How to Optimize Your Brand for Semantic SEO

Google your business name right now. Go ahead.

What happened?

You get a handful of blue links. Maybe some competitor shows up. Maybe you’re buried on page three. And if you ask ChatGPT or Perplexity about companies in your space? 

Nothing! You don’t exist.

I’ve watched this happen to brilliant companies.

An eco-fashion brand making genuinely sustainable clothes and yet lost in the noise. 

Local tennis coaches who transform careers being ghosts in the AI searches.

What’s happening?

Search engines stopped matching keywords years ago. Google now runs semantic search to learn who you really are, what you do, and do you deserve a spot in that tiny AI answer box.

That’s when I stopped thinking in “keywords” and started thinking in meaning.

This guide is everything I’ve learned about semantic SEO and entity-based optimization and actually use for ecommerce, healthcare, and personal brands.

What Is Semantic SEO or Entity Based SEO?

Semantic SEO is a way of doing SEO where you optimize for meaning, not just for individual keywords.

That means you structure your site, content, and metadata so that search engines and AI systems can clearly understand

• What your brand is
• Which topics you cover in depth
• Which entities you’re connected to (people, products, places, concepts)
• And which search intents your pages are the best answer for

Instead of asking “How do I rank for this exact phrase?”, semantic SEO asks “How do I become the most trustworthy source on this topic and these entities, so that Google’s semantic search engine and AI tools pick me as an answer?”

When people talk about entity-based SEO or entities in SEO, they’re talking about the same idea from a different angle. Entity-based SEO focuses on making your brand, products, services, doctors, locations, etc. show up as recognizable entities in a search engine’s knowledge graph and in LLM data. That’s what tells LLMs to recommend your name in AI Overviews, ChatGPT, Perplexity, and so on.

Imagine two librarians.

The first takes everything for literal. You ask him for “cheap running shoes” and he only bring you books that contain the exact phrase “cheap running shoes.” even if a brilliant guide says “affordable running sneakers,” he will ignore it because it doesn’t match the words.

This was old-school search.

The second librarian is smarter. You walk up and ask him “I need shoes that won’t murder my feet during 12-hour hospital shifts.”

He doesn’t demand precise terminology from you. He understands you are probably “a nurse who gets through lots of standing and needs comfort, support, non-slip soles.”

So he will bring you nursing shoes, clogs, cushioned sneakers, maybe some brand recommendations. The exact words don’t matter as much as the problem.

The second librarian is semantic search. The seach engine is trying to understand what you mean, not just what you type.

The Three Pillars of Semantic Search

1. Understanding Intent

What does the searcher actually want?

• Search: “wedding photographer prices”
  • Intent: Research costs before booking
  • Format wanted: Pricing guide, not portfolio
  • Stage: Middle of buying journey
• Search: “book wedding photographer Austin”
  • Intent: Ready to hire
  • Format wanted: Service providers with availability
  • Stage: Bottom of buying journey

Same topic, completely different intent.

2. Understanding Context

What else matters about this search?

• Location (searching from NYC vs. rural Montana)
• Time (searching at 3am vs. 3pm)
• Device (mobile vs. desktop)
• Search history (previously searched “vegan recipes” + now searching “restaurants near me” = probably wants vegan options)
• Current events (searching “corona” in 2019 vs. 2020)

3. Understanding Relationships

How do concepts connect?

• Nike → is a → brand
• Nike → sells → athletic shoes
• Nike → competes with → Adidas
• Athletic shoes → worn for → running, basketball, training
• Running shoes → requires → arch support, cushioning
• Marathon runners → need → high-mileage running shoes
• Nike Pegasus → is → a high-mileage running shoe

See how one entity (Nike) connects to dozens of other entities through relationships?

How Semantic Searches Changed the Landscape

Just look at what’s happened in the last couple of years…

ChatGPT hit 100 million users in three years of launch. People stopped typing “best CRM healthcare” and ask full questions like “What’s the best CRM for a small fertility clinic that needs HIPAA compliance?”

Google rolled out AI Overviews sitting above the blue links, answering the question right there in the SERP.

AI answer engines multiplied with ChatGPT Search, Perplexity, Claude, Copilot… all trying to answer questions without sending users to your site.

If you’re not part of the content these systems understand and trust, you’re invisible. 

Not just a bit lower in the SERPs. Actually gone from the conversation.

Semantic SEO is how you stop that from happening.

Entities, Topics, Intent – What Search Engines Actually Use Now

Here’s the mental model I use with clients.

Entities

An entity is just a “thing” a system can recognize as unique. Example:

• Nike
• San Diego
• IVF
• “PCOS”
• “Running shoes for flat feet” as a concept
• Your brand name
• Your lead doctor’s name

Search engines build a gigantic knowledge graph of these entities and how they’re related. They want to know

• Who you are
• What you do
• Who you serve
• Where you operate
• How you connect to other known entities (conditions, tools, certifications, cities, industries)

Topics

A topic is the whole conversation around a subject.

“Choosing running shoes based on foot type and lifestyle.”
“Understanding IVF options after 40.”
“Building a career as a UX designer without a degree.”

Topics contain entities, questions, comparisons, objections, fears. They’re what real people care about.

Keywords

Keywords are just the half sleeping way people type those topics into search.

“best shoes nurses 12 hours”
“ivf success 41 years old low amh”
“ux designer career path no degree”

Keywords were the hero in old search algorithms. Now they’re like clues. They help you understand how people talk, but don’t define page structure. Topics and entities do.

How Intent and AI Recognition Fit  

Before I plan a page now, I force myself to answer one simple question

What job is this page doing for a real human?

Are they trying to learn? Compare? Decide? Find a provider near them? Feel less scared?

If I try to shove three different intents into one piece, it will underperform on all three.

• “IUI success rate 42” → needs numbers, context, realistic next steps.
• “Best shoes for 10 hour shifts” → needs concrete recommendations, pros/cons, and probably brand entities.
• “How to become a UX designer without a degree” → needs a path, milestones, tools, examples.

Search engines and AI systems try to infer that same intent. If your content lines up with it, you look like a good answer. If not, you’re noise.

7 Step Semantic Optimization Framework

Step 1: Define Your Core Entity Profile

Start by clearly defining who your brand is and what it stands for. This will give search engines and AI/LLLMs a clear understanding of your business, so they can recommend you when the topic comes up.

Answer these simple questions

• WHO are you? (e.g., HOVSOL Technologies is a healthcare-focused IT solutions provider that offers digital marketing and SaaS development for medical practices across the US, EU, and GCC markets.)
• WHAT do you offer? (e.g., Patient Acquisition, Healthcare SEO, Medical PPC, Reputation Management)
• WHO do you serve? (e.g., Hospitals, MSOs, Specialty Clinics like Surrogacy and Orthopedics)
• WHERE do you operate? (e.g., United States, European Union, GCC regions)
• WHAT problems do you solve? (e.g., Low patient volume, high cost per patient acquisition, HIPAA compliance issues)

Once you’ve done this, you’ll know your core entity like your business name, what it does, who it serves, and where it operates.

Example

For an ecommerce brand, this might look like

• WHO: EcoThreads
• WHAT: Sustainable fashion brand
• WHO: Environmentally-conscious millennials
• WHERE: North America & Europe
• PROBLEM: Guilt over fast fashion, uncomfortable clothing options

Step 2: Map Entity Relationships

Mapping out your entities in a relationship diagram helps you visualize how everything is connected.

Here’s how I do it. 

Draw out a simple diagram with the brand at the center, then branch out to

• WHO they serve (audience)
• WHAT they offer (products/services)
• WHERE they operate (geographic locations)
• WHY clients choose them (unique selling points)
• HOW they deliver (methodology, technology, team)

Example

For a fitness app, the map might look like

• FitLife App (center)
  
  • WHO: Beginners, Intermediate, Advanced users
  • WHAT: Workout Programs, Nutrition Tracking
  • WHERE: United States, Canada, United Kingdom
  • WHY: Affordable, No equipment needed
  • HOW: AI-powered form correction, mobile apps, Apple Health integration

Step 3: Create Entity-Rich Content

Now that you know who you are and what problems you solve, it’s time to write content pieces that speaks to your audience in a meaningful way. 

Focus on defining entities instead of just keyword-stuffing.

Old Keyword-focused SEO

Title: Healthcare Marketing Agency | Medical Marketing Services

Body: We offer healthcare marketing services including SEO and PPC. Contact us today.

New Entity-focused SEO

Title: Healthcare Digital Marketing & Patient Acquisition Solutions

Body: HOVSOL Technologies is a healthcare-focused IT solutions provider specializing in patient acquisition, digital marketing, and SaaS development for hospitals, MSOs, and specialty medical practices across the United States, EU, India and GCC markets.

Notice that we’re defining our brand and giving clear context about the services with entity mentions like “hospitals” and “specialty practices” for better semantic understanding.

Step 4: Structure Content for Entity Extraction

Structure your content in a way that makes it easy for search engines to extract the important entities and relationships from your pages.

Here are some tips that helped us,

• Always define entities clearly so search engines can associate them with your brand.
• Don’t just say “Our Services,” be specific with copies like “Patient Acquisition Solutions for Healthcare Providers”
• Don’t talk about hospitals in one place and MSOs in another. Link them together in the context of healthcare.

Example

In a service description, instead of vague sentences like “We provide marketing,” say

“Our healthcare marketing services help hospitals and MSOs attract more patients through HIPAA-compliant strategies, including patient review management and social media marketing tailored to healthcare.”

Step 5: Implement Schema Markup

This is where you explicitly tell search engines about your entities. While this is a more technical step, you can implement it with tools like Yoast or RankMath on WordPress.

Here’s what the schema might look like for your company (don’t worry about the code, this is just a template for concept)

{

  “@context”: “https://schema.org”,

  “@type”: “Organization”,

  “name”: “HOVSOL Technologies”,

  “description”: “Healthcare-focused IT solutions provider”,

  “url”: “https://www.hovsol.com”,

  “logo”: “https://www.hovsol.com/logo.png”,

  “sameAs”: [“https://www.linkedin.com/company/hovsol”]

}

Schema tells Google, “This is an organization called HOVSOL Technologies. It does healthcare IT solutions.”

Step 6: Build Internal Links with Semantic Anchors

Internal linking is critical for reinforcing the relationships between your entities and topics. Use descriptive links, not just “click here.”

Example

• Bad: “Click here for more information about our services.”
• Good: “Learn how our HIPAA-compliant patient acquisition strategies helped a fertility clinic increase leads by 323%.”

Make sure each link ties related content together using semantic anchors that clearly identify the entities.

Step 7: Create Topic Clusters

Topic clusters are a way of organizing your content so that search engines can see your site as an authority on specific topics.

Have 1 pillar page that is a comprehensive guide on a broad topic and build cluster articles with specific subtopics that link back to the pillar page.

For example, for a plastic surgery brand, a pillar page could be

“The Complete Guide to Lower Lips Plastic Surgery Procedures”

Then, cluster articles could be

• “How Much Does Lower Lip Plastic Surgery Cost?”
• “Choosing the Right Surgeon for Your Lower Lips Procedure”
• “Recovery Timeline for Lower Lips Plastic Surgeries”

This helps Google see this brand as the authority on patient acquisition for healthcare, and content becomes more valuable in the search engine.

Run the ChatGPT Test

I do this with almost every client now.

Ask ChatGPT (or Perplexity or your go to AI tool)

“What is [Your Brand]?”
“Name some [your niche] providers in [your region].”

If you don’t show up, or the description is wrong, that’s a sign your entity work and semantic SEO aren’t strong enough yet.

It’s not the only metric that matters. But it’s a very loud one.

Real Examples 

Let me give you two snapshots.

1. Fertility Clinic in Austin

Before

Invisible for most non-brand queries and AIs/LLMs didn’t mention them when asked for IVF clinics in Austin.

What We Did

• Wrote clear entity definition on the site and across profiles
• Implemented Organization and MedicalOrganization schema
• Built topic clusters around IVF, egg freezing, male infertility, and local care
• Merged and cleaned up cannibalizing “IVF cost” pages into one solid guide

After ~3 Months

• “IVF Austin” and similar terms appears on the first page 
• ChatGPT is recommending them alongside 3 competitors
• Organic leads increased roughly 150–280%
• Cost per lead from paid campaigns dropped about 25–35%, because organic started carrying more weight

2. Ecommerce Brand Selling Sustainable Fashion

Before

Lost in a sea of “eco-friendly fashion” search results. Blog was random and SEO tools were flagging product pages for thin contents.

What We Did

• Defined entities around materials (organic cotton, TENCEL, GOTS certs), styles, and sustainability concepts
• Built a pillar on “How to build a sustainable wardrobe that doesn’t fall apart in 6 months”
• Supporting pieces on certifications, materials, care routines, and brand ethics

After ~4 Months

• Organic traffic up roughly 200%
• Conversion rate for organic users up ~30-35%
• AI tools started naming them when asked for sustainable clothing brands with real certifications
• Customer lifetime value improved around 40–50% as people understood and trusted the brand more

Mistakes I Did in My First Days and Want You to Avoid

Let me be blunt about the patterns that keep showing up.

• Vague descriptions – “We help businesses grow” tells nobody anything. Be specific about who, what, where.
• Skipping schema because ‘it’s too technical’ – It’s a few hours of setup with the right plugin or dev. The upside is disproportionate.
• Writing Random, disconnected blog posts – If a piece doesn’t clearly live inside a topic cluster that matters to your business, why write it anyway?
• Inconsistent information across the web – Different descriptions on your site, LinkedIn, Google Business Profile, and directories confuse both humans and machines.
• Pretending AI platforms don’t exist – Your are optimizing only for blue links while ChatGPT, Perplexity, and others answer the same questions your ideal clients are asking is a bad idea.
• Death by a thousand thin pages – 15 pages about “running shoes for office workers” that all say basically the same thing is not a strategy. You are just self-sabotaging.

If you just tackle these, you’re already ahead of most of your niche.

Bottom Line

I used to play whack-a-keyword game like everyone else.

One main keyword, one page.

Variation? Another page.

Slightly different word order? Sure, another page.

I used to create one page per keyword variation because that’s what all the ‘how to do SEO’ checklists said.

It worked for a while, then died.

A large number of searches now end without any clicks because the answer shows up right in the search interface. 

The majority of queries today are longer, conversational questions and an uncomfortable number of people say they trust AI-generated answers as much as human-written ones.

So, you can keep stuffing keywords into separate, thin pages, hoping the old game comes back. 

Or, you can adapt to how semantic searches work. Search engines are shifting toward understanding meaning and intent, not just keywords.

Start optimizing for semantic SEO and entity-based search today. 

Build content that search engines and AI systems actually understand and can relate back to your brand or your competitors will become the go-to answers for your audience’s questions.