Japanese culture. My intent is pretty clear to me. Intent to today’s search systems suck when it comes to my queries.

The write up points out that semantics will help out with “customer personality guiding SEO.” Maybe for Lady Gaga queries. For specialized, highly variable search histories, not a chance. Systems struggle to recognize the intent of highly idiosyncratic queries. Systems do best with big statistical globs. College students like pizza. This user belongs to a cluster of users labeled college students. Therefore, anyone in this cluster gets… pizza ads. Great stuff. Double cheese with two slices of baloney. Then there are keywords. Create a cluster, related terms to it. Bingo. Job done. Close enough for today’s good enough approach to indexing.

The real gems of the write up consist of admonitions to write about a relevant topic. Relevant to whom, gentle reader. The author, the reader, the advertiser? Include concepts. No problem. A concept to you might be a lousy word to describe something to me; for example, games and kenjin. And, of course, use keywords. Right, double talk and babble.

Semantic SEO. Great stuff. Cancel that baloney pizza order. I don’t feel well.

Stephen E Arnold, February 8, 2017

Written by Stephen E. Arnold · Filed Under News, Semantic, SEO

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Stephen E. Arnold monitors search, content processing, text mining and related topics from his high-tech nerve center in rural Kentucky. He tries to winnow the goose feathers from the giblets. He works with colleagues worldwide to make this Web log useful to those who want to go "beyond search". Contact him at sa [at] arnoldit.com. His Web site with additional information about search is arnoldit.com.