Someone lands on your website. Next, one of two things happens:
They leave again straightway…
… or they hang around.
Which they do is important. If they stick around, Google starts to think:
‘This must be a GREAT page!’
But if they bounce straight back out, you’ll drop through the search rankings at a rate of knots.
The long and the short of it?
You HAVE to keep visitors on your site if you want high search engine rankings.
How? An old copywriting trick called ‘Bucket Brigades’.
What are Bucket Brigades?
Bucket Brigades are a copywriting technique to keep people reading.
If they’re still reading, they’re still on your page… which means Google will rate you.
For example:
You’ll have seen I intersperse my copy liberally with short sentences that end in a colon. Like so:
That’s a Bucket Brigade in action.
Bucket Brigades spur the reader to continue, by setting up expectation and creating intrigue:
It’s human nature to want to see what happens next.
Because of this, a well-placed Bucket Brigade has the potential to drastically increase the amount of time spent on your page.
How do I use them?
First, take a look at your content and have a think about where people are likely to click out.
That’s where you need a Bucket Brigade.
Here’s an example of where I used the technique twice in the intro to this article:
It’s that easy.
Anywhere someone might get bored and leave, insert a Bucket Brigade.
Bucket Brigades are super easy to make up, or you can sprinkle in a few of these tried-and-tested classics:
- Here’s the thing:
- You may be wondering:
- Now:
- But it gets better:
- And it gets worse:
- As I’ve said before:
- One more thing:
Stay tuned for more in this series of copywriting trade secrets!
If you’re looking to boost your website’s SEO, check out my blogging and website writing services.