Search engine algorithms are extraordinarily complicated. What’s more, no one outside of Google, Bing or Yahoo! really knows how they work. What outsiders do know is picked-up through cryptic press releases, scattered corporate blog posts, outright gossip and industry buzz. With pieces of puzzles put together, there are some definite known elements about search engine ranking.This knowledge is used by website design pros to achieve high SERP values or “Search Engine Results Page” rankings. The more experienced a designer is in SEO, the more likely a website owner is to see his page come-up at the top when an Internet user enters a query. Key in SEO or Search Engine Optimization, is the use of keywords and LSI keywords.
What are LSI Keywords?
The technical definition of LSI or Latent Semantic Indexing is, “an indexing and retrieval method that uses a mathematical technique called Singular Value Decomposition (SVD) to identify patterns in the relationships between the terms and concepts contained in an unstructured collection of text. LSI is based on the principle that words that are used in the same contexts tend to have similar meanings”, according to Wikipedia.
The layman’s definition isn’t quite so elaborate: a method of indexing like terms or phrases with similar meanings to a website’s keywords. In other words, synonyms or synonymic phrases. For example, if a website is focused around dog training, the main keyword phrase would be “dog training”. But phrases similar to dog training are LSI keywords such as: dog obedience, canine training, dog behavior, obedience training, puppy house training and dog crating.
How do LSI Keywords Benefit a Website?
LSI keywords benefit a site by using similar phrases centered around the purpose of the site. In SEO, this means search engines crawling a website might see “dog training” over and over again. This is counterproductive to SEO as using particular keywords too much is seen as keyword stuffing. And search engines generally remove sites that are guilty of keyword stuffing.
To obtain a high ranking without repeating the same keywords time and again, a site can use LSI keywords to make it more search engine friendly. The result of using LSI or similar keywords is a more “organic” and natural ebb and flow to the site’s content–both for search engines and Internet users. Furthermore, using LSI keywords serves another purpose for SERP, it puts the site in context. Because a search engine doesn’t visually see a website, it must rely on text and image descriptions to tell it about the site.
How are LSI Keywords Used?
LSI keywords are used much the same way normal keywords are used. The density of keywords and their LSI synonyms, are important to ranking. As mentioned, overuse results in penalties–this includes all keywords. To make a website appear natural, keywords and LSI phrases should be about 2 percent to 5 percent of the total text. Less than 2 percent and the site won’t be properly indexed. More than 5 percent is considered saturation–a real no-no.
To build or optimize your website with LSI keywords, contact XTELWEB. We have the knowledge and experience to get your site the SERP it deserves.
