Keywords in the Age of LSI - Act Natural

When processing queries, search engines like Google dont just look for documents containing the specific query typed in. They look for pages that are relevant. Once, that might have meant pulling up websites that contained a large number of the exact phrase used in the search. But now, with all the commercial websites vying to be top of the list for certain search terms, Google has to sort through these sites to determine who really deserves to be on top-and who doesnt.

Latent Semantic Indexing is the process by which Google sorts sites not based on the frequency of a certain term, but on the frequency of a cloud of terms and phrases that are linked together. Your web copy, while it should include your keyword, should never focus entirely on that single word or phrase. If it does, the algorithm will pinpoint it as being over-optimized. This could result in bad rankings or even penalties. But that doesnt mean you shouldnt use keywords in your copy and site. Here are some ways to do it without looking overdone.

Dont overstuff.

There is no optimal keyword density percentage for good rankings. If your copy is too keyword-dense, the engines will know its overstuffed. So go easy on the keywords. A good rule of thumb: read the copy aloud. If any of the keywords stand out, sound stilted, or are noticeable in any way, they probably shouldnt be there.

Dont worry about placement.

Some people worry about the placement of keywords in their body copy. They might think they have to have one keyword in the first paragraph, three in the second, and two in the thirdevery time. But there are no requirements for placement of keywords in your body. Placing them where they sound natural will serve you better than trying to figure out where to place them paragraph-by-paragraph.

Mix it up.

Say you own a site on baby furniture, and you want to optimize a page for light wood crib set. If you repeat that phrase throughout the copy and dont use similar phrases, youll make your copy sound stiltedand search engines will know what youre doing. Instead, mix that phrase with related phrases the way you would if you were simply writing a traditional article on the topic. Break it up so that phrase isnt always together. Mix up your anchor text, toosearch engines also look at your sites link profile. If your links are too heavy on a certain phrase, you may not rank well.

Use keywords in titles and headings.

Use your primary keyword in your title, and a different related keyword in your subtitleswhere they sound natural. Dont worry too much about keywords in your body copy. Just write, and you will undoubtedly start to use phrases that are associated with your topic.

Think about your title tags.

Your title tags are far more important than your body copy when it comes to keywords. The text in your title tag is whats displayed for your site on search engine results. Each page of your site should have a different title tag. They should contain the keywords youre targetingin the first part of your title. The rest should tell readers exactly what your site is or list the name of your business. A good example for, lets say, a divorce lawyer in Philadelphia would be something like: Philadelphia divorce lawyer: Bob Smith, Esq.

Search engines want to rank pages that dont try to get ranked. The less contrived your site copy looks, the better it will do in the rankings. The key to using keywords successfully is to act natural.

Jennifer Williamson runs a successful business as an article writer in southern Pennsylvania, writing for clients all over the world. Find out more by visiting Catalyst Writing Services or checking out her writing blog