Latent Semantic Indexing Changes The Face Of Optimization

The days of keyword stuffing, single phrase optimization and concentrating only on incoming links to gain traffic are slowly being phased out as a more holistic approach to judging website content comes online. This new concept has many webmasters hopping, and it should. Latent semantic indexing is quickly becoming the wave of now.

Google is behind the creation of latent semantic indexing. This system, which basically means hidden meaning indexing, was designed to enable the search engine to better scan pages for their overall themes. It boils down to being a system that offers a more sophisticated way for the search engine to measure sites for their relevance in regard to individual searches. While latent semantic indexing doesn't require a complete redo of websites, it does mean that webmasters who focus on high quality content are more likely to get ahead.

The history of latent semantic indexing is a continuation of Google's mission to make its search engine produce relevant, high-quality results. The initial ranking system relied heavily on incoming links and keywords alone to scan pages for their relevancy in regard to searches. Unfortunately, this system had a propensity to penalize some very good and relevant sites. It would overlook sites that were too new or added content too quickly. Although there are plenty of new sites that aren't necessarily loaded with good content, some are.

The old way wasn't working, so Google sought out to fix it. Latent semantic indexing was the answer. While a lot of the old measures do matter (i.e. incoming links), they don't as much with latent semantic indexing.

Under latent semantic indexing, sites that want to gain ranking need to make sure they have content that's fresh, updated, keyword rich and relevant. The system is meant to give those who use keyword searches pages that better represent what it is they were looking for instead of those that happen to have bunches of incoming links. All in all, the system is a more fair way of measuring what's on the Internet in regard to relevancy and quality. It also fits Google's mission better.

The days of Google placing a bigger emphasis on incoming links or votes to rank sites for searches are coming to a close. Although incoming links will still be important, particularly if two sites tie on a search, these links don't carry the same weight. This simply makes it easier for webmasters who do their jobs well to gain opportunity for ranking.

All of this doesn't mean web publishers need to start over and scrap what they've done in the past. What it does mean is that those who want to fare better with latent semantic indexing need to make sure their content has relevant keywords, is informative and useful and does rely on fluff and keyword stuffing.

The trick to getting ahead now falls on what good webmasters have long done. It's really nothing more than creating good content. Sites that do so should rank better for their relevant keywords. Those that don't, won't.

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Author Jeff Alderson specializes in maximizing traffic and sales. He is also the inventor of numerous PPC and SEO tools. Jeff suggests using a keywords analyzer like Ad Word Analyzer to find keywords for your site.