{"id":4231,"date":"2017-05-04T16:35:37","date_gmt":"2017-05-04T13:35:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.webceo.com\/blog\/?p=4231"},"modified":"2024-12-09T11:38:28","modified_gmt":"2024-12-09T08:38:28","slug":"long-tail-vs-lsi-keywords-which-do-you-need-to-increase-website-traffic","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.webceo.com\/blog\/long-tail-vs-lsi-keywords-which-do-you-need-to-increase-website-traffic\/","title":{"rendered":"Long Tail vs LSI Keywords: Which Do You Need to Increase Website Traffic?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Today we are going to talk about a crucial component to on-page SEO tactics — keyword optimization. After the Hummingbird Update<\/a> you were told to optimize for long tail keywords. Then the semantic SEO strategy changed and all they talk about are LSI keywords.<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s see what the difference is between long tail and LSI keywords and find out which you need to use, and when, to get higher rankings and get more traffic.<\/p>\n

<\/span>What is LSI?<\/span><\/h2>\n

LSI stands for Latent Semantic Indexing. Latent Semantic Indexing is a method used to determine the relationship between terms and concepts in content. It means that LSI keywords are words and phrases that are semantically related to each other. They include not only synonyms or keywords with similar meanings. They are often keywords that are commonly found together.<\/p>\n

<\/span>How the Google algorithm works<\/span><\/h2>\n

We\u2019ve investigated some of Google\u2019s patents and\u00a0found that the sophisticated Google algorithm expands the received search query and then uses this extended query to search the Google index.<\/p>\n

\"google-algorythm-chart\"<\/p>\n

You can easily see this in action: go to Google and enter a rare term that has more common synonyms. Google will highlight either your search phrase or the more popular one. See my example below. I\u2019ve searched for my cat’s color with the term “tabby point siamese” but the more popular search term for this is “lynx point siamese”. As you can see on the image, both terms are in bold and most results do not even contain “tabby point”.<\/p>\n

\"lsi-keywords-in-google-serps\"<\/p>\n

<\/span>So what’s the difference between LSI and long tail keywords?<\/span><\/h2>\n

LSI are semantically related words, while long tail keywords tend to be lengthened versions of a keyword combination that searchers often use. Long tails are search terms we all use which often show a searcher\u2019s intentions like \u201ctop\u201d, “how”, “what”, “why”, etc.
\nHaving long tail keywords in an optimized website provides better rankings for those exact search terms and you will have boost in your website traffic. LSI keywords help search engines understand what your page is about.<\/p>\n

<\/span>Why optimize for topics instead of targeting individual keywords<\/span><\/h2>\n

The proper use of your best keywords is still a core component of good web page SEO, especially when supported with good LSI. It helps Google to know the relationships between elements of your text. It helps Google to understand your content.
\nOptimizing for topics (LSI keywords) will help you to:<\/p>\n