MediaVision Blog : Search Engine Marketing

Action words combine techniques of linkbaiting and keyword optimisation into one. Linkbaiting is when you use keywords, key-catching titles and a searchable topic to make an article as viral as possible. Users love the article and spread it to all their friends. The article, which holds links to your original site, moves around the internet getting traffic and good links back to your site.

Keywords are specific words that are chosen to promote your site or article. When spiders search an article or content, they pick up words that are used throughout the article. There are techniques to ensure that certain keywords get picked up by either making them bold or repeating them. An overuse of keywords is known as keyword stuffing. This is when the writer has created the content with many repetitive phrases.

Action words are a combination of these two techniques. They are used in the title to make it more eye-catching. They also improve the copy search-ability. An example would be the “How to” phrase. Many users often type this into the search why when trying to find out how to do something. By using the phrase in the title it improves your keyword.

Don’t stop the creativity at the title though. There is no point having an optimised title to bring in traffic, only for the article to kill the interest as it doesn’t explain “how to” do anything. To create action words, the simplest way is to add ‘er’ to the end of a word. For example, watch becomes watcher.

Action words don’t only work in copy, but can be used as a tool to come up with creative alternative link-building key phrases. This will vary anchor texts when building links.