What are LSI Keywords in SEO?

Everyone seems to be talking about LSI keywords, so what are they? LSI (Latent Semantic Indexing) keywords are words that are semantically related to each other on one topic and are used by the search engines to determine the relevant pages based on the search query.

LSI keywords are not synonyms, but there are just words that are found together because they share the same context.

Let’s look at an example of an LSI keyword. Let’s say your blog post is about “Windows”, you would find multiple keywords like “Microsoft”, Windows 10”, “Windows Mobile”, “Windows Store” and so on.

As you continue writing about a certain topic, there are certain common phrases that will be naturally found for that specific topic. These common phrases are known as LSI keywords. The keywords are semantically related to each other based on a particular topic. Google search engines will use them to generate the relevant pages for a particular search query on that topic.

Why are LSI keywords Important?

There are several reasons why LSI keywords are important to your SEO. These keywords are used by the search engines because to determine the main topic of your blog post. It is important to use LSI keywords because they send the right signals about your topic to the search engines hence your page will be highly discoverable.

Here are the advantages of using LSI keywords in your content:

1. They increase On-Page Time spent by visitors

LSI keywords can help retain visitor on your site because they improve the flow of your content such that it appears natural and meaningful. This, therefore, gives your site visitors an easy time reading your content. The visitors are highly likely to read the entire article and they will be coming back for more content.

2. Improve search engine rankings

As aforementioned, LSI keywords send the right signals to the search engines which help in the search of a particular topic. Therefore, this can improve the ranking of your site and for related searches.

This happens when the Google bots crawl your site and identify the perception about your article. The bots then use the LSI keywords to rank your site for related searches no matter what your main keyword is.

3. Prevents your content from being labelled as spam

Overstuffing your content with certain keywords can make it be labelled as spam. When you use LSI keywords your content will not be labelled as spam in the search engines. It is important to use varied keyword phrases that are semantically related to your main keywords in order to increase your content’s credibility. This would also help differentiate your content from spun content. Nobody would want to read content labelled as spam in the eyes of search engines.

4. Improve blog authority

When you write a particular article, you want it to have authority in the search engines and get to be read by as many people as possible across the globe. If you want that to happen you need to use LSI keywords. The semantically related keywords mean improved rankings, more visitors and hence more authority of your blog.

5. Reduce Bounce rates

Sometimes, your site could be ranking for the unintended terms. LSI keywords come to your rescue because they send the right signals to the search engines hence leading to a decrease in bounce rates. Your site will be ranking for the right terms.

6. Increase sales

LSI keywords help your site rank higher with less competition. This can help increase sales on your website.

LSI Keywords Vs. Long-tail Keywords

There is a difference between LSI keywords and the long-tail keywords. Long-tail keywords are mainly used to narrow down the scope of the search whereas the LSI keywords are used to broaden the scope of the search with semantically related keywords.

Examples of long-tail keywords of long-tail keywords for the seed keyword like fitness are “personal fitness instructor”, “fitness journey”, “fitness enthusiasts”, and so on. As you can see each of these keywords have the primary or the seed keyword in it, along with a few other words. You have also seen that the long-tail keywords are very specific meaning that they narrow down the scope of the search. Long-tail keywords are associated with low volume results and they are great for ranking and can lead to better conversion rates. Content should be written focused on long-tail keywords.

LSI keywords, on the other hand, are not used as the main keywords for your content. They are just used to send signals to the search engines that the article is really about the long-tail keyword that you have focused on. LSI keywords and long-tail keywords, therefore, work together to improve the ranking of your site.

Where to Find LSI Keywords

Now you know why LSI keywords are important to your blog post, but do you know where or how you can find them. Here are the tools that you can use to find LSI keywords:

1. Google Keyword Planner

Google gives you all the answers you are looking for and it can help you with LSI keywords as well. You can get initial LSI keywords from the Google autosuggest and related searches which appear below the search page of your query. You can also the Google Keyword Planner to get more useful LSI keyword.

2. LSI Graph

This is an important tool that you can use to get some good quality LSI keywords. You just need to enter your main keyword and then hit generate. Scan through the results to find LSI keywords to use on your page.

3. Keyword Shitter

Keyword shitter helps you generate LSI keywords in bulk. The tool provides some of the best and most relevant LSI keywords based on your search. You can actually filter the results based on what you want and this helps you choose how your keywords are displayed and avoid get5tign keywords that you don’t want. The tool also offers the option of downloading the bulk LSI keywords that it generated for you.

4. NicheLaboratory

NicheLaboratory is another tool that can help you generate related keywords. You just need to type in your main keyword and it will generate a list of related keywords. Scan through the results and choose what you feel is relevant to you.

5. Soovle

Soovle is a great tool, especially for online marketers. You just need to enter your query and then it will give you the top ten searches in some of the popular search engines. Soovle starts giving results as you start typing letters of your search queries.

Soovle generates keywords that have search intent or user intent and can give you keywords that people are using as search queries.

6. KeywordTool.io

KeywordTool.io is another great tool that can be used to generate good LSI keywords. You can easily generate LSI keywords to use for your blog post on the free version. The generated keywords are displayed in alphabetical order.

How to Use LSI Keywords?

After you have found all the relevant LSI keywords, you want to know how to use them in order to rank your content better.

LSI keywords should be used appropriately while being careful not to mess up your primary keyword with them. How you use your LSI keywords can make or break the rankings and credibility of an article.

Here are the best ways to use your LSI keywords.

• Choose the right keyword – the keyword generating tools can generate a list of keywords in which there could be phrases that are not related to your primary keyword. You need to filter out such keywords and use the ones that are related to your primary keyword. The selected phrases should be related to your topic.
• Place them naturally – LSI keywords should be placed naturally throughout the content. Only use the phrases that have value for your content.
• Target more positions – there are several positions you can target with your LSI keywords. You can use them in your post title, as anchor text to an internal link, in the title tags and also in the introduction and conclusion section your article. This will actually help give natural flow to your content.

What to Avoid Doing with LSI Keywords

Just like the primary keyword, you should avoid overstuffing your content or page with any particular LSI keyword. Overusing an LSI keyword ruins the natural flow of your content and can attract a Google penalty.

Conclusion

You have just discovered what LSI keywords are. You can the keywords to improve your SEO, thus, lead to better ranking and boost your blog authority. By appropriately using the LSI keywords you will give your content a natural flow which will retain visitors on the page.