Wondering about what are LSI keywords or what is their importance? You will get to know all about it in this guide.
Search engine optimisation and search engine algorithms are constantly evolving. SEO is not the same as it was a few years back. Therefore, understanding and leveraging its terms and techniques like LSI is important to stay ahead in the ranking competition.
Here in this blog, we will guide you on what are LSI keywords. What is the Goole stance about it? And how to find and use related terms and words. So let’s get started:
What Are LSI Keywords?
LSI Keywords are abbreviations for the term Latent Semantic Keywords. LSI refers to phrases and terms that are related to your primary keyword. Unlike traditional keywords, which focus completely on exact matches, LSI keywords are conceptually connected to the main topic of your content. They help search engines like Google to understand the context and relevance of your content more comprehensively.
For instance; suppose your target keyword is digital marketing, the LSI can be online marketing, digital advertising, social media marketing, etc. Likewise, your keyword can be credit cards, and the LSIs’ could be debit cards, credit card scores, how to use credit cards, the interest rate of credit cards, etc.
Difference Between LSI And Synonyms:
Sometimes people think that LSI’s are synonyms to the keyword phrases or terms. However, it is not completely true. A synonym of a phrase, word, or term can be LSI but not always.
For instance, for the word jacket, a synonym would be a coat. However, LSI Keywords can be feather down, warm cloth, padded, puffer reversible, etc.
We can say that LSI’s are related or relevant words, terms, and phrases rather than synonyms of a word.
Reasons To Use LSI:
The three main reasons to use LSI are:
Boost The Relevance:
By using LSI keywords in the content, the search engine bots are signaled that your content offers various aspects of the topic and offers comprehensive information. It boosts the content relevance to the users and enhances chances of higher ranking.
Helps Google’s Natural Language Processing – NIP:
The second reason is to make Google search engine NLP algorithms to understand the context better. It helps the bots to identify the context and theme of your content more accurately to show the page with relevant search queries.
Reduce Keyword Stuffing:
Thirdly, the LSI’s are used to reduce keyword stuffing and make content more optimised. LSI helps to keep your content more natural and informative by creating a focus on thematic relevance. So the bots find your content helpful and rank it higher.
Google Stance Over Use Of LSI:
According to the latest updates, Google does not consider LSI’s as an SEO direct factor. It is said by Google representatives themselves.
Google does not use latent semantic indexing anymore as it is old technology and search engine algorithms have evolved a lot over time. Moreover, the concept was used to find results in small documents, not the entire website.
On the contrary, now it relies more on:
Knowledge Graph:
It is a semantic network that stores information about various entities such as places and people and their relation with each other
Advanced Natural Language Processing:
Now the advanced NLP is used to identify the similarity and relation between the search queries and content. It also helps in distinguishing between various variations in the meaning.
Used Machine Learning and AI:
Now Google uses an AI system to analyse word concepts and context and analyse the text as a whole not just a few of its chunks.
So Can Related Words Improve SEO?
So do related words play any part in SEO? If Google does not value LSI’s in indexing why are they still a hot topic in SEO? Let’s get the answer
According to most experts, SEO LSI is related to words, terms, and phrases. If we consider the definition correct then yes LSI’s help in improving the SEO not directly but indirectly, of course.
Google has admitted it various times indirectly too as it was stated on one of its pages “How search works”:
“Just think: when you search for ‘dogs’, you probably don’t want a page with the word ‘dogs’ on it hundreds of times. With that in mind, algorithms assess if a page contains other relevant content beyond the keyword ‘dogs’ – such as pictures of dogs, videos, or even a list of breeds.”
So now we understand that if there is a page about dogs, Google will see their names and breeds individually and find their semantic relation. So why these words do help to rank the specific page?
The simple answer would be that it helps the search engine bots understand the overall topic better.
How To Find Similar Words – LSI’s?
You can find LSIs or similar words to use in content by various methods such as:
- Analysing competitors’ content
- Using keyword tools
- Scrolling through search engine suggestions.
- Consider common terms by using your best observation and judgment skills.
Conclusion:
So that’s all about what are LSI Keywords. Understanding LSI keywords is crucial for modern SEO strategies. As search engine algorithms evolve, the approach to optimising content has evolved as well. LSI, or Latent Semantic Indexing, offers a sophisticated way to enhance content relevance without resorting to outdated practices like keyword stuffing.
While Google has moved beyond using LSI directly in its algorithms, preferring more advanced techniques like the Knowledge Graph and Natural Language Processing, the concept still holds value. It indirectly supports SEO efforts by enriching content with semantically related terms, making it more informative and natural for readers and bots alike. The approach also aligns with Google’s guidelines of providing users with the most relevant and comprehensive information available.
