80% of websites lose traffic due to outdated SEO strategies, this is not just a number, but a signal to every entrepreneur and marketer who counts on stable business growth online.

I am convinced that today a site’s success directly depends on how deeply and precisely you have developed the semantic core.

In our experience at BUSINESS SITE, it is a high-quality collection of semantics that becomes the foundation that determines SEO effectiveness, the transparency of the marketing strategy and the real return on investment in promotion.

In recent years I have observed how the cost of contextual advertising is rapidly increasing, while the predictability of results is decreasing. Users increasingly ignore ad blocks and choose organic search results, guided by relevance and the expertise of the content.
But to capture that “golden” organic traffic, simply adding keywords is not enough — a systematic approach to semantics is required, one that takes into account behavioral factors, site structure and the depth of content development.
In this article I propose a step-by-step guide to independently collecting a semantic core, based on real cases, strategies and tools that have proven their effectiveness in BUSINESS SITE projects across various industries, from pharmaceuticals and e-commerce to finance and construction.

If you want to stop losing money on ineffective advertising, achieve transparent and measurable results, and build an SEO strategy capable of scaling with your business — I recommend reading the material to the end.

What is a website’s semantic core and why collect it?

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The semantic core is a structured set of keywords and phrases relevant to the site’s subject, grouped by meaning and user intent. Essentially, it is a map of your audience’s interests that search engines use to assess the relevance and quality of content. I am convinced that without a properly assembled semantic core it is impossible to build either an effective SEO strategy or a functioning content marketing.

Structure of the semantic core and types of keywords

In BUSINESS SITE practice we always start with clustering keywords, combining them into semantic groups (clusters) that reflect the site’s structure and user scenarios. This approach allows creating pages that precisely answer the queries of the target audience and increase the chances of high positions in search results.

Keywords are divided into three types:

  • Navigational — help the user find a specific site or section (for example, “PrivatBank login”).
  • Informational: answer questions, help to learn something new (“how to arrange delivery with Nova Poshta”).
  • Commercial — reflect the intent to buy or order a service (“buy a laptop in Kyiv”, “price for tours to Turkey”).

Proper distribution of these types across the site structure is the key to reducing bounce rates and increasing conversion. I believe that commercial keywords should lead to landing pages, while informational ones to the blog or the FAQ section.

Collecting the semantic core: a step-by-step guide

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Collecting a website’s semantic core is not a one-time task, but a sequential process that requires attention to detail and flexibility in approaches. Here’s how I recommend acting based on BUSINESS SITE’s experience.

Forming base queries

First step: defining seed queries. These are keywords that most accurately describe your product, service or business category. I advise using your own experience, analyzing real conversations with clients, and studying reviews and support inquiries.

To expand the list of seed keywords, AI tools work great: ChatGPT, Gemini, as well as specialized services like Semrush or Ahrefs.

In one e-commerce project where we worked with an assortment of more than 10,000 products, it was the generation of seed queries via AI that made it possible to cover rare “long-tail” keywords that brought up to 30% of organic traffic.

Tools for collecting semantics

To fully collect the semantic core, BUSINESS SITE specialists use a combination of tools:

  • Serpstat – convenient for bulk parsing, competitor analysis, clustering and filtering by frequency.
  • Google Ads Keyword Planner – ideal for assessing frequency and the commercial potential of keywords.
  • Ahrefs, Semrush, Keywordtool.io: allow expanding semantics through competitor analysis, finding new ideas and checking the relevance of queries.

I recommend not limiting yourself to a single service; only a combined approach provides the most complete core. For example, for a pharmaceutical company we used Serpstat to collect the database, and Google Ads to filter by frequency and commercial potential.

Competitor semantic analysis

One of the most underestimated stages is competitor analysis. At BUSINESS SITE we regularly study top sites in the niche using the “Competitors” and “Domain Comparison” reports in Serpstat. This approach makes it possible to identify “white spots” — keywords that bring traffic to competitors but are missing from yours.

In a case with an online home appliance store we discovered that competitors receive up to 40% of organic traffic from keywords related to filters (“laptops with SSD”, “televisions with Wi-Fi”) that were not accounted for in the client’s initial semantics.

Organizing the collection of the semantic core

I am convinced that success in collecting semantics depends on the proper organization of the process. At BUSINESS SITE we always save intermediate results – keyword lists, filters, clusters – so that at any moment we can adjust the strategy without losing data. This approach provides flexibility, allowingallows responding quickly to market changes and audience queries.

Filtering the semantic core and stop-words

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Filtering the semantic core: a critically important stage that allows you to get rid of irrelevant, junk and “noisy” queries.

I believe that this is where expertise shows: automatic filters are good, but manual checking and experience are indispensable.

Creating a list of stop-words for SEO

At BUSINESS SITE we create a list of stop-words individually for each project. For commercial sites these can be words like “reviews”, “manual”, “forum”, which do not lead to conversion. For informational sites — conversely, we exclude commercial terms. It is important to consider niche specifics: for pharmaceuticals — medical terms, for e-commerce, technical specifications.

In one of the projects for a construction company we found that queries with the addition “free”, “download” led to a high bounce rate and low conversion, so such keywords were excluded at the filtering stage.

This approach allows working more precisely with the site’s semantics and excluding irrelevant keywords, which we will examine in more detail in the section on lemmatization of key queries.

Lemmatization of key queries for stop-words

Lemmatization: the process of converting words to their base form. I often use the Sparv 2 service to automate this stage. This allows quickly identifying all derived forms of stop-words and excluding them from the core.

This approach is especially effective for sites in multiple languages or with a large number of categories.

Filtering keywords by frequency

I recommend updating keyword frequency through one primary service (for example, Serpstat or Google Ads) and removing all queries with frequency 0. This helps avoid “junk” pages that will not bring traffic.

In the case with a laboratory where we worked on the SEO strategy, frequency filtering reduced the core volume by 25% but increased the relevance of landing pages.

Clustering keywords for the semantic core

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Clustering keywords, combining queries into semantic groups that correspond to the site structure and user scenarios. I believe that this is one of the most important stages affecting further optimization and ranking.

Clustering methods by SERP results and phrase similarity

At BUSINESS SITE we use two main methods:

  • By search results (SERP), we analyze which pages rank for the selected keywords and group them into clusters. This approach provides maximum relevance and takes into account actual search engine algorithms.
  • By phrase similarity, we group keywords that have common words or structures. This method is faster but requires manual verification.

For online stores with a large assortment we recommend clustering by SERP using tools like Serpstat or Streamlit.app. This allows creating categories, subcategories and filters that genuinely respond to user queries.

Manual verification of clusters

I am convinced that no automation can replace expert control. At BUSINESS SITE we always manually check clusters, adjust groups, add or exclude keywords taking into account the specifics of the business. This reduces the risk of errors, increases the core’s accuracy and allows flexible adaptation of the site structure.

How to use the semantic core for SEO and marketing

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A correctly assembled and clustered semantic core is not just a list of keywords, but a tool for creating an effective site structure, content plan and marketing strategy.

Distributing keywords across pages and filters

In BUSINESS SITE practice we use clusters for:

  • Creating categories and subcategories in online stores (for example, “laptops with SSD”, “tour packages around Europe”).
  • Forming filters and subclusters that expand landing pages and increase relevance.
  • Content optimization: each cluster — a separate page tailored to specific queries.

This approach allows not only to increase the site’s visibility but also to improve behavioral metrics, depth of viewing, time on site, conversion.

Implementing the semantic core in SEO and content marketing

I believe that the semantic core should lie at the heart of the content plan. For each cluster we create separate articles, guides, reviews that answer real user questions. This increases content relevance, improves search rankings and increases the ROI of the SEO campaign.

In the case with a travel agency we built a content strategy based on clusters: informational articles — to attract traffic, commercial ones — for conversion, navigational — to retain the audience.

Collecting and using the semantic core: key recommendations

BUSINESS SITE experience shows: only a comprehensive approach to collecting the semantic core — a combination of tools, expert analysis and manual verification — ensures long-term site growth, transparent results and a sustainable SEO strategy.

I am convinced that systematic work with semantics allows minimizing risks, avoiding common mistakes and scaling promotion together with the business.

A properly structured semantic core is not just a technical task, but a strategic asset that affects all key metrics: from content relevance and behavioral metrics to ROI and scaling the SEO strategy.

In BUSINESS SITE practice we always focus on long-term SEO planning, risk management and continuous process improvement. It is this approach that allows our clients to obtain measurable results, save time and build reliablea partnership for years to come.