The LSI (Latent Semantic Indexing) Keywords are conceptually related terms that search engines use to deeply understand the content of a web page. The technology, originally patented in 1989, aims to use related words and phrases ("LSI keywords") to better categorize the topic of a page. Although the term "LSI Keywords" might be technically inaccurate today, it is still widely used in the SEO community.

Google's approach and the evolution of SEO

Contrary to what one might think, Google might not use LSI in their algorithm. In fact, John Mueller from Google, stated in 2019 that "there are no LSI keywords". However, Google adopts a more advanced approach to understanding the relevance of a page, analyzing the page in its entirety rather than looking for a specific set of related words. In the past, search engines relied almost exclusively on the keywords present on pages to determine their topic. Today, with a more evolved algorithm, Google tries to understand the general topic of a page, relying on semantically related terms.

While direct keywords like "cold brew coffee" are crucial, Google also scans your page for related keywords such as "filter", "temperature", and "ice". The presence of these terms can help Google confirm the main topic of the page. It's important to note that semantically related terms are not synonyms. For example, while "running" might be a synonym for "jogging", terms actually related to "jogging" might include "shoes", "cardio", and "5k".

There are several methods and tools to discover related terms to incorporate into content:

Once the related terms are identified, they can be inserted at various points in the content, such as in title tags, in the alt text of images, in H2 or H3 headers, in the H1, and in the content itself.

Conclusion

The understanding and implementation of LSI Keywords and semantic SEO have become essential in an ever-evolving search engine optimization landscape. Even if terms like "LSI Keywords" can spark debates among experts, the underlying concept - that of creating rich, in-depth, and contextualized content - is indisputable. The ultimate goal is always to provide value to users, presenting content that not only contains relevant keywords but is also comprehensive and relevant to the topic at hand. In this way, not only is search engine visibility improved, but a trust bond with your audience is also created, ensuring them a quality informative experience.