In case you are not familiar with the phrase “power word,” you are missing out on a major marketing tactic. If you are familiar though, then you probably already know how crucial they can be in marketing and conversion. Irrespective of whether you are familiar with power words or not, you will have a fairly decent idea regarding what they are and how to use them for grabbing the right kind of attention by the time we are done discussing the topic.
Understanding the Principle Behind Power Words
In the simplest of definitions, power words are terms, or even phrases, which grab the attention of your target customer base. They are the prime reasons why people click on SERPs, and they are the attention grabbers that make them interested in a product/service.
How Variable are Power Words?
Power words and phrases are certainly variable, which means that what would be an instant attention grabber in one industry, may not necessarily have any value in another.
To put that into perspective, let’s consider the power word “cybersecurity,” which has immense relevance across not just multiple segments in the online industry, but also in other core sectors such as banking and finance as well.
On the other hand, someone trying to market their new restaurant will have zero use for the word! There are, however, exceptions to that rule.
Power Words with Wider Appeal
Some words have much wider, if not universal applicability, but they are mostly not terms, but often qualitative adjectives with immense marketing potentials in nearly any sector.
In fact, these are going to act as our guidelines, as we discover how they should be used for getting the maximum attention from marketing campaigns.
Fear
Cybersecurity is a power word in a lot of sectors because it utilizes the fear of getting hacked or infected by malware, but universal fear/threat-based power words like disaster, collapse, vulnerability and catastrophic can be relevant in almost all industries.
Intrigue
Words such as secrets, exclusive, private, introducing, announcing, and revealed, all inspire curiosity, which is why they are used extensively in marketing the fashion and tourism industry in particular.
Shortcut
Very few people have the time to learn something new properly, and fewer have the will to do so. Tips, tricks, cheats and shortcuts are all power words marketing from that angle.
Authority/Authenticity
Nobody likes to be cheated, and nothing feels more authentic than authority. The likes of certified, accreditation, confirmed, proven, scientific and stats are power words that present a product with authoritative authenticity.
Provocation
Terms such as abuse, injustice, and evil are used in political campaigns with immense success because it’s a sector that stands to benefit from provoking its audience.
Opportunity
Be it retail or career counseling, there is room to market while using power words that utilize the theme of opportunity. Free, % discount, % off, save, earn more, and make more are excellent examples of the same.
The effective combination of power words and keywords is, therefore, instrumental in the success of any SEO marketing campaign. To be more precise, it’s about how well the marketer understands the customer base and which of the key factors mentioned above will be the most effective in grabbing their attention.
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