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Does proper spelling influence Google search engine rankings?
The Scribe project suggests that Google is analyzing the quality of grammar and punctuation on a web page to judge the quality of the content. Is this true and does the quality of spelling now help determine search engine rankings?
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6 Answers
Interesting question, Mark. Here's my take: proper spelling and good grammar influence a business, in the sense that sloppiness doesn't reflect well on any brand. When a customer (or would-be customer) lands on a page on your site, what's the customer experience? Are they turned off because it's not well crafted or edited... or it's poorly designed?
So it seems to me that ensuring that a web page is well edited (with correct spelling, punctuation, and all that) makes sense whether or not Google is analyzing it. : )
I don't think that Google has ever come out and said directly that proper spelling and grammar factor into rankings but they have hinted at it. The most recent example is from a post on Google's Webmaster blog where they say "Was the article edited well, or does it appear sloppy or hastily produced?" which tells me that this is at least an indicator in site quality which in tern will factor into rankings. Below is the whole article which is a good read:
More guidance on building high-quality sites
http://googlewebmastercentral.blogspot.com/2011/05/more-guidance-on-building-...
Yes.
It seems reasonable to assume that Google is using spelling and grammar (in some form) as a way to identify quality content, particularly as part of the recent Panda update. While no one can ever be certain, there are a number of events that point to this conclusion.
Google Scribe is absolutely about language research. Google is getting smarter about language.
http://www.blindfiveyearold.com/google-scribe-seo-hints
Paul references another strong signal from Google with the questions one should ask when building high-quality sites.
http://googlewebmastercentral.blogspot.com/2011/05/more-guidance-on-building-...
The frequency in which Google refers to spelling, grammar, proofreading, editing and attention to detail is telling.
Even before that, Google implemented reading level as an advanced search feature.
http://www.google.com/support/forum/p/Web%20Search/thread?tid=60e0869f5f9fad8...
A recent Google patent also talks about using spelling and grammar as a way to determine which reviews to display for a product.
http://www.seobythesea.com/?p=5561
That seemed a bit of a reach given the level of investment many give to reviews. Should user generated content be given that type of scrutiny?
The answer came a days later when a Google Webmaster Forum Thread was answered by a Googler John Mueller and followed up by an official Google tweet.
http://www.seroundtable.com/google-forums-blog-spelling-13506.html
The message? Good writing matters.
Apart from indirect benefits of quality content it's safe to say that spelling does affect the perception of content quality and this is becoming increasingly important - especially since Panda algo update. Although not tested I would argue that spelling is a signal to search engines - however a minor one. Links still outweigh all other factors.
Mark,
Grammar and spelling are taken into account. Google wants to return searchers with high quality websites that will provide a positive user experience. You can only do this with well written web pages that are free or errors.
You can find further information on this on Google at:
http://www.google.com/webmasters/docs/search-engine-optimization-starter-guid...
http://googlewebmastercentral.blogspot.com/2011/05/more-guidance-on-building-...
In both the PDF and blog post you'll see references to page quality and spelling issues.
Hi Mark! Whether or not Google looks at spelling or grammar, the human eye certainly does! Lots of eyes caught this laugher in a LinkedIn participant’s contact info last week:
“Internet Marketing, Web Development & Business Consultating”
So much for credibility, regardless of Google standings.
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