What is Keyword Stemming?
Keyword stemming is Google’s ability to understand different variations of the base keyword in a search query. For example, Google understands that run, runner, and running are related words. So, when you enter a search query containing runner, Google may return results containing run o correr.
Keyword stemming involves removing prefixes and suffixes from keywords to strip them to their base term. For example, the suffixes -er y -ing are removed from runner y correr to form run.
Keyword stemming is not a ranking factor. From the SEO perspective, it allows bloggers to rank for keywords other than the one the visitor searched for.
Back when Google didn’t understand the relationship between words, SEOs would typically include different variations of a keyword in their content so that it could rank for multiple related keywords.
However, SEOs no longer need to include variations of their base keyword in their content, as Google now understands the content without those additional keywords.
Importance of Keyword Stemming
Keyword stemming provides several benefits to search engines, bloggers, and visitors. Some of them are mentioned below.
1 Allows Google to Return Relevant Results
Keyword stemming allows Google to provide relevant results to searchers. Without stemming, Google would have relied on returning results containing only the keyword the visitor searches for.
This would have limited the number of results Google can return on the search results page. It also means that Google would always return results containing the keyword, even when there is better content that matches the visitor’s intención de búsqueda.
This benefits the visitor by allowing them to access highly relevant results even if they do not contain the exact keyword that they searched for.
2 Allows Bloggers Rank for Related Content
Keyword stemming allows bloggers to rank for stemmed keywords for which they did not optimize their content, bringing more organic traffic and leads to the site.
It also allows the blogger to write naturally, as optimizing their content for stemmed keywords would have caused them to write unnaturally and possibly engage in keyword stuffing, making their content spammy and less fun to read.
Difference Between Keyword Stemming and Lemmatization
Many bloggers differentiate between stemming and lemmatization. They are different terms, though somewhat related.
Stemming is the process of breaking a word into its base term. Stemming algorithms typically employ basic language rules to chop off common word endings to create a stem word. However, this stem word may not be grammatically correct or make sense.
Lemmatization, on the other hand, is the process of breaking a word into its base form while considering the context in which the word was used. In this case, the lemmatized word always makes sense and is an actual word.
How to Prevent Google From Using Keyword Stemming
You may encounter specific situations where you want Google to provide results more related to your search query. In this instance, you will use the quotation search operator ” “.
For example, this is what we get when we search for “run shoes”:
In this case, Google will return results that contain run shoes. Google may still include some stemmed keywords, like running shoes, in the results, but they will be much lower than if they were not in quotes.