LSI, Co-occurrence and Web 3.0 (the new semantic web)

The angst created by this last Painful Experience #11 is similar to  Painful Experience #8 but it reveals a much deeper pain- a pain that if left unchecked, could turn you life into a living hell and make it difficult to get out of bed in the morning!

I'll explain.

Just when I started to get a handle on Painful Experiences #1 thru  #10, Google would change its algorithms (or services) in ways that were so earth-shattering I would have to destroy my business and rebuild my website success stool one leg at a time.

These global algorithm changes usually cause an industry-wide panic, and were often mistakenly called "Google Slaps" by folks who built their business on technology alone.

Seen from  a higher altitude, these slaps were nothing more than Google moving towards the Semantic Web.

Many people chase technology solutions as primary drivers of their business. They have too much money riding on the Technical Agenda.

There is nothing wrong with investing in technology. However. Technology is merely the handmaiden to direct response marketing.

"Technology is the handmaiden to marketing"

- Art Crowley, Gateway to Multi Channel Marketing

Google has always been fine-tuning its technology to become almost human. This is what Web 3.0 or the Semantic Web is all about. 

This means that millions of dollars are being spent to make sure that people actually find useful and interesting information when they do a search for any given theme. Again, this new globally integrated technology is to eventually be called Web 3.0 or the Semantic Web.

This global technology movement towards artificial intelligence and better search results has certainly created a buzz in the SEO industry and has left few niches inside the technology sector untouched.

Components of the evolving Semantic Web concept have been shrouded in fuzzy terminology and blended with techno-babble adding to the confusion and dismay of marketers and webmasters alike.

Some of these controversial definitions include:

LSI or Latent Semantic Indexing

LSA Latent Semantic Analysis

The Co-occurrence Matrix

The Semantic Web


Google acquires LSI technology company in 2003

The basic components of LSI and the co-occurrence matrix allow Google a  serious strategic advantage in their war on web spam.

In 2003 Google suddenly began purchasing several software and technology companies. Many of these companies were developing “information retrieval” systems that might help Google deliver more relevant search engine results. I am not sure if anyone has a complete list of the companies that Google has purchased, but these moves are signs of where the company is moving.

One of the new companies snapped up by Google was Applied Semantics, which essentially builds Latent Semantic Indexing technology and infrastructure.

Further research shows an increased interest in Latent Semantic Indexing by Google. Many new algorithm updates appear to set the stage for advanced LSI integration.

Later in this document I cover the early controversy surrounding the use of the word LSI and latent semantic indexing by honest SEO's within that early environment. This controversy was started by a single LSI academic and perpetuated by other uber-geeks who believed they understood the real math behind "hard-core" LSI.

The Co-occurrence Matrix:

One of these related algorithms deal with "co-occurrence" and the co-occurrence matrix which Theme Zoom uses to gauge the value of a keyword in relationship to your parent theme.

Co-occurrence is a term used in calculating Latent Semantic Indexing, a mathematical formula that determines the relationship between words.

In a nutshell, co-occurrence is when two words appear on the same document. There are different types of co-occurrence, or ways of measuring the appearance of these two words on a single document within the co-occurrence matrix. This is probably why Google's Anna Patterson co-occurrence code required several patents pending.  

Co-occurrence is tracked via a matrix of documents marked on one axis and word occurrences marked on another axis. This matrix is referred to as a term-document matrix.

Thus the marketing buzz about "the co-occurrence matrix".

Building your Business and Website on Stable (evergreen) Principles

Let's get back to the deeper pain revealed by a radically changing technology environment.

Living in fear if change is painful!

If you do not understand where the internet is actually going, you will be in a constant state of fear as you struggle to catch up within a shifting technology landscape.

This is a terrible experience because living in a state of fearful uncertainty instead of quiet calm is a painful experience.

When you understand where Google is trying to go, you will relax and get to work building your business on sound business principles that are evergreen.

These principles will not change, and we will discuss them in later chapters.

Don't try to manage change, let change manage you.

- Seth Godin, The Idea Virus

Summary of Pain # 11:

Living in fear of technology change- (like the implementation of artificial intelligence, LSI, and the co-occurrence matrix by Google)- is a painful experience.