Let’s venture into grammar for a bit here, since I’ve had several comments about my recent article titled, “Top Ten Grammar Errors that Haunt Web Pages . . . Since content is crucial, isn’t it time to introduce a few grammar tips?”

First, I want to say: Don’t shoot the messenger! I spent days researching the article. I probably spent more time researching that article than I have researching just about any other article I’ve ever written. It was a very difficult article to write.

These are not THE top ten grammar errors, but these are errors that I believe people in the search engine optimization industry need to be aware of. (Yes, it’s okay to end a sentence with a preposition.)

The problem is that we haven’t been doing it correctly. I usually don’t type e-mail. When I think about it, I’ll go back and change all of the instances of email to e-mail in an article, but I’m not promising anything. We’re also quite stubborn. I didn’t want the plural of e-mail to be e-mails, because I know I would have refused to use that form. It just doesn’t sound correct!

Another issue is that we ARE the Internet. We are the ones who make up the language of the Internet, both the written and spoken language. Many words we use aren’t even in the dictionary, like crawability and findability. I had a horrible time finding credible sources for all of the rules, simply because the rules are so new. I refused to list an error without at least one credible source.

Am I a grammar expert? No. I’m a professional writer and editor as well as a professional SEO and trainer. I’ve had years of writing and editing experience, but I don’t profess to being a grammar expert. That’s why I used seven grammar books and an online resource as sources for the article.

Let’s talk about Web site vs. website, etc. How do you feel?

Here’s what I said in my article:

Web site (or page) vs. web site/page vs. Website/website (page)

The Chicago Manual of Style states that Web sites and Web pages are correct. After all, we’re referring to the World Wide Web, so Web should always be capitalized. The book uses Web pages (sites) as two words. 

Webster’s New Dictionary of the English Language published in 2006 agrees with Chicago. 

However, the online version of Chicago states, “But generally, I would recommend Web site for formal writing, but website for informal writing or friendly writing. Unless, of course, you prefer Web site even when you’re being friendly.” 

Now let’s look at it from a different slant. How do people search?

Capitalization doesn’t matter, because the major engines aren’t case sensitive at this point in time. However, if you’re in an industry where your keywords contain Web site or Web page, you may want to use both variations (one and two words) on your pages, because people certainly search in both ways, no matter which is correct. 

Think about your target audience and how they’re searching. After all, you want a professional Web site, but your ultimate goal is to sell your goods and services.

TIP: The titles of books should be italicized.

Your thoughts?

Robin