What is an LSI keyword?

An LSI keyword (LSI stands for latent semantic indexing) is a term or phrase closely connected to a main keyword or topic. LSI keywords are not simply synonyms or direct extensions of the main keyword, but words that appear frequently in the context of the main topic and are therefore semantically related. They help search engines such as Google understand the content of a web page better and judge how relevant it is for a given query. Working with LSI keywords helps you cover the topic of a page more completely and strengthens your search engine optimization, because it gives search engines more context.

Examples of LSI keywords

Say the main keyword is “apple“. In that case LSI keywords could be “fruit“, “Granny Smith“, “vitamins“, “healthy snacks” and “apple juice“. All of these terms stand in direct connection with the main topic “apple” and widen the picture of what the page is about. Another example: for the main keyword “online marketing”, LSI keywords could be “digital advertising”, “SEO”, “content marketing“, “social media strategies” and “Google Ads”. Words and phrases like these help search engines see how broad and how deep the content around the main topic goes.

Are LSI keywords important for SEO?

Yes, LSI keywords play an important part in search engine optimization. By supplying extra context and meaning around the main content of a page, LSI keywords can improve how visible a website is in search engine results pages (SERPs). They make it easier for search engines to pin down the relevance and the quality of the content, which can lead to better placements. Working with LSI keywords also lowers the risk of keyword stuffing, because it opens up a more natural and more rounded way of writing content. All in all, LSI keywords improve the user experience, because they make sure that content is more complete and more relevant to what people actually search for.