Fahim Ahmed
Previously we have discussed various keywords that can help you improve your SEO. These keywords are mostly your focus words that are used to describe the topic. If you have a good understanding of these keywords and you know how to use them properly on your website you can increase your site’s traffic in no time.
SEO Keywords are used to increase website traffic organically. These types of keywords are also used to target the right audience and improve conversions. There are various types of keywords that act differently to enhance the overall SEO of a site.
The type of keyword to choose depends on your website niche and your conversion goal. Among these keywords, there is one that has created a buzz in the SEO community and has triggered debates. LSI keywords a.k.a Latent Semantic Indexing is more of a pandora’s box.
What are LSI Keywords?
LSI (Latent Semantic Indexing) keywords are conceptually related terms that are usually found together within a webpage that are used to describe the overall topics. Search engines use LSI keywords to understand the topic deeply and rank a webpage.
Let’s assume you are talking about iPhone 11. What are the relevant words that can be used to talk about iPhone 11 to make the conversation going? You will probably talk about ‘iPhone 11 pro’ ‘other apple products’ ‘latest iPhone’ ‘android phones’ or ‘smart phones’. You can also talk about the ‘features of iPhone 11’. So for the term ‘iPhone 11’, these can be the LSI keywords. Google looks for words that are relevant to the keyword to better understand the content of a webpage.
If you are familiar with SEO, you must have already heard about LSI keywords and all the rumors involved with them. The SEO community is divided into two when it comes to the use of LSI keywords.
Some SEOs suggest that LSI keywords are very beneficial to improve search engine ranking while others differ with that. With both sides making some good points it is very hard to gauge the effect of LSI keywords. There are a lot of mysteries and myths surrounding LSI keywords. Let’s try to decode these myths and see if LSI keywords are really useful or just another hoax.
Understanding LSI keywords
When you come across the term LSI keywords and read various articles you will find two common points. Some SEO experts suggest that Google uses LSI (Latent Semantic Indexing) to index and rank web pages and understand the content of a webpage. Adding LSI keywords in your content can help you rank higher and attract more organic search traffic.
Unfortunately, none of these are true…..at least that’s what Google says.
There's no such thing as LSI keywords — anyone who's telling you otherwise is mistaken, sorry.
— johnmu is a ranking factor and so are you 🐀 (@JohnMu) July 30, 2019
So does that mean you should avoid using LSI keywords?
Well, let’s not jump to a conclusion so soon. Even though Google has denounced the use of LSI keywords, there is still some good use of it. In this guide, we will discuss all that you need to know about LSI keywords and how to properly use them in your article or blog post.
Why LSI Keywords Might Be Important
LSI keywords are basically used to give context to a web page. They can help users and search engines understand what the web page is about. Earlier Google and other search engines would use focus keywords to understand and index web pages. If your focus keyword is frequently repeated within the article, Google would assume your article is about that focus keyword and nothing else. This is why most SEOs would rely on creating content with high keyword density.
But now as the search algorithm improved, the way Google index a web page has changed remarkably. Google doesn’t just take the focus keyword into account but there are other factors that help Google decide to index and rank a webpage.
With improved search algorithms, Google has become a lot smarter. Nowadays, Google doesn’t just rely on keywords but focuses on the overall content of a webpage. This makes it easier for Google to index a page properly and rank them according to relevancy.
The big debate with LSI keywords is that if Google uses LSI keywords to rank web pages. John Mueller of Google has tweeted that there is no such thing as LSI keywords but it is still debatable. Even though Google doesn’t use the term Latent Semantic Indexing, relevant keywords are used to understand and rank a webpage. Relevant keywords can help search engines understand the content of a page on a deeper level. So in that sense, LSI keywords are still a thing.
How To Properly Use LSI keywords
Let’s assume you have written an article about yoga. Your keyword for the article is ‘yoga exercises’. Google and other search engines usually look for the keyword in the title tag, headings, alt tag, and throughout your content. In this case, Google will look for the term ‘yoga exercises’.
But apart from your primary keyword, Google will also scan your article for relevant keywords such as (yoga position, beginner yoga position, yoga training, exercises at home, effective workout moves, yoga benefits, yoga videos), etc.
When Google finds these relevant keywords within your content, they will understand what your content is about and index your page properly. LSI keywords make it easier for search engines to determine the topic of a webpage.
So if Google doesn’t take LSI keywords into account why should you use them? The answer is simple…
There is nothing wrong with using LSI keywords and it doesn’t cost you any money
To this day we are using LSI keywords and it appears in our content naturally. The best way to serve your content to your users is by keeping it relevant and concise with all the necessary information. Just don’t force keywords in your content by stuffing it unnecessarily.
Yes, there are other on-page SEO techniques that can be used to enhance user experience and improve search ranking, but adding LSI keywords is probably the easiest as it comes naturally within your content.
Finding LSI Keywords
Finding LSI keywords is as easy as pie. There are a lot of free SEO tools that you can use to find LSI keywords. But the easiest way of finding LSI keywords is by making a simple Google search.
1. Google Autocomplete
You can use Google autocomplete to find keywords that are relevant to your focus keyword. Long-tail LSI keywords can be used to make your content more specific and gain high conversions.
You can also scroll down the search result page and find the “searches related to” section and find more LSI keywords. Apart from that, you can also use the “People Also Ask” section to add some more details to your blog post.
2. Google Keyword Planner
Another wonderful tool from Google is the “Google keyword planner“. This tool helps the users find the right keywords and see what works for them best. Not only you will be able to discover relevant keywords, but you will also be able to analyze search volume and forecast alongside keyword competition.
Google keyword planner is one of the easiest ways to find LSI keywords.
3. LSIGraph
If you want to dive deep and find an expanded list of LSI keywords you can use this free SEO tool. LSI graph is one of the best keyword research tools that will help you find a detailed report of keywords. Using this tool you can find keywords that can merge with your topic easily. This is a very easy-to-use tool. All you have to do is enter your primary keyword and hit the generate button. This tool will find keywords that match your primary keyword.
You can also try Keyword Tool and UberSuggest to do keyword research and find prospect keywords that will help you rank high in search engines.
