LSI, or Latent Semantic Indexing, is a complex document indexing system that uses keywords, relationships, and other factors to provide users with a means to find relevant information. It is based on topical search as much as it is on keyword search so that if you search for a specific keyword such as “search engine” it would not only display semantically related results like “search engines” but related terms like “Google” or “meta search engine”. It’s the kind of system that is used in libraries and on the website Metaweb.

Metaweb is, if you will, a complex online reference library and it indexes data in the same latent semantic way. What’s more, it’s also now a part of the Google search stable that continues to expand. Google has purchase Metaweb in order to offer its users a continually updated and improved search experience so you should expect integration of Metaweb data into Google’s own data some time in the future. Considering Metaweb has details on over 11 million real world places, people, or objects the integration could take time but it is likely to come at some point.

SEOs and online marketers are constantly being presented with new and unique opportunities and obstacles that need to be overcome. Google has introduced some semantic results of its own. Local business listings, videos, news, blogs, and shopping results are some of these and compared to the opportunities that Metaweb presents they could be considered relatively simplistic in their indexing. Stay tuned to see what’s next.