The Importance of SEO and Latent Semantic Indexing for Bloggers

Both SEO consistency and latent semantic indexing for bloggers are critical to grow organic search traffic. Learn how to do alternate keyword research and get results through your SEO practices.

A Happy Surprise (Which Took Some Planning)

Recently, I began receiving requests to have articles linked to an article I wrote on Google advising to get rid of popups on mobile (the intrusive interstitial penalty). This morning, upon receiving another one, I did a quick keyword search on the topic, using my longtail keyword and others for my article on how to grow subscribers without popups.

And color me surprised because I was ranking number one for that article I wrote in August. So I logged out of Google and tried the searches again. It was the same, which shocked me. It was a quickly written article to address the 31 separate discussions I had with clients that day, easing fears about the announcement (above article).

I wrote the article using the language I used with my clients – my goal was to get it out fast. I didn’t:

• do keyword research,
• have any images, let alone good post structure, or even
• share it to social media at all or schedule it out until more than a month later.

On top of that, I have literally NO domain authority with NDC Full Circle because the site is relatively new with limited content. This site’s current DA score per Moz is 18 (out of 100!) – #sadtrombone yes, but it is to be expected with this site at this time.

The Magic of SEO and Latent Semantic Indexing for Bloggers

Note the picture above – that’s not even my keyword! Paying careful attention to my site, page, and post SEO plan, however, I am now on the first page and ranking for all of the following (and more). I am currently ranking for:

• “build newsletter lists without popups” – page 1, spot 1 – 1.55 million results (my keyword)
• “build newsletters without popups” – page 1, spot 1 – 2.23 million results (VERY close to my keyword)
• “grow newsletters without popups” – page 1, spot 1 – 698k results (VERY close to my keyword)
• “grow subscribers without popups” – page 1, spot 10 – 444k results (related ‘subscribers’ with my ‘newsletters’ keyword)
• “how to grow subscribers without popups” – page 1, spot 8 – 1.07 million results (related keyword plus common search term prefix)

Now, you might be asking yourself how am I ranking on page 1 with an entirely different search term?

The answer is two-fold:

1. I write topics on email newsletters and subscriber growth and my site, page, and post SEO reflects as much.
2. Latent semantic indexing for bloggers is a natural part of content creation (when made part of a consistent SEO process). NOTE: LSI is to help you create your base for your site and to assist with IBSO (intent-based search optimization). Do not use the term “LSI keywords” – there is no proof that the concept improves search position and most SEOs will laugh. 🙂

You can read in detail about latent semantic indexing (LSI) as a part of SEO and search algorithms, but I warn you, it’s dry and it’s debated. If you want to do more research on this, also search contextual search and semantic search (to gain more insight as to inclusion parameters).

To avoid you going down the SEO rabbit hole, in a nutshell: related words matter but not to search results, necessarily. They matter because they help to round out the experience for your reader and help you communicate your site’s content to Google. 

Note: because I am ranking for those alternate keywords, I have now edited and optimized the original post. #ofcourseIdid

How to Find Alternate Keywords (Related Keywords)

I’ve written a post detailing how to perform keyword research for blog posts and also address alternate keywords in my SEO Checklist for blog posts, so I’d like to just highlight a couple of reminders:

• Use Google (search bar suggestions; type and don’t hit enter)
• Use Pinterest (search bar + drop-down suggestions)
• Keyword and research tools (like KWFinder, LSIgraph, and many others)
• Use the search query suggestions (found at the bottom of the SERPs)

Note: Do not ‘game’ the system and try to stuff your articles, images, and social platforms full of your keyword and alternates. It’s a really, really bad idea because, guess what? With each update to the algorithms, the search engines get just a bit better at identifying keyword stuffing. And they’re pretty smart about it already.

You just don’t need the penalties that could come with keyword stuffing.

More: How to Grow Subscribers On Mobile

I’ve given subscribers access to my keyword research checklist, post SEO checklist, and a client-only resource on how to grow newsletters. Want them? Get them for free, just allow me into your inbox once a week.

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Summary

You don’t have to know the Google zoo of algorithms to build and maintain good search quality for your website, but the basics like knowing about latent semantic indexing for bloggers is a great start!

Please pin this to share the importance of strong SEO site strategies. #elevateeveryone