Several methods of collecting semantic core:

1. Analysis of direct competitors’ site structure.
2. Brainstorm.
3. Using special services

All these methods are widely applicable and effective, however, they require a lot of time. Therefore, we decided to create a faster way using the API console. You can use any combination of API methods to collect and explore keywords.

We collect the keywords of competitors. You can do it in several ways:

• Download competitor’s keywords using the domain_keywords method.
• Download the keywords of other competitors with the domain_intersection method.
• Download the key combinations of other competitors using the domain_intersection method and select the Domain Combinations: 2 domains combination setting. The console will generate all combinations.

Step 1: Selecting keywords

Selecting keywords is the first and most crucial step in semantic core creation. Before starting it ask yourself “Who will use my app?”. After answering this simple (yet sometimes hard) question, we can start by adding some keywords. Keywords will vary on your applications topic (theme, idea). Let’s pick an application and use it as an example; we will use WhatsApp application. For this application from the top of the head, we can pick keywords like messenger, calls, texting, video calls, etc. to create a high-quality semantic core you may put something that is just barely relevant for your application but has high traffic.

If your application is a game, then your semantic core will be much bigger than non-game application. Why? Simply because games have a much wider variety of keywords that could be used. For example, if someone who has a travel app on the first stages of semantic core creation will have 100 keywords, someone who creates games semantic core will have 300 keywords, big difference, right?

Now you may think how do ASO marketers have thousands of keywords in their semantic core? Well, using ASOdesk tools like an Organic report or Keyword auto-suggestions you may simply add plenty of relevant keywords to your application. Organic report tool, for example, can show top 30 keywords that are used to find your application, and Keyword auto-suggestions will show you keywords with high traffic that is relevant to your application.

Step 2: Competitors research

When you create your semantic core, you must ask yourself another question “Who our app compete with?”. With such large growth of the mobile market, you can ask this question every day 😊 but being serious though, pick your applications major competitors, market can change every day, so it is better to update them at least once a week.

If you use ASOdesk, you can look at their Organic report and know what their top 30 keyword requests are. Based on the keywords traffic you may add few keywords from your competitors that will be beneficial to your semantic core.

A few days ago, I conducted a webinar on ASO whereas an example I used game The Elder Scrolls: Legends, using the Organic report of its competitors I successfully created the semantic core of this application in just a few minutes.

Step 3: Start analysing

Finally, we move to the third step — analysis of your semantic core. Using ASOdesks Keywords Analytics tool we can monitor traffic score of each and every keyword in our semantic core. Traffic is shown as an exact value, so you do not need to sit there and look at estimated value to understand how many people make a particular search request.

Remove keywords that are worthless; those are keywords that have too small traffic. In the process of analyzing your semantic core, you can always use Keyword suggestions feature to add more varieties of the keyword thus increasing your semantic core.

How to choose semantic keywords for a site

Semantic keywords for a site are all words on the project’s topic, which serve as a basis for creating a common structure and individual pages of the site. An appropriate compilation of the semantic core will help the site to get into the top search engine results.

What are semantic keywords

To promote a site of any type successfully, you need semantic keywords, i.e., a complete list of all keywords related to the resource’s topic, divided into groups that are similar in meaning. Semantics is used not only when creating and optimizing a site, but also when launching an advertising campaign. Semantics can be collected manually or with the help of different services.

Keywords are selected by analyzing the goods and services provided on the site, as well as the semantic core of competitors. The main attention is paid to the statistics on the use of search requests, taking into account their seasonality. The major purpose is to create pages on the site for all requests that meet the needs of the target audience.

Building a semantic is divided into the following steps:

• collection of keywords that describe the site content in detail, taking into account its subject and purpose, which can be done with keyword research tools for SEO;
• clustering of collected keys by sections and subsections of the project
• optimization of all pages for groups of collected keywords.

When selecting keywords for online stores and service sites, they should be divided into commercial and non-commercial. The first group includes all phrases used by visitors, who are most likely to become customers of the company. As a rule, they use the words “buy”, “order”, “price”, “cost”, and others.

Non-commercial profit requests are words that users enter to get certain information. Such requests don’t always lead the target audience to the site. However, there may be potential customers among such visitors.

Another important criterion to group keywords is their frequency:

High-frequency keys are words that describe the company sector most concisely. They’re mostly used when searching for sites of this topic; therefore, they show the highest market competition.

Mid-range keys are slightly less popular, while remaining considerably in demand.

Low-frequency keys usually consist of several words and are used less often than the previous categories. The main advantage is an easier promotion in the TOP and the ability to attract a “warm” target audience to the resource, which knows what it needs.

How to find semantic keywords

There are such methods to build a semantic core online:

1. Collect the semantics in search engine services.
2. Use the semantics of a competitor.
3. Collect keyword intersections of several competitors.
4. Apply keys that competitors use in contextual advertising.
5. Collect similar keywords.
6. Use search suggestions.

The main semantic keyword tools are:

1. Google Keyword Planner
2. Serpstat
3. KWFinder
4. Keyword Tool
5. Wordtracker
6. Key Collector
7. WordStream

How to make a semantic core of competitors’ keywords

The semantic core is often built using competitor keywords that were found with the help of the following services:

Serpstat

Enter the name of the competitor site from the TOP-10, select the module “SEO Research” and click “Search”:

Export the obtained keywords to a file, and then delete irrelevant keys, for example, branded requests related to the name of a competitive store. Using the same method, you’re able to collect the semantic cores of several competitors and select the most popular keys that are used on all sites.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=81WeOXS0vfs