When it comes to ranking on Google, understanding how LSI keywords work will make your site rank higher on Google. What you will get in this article is the complete guide to LSI keywords.
What is LSI Keywords?
Latente Semantic Indexing or LSI in short, is an effective but least-known method to improve your on-page optimization.
If you have not heard about LSI keywords or don’t know much about the term, this Complete Guide to LSI Keywords will help you improve your knowledge and ultimately, help you improve Google ranking.
The relationship between LSI keywords and keyword density
It is surprising that a lot of people confuse with this matter. Keyword density is the number of times a word (or a string of words) appears in your text. For your information, Keyword Density (also known as “KD”) is measured in percentage.
The bigger the percentage of the keyword density, the better the chances for you to rank on Google for your selected keyword.
But this was those good old days.
Before Google Panda and Hummingbird update, keyword density and the right amount of keyword stuffing will rank your page easily. Google understands that this leads to inaccurate, low quality content which affects the user’s experience when using Google. Thus, new algorithms are created and launched to ensure that only the best content is visible on the first few pages of Google.
What is keyword stuffing?
Keyword stuffing is a process where you place the keywords multiple time on a web page to trick search engine into ranking the page higher than it otherwise might.
Keyword stuffing is often practice without considering the impact of readability and user’s experience.
But keyword stuffing worked for years
In order to boost your site’s rank, all you have to do was to include the primary keyword in the page titles, META descriptions, META keywords and overuse it all over your content.
After several Google updates such as Google Panda and Google Hummingbird in recent years, keyword stuffings doesn’t work anymore. While it does carry some weight in ranking, more factors are taken into consideration as well.
Complete Guide to LSI Keywords keyword density recommendation: Keyword density should be anywhere between 2 to 3% at most.
So, does keyword density still matters today?
If you want a short answer, it is “Yes.”
Even though keyword stuffing is considered obsolete, keyword density still matters and here’s why.
The table below is taken from a search query using the Free Keyword Density Analyzer Tool from SeoBooks.com.
I got to agree that the report certainly looks ugly. But the data collected from it is pretty amazing.
Here are some important takeaway from the report above:
1
Most used keywords
How the usage of LSI, keyword, keywords, search, SEO, Google and 10 other keywords impacts the top 10 highest ranking web pages?
2
Average keyword density
Taking important notes on the average keyword density for each keyword of the top 10 ranking web pages
3
Number of times each keywords are mentioned
This is pretty straight forward. The table shows the number of times each keywords are mentioned and you can see the impact of it on the top ranking pages.
4
Average content length
The importance of having detailed content is critical for ranking. If you want to rank higher on Google, start writing lengthy content!
When it comes to ranking and search engine optimization, always remember that SEO is all about finding the right patterns, analyzing them thoroughly, and obtaining actionable data. All of these will help you rank faster and higher on Google.
WORTH READING: The Ultimate KWFinder Review (Is KWFinder really that powerful?
Complete Guide to LSI Keywords — Getting Started
LSI keywords may sound complicated but trust me, it isn’t. LSI keywords are keyword phrases that are similar in meaning when compared to the primary keywords.
LSI keywords are not limited to synonyms and these are keywords that are commonly found together (keywords people often searched for).
For easier understanding on what LSI keywords are, I’m taking “bikes” as the primary keyword. Here are some LSI keywords that come along with that keyword:
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As you can see, you don’t have to write about “bikes” only and the usage of LSI keywords allow you to write about other relevant and highly related topics.
Of course, this brings us to a very interesting topic.
How do search engine algorithms know which topic you are writing about?
The answer is using sufficient LSI keywords within your article. When Google bot or other search engine crawlers crawl your site, they will look not only for the primary keywords but keywords which are related to it. In this case, having multiple LSI keywords is going to send the right signal to the crawlers on the content you are writing.
Ultimately, search engines will understand your site better and send the right audience to your content.
LSI keywords can be complicated and messy business as there are many terms related to Latent Semantic Indexing. Here’s a list for you to start with:
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Yes, I know that “What the hell” feeling. LSI keywords can be really complicated. Well, it is understandable since SEO is forever changing, right?
If you are feeling adventurous and want to dive deeper into Latent Semantic Indexing, here are additional SEO resources that you can take a look at:
How to find LSI keywords?
Here comes the juicy part to find LSI keywords. There are four quick ways to find for LSI keywords which are:
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Find LSI keywords using Google Autocomplete/Instant Search
Google autocomplete or instant search is a great way to find for LSI keywords.
To start finding LSI keywords, search for a specific keyword on Google search and a list of related keywords will be show up.
This is what I mean:
Google Instant Search will give you a list of related keywords (LSI keywords) that you can use
It is important to note that you should perform additional keyword research to remove unrelated keywords.
BONUS TIP: How to use KWFinder to determine the profitability and competitiveness of a LSI keyword?
Find LSI keywords using the “searches related to” feature
Google provides related keywords at the bottom of the search page. Typically, you will find up to 8 additional keyword suggestions that you can add into your LSI keyword research.
Google provides a list of related :LSI keywords on the bottom of the search results page
Find LSI keywords using bolded words on Google search result pages (SERP)
Do you notice several words are bolded when you perform searches on Google?
Pay attention to the words that are bolded on Google SERP
As you can see, searching for the primary keyword “laptop repair” leads to additional LSI keywords such as notebook, computer and repair term in general.
Find LSI keywords using SEO tools
In the SEO industry, there are hundreds of SEO tools that you can use to find LSI keywords. I’m only going to share with you the tools that I personally use to find LSI keywords.
1. Google Adwords and Google Keyword Planner
Google Adwords is pretty straightforward and easy to use — even if you are not using Google Ads.
When you use Google Adwords, navigate to Google Keyword Planner to start doing your keyword research. There are two features you should put serious consideration on:
This is what ad group ideas look like:
While it is entirely fine to use Google Adwords and Google Keyword Planner to find for LSI keywords, I got to agree that the display isn’t world class. In most cases, it can be really confusing and complicated for beginners.
Carry on below to find more alternatives and SEO tools that I use (and recommend).
2. Keyword ideas
Another very simple way to find for LSI keywords is by using Google Keyword Planner’s keyword ideas.
3. LSIGraph
LSIGraph or LSI keyword generator is a popular tool to use. It doesn’t only gives you a long list of LSI keywords, it is also free to use!
Generate a list of LSI keywords based on your primary keyword
4. SEOPressor SEO plugin
SEOPressor is an on-page SEO plugin that helps you optimize your site in just a few clicks. This is a premium SEO plugin that starts at $5 per month and leverages the power of LSI keywords (minus the hassle).
Besides finding for LSI keywords, SEOPressor also helps you to perform multiple keyword analysis, over-optimization check, social SEO integration and structure data support.
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Most website owners are suffering from high bounce rate (as high as 80%) and one of the best way is to create strong internal linking on your site. This helps to reduce bounce rate and at the same time, pass ranking/authority flow to your articles within your site. SEOPressor comes with smart linking feature and you can put backlinking on automation!
5. KWFinder
I love KWFinder because it is by far the best keyword research tool I’ve used. Seriously.
KWFinder is not only an affordable keyword research tool, it helps you to generate a full list of LSI keywords in just a few seconds. You can read my full review on KWFinder here.
Using KWFinder, I’m able to search up to 700 related keywords (or LSI keywords) along with other data such as keyword competitiveness and number of searches in a month.
If KWFinder isn’t right for you (for whatever reasons, here are 7 KWFinder alternatives you can use to find long tail keywords and optimize on-page SEO to improve Google ranking.
6. SEMrush
SEMrush is often considered a great SEO tool (and KWFinder alternative). SEMrush doesn’t only offer keyword research and link monitoring, you can also use SEMrush to find for related keywords.
Using SEMrush, you can easily find related and LSI keywords in just a few clicks. Plus, SEMrush comes with relevancy score (in percentage) and other metrics which could be very important for your SEO campaign.
At the same time, SEMrush also provides keywords density (marked as “KD”) and it ranged from 0 to 100 (100 being the hardest to rank).
Is LSI keywords synonyms?
The answer is yes and no.
LSI keywords are and are not synonyms at the same time. As a matter of fact, they can be closely related and relevant terms to the primary keyword.
Imagine you write an article about LSI keywords (like this post) and you want to know which terms you should include in order to rank higher on Google SERPs.
Let’s run the sentence “Onpage SEO” using Keys4Up.
As you can see, LSI keywords generated from Keys4Up is decent and very limited. Of course, you can toggle between 1 word, 2 words or 3 words using Keys4Up.
Now, let’s take a second look at the results generated from SEMrush related keywords search.
Now, this is what it looks like on KWFinder.
Do you notice that SEMrush and KWFinder provide more detailed and longer keywords (a.k.a. long tail keywords)?
Important note from the editor
Using the primary keyword of “onpage SEO,” SEMrush generated 612 LSI keywords and KWFinder generated 700 LSI keywords. Based on value for money, KWFinder is a much better keyword research tool as it is more affordable and has a low learning curve. Click here to try SEMrush or KWFinder for free.
Complete guide to LSI keywords recommendations: Using the right keyword research tools such as SEMrush and KWFinder, we are able see a detailed list of keywords which are highly related and at the same time, providing keywords that give us different vantage points.
Summary: Complete Guide to LSI Keywords
Using LSI keywords is an important step in ensuring that our site ranks well on Google SERP.
If you are writing about SEO, make sure that your contenthas both primary and LSI keywords in it. In this case, LSI keywords can be onpage SEO, SEO marketing, Google SEO, SEO analysis and website ranking.
By using LSI keys sparingly in your content, you are sending the right signals to web crawlers on your content.
BONUS: How to use LSI keywords in writing?
When it comes to implementing LSI keywords, you need to remember that the right usage of LSI keywords is going to improve your on-page SEO and organic ranking.
Here are some of the main focus areas where you should be using your LSI keywords:
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How to use LSI keywords to improve onpage SEO?
The right step is to sprinkle LSI keywords only after you have completed your article writing. By doing so, your writing will be more readable and focused towards your website visitors.
Lastly, the keyword density for LSI keywords should not be more than your primary keyword.