Stop words in copywriting

What are stop words?

To practice your craft, you need to know all its subtleties and requirements, during which you improve in this business. Copywriting is no exception in this case.

Let’s see what are stop words or noise words? In simple terms, this is:

• words that do not carry any semantic load;
• words that will not be considered in the search query.

This list includes not only prepositions, particles, participles, numbers, interjections, punctuation marks, but also the most common expressions that are used to enhance other parts of the sentence.

They are also called junk words due to the fact that they complicate the text and reduce readability. However, many copywriters do not bother with stop words and write without thinking about how clear and simple it will be for the reader. Often such performers are valued much less than those whose text is “clean” and easy to understand.

Types of stop words

Unfortunately, it is impossible to completely avoid stop words and phrases that do not carry any additional meaning for the text. But it’s for the best. Without them, what is written will seem somehow incomplete, and in some cases it may even lose its logic. Here is an example: “A novice copywriter can undoubtedly write good and in-demand texts, but most likely they will be valued much lower than the information that will be presented by a professional.” Without garbage, this example would look like this: “A novice copywriter can write good texts, they will be valued lower than information presented by a professional.” Agree that the last sentence sounds somehow wrong? It’s time to deal with the kinds of words that spam your text.

1. Introductory words and constructions

Introductory constructions are separate words or phrases expressing the author’s attitude to the information just expressed. This includes such phrases as: firstly, in a word, finally, roughly speaking, in other words, and so on. It is also necessary to distinguish these very introductory words from the usual members of the sentence. In order not to get confused, you just need to keep in mind that the members of the sentence:

• cannot be omitted in the text;
• answer questions;
• perform a syntactic function.

All this cannot be attributed to introductory words and constructions.

2. An excess of pronouns

Basically it is an excess of possessive pronouns. This list includes such words as: mine, yours, ours, yours, etc. Often, inexperienced copywriters do not neglect the use of pronouns, which makes it difficult to perceive the material. But on the other hand, the lack of pronouns can break the logical chain and then the meaning of the sentence will become incomprehensible.

3. Unreasonable assessment

This error is quite common as well. An unreasonable assessment is a case when the author expresses his purely subjective opinion and at the same time uses such words and phrases as: the best in the world, top, cool, out of competition, or even just “good”. This type of noise words causes doubts in the reader and the feeling that this or that product is being imposed on him.

4. Stamps and stationery

This type of noise words, which can harm your text, reduces the quality of the material presented and complicates the entire text.

Stationery is phrases and various designs that were taken from the official business style and used outside of this style. Simply put, this is when in a regular text you come across words that sound important and businesslike, but do not at all fit the style of presentation of information. For example: “Due to unforeseen circumstances that affected our school in certainty, I consider it necessary for myself to say that lessons at school No. 178 are canceled until the 13th of this month.” Here you can see that without all the courtesies, official phrases and phrases, the text will sound much cleaner and simpler.

A stamp is a word or a set expression that was often used in the past, but has lost its relevance and sharpness at the moment. Examples: “without a doubt” and “leaves much to be desired.”

5. Compound words and professional terms

Everything should be simple here. Overloaded with terms and complex, incomprehensible words, the text will always be difficult to read. And who wants to go to Google every time you read a certain material and look for the meaning of a particular word, if you can just look for a text that will be written in an accessible language? Therefore, it is better to present your information in such a way that it is read easily and naturally. As they say, the simpler you speak, the more people will understand you.

Examples: integral, rift, magma, anamnesis, interference, polarization.

6. Euphemisms

Euphemisms are words or expressions that stand in for other, uncomfortable or obscene words that do not fit the situation. Also, they do not carry any semantic and emotional load, and therefore they can rightfully be considered noise words.

Examples: disabled – a person with disabilities, blind – blind, deaf – hard of hearing.

7. Inexact (indefinite) words

Indefinite words can be respected by beginners. With their help, you can slightly increase the volume of the text to the detriment of meaning. They seem to confirm the statements, but at the same time they do not direct the reader to verified sources or are themselves incorrect.

Examples: the word “several” in relation to a precisely known quantity.

8. Blurred wording

These stop words can break the meaning of a sentence or even the entire text. Using vague wording can create a feeling of a poorly disclosed topic or a non-professional writer.

Examples: cook until cooked, come after a while.

How search engines treat stop words

Search engines, like the people who will read your texts, have a negative attitude towards noise words. Just as it will be more pleasant for a person to read a simple, understandable text, so search engines will be better at material where the number of stop words is minimal. In order to reduce databases, search engines do not take into account stop words when indexing, replacing them with a special marker. If the article has an excessive concentration of stop words, this can negatively affect the page ranking for search queries. This is another reason to eradicate phrases and phrases harmful to the text.

How to check text for stop words

Analyze your text using special programs or websites. Usually they show not only stop words, but also uniqueness, nausea, and so on. This will help you not only save time, but also improve your material by getting rid of unnecessary noise words.

Online services for checking text for stop words: turbochek; seocafé; overlead.

How to clear text from stop words?

A “clean” and understandable article without an excessive amount of words, which we call noise, will always be in great demand, and besides, such texts are more highly valued by advertisers.

You can clear the material before publication simply by reading it aloud a couple of times. You can also offer to read the text of one of your relatives or friends, a look from the side never hurts.

Remember, stop words are just spam for your text.

Author: Lev Mikhailyuk, copywriter