Learning

• Latent:  lying dormant or hidden until circumstances are suitable for development or manifestation
• Semantics: the branch of linguistics and logic concerned with meaning.
• Indexing: an indicator, sign, or measure of something

Your target consumer, “Joe,” is searching for something, let’s say “Blue Moon.” Google will pull up a list of items including a lunar occurrence, a beer brand, and a song. If your website or blog is about the history of the song, then Joe will find his answer by seeing descriptors such as Rodgers and Hart, Billie Holiday, and The Marcels. (Maybe Edward Roman—this song has a scandalous history). 

In essence, Latent Semantics Indexing (LSI) is the relevance of the keywords around the keywords.

The LSI war

There are those who say that LSI is an ancient and outdated mode of thinking about SEO (it was developed in the late 1980s). At Toolbox Studios, we take our cue from Google itself and Google actually gives suggestions for latent semantics. You just need to know where to look.

Where do I look to find LSI? 

Put your keyword into Google’s search bar and Google immediately begins to make suggestions in the dropdown. Jot down the relevant ones to your topic. On the search page is also this feature, “People also ask” jot down anything relevant here.

Now scroll to the bottom of the page. You’ll see “Searches related to blue moon”.

These are the most common related searches and these terms should be in your article/web page/blog, etc. Click on “blue moon song” and scroll down.

Go back up to the top and click on “Images” and you’ll see a whole row of new suggestions.

Now you are starting to gather a pretty decent list of semantically related phrases and subtopics based around your main keywords “Blue Moon” – all suggested by Google itself. There are also many SaaS tools for digging deeper into keyword research. At Toolbox Studios, we use a variety of paid tools and good old Google Analytics.

How do I incorporate these latent keywords?

Gather up your list of phrases and cross them off as you write your content. Just keep in mind, that your content is meant to be read by an actual person, so it has to make sense—just throwing a ton of semantically related keywords into paragraphs won’t be helpful to anyone. As Google’s bots are reading your content, they are seeking quality content that is genuine in offering answers that are being sought. So, use common sense, and write content that will help  “Joe” in his quest for information.

Toolbox Studios can help

We strike the balance of well-curated content that includes top keywords and the semantically related keywords needed to give context to your searchability. As consumers and technology become more sophisticated, so do websites and search engines’ ability to locate pertinent information. Toolbox Studios has the expertise and personnel to manage your SEO, improve your online reputation, and write applicable content.

You have most definitely heard about hashtags, what they are and probably have even added them to your social media posts. With their growing popularity there is a lot of confusion about where to use them, how many and when. Below, we have gathered some of the most frequently asked questions about hashtags to help shed some light on best practices.

How do hashtags work?

When added to posts, hashtags act as categories that get indexed by social platforms and become searchable by users. If you click on a specific hashtag, you’ll be brought to a page that contains all the posts with the same hashtag. Once a keyword acquires popularity, it becomes a “trending topic” that when used correctly, can help posts get a lot more reach.

Can hashtags be trademarked?

Yes. By trademarking your branded hashtags, you can increase consumer engagement with your business. Make sure they are relevant, unique and memorable. Also, “branded” doesn’t necessarily mean your company name, but it can relate.

What hashtags should I use?

Do your research. Regardless if you are joining a conversation with an already established hashtag or if you are creating your own, it is important to make sure there is nothing negative associated with those hashtags that can harm your brand, inside your industry or out. Tools like Hashtagify.me [link: https://hashtagify.me/hashtag/smm] and Rite Tag [link: https://ritetag.com], can help you find hashtags, popularity trends, and who else is using them.

When building your hashtag strategy, make sure it is specific to the audience you are trying to reach. The more targeted your audience, the better content you will deliver and the more engagement you will receive.

Avoid using too broad keywords and make sure they are relevant to the topic. Trying to get more reach by using unrelated hashtags to your posts won’t help you in any way. If anything, you might annoy your audience.

How many hashtags should I use?

Don’t over-tag a single post or add them to every word. This might make your post look spammy and confusing. If your post has more hashtags than words, it weakens the message you are trying to get across.

Where should I use hashtags?

You can add them to essentially any social platform. However, there are some best practices that can make your posts more successful:

• On Facebook, hashtags can expand your reach to people who are looking at posts about your industry. Try keeping it to 1-2 hashtags per post for more engagement.
•  On Twitter, they are useful to join conversations or to start one on your own. Studies have shown that tweets with 1-2 hashtags perform better and generate the most engagement.
• On Instagram, the purpose is to discover new content and follow new users. Even though you are allowed to use up to 30 hashtags per comment, please be wise and always think: “less is more”. Remember, you don’t want to look spammy.
• On LinkedIn, hashtags can help you increase brand awareness and gain more followers. As with other platforms, keeping them relevant and 1-2 per update can get you better results.