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How the Use of Lexicons Can Improve Your SEO Strategy

by Article by Remington Begg Remington Begg | October 15, 2015 at 9:00 AM

Lexicons are words or phrases that correspond to someone's specific dialect. These changes in verbiage come about because of specific regions, genders, ethnicities and social groups modifying their language through personal experiences, creating their own words and meanings. For example, depending on what part of the country you’re from, you say one one of the following phrases to address a group of two or more people: you guys, y’all, you all, yous guys, you. There’s countless more examples of this. Identifying these subtle differences and applying them into your writing can have huge effects on whether the right people find your content and identify with reading it.

It Humanizes Your Content

One of the biggest complaints about SEO-geared content is that it sounds like a computer wrote it. Although most of that opinion is based on the time when keyword stuffing was acceptable, the opinion still remains. If you use the right words or phrases, you can establish a subconscious bond with the viewer which might just lead to a conversion. On the other hand, someone in Pittsburgh who sees a sandwich referred to as a “sub” instead of a “grinder” will automatically assume you’re not from the area and in some cases are less likely to give you their business.

It Lets You Go Up Against The Big Guys

By optimizing based on regional phrases and dialects, a small business can get a leg up on the national chains. Let’s use a locally-owned shoe store in Ohio as an example. It is obviously difficult, if not impossible, to go up against mega ecommerce giants like Zappos organically. But what if Zappos is using the term “sneakers” on its website, instead of the more-commonly used lexicon “tennis shoes” for his region? He’s gaining a major advantage by incorporating this lexicon into his SEO strategy.

Lexicons Can Be Incorporated Anywhere

Just like with standard SEO keywords, a few well-placed lexicons can go a long way. Think beyond placing them in the body of your content and go further. Placing them in your meta description is a great way to get first-time viewers to click on your website from a Search Engine Results Page (SERP). They can be added into your headlines (“10 Best Hoagies in NYC”), your images’ ALT tag, and your URLs. By spreading them out, you won’t run the risk of looking like you are stuffing them in too blatantly.

There May Be Less Competition

The base of a strong keyword strategy is finding words that are heavily searched, but with little competition. Conduct searches on your chosen platform, modified to replicate the audience you are trying to reach with their common lexicons. You’ll find some queries with good volume and practically no competition to take advantage of. But remember, it’s just a matter of time before your competition wises up. Now is your chance to gain that traffic and boost your authority before everyone else begins to optimize for your new keywords as well.

Understanding the audience you’re after makes all the difference when creating your remarkable content. Once you have some lexicons built and know which Buyer Personas you want to target, all you have left to do is discretely sprinkle those words into your copy. This is just one way SEO is catching up to today’s web users. For the most up-to-date optimization tips, download our free eBook Modern SEO.