SEO Writing: Using Bucket Brigades

SEO copywriting means that we have to produce content that search engines understand and at the same time our readers enjoy and want to read. If you focus only on writing for search engines, you will sound super robotic. However, if you write only for the reader, you will miss out on the important keywords. Therefore, balance is important.

For optimal user experience, it is important that we employ effective copywriting strategies.

Using Bucket Bridges is a great example of a good copywriting strategy. Let’s take a look at what bucket brigades are, how to use them effectively and why they are important.

What is a Bucket Bridge?

The exact definition of a Bucket Brigade is a line of people who pass items along a line to one another.

For example, back in the day, firefighters would pass buckets of water along the line to put out a fire.

Similarly in copywriting it transitions the reader. It guides them from the top, sliding along and through the lines, all the way down to the footer at the bottom of a page. By using bucket brigades, you help to create a smooth transition between sentences and paragraphs. Basically, they will stitch together phrases, sentences, and paragraphs as one seamless performance.

Using Bucket Brigades in Copywriting

In copywriting, a bucket brigade is a series of words that bridges one idea to the next. This helps keep the writing flowing. Your readers stay interested. In most cases the bridging phrase is followed by a colon. Here are examples of bucket brigades:

General Bucket Brigades

Do I have your attention?

OK, I know what you’re thinking:

Think about that for a minute…

I know the feeling:

Introductory Bucket Brigades

Do you want to learn how to…?

Imagine what it would be like:

Have you ever found yourself…?

Have you wondered why…?

Content Body Bucket Brigades

Let’s get started:

Let’s dig a little deeper:

Let me explain:

Let me show you how:

Conclusion Bucket Brigades

In short:

Let’s recap:

In a nutshell:

But don’t take my word for it:

Why Are Bucket Brigades Important?

Help improve your average time on page.

You can use them to bridge two sentences or ideas together.

Encourage the reader to stay interested and spend more time.

Bucket Brigades are great for conversational blog posts and pages.

Bucket Brigades can help you connect emotionally with the reader or audience.

Improve Ranking

There are numerous ways to boost your ranking and keeping people on your site is one of them.

The longer the reader spends browsing your site, the more the search engine regards you as a trusted source of information. Simply put, if the statistics of your bounce rate start to show some improvements, so could your rankings.

Improve Reader or User Experience

In addition to helping with site rankings, using bucket brigades is the perfect technique to improve your readers’ experience. If they’ve liked a blog or page on your site, they’re more likely to share it on social media or come back on another occasion.

They add a conversational value to your content while attract more people to your content. They help increase the readability of your content.

5 Facts to Consider When Using Bucket Brigade

1. They’re only a technique: strong article writing is still important. Make sure your page or blog is relevant, interesting and well-studied before you take bucket brigades into account
2. They’re not the sole technique: you still have to pay attention to your content structure, keyword placement, your headings, use of images and all those other elements that can make your content writing better
3. Keep it easy and free: bucket brigades bring a conversational, fresh tone to your writing. Ensure that that tone is reflected throughout the blog or page, and not just occasionally
4. Don’t be limited: you can use the technique with any frequency at any point in your blog or page.
5. Don’t be Afraid to Play around: like any technique, this one can take a while to perfect, however, don’t be scared of it! What harm can you come to playing around with words?!

Conclusion

Here’s the thing, using the bucket brigade technique is perfect for writing blogs and pages. Makes your writing more conversational which helps you to build a quick and easy rapport with your readers.

This technique is particularly useful when you want to transition to a key part of the story. For instance, if you need to introduce a new concept. It’s important to note that this does not guarantee that your site will rank number 1 but its definitely a step in the right direction.

Lilian Postle