What Is LSI?
Latent Semantic Indexing (LSI) is a cornerstone of modern search engine ranking developed as a reaction to people trying to cheat search engines with black hat practices such as keyword stuffing. Keyword stuffing is a practice in which articles are written with little relevant content. Instead filled with repetitions of keywords to try to hoodwink search engine spiders. As a result, modern search engines use a range of tools and parameters to value pages on their relevance to a search query. is one of the tools search engines use to ensure good content with relevant, reliable information ranks higher in Search Engine Results Pages (SERPs). does this by determining the value of a relationship between terms and concepts. For example, a search for ‘mobile phones’ would find pages that would contain content relevant to mobile phones such as ‘Samsung’, ‘iPhone’, or ‘Android’. Along with single words, search engines also look for key phrases such as ‘cheap mobile phones’ or ‘no contract phone’ making the scrutinization of pages more in-depth. All of this is to combat illegible articles, irrelevant content, and even malware from appearing in s and to promote good business practices, otherwise known as white hat . The goal, simply put, is to ensure search engines return the most relevant, useful information for the user.
Why LSI Helps to Beat The Competition
The importance of good cannot be overstated. Gone are the early days of the internet with much more competition, and much more skill required to rank in . A return of any search engine will yield hundreds of millions of results with only 300-600 being displayed on . The majority of these pages go to a supplemental index. A supplementary index is a storage area for pages with poor scores, where results are varied and pages are a certainty to be left in the dark. Along with this, search engines are constantly learning, with more data creating more intelligent programs capable of culling more pages to return results with pinpoint accuracy. With such a huge number of pages vying for such a small return, competition has never been tougher. Adapting your copy to include is one of the keys to a successful strategy and with pages multiplying and s becoming more refined there is no time like the present to master this integral practice.
The TF-IDF Effect
One of the most important factors determining keyword values is the numerical statistic ‘Term Frequency-Inverse Document Frequency’ otherwise known as the TF-IDF effect. Integral to information retrieval, TF-IDF is used as a weighting tool for a range of functions. When search engines scrape pages for information the TF-IDF value increases proportionally to the number of instances of a keyword in a text and is offset by the frequency of the keyword in the body as a whole. This practice is ubiquitous with most modern search engines employing TF-IDF in some form. This value in content focuses on the specificity of your key phrase. For example, a search for a ‘ball’ will return a wide array of results making its value quite low. However ‘football’ is rarer and thus more targeted. works on this principle as the more fine-tuned your copy the more relevant a return you will receive. The impact of both common keywords as well as unique keywords on relevancy is paramount, although it is important to remember not to resort to keyword stuffing - this will lead to search engines flagging your page.
Useful LSI Tools
Implementing is not as daunting as it may sound with a range of tools to help you develop and tailor your content. A rudimentary method is to just use the browser search bar to type in a basic phrase like ‘mobile phone’ and then see what the drop down suggests. For a more directed, structured approach there is a range of free and easy-to-use keyword generators and tools:
Google Search
WordPress users can check the SEOPressor plugin for assistance. Beyond this, common sense is your best tool. Just think of the phrases that come to mind when considering a topic and implement them into your copy to flesh out your work and add value.
Why Writing Naturally Can Be Best
While it seems like there are a lot of high-tech factors at play, there is a staple that can always be relied upon. Writing naturally is a constant in content creation with your associations, language and tone creating the semantic links. It is also important to remember that is only necessary in the body copy with titles benefiting little from this practice. For best results, write your copy and then polish it with a few keywords after re-reading to ensure your content ranks high on s. strategy is mercurial as the science behind it changes with search entry habits and search engine updates. Considering all the factors and algorithms of page ranking is a step-by-step process and implementing is a must in an ever-more competitive sphere. This simple art is one way of ensuring you naturally increase your keyword hit-rate and mark your work out as an industry leader.