WHAT IS LSI-COPYWRITING AND HOW CAN IT HELP PROMOTE YOUR WEBSITE

LSI copywriting is a method of writing texts for the internet that is based on being useful to readers and using terms that are synonyms of the main keywords. This technology emerged in 1989 and was described as the “Methodology for Searching Text Data Objects” to better categorize the topic of a page.

What are we talking about?

• What is LSI copywriting
• Comparing LSI copywriting and SEO copywriting
• Tools for collecting LSI phrases
  • Simple Google Search
  • Related Searches
  • Terms in Google description snippets
  • Keyword Tool
  • UberSuggest
  • LSIGraph
  • Serpstat
  • Google Ads Keyword Planner
  • Google Image Tags
• Requirements for LSI texts
• How to write an LSI text: a step-by-step plan
• The advantages and disadvantages of LSI copywriting
• Conclusions

The method actually began to be actively used by text authors in 2012 along with the launch of Google’s new search algorithm—Panda. Low-quality content spammed with keywords, created for search engines, dropped in the search results list. Top positions were taken by sites with texts that closely match user queries and contain only thematic keywords in various forms and their synonyms.

The next step was the launch of the Hummingbird algorithm in 2013. Google’s search optimization experts reported that about 90% of sites containing irrelevant content and an excessively high frequency of keywords would stop ranking properly and disappear from users’ view.

Common Questions About LSI Copywriting

What is LSI Copywriting?

The acronym LSI stands for “Latent Semantic Indexing“. At the heart of LSI copywriting is the use of LSI (Latent Semantic Indexing) keywords in texts. These are conceptually related terms that search engines use to deeply understand the content of a web page.

For a long time, website pages were overloaded with keywords that had to be repeated numerous times and used in a single form, without dilution with prepositions or punctuation marks. This approach significantly degraded the quality of the texts, and while such optimized articles might have pleased search engines, they certainly did not please readers.

The worst part was that a text on a certain topic could include keywords on a completely different subject. For example, an informational article about psychology might suddenly include key phrases about buying cosmetics. Fortunately, such methods no longer work, as Google has learned to distinguish high-quality texts that explore a specific topic from a collection of sentences with keywords or rewrites that carry no value.

Google’s goal today is to determine the overall theme of the page. The search engine pays attention to semantically related terms and analyzes content at a deep level. For example, if you write about loft style, Google will scan the title and subtitles with the main keyword, but will also identify other thematically related words, such as “minimalism in interior design”, “room decoration”, “modern renovation”, etc. In this way, the search engine confirms for itself: “Yes, this article really is about loft interior design”.

LSI copywriters pay attention to the existence of homonyms and similar spellings of words with different meanings. Imagine you have two keywords for writing an SEO text—”dryer” and “buy a dryer”. The updated, intelligent Google is now also a bit of a philologist, monitoring the content of the article and comparing it with key phrases and headlines. There are dryers for vegetables and fruits, for dishes, and for clothes. The issue of definition contamination is highlighted by Google’s advertising output.

The search engine scans information and looks for the topic being discussed. If words like “ceiling”, “floor”, “for the balcony”, “vertical”, “clothing”, “laundry” are used, it allows a conclusion to be made about the content’s theme. Then, the article will be shown to users whose queries match the page’s content. The frequency of keywords does not play any role here. Moreover, if terms like “dryer” and “buy a dryer” are used too often, the site will rank lower.

Comparison of LSI Copywriting and SEO Copywriting

There is a view that LSI copywriting will soon completely replace SEO copywriting. However, it’s advised to still adhere to the basic requirements of on-page optimization, but focus on the quality of content, that is, on LSI, when writing texts.

Let’s consider the main differences between LSI copywriting and SEO copywriting in a table.

Differences	LSI Copywriting	SEO Copywriting
Formatting	Mandatory presence of lists, subheadings, quote highlights, bolding important text, tables, and images	Desirable presence of subheadings and bulleted or numbered lists
Length	From 5,000 characters without spaces	On average, 2,000 characters without spaces, often 500-1500 characters
Keyword Frequency	Not important	4-5%
Keyword Placement	Does not matter	In the title, subheadings, first paragraph, and throughout the text
Additional Keywords	Synonyms, related content words	None
Goal	Maximum exploration of the topic for readers	Presence of keywords in the required form and order for search engines
Quality Assessment Criteria	Content uniqueness, readability	Technical uniqueness, keyword frequency

In the traditional sense, keywords still play a role in website promotion, but semantically related words are significantly more important. For example, if you’re writing about personal branding, it’s much better to additionally use words like “marketing”, “blog promotion”, “expert positioning”, rather than stuffing the text with repetitions of the phrase “personal brand”.

Related terms can be included in the title tag, in the alternative text for images, in the H1 header, as a subheading H2 or H3, and in the text itself. It’s essential to ensure that this is done organically and that it reads easily. Ideally, a site visitor does not realize they are reading an LSI article. To them, it should appear as normal, useful content with convenient access to valuable information.

Tools for Collecting LSI Phrases

To gather the required number of LSI phrases, you need to study verified information sources and think logically. In this case, no tool, including ChatGPT or any other program, can replace a specialist. An expert who has worked with SEO for a long time can easily transition to LSI. Although this work takes considerably more time, it is highly valued and delivers desired results in website promotion.

Besides knowing the topic you are writing about, tools for searching LSI keywords will be useful.

Simple Google Search

Enter 1-2 words in the search engine about the topic you need to explore, and pay attention to the words highlighted in bold. This is one of the quickest and simplest ways to identify related terms that can be added to your content.

Google recommends related keywords—terms that users search for when interested in breathing exercises. A free and simple way to learn more about the needs of your target audience.

Related Searches

Similar to Google’s autocomplete feature, but instead of suggesting keywords during the search, Google shows related terms at the bottom of the search results. Especially important for highly competitive niches. Simply scroll down the search results page and review the words highlighted in bold. They indicate what your target audience is searching for and help with planning an article on a specific topic.

Terms in Google’s Description Snippets

The third way to find related words and phrases directly in Google. The search engine highlights in bold the words in descriptor snippets that match your keyword, as well as similar words and phrases. These are the keywords you can use when creating content.

Keyword Tool

The Keyword Tool used in SEO can also be one of the tools for collecting LSI words. The service gathers statistics from Google, Youtube, Bing, Amazon, and Apple Store.

UberSuggest

The UberSuggest platform allows you to explore keywords to find new ideas. The “Keyword Ideas” section provides information for each key and details related query words.

LSIGraph

LSIGraph produces a list of related terms based on the main keyword. It divides the results into transactional (commercial), informational, navigational, and local.

Serpstat

Serpstat is a paid service, but offers 7 days of free use of some functions. Select the “SEO Analysis” tab and enter the “Related Phrases” section. Once you enter the main search query, the service will provide a set of keywords, some of which can be considered LSI. However, be careful and manually filter the results as some options may not relate to the article’s topic. The screenshot shows search queries about breathing exercises. Additional keywords in this case are “breathing exercises for recovery”, “breathing exercises for children”.

Google Ads Keyword Planner

If you have access to Google Ads, you can also use their “Keyword Planner” tool. Start by adding a term to the initial query field. Click “Get Ideas”, and you will be redirected to a page that offers related keywords and insights into how competitive the search ranking for this term is. You can also enter a keyword in GKP or simply type the URL of the target page.

Google Image Tags

A convenient and free tool for finding related terms. To use it, enter a keyword into Google Images.

After collecting the LSI core for your site, narrow it down, removing anything superfluous. Ideally, keep the words that are most related to your content and are popular in search.

Understanding the three different types of user intents is crucial. Conduct research on your target audience to determine what types of queries they might enter into Google to find your content.

• Informational—The broadest type of queries. For example, “coffee machine”.
• Navigational—More specific queries, say, “how to clean a coffee machine”.
• Transactional—Related to purchasing or ordering something, like “buy a coffee machine”.

Also, local queries include the name of a region: “buy a coffee machine in [city name]”.

Requirements for LSI Texts

To ensure that LSI texts bring targeted traffic to the website, improve web resource metrics, and contribute to increased sales and brand recognition, pay attention to the main requirements for latent semantic content.

• Articles should be useful and written in clear, understandable language, but from an expert’s perspective.
• Structure also plays a crucial role in promoting LSI texts. It is excellent if visitors can scan the content visually and quickly find the necessary information thanks to its visual presentation.
• The writing style must meet the needs of the target audience and be adapted to the readers’ queries.
• Adherence to spelling and even the “rhythm” of the text is important. In quality LSI texts, long and short sentences alternate, paragraphs are small, and words and sentences are written without spelling and punctuation errors.

Choose different words that add context and create an associative array with the main keywords, but do not overload the texts to avoid spamminess—a typical flaw of SEO texts.

Keyword stuffing in content can hinder your ranking. Therefore, if a certain word sounds excessive or inappropriate in the text, remove it.

Remember, LSI is just part of an effective SEO strategy.

“LSI is potentially just one of many factors that determine how well your content ranks in search engines. To achieve the best results and set your content up for success, an effective SEO strategy should also consist of proper site architecture, relevant backlinks, ongoing optimization, and so on”. Elika Dizechi, “What is Latent Semantic Indexing & Why Does it Matter for Your SEO Strategy?”

An LSI text published on a website attracts only interested people. The most useful and relevant materials to consumer queries end up in the top search results. With the implementation of the LSI component, sites filled with quality and unique content rank better, have increased visitation and viewing depth, and reduced bounce rates.

How to Write an LSI Text: A Step-by-Step Plan

Writing an LSI article is similar to creating a unique scientific work or a piece of art. When a writer chooses synonyms for a word often repeated in the text, they do not think about collecting LSI keys. However, a deep understanding of the topic and the use of thematic vocabulary imply latent semantic indexing and, at the same time, readability and value of the content.

1. Defining the Topic

If your topic sounds like “healthy eating”, compile a list of related words, such as “calories”, “nutritionist”, “fiber”, etc. These keywords will help you identify subtopics and create a text plan.

2. Information Gathering

Find relevant sources—backlinks to expert articles, books, other textual documents related to “healthy eating”. It is preferable that the sites you use specify the primary sources and the author’s name.

3. Creating a Keyword List

At this stage, you will need the tools mentioned above. You can also collect additional words during competitor analysis and target audience research. The LSI core can also be expanded using statistics obtained through contextual advertising. You might encounter unusual, sometimes unexpected queries by which users find you.

4. Writing

The next stage is the actual creation of the text using keywords. Use them in various forms throughout the article, as well as in the title and subtitles.

5. Formatting

Try to add as much visualization as possible, including infographics, diagrams, photos with captions, and highlighting important quotes.

6. Preparing Conclusions

Summarize the information you have conveyed in your article.

7. Checking

Unlike SEO texts, LSI articles do not require uniqueness checks in special programs. However, you must be sure of the absence of plagiarism or rewriting. Edit the content so that it does not contain word repetitions, grammatical or stylistic errors, or overly complex constructions for the reader.

Not all authors of LSI texts realize that they are writing articles for latent semantic indexing. However, mostly, expert longreads written by a competent specialist based on many reliable sources undoubtedly represent LSI content.

Advantages and Disadvantages of LSI Copywriting

Using LSI, you can create an article that maximally conveys the semantic content of a specific topic. This text-writing algorithm has several important advantages.

Advantages of LSI:

• Visitors are more likely to find answers to their questions, so the bounce rate will significantly decrease.
• Based on associative words and synonyms, search engines will clearly assess that the article is informative.
• The spamminess of content is reduced due to relevant queries mixed with main keywords, positively affecting the ranking in search engine results.
• Content is structured and useful, so the site will be bookmarked, and links to it will be shared with friends and colleagues.
• Typically, LSI texts are written by experts and professional copywriters with good experience. Such articles allow creating a good reputation for the company and attracting an interested audience, increasing the loyalty of customers or blog readers.

Disadvantages of LSI:

It is hard to point out serious disadvantages of LSI copywriting. However, there are nuances to consider.

• The need to invest more time and, if you delegate copywriting to specialists, more money into such website content. However, over time, such an investment will pay off, while budget, spammy texts will “hang” on the site without much benefit.
• The potential for search engines to misinterpret context due to polysemy. This refers to words and phrases that have more than one meaning. For example, the word “cheetah” can refer to an animal or an artillery installation.
• Search engines do not understand irony or sarcasm. The conclusion about the semantic relevance of an article will be made based on the set of words found nearby.

Although the algorithm is not entirely perfect, LSI can statistically predict what a particular word means through statistical analysis of the words that occur with it in the document.

Conclusions

Latent Semantic Indexing is an effective tool for search engine promotion of websites, focusing not on search bots but on people. The key difference between LSI texts and SEO is their usefulness and readability and the absence of a large number of keywords for technical optimization.

Thanks to LSI, search engines understand trends, neologisms in various fields, and professional slang. As a result, Google is capable of forming more relevant search results, satisfying user queries.

Maximally revealing the topic for readers, content uniqueness, readability, clear structure, and rich vocabulary without repetitions and errors are the main requirements for LSI content. We recommend adhering to the basic rules of SEO while primarily focusing on the text’s value and its correct presentation to readers.