What are LSI keywords?

LSI (Latent Semantic Indexing) is a system used by search engines to analyze different words that people use on a particular topic.

Latent Semantic Indexing keywords are terms related, at a conceptual level, to the main keyword to which a page is addressed. Google uses them to understand what the website is about.

How do semantic keywords work?

No matter how smart search engines are, they cannot understand the text in the same way humans do. Google can understand your content but to a certain level.

Well, Latent Semantic Indexing is precisely the solution to this problem. Through a series of relatively complex mathematical formulas, they provide search engines with additional information to help them understand the relationship between the words contained on a page.

With this data, Google can refine itself and go beyond exact match keyword searches. In this way, it delivers the most relevant results to users.

Why are they important?

In the beginning, search engines relied on the keywords contained in a page to understand its topic.

Therefore, in the early days of SEO, keyword density was simply fundamental. The more you used a particular term, the clearer you made it about what your site was about.

But the Google of more than two decades ago has nothing to do with the Google of today, which is much more refined. Today it tries harder to identify the overall theme of a website, relying on semantic keywords to understand its content in depth.

How to use LSI keywords for SEO

Once we know the meaning of LSI keywords, how they operate, and their importance, let’s see how to use them to improve our positioning:

Use the most appropriate semantic keywords for your site’s theme

Knowing how to use keywords is fundamental, but the first step is to find the most appropriate terms for the web’s content and context. When performing keyword research, you can use tools to identify those that fit best with your site.

Look at the monthly search volume

It is not always easy to find the best options in terms of LSI keywords since certain suggestions could fit in a particular post but not in another. In this case, it is interesting to consider whether this option would be more appropriate for a stand-alone article or to add it to an existing page.

And for this, it is a good idea to consult the total estimate of monthly searches since we can decide whether it would be convenient to write new content or include those semantic keywords in the article we have already created.

Include Latent Semantic Indexing keywords in the same places where you would put the main keywords

Which would be the best place to add the LSI keywords? Let’s take a look:

• Headings (h1, h2… You can put up to h6, although it is advisable not to go beyond h4)
• Meta title
• Meta description
• ALT image text
• And in general, in the content text

Of course, once again, the key is to write naturally. You must distribute all these terms so that they do not sound forced.

Also, including them represents an excellent opportunity to optimize content, since in no case, you should continuously repeat the main keyword.

Take special care to improve the user’s experience

In line with what we have just seen, note that you should not overuse LSI keywords. Even if it is not the main keyword to address, it’s easy to fall into the temptation to use them in an abusive way. And the result, of course, will be a Google penalty.

But why? Well, because Google wants the reader to feel as comfortable as possible on your page, and of course, they know that they will not like to read content in which they continually find the same words. This makes the content practically unreadable.

Contrary to this, what should be done is to add the semantic keywords in a very natural way, maintaining coherence in the text and making it pleasant to read.

Remember that Google is focusing more and more on user experience and that improving it is not a passing trend but rather the search engine’s ultimate goal.