To put it simply, latent semantic indexing (LSI) is an indexing technique: parsing, enumerating, or categorizing certain keywords or phrases in the content of various websites, books, or documents in such a way that they contextually and conceptually have it same. or related intention and meaning despite the different words used in them.

The technique used in latent semantic indexing aims to find the keywords in the text that carry a latent relationship in structure and usage. The idea behind the concept of LSI is to collect data that is conceptually similar in meaning and context to search queries entered by search engines in search engines. Therefore, the search results may not match the specific words or phrases entered by the search engine.

For example, if you use the word ‘Saddam Hussein’, the search engine can return articles about the Gulf War, the situation in Kuwait or Iran, the elite force of the Iraqi despot, the UN sanctions, the oil fields in Iraq and much more without even mentioning the search word ‘Saddam Hussein’.

The LSI technique automates the process of categorizing documents almost like humans do. The selected text may not have the same words or sentences. The returned results can have lists, free notes, web content, or even emails.

Advantages of latent semantic indexing

Sometimes the web browser is aware that it is not using the correct keywords or phrases due to a lack of knowledge of the appropriate vocabulary. Therefore, it only uses approximate words that may not return the desired information if the search process follows the Boolean pattern. The latent semantic index technique makes it easy to retrieve related conceptual content even if the search queries do not use the “correct” words.

Latent or true information

The LSI technique returns information in its true conceptual representation, which is not easily possible using the traditional search approach. It uses a synonymy that can bring out the underlying concept even if the search engine uses different words or phrases. The traditional retrieval process does not always discover the correct content on the same topic that uses a different vocabulary.

Polysemy

A large number of words have multiple meanings. Therefore, if a search engine uses many polysemic words, it can reduce the chances of obtaining accurate information. LSI helps remove unnecessary words from the data and tries to arrive at the average meaning, which is close to the actual meaning of search queries.

Sifting words near and far

LSI examines the content of different websites or documents and tries to find out which ones contain semantically common words, similar words, closest words, or distant words. This almost works like a human being. Although LSI does not understand the meaning of words, its algorithm notices the word patterns and indexes them accordingly. This process demonstrates the amazing intelligence of the LSI technique.

How should latent semantic indexing be used?

Latent Semantic Indexing is a very useful tool for search engine optimization of your website or copywriting. Therefore, you must use your keywords and phrases very carefully. For example, if you are using the keyword or phrase ‘buy jaguar’ you must explain what the word ‘jaguar’ means as it is a polysemic word. It can mean a cat, a car, or an airplane. It can also be a brand of a medical device. Using the word ‘jaguar’ in isolation can confuse the LSI tool. So you need to clarify what your ‘jaguar’ means. Otherwise, you will defeat the very purpose of launching your website.

You should also be careful in using synonyms so that they convey the meaning you want to communicate exactly. Synonyms are very helpful in clarifying the meaning of words. But stuffing keywords to make the site SEO friendly can also defeat the purpose and your site can be blacklisted for spam.

What happens if one doesn’t use latent semantic indexing?

Search engine or software spiders are making a paradigm shift in selecting sites for home page ranking. Google and many other search engines use LSI to determine the relevance of your keywords and phrases in the context of the topic of the site’s content. If you don’t use keywords and phrases wisely, you may not be able to optimize your site for high rankings. Not using synonyms or related words may not help the LSI tool identify the relevance of your site to search queries. If your website is about barbecues, you should use words like grill, patio, sauce, charcoal, recipe, etc., that are related to the main keyword. If you don’t use LSI, your site is bound to go unnoticed.