What Are LSI Keywords And Why Do They Matter?

When you hear about SEO, the first thing that would basically come to your mind are digital marketers and how they make magic with ranking your blog posts or your website. It is great to learn about the best SEO strategy and the best SEO tools but we should never forget about learning the basics […]
SIA Team
November 25, 2023

When you hear about SEO, the first thing that would basically come to your mind are digital marketers and how they make magic with ranking your blog posts or your website.

It is great to learn about the best SEO strategy and the best SEO tools but we should never forget about learning the basics before digging more deeper, especially when it comes to creation of content and content ideas. 

Remember that context is the key to creating valuable content nowadays. A piece of content should not only come with a single keyword like it has been practiced before, but it should consist of keyword ideas and long-tail keywords that are relevant keywords to your focus keyword. These are so that whenever users use the search bar for a search query, you’ll hit the jackpot!

This is precisely why LSI keywords have become such a big component of Google’s ranking considerations – with Googlers discovering so many varied and unique methods of searching for common concerns. The use of LSI keywords provides a lot of SEO benefits. You may increase your search visibility and contextuality by incorporating them into your content (for the love of content ranking).

In this article, you will learn about the following: 

  • What are LSI keywords?
  • Are LSI keywords the same as synonyms?
  • Does Google use LSI in their algorithm?
  • The impact of LSI keywords on SEO
  • Best Practices 

What Are LSI Keywords?

LSI or Latent Semantic Indexing keywords are words that are semantically relevant and are related to the main keyword. If the primary keyword on your page is “shoe store”, LSI keywords can include “women’s shoes”, “rubber shoes”, “boots”, “Nike”, “Adidas”, etc.

They are not, however, synonyms (different words that have the same meaning). They’re two closely linked words that assist and describe a page’s topic. Another idea will be discussed later in this article if it is a synonym. 

Before we continue, let me introduce to you a brief history on LSI keywords.

History of LSI keywords

LSI was first patented in 1989. In other terms, employing related words and phrases (“LSI keywords”) to better categorize a page’s topic is described as “a methodology for extracting textual data items.”

Since 2015, Google has emphasized the relevance of LSI keywords. However, they haven’t spent much time clarifying what LSI keywords are to internet marketers.

Therefore, the term LSI is a computer program that learns a large number of synonyms based on context. It’s a way of determining associations between words and concepts in a piece of content that employs mathematical techniques.

LSI is an algorithm

LSI keywords are search terms linked to the main keyword you are targeting, in terms of SEO (search engine optimization). They support your content for users and provide more context about a topic, making it easier for people and search engines to understand what a particular content is about.

Are LSI Keywords The Same As Synonyms?

While some LSI keywords are synonyms, not all LSI are synonyms, as I mentioned earlier. The bulk of LSI keywords is closely similar to words and phrases to your core keyword. So while employing synonyms in your content can help with on-page SEO, synonyms are not LSI keywords.

So when we try to use a search term “perfume” its synonym is “fragrance” but when we talk about “perfume” the LSI keywords would be, “perfume for men”, “perfume for women”, “perfume brands” and so on, as long as it is a relevant term to the main keyword.

LSI and synonyms

A Google search can help you grasp the distinction between synonyms and related keywords. LSI keywords can show in the drop-down menu as suggested searches. 

Google suggest

Does Google Use LSI in Their Algorithm?

“There are no such things as LSI keywords – anyone who tells you otherwise is incorrect, sorry,” a Google spokesperson said this in 2019.

Instead, Google is expected to employ a more sophisticated method to determine the relevance of a website, one that considers far more than whether or not a page contains a specified set of related words. Instead, they look at your entire page to figure out what it’s about. 

Even though related words and phrases are not strictly “LSI keywords”, many SEOs nonetheless refer to them as such (even though the term is technically inaccurate).

Non-keyword phrases on your website are likely to be taken into consideration by Google and then use them to assess (and rank your page).

This means that adding similar terms to the page you wish to rank is beneficial to SEO as this gives it more relevancy and context to the main topic.

What Are The Benefits Of Using LSI Keywords?

Google has improved its algorithm to take into account context to better understand related terms.

Incorporating LSI keywords into your article improves its contextuality and provides SEO benefits:

  • They help search engines comprehend and rank your website: LSI keywords sprinkled throughout your text assist search engines to understand and rank your page.
  • Semantic keywords boost the relevancy of your content: Including semantically-related words also helps to avoid keyword stuffing or filling your content with keywords over and over again.
  • LSI keywords also assist you to deliver a better search experience for users, which translates into benefits in other ranking metrics, including time spent on a page, bounce rate, and more.

The Impact Of LSI Keywords On SEO

Google’s crawlers, sometimes known as “spiders,” used to crawl from one link to another on connected web pages to automatically find and scan websites. They looked at the keywords on a website as they crawled, to assist them in figuring out what the content was about.

Let’s say you wrote an article entitled “Keyword Research Tools for Keyword Research ” Google will analyze it to see if you utilized the term “keyword research” in crucial parts of your website, such as the title tag, content body, image alt text, H1 heading, H2 and H3 headers, and so on.

However, Google’s crawling approach altered with the LSI upgrade, resulting in these SEO improvements:

  • Google understands pages better. It would now scan your page for numerous associated keywords, in addition to the root keyword. This means that instead of merely scanning for repeated instances of a root keyword, Google tries to figure out what a page’s main topic is and uses latent semantic indexing to grasp the material at a much deeper level.
  • Google reads pages contextually. Essentially, Google’s algorithm can now “read” a page like a human and categorize terms based on the identified context. This means that the search engine can now distinguish between phrases based on even the tiniest characteristics. For example, it can now distinguish between literal and metaphorical terms. 
  • Google can generate even more relevant results. They recognize phrases that commonly occur together to help the bots better understand the main topic of the pages they scan, according to a recent Google research study. Results are even more important with more precise categorization.
  • Google incorporates the overall picture of your business. Furthermore, their algorithm is built to consider your company name, website, and industry, to assist Google to gain a comprehensive understanding of each page on your site and how it pertains to your company, as a whole.

Do you understand now why LSI keywords have become so crucial in search engine algorithms?

Google’s primary goal is to offer the most relevant results possible to searchers, even for the 15% of search phrases that have never been searched before. That is an incredible level of quality that the search engine would not be able to accomplish without latent semantic indexing.

Best Practices on LSI

Now the question is, how can you better utilize LSI keywords in your content? We’ll show you how you can gather more results out from your seed keyword through using keyword generator tools and through keyword research process, to support your keyword strategy. 

Google Autocomplete

Google’s instant search feature is the simplest way to find keywords related to your main one. All you need to do is type your target keyword into Google’s search box and you will get a range of predictions as to what you might type next.

Google Autocomplete

Look for the words that appear in bold as suggestions. Make a list of the ones that are relevant to your topic and incorporate them into your content.

Google Related Searches

You can also type your primary target keyword into Google and then scroll down to the “Related Searches” area at the bottom of the page. Check out the terms below for more LSI keyword suggestions for your content.

Google related searches

People Also Ask

The “People Also Ask” section in the search results page is yet another really useful and free resource that will present you with more alternatives. You can look over some of the results to see if there are any other words that you can use.

Google People Also Ask

LSI Graph

LSI Graph is a free LSI Keyword Generator that lets you identify all the terms that are related to your primary target keyword, rapidly. Simply enter your page’s main keyword and you’ll be presented with a selection of LSI phrases from which to choose.

LSI Graph

Serpstat

Another useful tool for finding semantically similar phrases for your posts is Serpstat. At the left side, look for Keyword Research in the menu, click the drop down menu option, look for related keywords, and simply enter your primary keyword. You will be given a broad list of words and phrases from which to choose from.

Serpstat

Ubersuggest

Ubersuggest is a free SEO tool that specializes in generating new keyword ideas. Originally founded as a tool that scraped Google Suggest terms, Ubersuggest was recently acquired by entrepreneur Neil Patel, who has since expanded the feature set significantly.

UberSuggest

Focus on user experience

Use LSI keywords sparingly in your article. While these aren’t really your keywords, it’s still quite easy to overuse them and if you do, you can get penalized. You want to include enough related words to give Google and other search engines an immediate understanding of the context of your page, but not to detract from the reader’s experience.

To achieve this effectively, you must include related terms while maintaining a consistent, natural-sounding, and easy-to-follow style. This will not only help you avoid penalties, but it will also help you improve the experience of your visitors.

Final Tips On Using LSI Keywords For SEO

Remember to follow these three general guidelines for including related words in your text, to help with SEO:

  1. Avoid using synonyms excessively.
  2. Write how you would speak. It doesn’t belong in the text if you wouldn’t say it in real life.
  3. To the rest of your text, use a fixed ratio of similar terms and phrases (eg. one LSI keyword for every 200-300 words).

As they say, even though this certainly doesn’t ensure that you’ll rank for any of your chosen LSI keywords – it is a good starting point.

No matter how you frequently use LSI keywords, Keep in mind that your first goal should always be to present readers with clear, succinct, and useful information that will help them find the answers and solutions they are looking for (while also helping you achieve your business objective of transforming readers into paying customers, of course).

Conclusion

Google has made great advances in artificial intelligence and machine learning. In actuality, Google’s growing intelligence is quite alarming or scary, you choose!

Search engines are increasingly using LSI keywords to establish the context of any piece of content. So learning how to employ them in your SEO strategy and content development is worthwhile.

By now, you should know the basics about LSI keywords after reading this article, including what they are, why they are important, where to find them, and how to use them to boost your complete online presence, and hey its another skill you have unlocked today! The fate of your material now depends on how you apply the knowledge you’ve gained.

Need more information on how you could incorporate LSI to your content? Check out our LSI Keywords: A 5-Step Guide to Better Content and SEO article for more details.