LSI – language at heart

Lots of web publishers seem to be looking for cheap SEO writers on auction sites. They give instructions on the exact percentage of keywords they want for “original” content totalling so many words. They’ve learned that loading too many keywords into the mix doesn’t work so well anymore. Some have gotten hip to Semantic Language (SL, or using a few different phrases that mean the same thing) so they demand that, too. Often they need around 50 articles right off the bat, and for that some say they will pay $1 per article, or something similar. Simple, right? They will, no doubt, get what they pay for.

The problem is, as soon as you think you know how to work the system, someone discovers a new wrinkle. Case in point, Google’s Latent Semantic Indexing (LSI). Some publishers confuse LSI with SL (see above), which is an entirely different algorithm. By using LSI, Google can spot all your SL phrases in a heartbeat and discount them as so much of the same.

For example, if you’re writing about natural solutions to reducing hair loss in men, you’d strategically use the key phrases “male patten baldness,” “MPD” and baldness in men” a calculated number of times. The problem is your math could actually be way off. Google may count them all as one and the same. That will triple your key word count and may look to the search engines like keyword stuffing, resulting in lower search results.

The important thing to remember is that LSL is less about semantics and more about the common words and phrases search engines expect to find naturally surrounding any given key word or phrase. If you’re writing around the key phrases “fat loss” and “diet pills,” for example, but you don’t mention anything about protein, calories, or basic food groups, Google won’t find your article all that relevant for people looking for good information about losing weight.

So how do you write your way out of this predicament? Start by going to the search engines and plugging in your key words and phrases. Then take a close look at the sites that rank the highest. What words and phrases do they have in common? Don’t copy them, but you can see how writing relevant content works. Then apply the concept to your own health and fitness article writing.  Give readers what they want — well-researched, tightly focused health, fitness, and nutrition articles that answer their burning questions — and the search engines will pay it forward with lots of latent link love.

Happy Health Writing,

Kathy Summers