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There are times when I wish that someone would give me $50.00 every time a new client comes in to have me build a website and they think that they don't really need any words on the pages of their website.

"Oh just say something ... you know ... a few words ... you don't have to say anything special ... the pictures will do all the talking." That's pretty close to what so many new clients say and of course they want to rank well in the search engines but they don't think they need words.

So I call my partner down to join in the conversation. He's the wordsmith in our team and he knows just how important words really are when it comes to not only ranking well in Google but also actually selling a product or service.

He listens patiently to what the client has to say and then breaks the bad news to them. Sometimes he does it gently and sometimes he's had to listen to several people that day who think that words are not important so he's not so gentle when he tells them that 20 words are just not going to achieve anything. Instead of just "a few" words and the bare minimum they will need for any page has got to be around 200 to 300 words.

Of course they want to argue, they never read the words so why would anyone else read the words on a web page? In some ways they're right ... just like 98 per cent of the population, they don't read all the words on a web page but they certainly do read some of the words.

Just like most people, even people who are surfing your porn sites, the people my partner has to talk to skim the text on a page as they look for words or phrases that are important to them. They don't stop to read every word until they see something that is relevant to them ... something that will give them the information that they are looking for.

Lots of people don't realise that they skim ... they genuinely do believe that all they look at are the pretty pictures ... but if you use the right words you can actually make people stop and read what you have written. And, in this industry, those words that you have written should be aimed at encouraging people to continue their fantasies at your sponsor's website.

But how do you get them to stop and focus on the words? It's really quite simple, you use words that jump off the page and get in the face of each person who lands on your site. Now those words are not what you might think ... they're words that are in common use every day.

You use these words in conversation. You see these words in print. You hear these words in advertising on TV and radio and I've used one of those words three times in this paragraph.

They are words that have power because we are conditioned to respond to them in ways that are quite different to the ways we respond to other words. Sometimes these words are referred to as power words; at other times you will see them referred to as trigger words.

Whatever you like to call them, the results of using these words are always the same. They will stop skimmers in their tracks and make them at least start to read the other words that you have written.

So what are these words that have power? Did you spot that word that I used three times a few moments ago? I hope you did because, if you didn't, you should probably call an ambulance because you are obviously brain dead ... and in case you missed it I've just used it three more times.

The word is "you" and it tells people that the text on your website is talking to them and perhaps they need to "listen" to what you have to say.

People, skimmers, scanners, all want to know why something is as it is and so when people see the word "because" they stop and read and if you are selling something, and the "because" is strong enough then they will buy your product.

According to some experts the average human being is programmed to react in a positive way to the word "new". Give someone an offer that involves new content or a new approach and you might see some new money begin to flow into your bank account.

"Discover" is another word that makes people react in a predictable way. We humans are an inquisitive bunch but many of us don't want to get out of our ass so if you give people the opportunity to discover things that will interest them while they stay comfortable then you could be making even more sales than you are now.

And those words are just a few of the power words that make people doing things that they might not otherwise want to do. Other words such as "stop", "instant", "today" and "everyone" are some of the other power words that work.

Think about what we are conditioned to read into those words and you will see just how to use them to your advantage and you will also begin to see what other words and phrases we can use that will work just as well.