50+ Modifiers to Boost Your SEO & Drive Sales

When you’re doing copy for websites (affiliate, ecommerce, blogs, etc…) one of the most overlooked things that can drive traffic and sales are the right modifiers.  If you do PPC, you live, eat, sleep and breath modifiers for your keywords.  You should feel the same way if you’re doing onsite SEO and copy writing.  You need to learn about how to use them, when to use them and where to use them.  It will not only help you beat the big box retailers, but it can drive sales that are waiting for you to pick up.

So what are modifiers?

Modifiers are words that people add on to a base keyword when trying to find more relevant search results in a search engine.  They include adjectives, materials, slang, shopping terms, verbs, questions and anything else that would bring back a more relevant result.  You can use a single modifiers for more general queries or combine them to make long tail keyword phrases.

The trick is knowing where to place them in your copy, how to use modifiers in your copy to rank better with the right keyword density and have relevance to your copy and page so that they work well for the visitors and so that they do not compete with other pages.  Using modifiers for SEO the right way is one of the easiest ways to start to beat the big box retailers, marketplaces like Amazon and even Pinterest who is taking over some product searches in the search engines.

If you can get your pages to rank for the longtail terms using modifies for SEO, you can also attract bloggers, journalists and people who will link to you, not just customers, which helps to build your site’s authority, natural backlinks and then pass the authority through an internal linking structure to drive better rankings and sales.

Here are 50+ modifiers that you should be using if you want to get more backlinks, drive more sales, beat the big box retailers and grow your site.  The best ones are mixed throughout and at the end.  Feel free to add your own favorite modifiers for SEO, backlinks and conversions in the comments section below.

Adjective modifiers for SEO and Sales.

Adjective modifiers are great for shoppers.  They help to narrow down searches by using colors, you can get people in the research process by using comparison modifiers in your copy and you can also help to reduce ORM issues by adding in simple keywords with a proper density to pages that are already starting to rank and by helping them with basic SEO and link building.

1.  Best – This modifier is great for people comparison shopping.  The best hotel, best plumber, best restaurant, etc…

2.  Top – This can be the same as best with the top (insert service or business) in XYZ city or other end modifier.  It can also be used for product quality like top shelf liquor.

3.  Coolest – Modifiers like coolest are great for Affiliates and eCommerce sites because they can attract Bloggers, Journalists and Media while they are doing research for an article or post which can get you a backlink.  You can also use coolest as a modifier for SEO to attract people shopping for gifts for other people or people looking to find something to share on social media sites.

4.  Find – This is a great modifier for someone looking for a specific product or service.  They could be looking for replacement parts for products they own or specific products and services.  You can also use it to help people find advice which can drive adsense clicks, impressions and also sales.

5.  Buy – This is one of the more common shopping ones.

6.  Reviews – If you have a review site or comparison, this is an awesome term for affiliates and catches people in the shopping process.  If merchants can rank for the general versions and knock out affiliates, they can save a lot of money on commissions and take sales from their competitors.

7.  Legit – These are people deciding if they should go with someone or not.  They are in the final steps of the purchasing process or towards the end.  Competitors can jump in and companies can close sales or leads with legit.  Other terms are real, is it real, are they legit.

8.  Scam – This is for people doing ORM SEO or trying to blackmail companies out of money to remove placements and rankings.  Other variations could be horrible place to work, fell for XYZ or XYZ is a scam.

9.  Online – Before the keyword it can be used for someone looking for an online store or information like online clothing store.  If used after the keyword this modifier could be that they want to purchase or find more information online.

10.  Cheap – This is a great one for shopping.  You might not get a loyal customer on your site, but an affiliate site or blog could easily get a regular visitor and reader by using cheap within their copy and as a modifier for SEO.

Color and style modifiers for SEO.

Color and style modifiers for SEO are great for comparison engines, ecommerce stores and affiliate sites.  These keywords help to reach people looking for specific products and can convert very high because they add more relevance to the search querey.  There is also usually less competition for them on product and category pages.  By creating pages that are search engine and user friendly with the proper repetition of color and style modifiers, you can start to get very targeted traffic and beat some of the big box retailers that have a ton of red tape and restrictions on copy.

11.  Blue, Green, etc… – By adding color modifiers you can create comparisons on sizes, styles, stores or even recommend the best place to buy the product.

12.  Sizes L, M, S – These are great if you have petite, plus size, small size or other specialty shops.  L can also be Large and M can be Medium so don’t forget to create copy for either or both versions of the words.

13.  Weights 22oz, 5 lb – A lot of people search for specific quantities, weights and sizes.  By adding in the measurement units you can help to get the long tail and drive a relevant visitor to a relevant product page or post.

14.  Spell out the modifiers pounds, ounces, medium – This is the same as above.

15.  Faded – Faded can be a type of product like faded jeans, a descriptive word and have a lot of other meanings.  Try to think of how to make it more relevant by combining it with other modifiers to get more relevant traffic.

16.  Stretch – This is the same as faded.  Think about stretch jeans or clothing, stretch garbage bags and use this modifier to bring in people looking to buy specific products with adjectives describing the thing that makes the product unique.

17.  Designer – These are great if someone is looking for a designer brand but isn’t loyal.  They could also be Journalists and Bloggers doing research on up and coming or new Designers so make sure to include info for them so they want to link to your site.

18.  Faux – This is great and can be used for people who want alternatives like something less expensive, something that doesn’t hurt animals or something that is an imposter.

19.  Brand names – If you are an ecommerce store, don’t forget to use brand names that you carry.  XYZ brand widgets are great because.  This helps you to get some of their traffic and drive more sales.  Affiliates can do this too, but make sure you are driving traffic to a merchant who carries the brand and not the brand itself.  The brand will probably frown upon it and remove you from the program.

20.  Body descriptive – Don’t forget descriptive modifiers for SEO about body types.  Plus size blue widgets, blue widgets for curvy body shapes,  wide legged blue widgets for XYZ product, etc…

Question modifiers for SEO.

21.  Where can I – This is great for shopping, finding information and pretty much everything else.

22.  How to build or make – These are great for bloggers and DIY stores.

23.  What is the best –  These modifiers are perfect for service providers and Affiliates.

24.  How do I build or make – These are perfect for Bloggers and ecommerce sites with a resource section.

25.  Where is the best place to find – Perfect for ecommerce stores and Affiliates.

26.  Where is XYZ located – This is important for large retailers because competitors can push their way into these phrases and bring foot traffic into their stores.

27.  Find me the best XYZ in XYZ (for siri, mobile and other searches) – These are important because people who are new to an area are looking for businesses and people online could be looking for the best place to shop for XYZ products.

28.  Find instructions to – These are perfect for sites that rely on impressions, adsense and for Affiliates who provide links to where the person can buy what they need to complete the instructions.

29.  What are the best – These are perfect for Affiliates and sites that have a community and sell ad space on an impression basis.

30.  Why do I need or Why does XYZ product – This could be good for cross selling accessories or people looking around to make sure they have the right product, size or questions about a service while they are looking to hire someone or buy something.  Even if they already have one in mind or have made the purchase, these modifiers put your site in front of them for future purchases.  It also helps answer questions for people writing about the topic and can help get you a backlink.

Product specific modifiers.

Product specific modifiers help you to bring in very relevant traffic that can convert like crazy.  The problem is that unless it is repair or replacement parts, techie geek stuff or something where people search regularly for specifics, the traffic volume will be low but the conversion rates should be high.  Below are ten product modifiers to use within your site for SEO and sales.

31.  SKUs

32.  Model numbers

33.  The style number

34.  The year it was created

35.  Materials the product uses or is made of

36.  Version number

37.  Prices

38.  Light weight – This helps to find things like clothing that are light weight materials to keep you cool or heavy to keep you warm.  It could also be backpacks for hiking or even something for your home if there are weight restrictions.

39.  Animal or kid friendly – These are great because they help people find things that are safe or friendly for the things they want to protect.

40.  Safe for – This is similar to above but can be used before the phrases to help people find products safe for XYZ people, animals or things in your house like safe for fabrics, types of appliances, etc…

Other modifiers to help your SEO.

There are a ton of other modifiers you can use to help your SEO and drive more sales.  Below are some of these modifiers which can fit in some of the categories above, but I thought of them after writing the top part so they ended up down here.  Please feel free to leave your own favorite modifiers in the comments section below and how they can help your SEO, build backlinks and help your company or site drive more sales.

41.  Geek, (lifestyle modifiers) – A lot of people use lifestyle terms like Geek, Nerd, etc…   You can use these on category pages to help show a variety of products that would appeal to the specific lifestyle you are targeting.

42.  Plural versions – Don’t forget to use plural and past tenses.  Some of them can convert well and have a large search volume.  Many plural modifiers are over looked by SEOs and are an easy way to take the rankings from big box retailers and marketplaces.

43.  On sale and sale – You can use on sale to help find products on sale or take out the word on to make it blue widget sale for someone looking for a site wide or store wide sale.  This can also be used to drive foot traffic by having XYZ holiday sale and you can add on a city, town or area.

44.  For women, men, girls, boys or a group – Use who the products are for.  XYZ for girls, for a man, for a men’s baseball team, etc…

45.  As seen on or in or from XYZ media outlet – Using modifiers from where the person saw an ad or the product being used is a great way to drive small boosts of traffic and sales.  However, once the ads have gone your traffic will go too.

46.  Alternative to – You can use this to help drive people to an alternate version of a product or if a products or service is discontinued.  This modifier can also be used to help people find new options for products and services.

47.  Find a XYZ business in XYZ city or area – Don’t forget to include types of businesses and city, local area and region names.

48.  Cities or locations (especially good for mobile traffic)  – This is different from the one above.  You want to do XYZ Store City Name.  It is very generic, could be a tourist traveling or someone planning a trip.  It could also help someone new to the area find you and become a loyal customer.

49.  Coupons – Bad for brands if it is an Affiliate or competitor since it will poach their sales, but great for the people who sell the brands.  You can use coupons to bring in traffic as long as the site has it’s own traffic and make money as an Affiliate, off ad impressions, adsense and build a shopping newsletter.  If you do generic coupon terms like grocery coupons or valentine’s day coupons, you can get some awesome seasonal traffic and build a loyal following since the visitors are looking for a resource they can find information on and not a quick code for an ecommerce store.

50.  Clearance – This is a great modifier for helping to get rid of old product and make room for new inventory.  It can also bring in bulk shoppers and people on a budget.  Many companies forget about this term so it is normally an easy one to rank for.  If you are a deal blogger, this could be a great opportunity to compete, build a following and grow your site.

51.  Photo or images – Don’t forget people looking for images and photos of products.  These could easily be Journalists and Bloggers who can give you backlinks and help boost your SEO.

52.  Will product XYZ – This is a great one because it helps people in the research process find your products and lets them know if the product will do something or save something or work with or be compatible with the product or service.

53.  Cultural modifiers & slang – These are things that go around a culture or region.,  Think about Pittsburgh. Pittsburghers use Yinzers to describe themselves.  You can try Yinzer weddings, Yinzer wedding favors for a modifier or even XYZ for Yinzers.

54.  Holidays – Adding a holiday like Halloween party favors or romantic and funny tshirts for Valentine’s Day can be great modifiers.

55.  Time frames – Last season, 1995, and other time frames or periods like Victorian are great descriptive modifiers for SEO to help get backlinks and also sell products.

56.  Discontinued – This is a high converting term for people who love a product but cannot find it anymore.  It can create a bad user experience if you don’t actually carry the product anymore so be careful using it.

Using modifiers for SEO is very easy and a great way to compete with the big box retailers and large marketplaces.  Many of them don’t have enough copy or repetitions with them so you can easily jump in and take the rankings from them by doing better onsite SEO.  There might not be a huge traffic volume on some of them, but because they are more relevant you could get a higher conversion rate and bring in some extra sales without having to do a ton of extra work.