LSI Keywords – An Extra Research Step

August 27, 2020 | Category: Uncategorised

LSI stands for ‘latent semantic indexing’ and is just as crucial to SEO as keyword research is.

LSI keywords represent words relating to a topic to the primary keyword being searched. They were developed to provide context to search results. They have been described as ‘semantically similar,’ meaning that they are related to a word. It should be clear that LSI keywords are not synonyms. Instead, they include anything relating to the context of a topic. 

As Google scans a web page, it looks for primary keywords and semantically similar words to understand the relationship between concepts. All of this converges to discover the ‘overall topic’ of a page, which Google uses to determine rank priority. 

Where Do you Find Semantically similar Keywords? 

LSI keywords are easy to find, even if you’ve never heard of the term before. 

The bottom page of Google will display LSI keywords in bold

You can find them at the very bottom of any Google search page. 

Additionally, semantically similar words are found as you are typing in a search query. Those bolded words you see are the LSI keywords themselves. 

For example, if I type in ‘orange juice’, bolded words will appear in the search bar, and at the bottom of the page. Some of these will make sense, like ‘recipe’, ‘calories’ or ‘brand.’ Others are related to orange juice but are not evident at first, like the words’ band’ or ‘lyrics.’ 

There is a context for orange juice as a beverage, and a musical group. 

So what should you do with these similar keywords?

How to Implement LSI Keywords in Your SEO Strategy

Implementing LSI keywords works the same way as implementing common keywords. That means searching for, and using, the semantically similar words related to your blog post or website’s general topic. 

However, just like regular keywords, you should avoid any form of ‘keyword stuffing’ and only use them to make sense.

Put it all together, and Google can determine whether or not your page is about ‘orange juice the drink’ or ‘orange juice the band,’ and bolster your relevancy. 


For more detailed information on SEO and how you can improve your efforts, visit our SEO Blog Writing Guide.