Semantic Search
Here's how I actually think about semantic search when I'm in the middle of a real project.
Start here
- Clarify the outcome
- Check the live SERP
- Change one thing, then measure
What I'd do first
- Clarify the outcome you need this week
- Check the live SERP for the query
- Change one page, then measure in Search Console
Plain-English take
Semantic search is a search method that matches results by meaning, intent, and context rather than only by exact keyword matches.
What I got wrong
- Treating it as a one-off task
- Copying someone else's playbook without checking intent
- Measuring vanity metrics instead of the job-to-be-done
Next step
Sources
Primary documentation is linked directly. Anything commercial is marked nofollow.
- Google Search Central — Primary source for how Google understands content, queries, and search behavior.
- Google Search Central: Creating helpful, reliable, people-first content — Useful for connecting semantic search with intent-focused content quality.
- Google Search Central: Understand how Google Search works — Explains how Google discovers, understands, and ranks content.
Notes from Callum Bennett.