What is Entity SEO? Understanding how SEO works in the AI era

Key Takeaways

• Understanding Entity SEO: Focuses on connecting related concepts (entities) to provide comprehensive insights and improve search rankings.
• Shift from keywords to entities: Prioritises meaning and context over keywords, aiming to meet user intent with detailed information.
• Importance of Entity SEO: Essential for optimising content for AI-driven search engines, increasing chances of being featured in AI search results.
• Topical authority and Entity SEO: Builds authority by creating high-quality content on interconnected entities, making the site a trusted resource.
• Future of SEO: Traditional SEO will become less effective; focus on entity SEO strategies to maintain online authority and visibility.

Avoid your Blockbuster moment by adopting Entity SEO

Entity SEO is to traditional Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) what online streaming was to video rental—a game changer. However, this doesn’t need to be a Blockbuster moment. Instead, it requires SEOs to adapt.

With AI changing how SEO works, new optimisation approaches are necessary. Instead of keywords and specific search queries, search engines like Google are becoming more focused on better understanding user intent.

Moreover, in the next ten years of SEO, niche insights by expert authorities will begiven preference in search results.

This is where entity SEO comes in. In this article, we explain what entity SEO is and what you need to do to adapt. 

What is entity SEO?

Entity SEO is focused on demonstrating the connections between concepts known as entities related to a topic. In simple terms, the more insights you can provide on a specific topic the better your chances of ranking highly on Google search.

So, think of entities as building blocks of knowledge. Each of these blocks is focused on an idea, object or concept and then connected in a vast web. The larger and deeper that web, the greater the chances you have of ranking well in search engines.

For instance, imagine someone searching for ” how to run faster.” Entity SEO would consider not just the keyword “run faster” but also related entities like “running shoes,” “training techniques,” and “diet.” Consequently, you can demonstrate your knowledge and expertise on a specific topic without your target user needing to leave your website.

So, Entity SEO focuses on the “things” that make up your content, not just keywords. These “things” are called entities and can be anything from people (famous runners) to places (running locations) to ideas (techniques to run faster).

Consequently, entity SEO is about answering all your user’s questions with significant detail rather than answering surface-level questions.

How is Entity SEO different from traditional SEO?

In 2012, Google launched Knowledge Graphs, with the aim of understanding “things not strings.” Central to this was a desire to bring human-like knowledge to search engines.

For example, in traditional search, a query like “glucose monitoring” may return results about diabetes. Yet, such a search query has many more meanings. For instance, this could include improving your diet or optimising your health.

So, Entity SEO starts looking to understand the meaning behind searches. Therefore, from an Entity SEO perspective, your job is to create information that sends signals to demonstrate what your website is about so it reaches the right people. Unlike traditional search, it has to go beyond keywords, provide context, and consider user intent.

Perhaps the best way to understand Entity SEO is to consider Google’s 2018 blog about the next 20 years of search. The paper mentions that search will evolve from “answers to journeys” and provide “relevant information” even when you don’t have a specific query related to it. 

Therefore, Entity SEO is about providing in-depth information to keep your target users engaged and answering their follow-up questions. 

Why is Entity SEO important?  Understanding the benefits

Understanding Entity SEO will become more important than ever due to the advancements in AI in search engines. These AI search engines cover everything from chatbots like ChatGPT to AI snippets like Google’s AI Overviews.

While traditional search engines like Google won’t disappear, these new AI tools will disrupt how search works and where websites get traffic. The question will be what you are searching for rather than what the best search engine to use.

Consequently, it will be essential to understand how to optimise your content beyond traditional search engines by embracing multi-channel SEO. This covers everything from a social media strategy that works to understanding Answer engine optimisation and how to embrace it.

This is where Entity SEO can help. For example, creating niche insights will be critical for any AI search engine strategy and preparing for features such as Google’s AI Overviews. Entity SEO can help as it requires going deeper into a specific topic, increasing your chances of being cited for a query.

Moreover, it sends strong signals to Google that your content not only answers the searcher’s immediate question but also provides insights into follow-up questions.

However, the benefits don’t stop there. Backlinks are diminishing in importance, and this trend is likely to continue over the next 10 years. While backlinks have long been seen as the strongest signal of trust and authority this will change as AI improves. The AI will better understand content quality and signals from other platforms thus making Entity SEO more important.

How do topical authority and SEO Entities work together

In 2023 Google announced they had a system called “topic authority.” In short, the system is designed to provide links to websites that are:

• Notable for a specific topic
• Influential
• Original
• Reputable

Building topical authority goes hand-in-hand with Entity SEO. This is because to get topical authority, you must create high-quality, in-depth content that explores all interconnected entities within your topic to establish yourself as a trusted resource. This is why AI won’t help you rank. Creating generic ChatGPT content is easy to spot and doesn’t add value.

For example, if you sold gut health tests, your topic would be “gut health.” However, creating informative content on diet, exercise, and gut health monitoring tools (all related entities) would contribute to your topical authority in this area.

So, Entity SEO is a blueprint for your content, focusing on how everything in your topic relates. Topical Authority comes in when you build upon this framework. So, you should create comprehensive content on each related entity.

For instance, for the gut health test example, the entities might be:

• Diet
• Exercise
• Mental health

However, the topical authority would then be built on top of this by creating content like:

• Best gut health foods for runners
• Guide on which cardio exercises improve gut health
• Mental health apps that can help improve gut health

So, are keywords no longer important? Understanding the difference between entities and keywords

Keywords still play an important role in Entity SEO. However, they must be considered as part of your wider strategy. 

For instance, imagine you sell running shoes for marathon runners. One of the articles you decide to create is about the best types of tread for the bottom of your running shoes. 

While a keyword like “running shoes” will be too vague, you can use a keyword like “running shoe tread.” This can act as an initial signpost to search engines to highlight what your content is about. 

However, whatever keyword you choose, you will need to make sure it:

• Aligns with your user intent. Therefore performing a psychographic analysis is essential.
• Connects back to the relevant entities you’re targeting

Are entities a Google ranking factor?

Google has not explicitly said entities are a ranking factor. However, we can deduce Entities SEO will help you rank because:

• Google stated strategy of focusing on things, not strings
• Topical authority is an official system in use
• Authority and expertise are key elements of how well content ranks in search results

So, its clear entities play a significant role in how search engines understand and rank content. By focusing on entities, you can align your content in the same way Google processes information. Consequently, Entity SEO can help you rank higher.

Next steps

Over the next 5 years, AI search engines will become commonplace. This will have a profound impact on the search industry, making traditional SEO methods less effective. While it’s tempting to assume AI will automate SEO and make life easier, this will not be the case.

As a result, you will need to focus on optimising for Entity SEO. This strategy will include a variety of factors from identifying relevant topics to creating a knowledge graph. Moreover, it will need to be aligned with your overall content strategy to ensure you are focused. 

However, this is just the beginning of transforming your SEO efforts. Optimising for Entity SEO builds a solid foundation, giving you a robust base to enhance and optimise your topical authority. 

Ultimately, building a strong online authority is the goal. To rank highly in search engines like Google, you must establish yourself as an expert. This is even more crucial as traditional search traffic drops as people embrace AI tools.

Going forward, SEO is becoming increasingly complex and competitive. Therefore, start changing how you optimise your Entity SEO today, so you don’t get left behind.