125+ SEO Power Word Examples to Increase Engagement and Conversions

Written By Maggie Schneider
 
 

What is a Power Word?

Power words are a crucial element of effective online marketing. These are words that evoke strong emotions and feelings in readers, making them memorable and attention-grabbing.

When used strategically in marketing copy, they can persuade readers to take action, such as making a purchase or subscribing to a newsletter. Power words can also help differentiate a brand from competitors in a crowded digital landscape by activating an emotional response.

Creating a sense of urgency or scarcity, making a customer feel supported and a part of an exclusive membership, and establishing a sense of attachment to your brand are all ways power words work to make your marketing more effective.

By incorporating power words into your marketing strategy, your business can increase engagement and ultimately, boost conversions. It's important to use these words thoughtfully, however, as overusing them can come across as insincere or manipulative.

Where to Use Power Words

So, where can you use power words in your marketing? The simple answer is almost anywhere! You probably see them being used in the news, article headlines, instagram captions, and email subject lines.

Think of the last email newsletter you opted-in for. What made you give away your email? You were likely promised a freebie like a checklist, a quick-start guide, or a nice discount to a course you’ve been considering purchasing. 

Perhaps the landing page read something like:

For a Limited Time Only- Download our Free Research-Backed Blog Template so You Can Start Posting Today!

There are several power words in that title that make you feel a sense of urgency, trust, and ease. 

  • The template promises to be research-backed indicating it is valuable and likely to provide results. 

  • This is a limited time offer so you are forced into making a quick decision or you may miss out on this opportunity.

  • Since they are offering a template, you feel like this will make your life easier and you can start creating blog content today. 

The purpose of power words is to increase clicks and conversions for your business. Higher click rates mean your pages will start to rank higher on search engine results and you’ll be able to beat out your competition in the process (RankMath, 2023). 

Hopefully, this gives you a good idea of the importance of power words and how they can improve both your SEO and marketing. Below is a list of some of my favorite power words to use in my content creation. 

Click here to download the full list and save to your desktop so you can reference whenever you are writing something new!

To Build Trust

Building trust with your audience is key if you want them to buy from you. You wouldn’t promote a product that was unprofessional or didn’t deliver on its promise.

These power words to build trust offer trusted solutions to your client’s pain points with very little risk. Try them today! 

  1. Absolute

  2. Fool-proof

  3. Risk-free

  4. Research-backed

  5. Safe

  6. Guarantee

  7. Reliable

  8. Bestselling

  9. Definitive 

  10. Professional 

  11. Above and beyond

  12. Rock solid

  13. Approved

  14. Authentic

  15. Legit

  16. Superior

  17. No-obligation

  18. Tested

  19. Official

  20. Promise

  21. Patented

  22. Worry-free

  23. Verified

  24. Endorsed

  25. Anonymous

 
 

To Pique Curiosity

Ever have a reel go viral on Instagram or get stuck scrolling through TikTok watching videos on cooking because you just.couldn’t.stop? 

Maybe you used a hook or interesting image in the first second of your video to capture people’s attention. This list of power works to pique curiosity makes it almost impossible for people not to click on your content. 

  1. Be the first

  2. Strange

  3. Hilarious

  4. Super secret

  5. Insiders Only

  6. Behind the Scenes

  7. Get the Scoop

  8. Invite Only

  9. Exclusive Access

  10. Banned

  11. Sneak Peak

  12. Ancient

  13. Trade secret

  14. Invitation only

  15. Little known

  16. Classified

  17. Under wraps

  18. Uncover

  19. Unexpected

  20. Unbelievable

  21. Eye-opening

  22. Confession

  23. Genius

  24. Crazy

  25. Surprising

 
 

To Show Ease and Efficiency

I am the queen of buying courses that help teach me processes and procedures that improve my business and help me save time. I could’ve spent hours on YouTube trying to learn web design, but instead I purchased a course from Paige Brunton and learned it in half the time. 

If your course, product, or freebie promises to make someone’s life easier, definitely promote that using some of these power words for efficiency found below. 

  1. Easy

  2. Simple

  3. Time-Saving

  4. Fast

  5. Hack

  6. Free

  7. Guide

  8. Manageable

  9. Efficient

  10. No-nonsense

  11. In less than…

  12. Cheat sheet

  13. Comprehensive

  14. Manageable

  15. Downloadable

  16. Straightforward

  17. List

  18. Template

  19. Tools

  20. Fill in the blanks 

  21. Copy

  22. All-inclusive

  23. All encompassing

  24. In record time

  25. Ready 

 
 

To Promote Urgency

You likely see examples of the power words for urgency all of the time. I can probably go into my email right now and see 10 different companies promoting limited-time only sales. 

By setting a firm deadline to act, the company is forcing you to make a decision. I know if I can save a few bucks to buy something now vs. waiting a week and spending more, I will choose to make that purchase today. 

Even if the deadline is arbitrary, creating that sense of urgency awakens people’s FOMO (fear of missing out) and is a good strategy for encouraging people to act on your offers. 

  1. Now

  2. Rare

  3. Limited

  4. Temporary

  5. Hurry

  6. Only

  7. Exclusive

  8. Today

  9. Immediate

  10. Instant

  11. Bonus

  12. Bargain

  13. Run Out

  14. Last Chance

  15. Deadline

  16. Final

  17. Never Again

  18. Act Fast

  19. Expiring

  20. Won’t Last

  21. Can’t Miss

  22. Frenzy

  23. Giveaway

  24. Sweepstakes

  25. Scarce

 
 

To Evoke Fear and Anger

You’re probably wondering, “why would I want to make someone angry with my words?” You see, sometimes negative words work to get someone to take action.

If you were doing something in the “worst” or “slowest” way possible, you’d want to fix that, right? 

Look at my blog post about making website mistakes. Why would I give out information about mistakes people make on their website? Not to call anyone out but rather to show people that doing these things is the wrong thing to do. The key is to offer solutions to their problems so you end up the hero! 

By using this list of words, you will play on your audience’s pain points. Pain points are specific problems faced by current or prospective customers and are often motivating factors to elicit change.

HubSpot lists 6 types of pain points when it comes to business. They are: 

  • Positioning pain- the challenges businesses face when positioning themselves in their industry

  • Financial pain- challenges caused by funding or finances, such as not making enough money to afford the rent of a brick and mortar business.

  • People pain- challenges with morale, turnover, people management and culture.

  • Process pain- challenges implementing repeatable processes in the business. A business owner may be struggling to stay afloat because they are not staying in their zone of genius or hiring out tasks that they don’t need to be handling.

  • Productivity pain- roadblocks preventing a company from working efficiently. The business may have to submit plans to their local government and aren’t able to get the work done without the proper permits.

  • Small business pain- challenges that specifically face small businesses. This can be a number of problems such as lack of funding or resources, lack of motivation, or even lack of interested consumers.

Try using a word from this list in a blog post title to help your reader see that the solution you’re offering is going to take them from frustration to peace.

  1. Absurd

  2. Agonizing

  3. Awkward

  4. Catastrophe

  5. Dangerous

  6. Exposed

  7. Heartbreaking

  8. Lame 

  9. Painful

  10. Mediocre

  11. Traumatizing

  12. Useless

  13. Worst

  14. Unpopular

  15. Pitfall 

  16. Mistake 

  17. Warning

  18. Annoying

  19. Pain

  20. Terrible

  21. Exploit

  22. Sick and tired

  23. Ruined

  24. Lies

  25. Spoiled

 
 

Conclusion

The last point I will make about using power words in your copywriting is to be careful not to over-promise and underdeliver. Your headlines should match the content you are promoting so that when people click on your links, they don’t quickly jump off because they realize you are not actually answering their question. 

Power words should be used in marketing copy to persuade readers to take action. They can increase engagement and boost conversions when used thoughtfully. However, it is essential to be aware of the potential to overuse power words that can come across as insincere or manipulative. 

Power words can be used in any area of content creation, such as headlines, Instagram captions, email subject lines, and more. Use the provided list of power words to build trust, pique curiosity, show ease and efficiency, promote urgency, and evoke fear and anger. Use these power words to create content that will drive traffic to your website and increase sales and conversions.

And if you’re ready to take the next step to learning SEO, be sure to check out my new course: RANK Method- An SEO and Marketing Course for Busy Business Owners.

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Maggie Schneider
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