What Are LSI Keywords & Why They Matter? BEGINNERS GUIDE

Latent Semantic Indexing Keywords popularly known as LSI keywords is not a new term for SEO experts and experienced bloggers. However, for those who are new to blogging fraternity, this may seem like an alien topic. But I must say you will able to boost your SEO strategy by integrating Latent Semantic Indexing Keywords. Enhance content relevance and search engine visibility very fast.

LSI Keywords —
In this guide, I will provide a detailed explanation of LSI keywords, their importance in SEO, and how to find LSI keywords for your blog posts.

LSI (Latent Semantic Indexing) keywords play a crucial role in boosting your search engine rankings and relevancy. They are related terms and phrases that improves the context and comprehensiveness of your content.

By adding LSI keywords in your write ups, you can optimize your blog posts content for better visibility and organic traffic.

I will share effective methods to grab LSI keywords and use them effectively in your writing to attract search engine algorithms and engage your readers.

What Are LSI Keywords?

Latent Semantic Indexing (LSI) is a mathematical technique that identifies patterns in the relationship between words contained in an unstructured collection of text. Keywords found using this technique are called Latent Semantic Indexing Keywords or LSI Keywords.

Too technical and confusing? Ok, let me simplify it for you.

LSI keywords are keywords which are “semantically” related or in simpler terms “closely” related to your main keyword. For example, the LSI Keyword for “SEO” would be “On Page SEO Tips” or “On page Search Engine Optimization Tips”

Sounds more like a Long Tail Keyword? Well, it is not. Let us understand the difference between LSI Keywords and Long Tail Keywords

What Is the Purpose of LSI Keywords?

The purpose of LSI (Latent Semantic Indexing) keywords is to boost the relevance and context of content for search engines. LSI keywords help search engines understand the topic and intent of a webpage. By adding LSI keywords naturally into your content, you can boost SEO rankings, increase organic traffic, and provide a better user experience. LSI keywords also help in building a strong and authoritative website by covering various related terms and concepts.

Google uses LSI keywords to fing the relevance and quality of your posts. So by applying these words with your content, you can easily boosts its chances of getting search ranking higher.

Difference Between LSI Keywords And Long Tail Keywords

LSI keywords may seem similar to Long Tail Keywords, however, they are not the same.

For a given primary keyword, its LSI keywords are a hybrid of Long Tail Keywords, its synonyms, and even acronyms.

For example, if your primary keyword is “Laptop”, your LSI keyword can either be “Best Laptop in India” or “Best Notebook in the USA.” Please note that the former keyword is actually a Long Tail Keyword of our primary keyword while the latter replaces “Laptop” with its synonym “Notebook” to form a totally different keyword.

From the above example, we can say that for a given keyword, it’s Long Tail Keyword is it’s LSI Keyword, however, vice versa is not always true.

Point should be noted that;

Use Of LSI Keywords By Search Engines

In yesteryears, Google used to display search results by matching the exact keywords. However, over the years, Google’s Algorithm has evolved to be smarter. You must aware about latest Google search algorithms as well to know how search engine working and evolving regularily.

Google no longer looks for exact keywords. Rather it tries to decipher the intent behind the search and shows the results accordingly.

For ease of understanding, let me explain to you with an example how Google uses related keywords for displaying better search results. We will try finding “Top 5 Cellphones in India” and see what Google gives us back.

As you can see in the screenshot, neither of the results contain the keyword “Cellphone” as this term is seldom used in India. Rather, Google searched for related words which are “Mobile Phones” and “Smartphones.”

Also to be noted, I searched for the term “Top 5”, but Google was also looking for the keyword “Best” as the same has been bolded in both the results.

Let us take another example of the keyword “Iron.” Now, we know that when a person says Iron, he may be referring to any of the following

• The Iron metal.
• Iron mineral which is part of your body.
• Electric Iron device.
• The verb Iron, which refers to Ironing of clothes

However, depending on your search query, Google tries to decipher the intent of your search to display the right results for you.

Below are the results for the search phrase “How to Iron.”

Event though I never mentioned Ironing Shirt or clothes, Google deciphered the same as the search phrase contains the word “How to.” which can only be associated with Ironing of clothes.

Now just check what you get when you search for “Repair an Iron”

As the search phrase contained the word “Repair”, Google knew you are referring to Electric Iron and displayed the results accordingly.

Importance Of LSI Keywords In SEO?

Now that you know how smart Google’s algorithm is, let us come back to the million dollar question: Why Are LSI Keywords important for SEO?

How To Find LSI Keywords

To find LSI Keyword, you first need to find a primary keyword using tools like Keyword Planner, Ubersuggest, and SEMRush. Once you have your primary keyword, you can use below methods to find LSI Keywords.

1. Google Related Search

This is the traditional method of finding LSI Keywords. You just need to search for your primary keyword on Google and scroll down to the bottom of the search results. You will see the related search queries as shown in screenshots shown above

As you can also check, if you search for “How to book train tickets” then Google also suggest a keyword "How to book railway tickets"

2. Google Keyword Planner

Google Keyword Planner is the most flexible yet underrated keyword research tool you can ever get. It helps you to find different types of keywords with small tweaks.

I’ve already discussed how to use Google Keyword Planner in my guide about Long Tail Keywords. To find LSI Keywords, there is just one small change. While searching for Keyword Ideas, you must make sure to keep the option “Only Show Closely Related Ideas” unchecked.

This will make sure Google Keyword Planner displays broader terms. Sorting out the relevant terms from the suggested keywords is a bit tedious but it can give you some unexplored keywords. But, I recommend using this method only if you are unable to find low competition keywords using other methods.

3. LSI Graph

LSI Graph is a special tool designed by SEOPressor for finding LSI Keywords. This is free to use tool which is mostly accurate with the suggestions.

It is extremely simple to use this tool. You just have to enter your primary keyword in the search box and click on “Generate” and it will give out a list of LSI keywords.

4. SEOPressor WordPress Plugin

SEOPressor is basically an On Page SEO Analysis plugin that checks your web page for various On page SEO Optimization Factors. Suggesting LSI keywords is just one of its many features. It lets you enter up to 3 main keywords and suggests you LSI keywords based on these 3 keywords.

It also checks your article for Keyword Density and suggests replacing a particular keyword with a related keyword to keep the Keyword Density under check.

Selecting LSI Keywords

The number of different LSI keywords you can use depends on the length of your article. Longer the article, more keywords you can squeeze in. Also, it is very important to choose only the keywords which are 100% related to your article. Using unrelated keywords just because it is popular will result in higher bounce rates.

Placing LSI Keywords

Placing your keywords can be a little tricky. You must know which keywords are important and needs to be given more priority.

Also, the keywords should be used in a natural way. Search engines will not subscribe to your newsletter or use your affiliate links to buy products. Your readers will. And so you must use your keywords in a natural way.

I generally reserve my post title and URLs for a Long Tail Keyword which contains my primary keyword and has low to medium competition with a monthly search volume of at least 200.

For Meta Description, it is recommended to use LSI Keywords containing synonyms of your primary keyword as it can boost your search rankings. So if your primary keyword is “Samsung Mobile phone”, your can use keywords like “Best Samsung Smartphone in 2024” in your Meta Description.

Frequently Asked Questions

Please take a moment to read through our FAQ section for quick answers to common questions.

Bottom Line

LSI Keywords are definitely a very important part of SEO and Keyword Research. They can greatly help you keep your keyword density under check. If used in the correct way, LSI Keywords can boost your search engine rankings and get you a lot of search engine traffic.

I hope after reading this article the concept of LSI keywords is clear to you.

Do let us know your views about the article through comments below.