LSI Keywords: Their Importance and How to Get Them

My length of experience in doing SEO works taught me how essential LSI keywords are in ranking high in Search Engine Results Pages (SERPs), thereby, optimizing web presence. I remember forming deep knots on my forehead when I first heard the term. And until I did a few good researches about it, I really didn’t understand what it means. The term just sounded too technical for a newbie in the business like me.

So what is really an LSI keyword? And what do you need it for? I’ll share to you my insights as based on my personal experience.

When I first tried to research what LSI keywords mean, I didn’t get what I exactly wanted as an answer soon enough. In fact, my confusion only grew worse when I learned of its meaning (Latent Semantic Indexing). I needed somebody to explain what it means in clear and plain language. And until one blog clearly explained it to me, I didn’t realize that LSI or latent semantic indexing keywords are actually just as simply as “related terms”. Funny, I thought. There I was, thinking LSI keywords were so complex when all along, they are just actually a group of words you use as keywords in your article apart from your primary keywords.

But the real question is this: why are LSI keywords important? I can actually just say, “They’re important because Google says so”. But I’d rather not.

With Google keeping an eye on quality content, the last thing you need is get penalized because of keyword stuffing in your article. When it comes to quality content, your keywords must be placed naturally and evenly in your article. But you can’t possibly do this if you only use your main keywords. To avoid keyword stuffing, you find other terms related to your keyword and use them in lieu of your primary keyword. This way, you do not have to repetitively use your main keywords in your article. 

So how do you find LSI keywords to use? Well, there are basically three possible ways for you to do that.

First, you formulate your own LSI keywords. Quite easy. All you need to do is focus on your niche and think of words and phrases that are closely related to it. Or else, you can just simply tweak your primary keyword, look for synonyms, stretch it, or remove a word or two (if you’re using a long-tailed main keyword).

Second, you can use free LSI keyword search tools provided by Google. Generating LSI keywords on your own is actually easy. But if you can find an easier way to do things, who wouldn’t go for it? To help you save time and effort in thinking for related terms, you can just simply turn to free LSI keyword research tools offered by Google and look for terms related to your niche and topic.

 Utilize third-party LSI keyword search tools. There’s actually no significant advantage of using third-party tools over using Google keyword search tools. This is just an additional option so you have more choices at hand, depending on which one you’d be more comfortable to use. There are a lot of third-party LSI keyword research tools you can use such as Quintura.

LSI keywords are as vital as your primary keywords. You need them for quality content. Looking back, I realize that I was actually already using LSI keywords before I even learned what the term means.