In order to consistently communicate on Henkel Adhesive Technologies, we rely on some basic rules for writing. Consistently creating engaging content is only possible when we follow a common best practice for how to do things with intellectual property, words, digits, punctuation, SEO, and other areas.
Intro:
Different countries have different rules regarding trademark symbols: in some countries, it is illegal (and in a few countries, criminal) to use the ® symbol if the mark is not registered in that country; in others, we cannot use the TM symbol unless we have a pending application in that country. In the US, notice of trademark rights is required in order to obtain damages in an infringement suit. But in other countries (such as Germany), there is no legal benefit. Other countries fall somewhere in between.
® symbol
A. For products and materials distributed only in the US, the ® symbol should be used with ALL marks that are registered (not just pending) in the US. If you are unsure if a particular mark is currently registered, please contact the TM Department.
B. For non-US and global products and materials:
- We know that LOCTITE® AQUENCE®, BONDERITE®, TECHNOMELT® and TEROSON® are registered in the countries in which we do business. Therefore, we always use the ® symbol with these marks.
- This refers to PRITT® and PATTEX® for non-US purposes as well. For US use please contact the TM Department.
- For all other trademarks, we say: “All marks used above are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of Henkel and its affiliates in the US, Germany, and elsewhere.”
™ symbol
- As a general rule, we do NOT use the ™ symbol.
- The sole exception is in the US only, where we traditionally add the ™ symbol next to the LOCTITE product numbers (for example, LOCTITE® 690™). Note, however, that certain product numbers (namely, 242 and 404) are ALSO registered trademarks, so should get the ® instead of the ™.
How to use
1. ® symbol should be used in:
- headlines, titles, and other prominent uses, and
- the first time the trademark is used in normal text
2. All trademarks should be shown in a way that distinguishes them from the surrounding text – usually in ALL CAPS, but italics or a different font or color would also be okay.
LOCTITE threadlocker
Loctite threadlocker
3. Use descriptors. Brand names should always be used as adjectives, not nouns. To avoid the mark losing its distinctiveness, always use a descriptor (e.g., LOCTITE adhesives). No plurals – Instead, use the brand with a plural descriptor afterward, and do not make the trademark itself plural.
GAP PAD® thermal interface materials
GAP PAD® brand pads
GAP PADs®
4. Trademarks should refer to the product, not the business.
3rd party brands
Always check with the TM Department before using another company’s trademarks - particularly those of our customers and competitors. You need to be sure we are actually referring to a 3rd party’s product rather than our own, and that the use will not open us up to liability. Also, there may be specific contractual requirements we have to meet with respect to disclosure or TM usage.
Use “Henkel” only to explicitly refer to the Henkel company with all its businesses (i.e., not only the adhesives’ business).
Use “Henkel” only to explicitly refer to the Henkel company with all its businesses (i.e., not only the adhesives’ business).
Don’t use the abbreviation “HAT”: only use “Henkel Adhesive Technologies”
Use “Henkel Adhesive Technologies” in the 1st mention, then turn to “we”
a. Abbreviations and acronyms
If there’s a chance your reader won’t recognize an abbreviation or acronym, spell it out the first time you mention it. Then use the short version for all other references. If the abbreviation isn’t clearly related to the full version, specify it in parentheses.
- First use: Technical Data Sheet
- Second use: TDS
- First use: Pressure Sensitive Adhesive
- Second use: PSA
If the abbreviation or acronym is well known, like API or HTML, use it instead and don’t worry about spelling it out.
Never use the acronym “HAT”.
b. Capitalization
We only capitalize the first letter of the first word, in headlines as well as in body copy.
Remember that capitalizing random words in the middle of sentences for emphasis is not allowed.
c. Contraction of words
Contracted words, also known as contractions, are short words made by putting two words together. Letters are omitted in the contraction and replaced by an apostrophe.
The apostrophe shows where the letters would be if the words were written in full. It’s perfectly acceptable to use contractions. It helps make your copy more direct and builds a relationship with your reader, but do not overdo it. As a rule of thumb, please stick to these examples:
Examples of acceptable contractions
- do not --> don’t
- is not --> isn’t
- he is --> he’s
- we are --> we’re
- cannot --> can’t
d. Ellipsis
Don’t use ellipsis for emphasis or drama. It’s ok, though, to use ellipsis in brackets to show that you’re omitting words in a quote:
“The opening of our state-of-the-art Songdo plant is a milestone […] for our broad global customer base in electronics with high-impact solutions […]” said Jan-Dirk Auris, Executive Vice President Henkel Adhesive Technologies.
e. Bold
We don’t use bold to amplify a certain message in regular body copy. For that purpose, you should take a step back and re-write your messaging to make it more engaging.
However, using typography as visual support for messaging in headlines is a central part of our branding efforts. Read on for more information about usage of typography.
f. Pronouns
If your subject’s gender is unknown or irrelevant, use “they,” “them,” and “their” as a single pronoun. Use “he/him/his” and “she/her/her” pronouns as appropriate. Don’t use “one” as a pronoun.
g. &
“&” cannot be used to replace “and” (unless it is the official name of a brand)
a. Numbers
In general, spell out numbers one through nine and use numerals for numbers larger than that.
However, since our writing can be technical, we may need to break this rule. If you come upon a case where you have two related numbers in the same sentence, you should write them both as numerals if you would write one as a numeral. The idea is to write them the same way when they are in the same sentence.
So even though you would normally write “Today, we launched three adhesives”, you should actually go with numbers in this case: “Today, we launched 3 adhesives that are capable of pulling an 11-ton train”.
b. Dates
In general, we spell out dates to avoid any confusion among countries that order them differently. So: Use the appropriate date arrangement for the country you’re writing for. Even if you order a date improperly, spelling out the month provides clarity to the user so that it won’t be misinterpreted.
c. Temperature
Use the degree symbol and the capital F abbreviation for Fahrenheit or capital C for Celsius:
d. Telephone numbers
Use dashes without spaces between numbers. Always use a country code:
e. Decimals and fractions
Spell out amounts less than one, using hyphens between the words.
Use decimal points when a number can’t be easily written out as a fraction, like 1.375 or 47.2. This is a general rule that doesn’t apply to technical documentation.
f. Percentage
Use figures and the % symbol, no space in between. (E.g., 25%)
g. Money
For numeric amounts, use the symbol for currencies (e.g., €5, £2,000, $10,000). Indicate currency by using its three-letter abbreviation, such as USD for American dollars or CAD for Canadian dollars.
Use the currency symbol and decimal/comma system for larger amounts. For amounts exceeding $1 million, use the $ sign and numerals up to two decimal places. As in: “it is worth $4.45 million.”
h. Time
Use numerals and a.m. or p.m. with a space in between. Don’t use minutes for on-the-hour time.
Use a hyphen between times to indicate a time period. If a time period is entirely in the morning or evening, use a.m. or p.m. only once.
Always specify time zones.
a. Apostrophes
The apostrophe’s most common use is making a word possessive. If the word already ends in an s and it’s singular, you also add an ‘s. If the word ends in an s and is plural, you just add the apostrophe.
b. Commas
When writing a list, use the serial comma.
Otherwise, use common sense. If you’re unsure, read the sentence out loud. Where you find yourself taking a pause, use a comma.
c. Colons
Use a colon (rather than an ellipsis, em dash, or comma) to offset a list. As in:
“As already announced in 2021 Loctite has validated several materials on the ETEC Envision One printers, including: Loctite 3D 3955 HDT280 FST, Loctite 3D IND406 HDT100 High Elongation, and Loctite 3D IND402 A70 High Rebound.”
d. Periods
Titles, subtitles, headers and CTA buttons should end without a period.
Periods go inside quotation marks.
They go outside parentheses when the parenthetical is part of a larger sentence, and inside the parentheses when the parenthetical stands alone.
e. Question marks
Question marks go inside quotation marks if they’re part of the quote. Like periods, they go outside parentheses when the parenthetical is part of a larger sentence, and inside the parentheses when the parenthetical stands alone.
f. Quotation marks
Use quotation marks to refer to words and letters, titles of short works (like articles), and direct quotations.
Periods and commas go within quotation marks. Question marks within quotes follow logic—if the question mark is part of the quotation, it goes within. If you’re asking a question that ends with a quote, it goes outside the quote. Use single quotation marks for quotes within quotes.
g. Dashes & hyphens
Use an em dash (—) without spaces on either side to offset an aside. Use a true em dash, not hyphens.
Use a hyphen (-) without spaces on each side to link words into a single phrase, or to indicate a span or range.
h. Exclamation marks
Use exclamation points sparingly, and never more than once at a time. They’re like high-fives: A well-timed one is great, but too many are annoying.
Exclamation points go inside quotation marks. Like periods and question marks, they go outside parentheses when the parenthetical is part of a larger sentence, and inside parentheses when the parenthetical stands alone.
Never use exclamation points in failure messages or alerts. When in doubt, avoid it.
i. Bullet points
Choose formatting based on the average length of the majority of bullet points in the list.
- CASE A) If sentences, end each one with a period (full stop).
- CASE B) If just one word, a few words or fragments, use no end punctuation.
a. URL naming
- Keep URLs as simple and accurate as possible.
- Keep URLs short and clear.
- Include target keyword(s).
- Use hyphens to separate words.
- Use lower case letters.
- Avoid numbers.
b. Page title
- Include target keyword(s) in the beginning of the title.
- Use active language (CTA/Feature).
- Use the brand name.
- Use how, what, why and where.
- Use words that trigger an emotion from the user.
- Keep length between 55-65 characters.
- Keep consistency between SEO title and page content.
- Use a unique SEO title for each page.
- Avoid ALL CAPS in SEO titles.
c. Meta description
- Create a unique meta description, for each page, that summarizes the page content.
- Include target keyword(s).
- Include CTA and brand name.
- Keep the length less than 155 characters.
d. Image filename and alt text
- Make image filename short and without spaces and dashes.
- Describe the image with a maximum of 125 characters.
- Select image alt text that reflects the image and keywords.
- Make image filename short and descriptive. Use only hyphens to separate words.
- Assign for each image a unique filename.
- Use unique images.
- Include for each images a specific alt text.
- Write a descriptive alt text (imagine having to describe the photo to a blind person).
- Keep the alt text length up to 100 characters.
e. Header tags
- If possible, include the target keyword in the H1 tag and secondary in H2 tag.
- Only include one H1 tag on the webpage, and it must be placed above any other heading tag.
- If using page H1 as SEO title, make sure to adapt it using active language when possible.
f. Links
1) Use descriptive keywords in anchor text. Anchor text is “descriptive” if it includes the exact match of the keyword you are targeting. For example: “discover our threadlocking solutions” links to a page about threadlocking solution.
2) Use natural and relevant links
3) Type of links: in text vs buttons vs teasers vs images
Use links in buttons + teasers-links according to page-types’ and modules’ designs stated in the Website guidelines (Brand-Hub)
On top of the above, also use text-links – when natural – to help users and Google navigate the website at best
Do not link images
4) How many text-links:
do it, but not overdo it
less than 1 every 200 words
only when helpful for users, you can go above the limit of 5 per page
in the same page, do not iterate the same text-link (e.g., if in the same page you mention in text 3 times “threadlocking solutions”, hyperlink “threadlocking solutions” only once)
5) Same vs new tab:
a) open internal links in the same tab
b) open external links in a new tab
6) Follow or no-follow links:
internal links: always "follow"
external links: always check that the domain we link to is trustworthy. If not sure, “no-follow”
g. Body copy
- Cover different angles on the topic.
- Include branded and/or target keyword(s) within the first 100 words.
- Keep reuse of content to a minimum to avoid duplicate content.
- Include secondary and other long-tail keywords.
- Avoid keyword stuffing – you are writing to the user and not to a search engine.
- Content should match the user’s search intentions and be as in-depth and clarifying as possible
a. URLs
Capitalize the names of websites and web publications. Don’t italicize.
Avoid spelling out URLs, but when you need to, leave out http://www.
b. File extensions
When referring generally to a file extension type, use all uppercase without a period. Add a lowercase to make plural. As in: GIF, PDF, HTML, JPGs.
When referring to a specific file, the filename should be lowercase. As in: press_release_1.gif
c. Names and titles
The first time you mention a person in writing, refer to them by their first and last names. On all other mentions, refer to them by their first name.
Titles should be capitalized when they immediately precede one or more names.
When a title stands alone or is offset from a name by commas, it should be lowercase.
d. States, Cities and Countries
Spell out city and state names. Don’t abbreviate city names.
In the United States, all cities should be accompanied by their state, with the exception of: Atlanta, Baltimore, Boston, Chicago, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Dallas, Denver, Detroit, Honolulu, Houston, Indianapolis, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Miami, Milwaukee, Minneapolis, New Orleans, New York, Oklahoma City, Philadelphia, Phoenix, Pittsburgh, St. Louis, Salt Lake City, San Antonio, San Diego, San Francisco, Seattle, Washington.
On first mention of a country, write out the full name. On second mention, the commonly accepted abbreviation is fine (European Union, EU; United Kingdom, UK, etc.).
e. Schools
The first time you mention a school, college, or university in a piece of writing, refer to it by its full official name. On all other mentions, use its more common abbreviation.