As I have mentioned many times before success with a search engine optimization campaign greatly depends upon high quality content. That’s because consumers and search engines alike are able to easily discern poorly written or keyword-stuffed web content, there can be no more important consideration for your business’s success than superior quality content. However, even the brightest of us sometimes make embarrassing mistakes when writing content that can send our readers packing and dramatically decrease our page rankings. Simple grammar, word choice, and spelling mistakes can make a statement about the author or business that may not be true; but we must remember that perception is everything to a consumer. The following are the most common of these simple mistakes to avoid when crafting SEO, SMM, or SEM web content.
In general, the best practice for SEO content creation is not to write as you would speak. In the following examples, it will be apparent why natural speech and the written language do not necessarily coincide with one another:
SEO writing tip #1: THEY’RE, THERE, and THEIR
Getting these words mixed up is one of the most common mistakes made when writing, not just writing for search engine optimization purposes. However, it’s easy to understand how to use these words:
THEY’RE- This is a conjunction, which means it is two words put together- THEY and ARE. Therefore, you would only use this to refer to a group of people or things that “are” something or another collectively.
THERE- This word refers to a specific place or a reference to a certain thing: “Go over there and see if they’re still serving dinner.” Or, “There are too many words in this online article.”
THEIR- This refers to the possessive form of a group of people: “Their SEO web content is really great.” Or, “There was something about their web content that was compelling.”
Following closely with these three words are YOU’RE and YOUR, where the former always is a conjunction that means YOU ARE, and the latter refers possessively to another person: “Where are your online articles posted?” Or, “Is your website traffic improving?”
SEO writing tip #2:TO, TOO, and TWO
These words are often confused when written, however the difference between them is very clear and easy to remember:
TWO- The number 2, and no other use ever.
TOO- This word is used as a qualifier, in addition to something or someone else: “I want to go too!” Or, “You’re writing SEO content too?”
TO- This word isn’t necessarily needed in the spoken or written word, and in some languages, such as Russian, it doesn’t exist. However, we do use it in English as a way to indicate a purpose, action, direction, or any number of things. For instance, examine the following sentence: “Would you like to go to the store to get some of those pills that you can use to cure a headache?” In reality, we don’t need to use the word, as the sentence retains its meaning without the word “to.” Nevertheless, is in an integral part of English and should never be confused with the two other similar words listed above.
SEO writing tip #3: You never TRY AND do anything, ever.
Very few people- even the best writers, are aware of this mistake in speech and writing. You don’t try AND do anything: you try TO. If you were to take the meaning of “try and” and dissect it, it really means two things independently: 1.) You’re going to try. 2.) And then you are going to do something else. For instance, examine the following sentences:
“I am going to try and write very high quality SEO content.”
“I am going to try to write very high quality SEO content.”
See the difference? While some people do make this distinction in their writing, almost everyone says “try and” during regular speech. While this might be quite common, it doesn’t make it correct.
SEO writing tip #4: WOULD OF and SHOULD OF is not correct grammar
Both of these terms don’t exist in proper speech or writing. This is because both are actually mispronunciations of the conjunctions WOULD’VE and SHOULD’VE. These conjunctions in turn are actually two separate words: WOULD HAVE and SHOULD HAVE. Therefore, it can be easily seen that terms like “would of” are actually just really bad grammar and speech.
SEO writing tip #5: THEN and THAN
Many online writers use these words interchangeably, but they actually have two very different meanings. The word “then” is a term that describes something that follows. For instance: “If you have poor quality SEO web content, then you will probably have poor page rankings.” Or, “We planned our SEO strategies and then set about putting them into practice.” Conversely, the word “than” almost always introduces something that is different from something else in some way, as in the following sentences: “Their SEM content is much better than ours.” Or, “His website is much more complex than mine.”
SEO writing tip #6: I before E
Most of us learn this simple rule in grade school, but quickly forget: “I before E, except after C, or when sounding like “A” as in neighbor or weigh.” If you ever question how to spell words like receive or reprieve or sleigh, just remember this simple rhyme and you’ll always get it right.
SEO writing tip #7: ANYWAYS is not a word
This word is used in common speech all the time, but it is incorrect when spoken and when written. The word should never be plural, as it simply doesn’t need to be: “Anyway, I’m going to get this social media content written now.” Or, “They didn’t ask for LSI keywords, but we provided them anyway.” In order to clarify this so that you can always remember it, there is never a time that the word “anyways” is appropriate. It is always wrong.
Some people might think that these simple mistakes don’t really warrant proper attention, as the reader will probably still understand the overall meaning of the content. However, all of these mistakes send signals that no business should be sending. Intelligent people will see these mistakes as a lack of education or poor attention to details. Either way, those are not traits you should be associating yourself with. Additionally, proper grammar and word choices help your SEO content to flow more naturally and convey precisely the meaning that you are intending. Poorly written content that features mistakes such as these will always be taken less seriously by consumers and search engines alike, leaving your content less likely to be linked by others, and consumers less likely to opt for your services.
