Using industry-specific terms and jargon on your website can be a double-edged sword. On one hand, using insider language can make you sound like an expert, which may give your business credibility and attract more visitors who are already in the know about what you're talking about. However, using insider terms can also get in the way of SEO, which is crucial to the success of most businesses these days.
The solution? A glossary of industry terms/jargon that will help your readers better understand your website's content without sacrificing SEO functionality.
Keep reading for more info on the benefits of creating an industry specific glossary, and a few tips on how to create one.
The SEO Value of a Glossary
More Ranking Opportunities
By adding every term or phrase related to your business on your website, you create the potential for ranking on each and every one of these terms. This can be very useful for some of those longer-tail phrases, less-official terms, abbreviations or simply words that are relevant but don’t make sense as the strategic phrases to include on your homepage or other main navigational pages.
Improving EAT Components
By creating a central location for definitions and descriptions of industry-specific terminology, you are providing a valuable service to your customers. This useful content is an important piece of Google’s EAT ranking components—Expertise, Authority and Trustworthiness.
Internal Linking Opportunities
When you add an A-Z list of all the terms related to your industry and include definitions, you’re bound to have numerous opportunities to add internal links. If your business is a craft brewery, you’ll certainly be writing “handcrafted beer” and “IPA” numerous times throughout the glossary. Link these keywords to your main beer page and IPA product page, respectively.
Tips for Creating an Industry-Specific Glossary
1. Find out what industry terms are most commonly used to describe the topic you're writing about.
There's a good chance that if your readers don't know something, there's another site or blog post where they can find it. If your focus is too broad, however, you'll have a hard time covering every single word.
For example, if you're writing about landscaping and lawn care services in Chicago, terms like "fertilizer" or "weed-whacking" will be applicable to the topic at hand, but so will local slang like "lake-effect snow" or the name of a specific suburb.
Detailed descriptions are usually more useful than just one word, so try to write out each entry in full sentences when you can. That way your readers will understand not only what the term means, but also how it's used by people in real life.
2. Compile all of these terms into an easy-to-reference list with their definitions and other key information (e.g., pronunciation, other aliases).
You can organize it in any way you like, but if your list gets out of hand consider using separate pages for different sections (i.e., A-G, H-M, N-S, T-Z).
Make sure the definition is easy to understand, if an individual is not familiar with the industry. That means, don’t use other industry jargon in the definition, don’t use abbreviations or initialisms, and certianly don’t use the word you’re defining in the definition!
3. Make sure that all of the information is correct.
This should be a top priority for any SEO strategy or content creation plan. After all, if readers can't trust what they're reading, why would they continue to read in the future?
4. Remember that consistency is important.
Keep the entries consistent in terms of formatting, tone and expertise level. The same format throughout will make it easier for searchers and search engine alike to browse and fine value in the content. Maintaining the same tone throughout, whether that’s professional and straightforward or fun and friendly, will help to further the brand narrative and establish authority.
You’re not doing yourself any favors if you start off writing at a high school education level, then switch to PhD level for some entries, and drop to 5th grade level for others. Choose an expertise/reading level and stick with it for each word and definition.
5. Be sure that you're actually providing value.
If your glossary only has the generic terms that everyone knows, or each definition is just two words only, both your visitors and Google will see this low quality and spammy. That means visitors are less likely to come back or purchase from you, and Google is less likely to rank your site him. Be sure you’re actually providing valuable content, not just a half-hearted attempt game Google’s algorithm.
Glossaries are simple yet effective ways to bulk up your website’s content, create ranking opportunities on a ton of relevant terms, and provide value to your customers.
If you would like assistance creating a glossary on your site or need help with any SEO efforts, please drop us a line today. We’d love to chat about your business and objectives!