Yes. The title of this blog piece is whimsically facetious. And before you think this whole spiel is about the difference between good and well and their, there, and they’re, let me clarify now: This will not be an exhaustive harangue on grammar. It’s about search engine optimization and best practices. It just so happens grammar is one of those best practices.
What is grammar?
Grammar is the structure and foundation of any language. Grammar includes semantics, syntax, and a whole bunch of other stuff you ignored in “grammar” school. You may think of it as a bunch of rules, but that’s not the case at all. Grammar has changed and morphed into a system of what we speak and write today.
SEO grew in the same way. Search engine optimization has evolved into something much more complex than rules or best practices. It becomes the foundation, albeit overall structure, to excellent web presence.
Okay. You get the similarities. But why does good writing and good grammar matter to SEO?
Why does grammar matter to SEO?
Consider this: Have you ever read a great book? And I mean a really great book? Typically, we find books via recommendation. Maybe you found the book on Goodreads because of its stellar rating. What makes this sensational book so great and its subsequent and obligatory movie adaption so irresistible? It sticks to the standard. It uses a familiar language and quality.
Google doesn’t explicitly say you have to use good grammar to rank well on its search engine. However, good content marketing and its efforts do typically find a way to the top faster than sub-par content marketing strategies or non-existent marketing research strategies. You may occasionally misspell, or use the wrong “your” sometimes, but Google isn’t going to hate you as long as you continue to feed it with fresh content.
Keep in mind, though, search engines want to think like humans, and if humans notice your consistent composition errors, so will Google and Bing. Humans will bounce if they see unprofessional language throughout your site, and the Google bots will similarly find your content and your SEO structure, distasteful. Structure gets along with structure so stop trying to divorce the two.
Moreover, you do not need to be an expert in SEO or a grammar guru to write well or increase your online presence. You might have to dust off the cobwebs on those grammar textbooks from the English classes you had to take in college, but it’s worth it.
What do I do now?
You go to the center for those who don’t write well. More practically, ask for a second pair of eyes. Or, one of these solutions.
- Use an editing tool.
- Read your blog or social posts aloud. (You’ll sound crazy but it’s better than an obvious misspelling.)
- Keep a checklist. (Do you have headers and keywords in your blog?)
- Be passionate about your work. (You can tell when someone knows what they’re talking about, and no one knows your job better than you, right?)
- Record yourself and transcribe. (Leave out the ums, obviously.)
- Hire a content marketing or SEO company.
You knew that last one was coming, didn’t you? SEO is hard, and now we’ve kind of made it even more intimidating by adding grammar to the mix. In spite of its intimidating facets, content is still essential to SEO, and if you write well, the better your SEO will be.
It’s simple math, really.
“Wait. There’s math involved in SEO, too?”
No. Well, not really. Just don’t worry about it. You can get some top notch SEO services from Post Launch, a web presence marketing company based in the lustrous Las Vegas. We have a team of writers that not only know SEO, but write pretty darn good as well.
The Answer to Good Grammar and SEO
All in all, the real trick to this entire diatribe is to write, write often, and check your spelling for goodness sake. Communicating well to your audience and/or customers can make the difference between an impression and a lasting presence, online and in life.
Last bit of advice, though, before you go write (in all somewhat seriousness):
“The first draft of anything is s***.” —Ernest Hemingway
“You can, you should, and if you’re brave enough to start, you will.” —Stephen King
“You can make anything by writing.” —C.S. Lewis
“This is how you do it: You sit down at the keyboard, and you put one word after another until it’s done. It’s that easy, and that hard.” —Neil Gaiman
