Reminder: Jargon Will Not Improve Search Engine Ranking
If you hope to rank high in the search engines, you need to write straightforward website content. Adding jargon will fill your pages with that essential amount of website content, but it doesn’t incorporate valuable keywords or the essential context around those keywords.
I’m not saying you should stuff your pages with keywords. Never! All I’m saying is that you should not waste valuable website space on meaningless words. Focus on words your customers can relate to and words that you just might rank for in the search engines.
Consider this: Do you think your potential customers use the words “groundbreaking” or “innovative” when they search online? Probably not. Take a moment now and go to Google.com. Enter “groundbreaking” in the search box. Bet you didn’t plan to reading about funeral ceremonies today. See what I’m trying to say?
What You Should Do – A Fictional Book Author Case Study
Let’s say you are an author of a dog obedience book and you’ve filled your home page with all kinds of mumbo jumbo on your latest awards, your dog training expertise, etc. Here are three things I’d recommend to revise that jargon-laden home page.
1. Change the headline on your home page from “Award-Winning Author Brings You Mastering Fighto” to “Mastering Fighto Shows You How to Train the Perfect Beagle.”
2. The first paragraph on your home page references your years of experience. This is important information, but it doesn’t appeal to the reader’s problem. Tell us that you specialize in operant conditioning and have a stronghold on adaptive conditioning in your bio and not on your home page. Change your home page so that the first two paragraphs explain how your book will solve their problems. Here’s what I would write:
You no longer have to wonder why Fighto munches on the floor moldings when you leave the house. I’ll tell you in the first chapter why your beagle has separation anxiety, and I’ll tell you how to fix it.
Stop pulling on that leash when your beagle sniffs the neighbor’s grass. By the end of this book you’ll see how to engage your beagle’s intuitive senses without losing your mind.
3. Read through your web content to remove adjectives and replace them with active verbs. You should also review my list of seven generic statements and remove those from your website content, too.
Removing jargon and industry terminology leaves more room for commonly searched keywords and context, both of which will help your search engine ranking. Say goodbye to jargon and hello to better website content!
The No. 2 Pen is a full-service writing and communications company. Contact us to discuss your writing projects and editing needs.

Sara Lancaster here. Thanks for visiting the No. 2 Pen blog where I share examples of business websites with sharp website content.


5 Responses so far
July 30th, 2010 at 8:49 am
Hi Sara,
Great post. I’m going to scroll through my blog and websites and use your advice! Thank you.
Also, since you mentioned dogs in this post I figured I would ask you a dog-related question. I’m looking to adopt a little daschund and was wondering if you know of organizations that I should reach out to. I see from your site that you loves hounds so I thought I’d ask!
July 30th, 2010 at 9:16 am
Thanks, Christa! We got our guy from the ASPCA. Great organization.
July 30th, 2010 at 7:51 pm
Wow. I haven’t ever visited a “how to write a blog” blog. You have great advice. I am a little intimidated!
August 3rd, 2010 at 8:12 am
Sara, this is an excellent post! I can totally apply this to my blog posts, too, because it’s a great reminder about the importance of helping your reader, making information accessible and straightforward.
Your examples were also very helpful.
Thanks.
August 4th, 2010 at 6:10 am
Appreciate the feedback, Kristen and Margarita. Together we can eliminate jargon!
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