Synonymous Target Keyword SEO

Keywords are important for SEO and increasing rankings, and you want your content to reach its intended audience. If your site uses too many targeted keywords, Google thinks you’re “keyword stuffing” and penalizes you. That’s where synonymous keywords can help! 

Why Use Synonymous Keywords?

You can create content using similar keywords to boost rankings. That way you can keep using your target keywords but don’t overuse the same words. It helps your content flow better by mixing up your word choices and can increase rankings because you’re getting more traffic. Using synonymous keywords can allow you to rank for multiple keywords. This gives you an edge against your competition and rewards you with higher rankings because Google likes that you comprehensively discuss a topic in-depth. 

Where to Find Synonymous Keywords?

You likely remember synonyms from a past English class. The synonyms you’ll use for keywords are called LSI (Latent Semantic Indexing) keywords. This means words that are conceptually related to your target keywords. Google uses these to increase its understanding on a subject. Search engines need to understand words used to describe concepts in order to return effective results. For example, let’s say you’re writing about bicycles, your content will also include “bike” because both terms are used to discuss bicycles. 

Another method? Google. Use Google to search for something and scroll all the way to the bottom. There you’ll see Google’s suggestions for related searches. You can use these as a starting place for synonyms. Use the following tools to brainstorm synonyms as well: 

• Thesaurus.com
• SEO keyword tool (there are plenty of tools available, so research and find one that works for you)

How to Use Keywords

You saw this in our “Use Your Keywords” post, but it’s important to mention again…use your keywords naturally. Otherwise your content will seem like spam and Google could dock you. Reading your content aloud is one way to check. Does it sound natural? Are you stumbling over words? If so, you might need to adjust the keywords in your copy. You want it to sound customer friendly but still weave in some keywords. 

We’re available if you ever have questions about synonymous keywords or any other SEO questions. And if you want to improve your rankings, contact us today!