What Are LSI Keywords & Why They Don‘t Matter

There are many misconceptions about LSI keywords in SEO.

This guide will help you separate fact from fiction. So you can optimize your content more effectively. And earn higher Google rankings.

What Are LSI Keywords in SEO?

LSI (latent semantic indexing) keywords are words or phrases that are conceptually related to a target keyword. So if you wanted your page to rank for “credit cards,” then LSI keywords would be “money,” “credit score,” and “interest rate.”

However, it’s more accurate to refer to these as semantic keywords.

Why?

Google has said that it does not use latent semantic indexing to rank search results. But it does use other forms of semantic analysis to understand what your content is about.

This means that using semantically related keywords is good for SEO. Because it helps Google understand your content’s topic and scope.

You’ll learn how to find semantic keywords later in this guide.

What Is Latent Semantic Indexing (LSI)?

Latent semantic indexing (LSI) is an information retrieval method that considers the semantic relationships between words (as determined by latent semantic analysis) rather than keyword matches alone. In an attempt to deliver more relevant search results.

Let’s say someone searches “wall street.”

A search engine that relies only on keyword matching might return an article about murals. Because it uses the terms “wall” and “street.”

Whereas a search engine that uses latent semantic indexing or a similar technology might favor articles...