Hola, Bonjour, Guten Tag, G’day and Top of the mornin’ to ya!
Are you concerned that your blogs aren’t reaching Google’s (or Bing’s) high standards?
Is English not your native language?
Have you woken up in the middle of the night in a cold sweat, terrified by the very concept of semicolons?
We’ve got you covered. Blog writing is our bread and butter, and we want to help your business achieve the scarily dizzying heights of the 1st page of search results.
And no this —> 😉 isn’t a valid use of the semicolon for blog writing (don’t worry, there isn’t going to be a test at the end of this blog).
It might feel like it goes without saying but language is vital for writing a top quality blog.
Search engines scrutinise every part of your blog, and for good reason.
Spam-like content can be weeded out for its poor spelling, grammar and structuring. It’s a great way for search engines like Google to identify potential key-word stuffing.
For your content to achieve the highest results from SEO it should be of the best possible quality.
However, It can be difficult going up against an unfamiliar language if you’re not a native English speaker.
How to explain? Well, we love an acronym here, but we love food more…
You can’t make a tasty blog without the most important ingredient, SPAG.
Spelling – Incorrect spelling can make your blog look unprofessional and less trustworthy. This can also mean your blog isn’t ranked as highly due to inaccuracies.
Punctuation – Commas are your friend, don’t let unwieldy sentences lower the quality of your content. Punctuating your content is the key to increasing the readability which makes it more accessible for your audience.
And
Grammar – Crafting a piece of writing relies on a basic knowledge of grammar and what words should be used – both when and how.
Whether you’re intrigued about how to create quality blogs or if you’re just here to see where this insane blog takes you today, join us on the magical adventure that is:
Spelling, grammar, punctuation and language use in blog writing.
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Spelling and Grammar
Spelling is important for your blog to reach its true potential. A blog that uses poor spelling will be punished to an eternity of poor page rankings.
There’s not really an excuse for poor spelling in the 21st century, you know, with a wonderful tool called spell check being readily available.
It should be extremely rare that spelling errors are slipping through the cracks in your published content.
Well, unless you’re trying to spell the word pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis and spell check is looking at you, wide eyed and confused, like ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Grammar can save you from a lot of sticky situations, for example there’s a big difference between the following:
“Lets eat, Grandma” and “Let’s eat Grandma”
You could really ruin Christmas dinner by confusing your grammar and accidentally devouring a close family member.
A list of the major parts of grammar are as follows:
- Noun – The kind of words that would be a big no-no in Scrabble, these are names of places and people, like Pete or Paris.
- Pronoun – Whether you prefer he/she/they etc, we won’t judge (unless you’re using bad grammar that is).
- Adjective – Adjectives are fabulously exciting describing words that can be used to enhance any boring sentence and turn it into a delightful explosion of words.
- Verb – Verbs are vital for a versatile and vibrant sentence. Verbs are categorised as either an action, occurrence or state of being. Almost every sentence requires one of these magical words so make sure you brush up on them.
- Adverb – Are you wondering how the “tall villainous man walked down the corridor”? Well, he did it ‘creepily’ and that’s an adverb. Add some spice to your sentence by describing how the verb was/is performed.
- Preposition – Up, down, in, out, shake it all about, heyyyyyy macarena. If you’re looking for where something is, you’ll also be looking for a preposition. Think of it as Schrodinger’s grammar, is the cat inside the box, is it outside? Who knows!
- Conjunction – However, and, but, if, and the rest! Conjunctions are connector words that keep your sentences long and interesting.
- Interjection – Hey! Er, wow, interjections can be weird! Interjections are simple utterances that can break all of the usual grammatical rules.
It might seem like the basics but good grammar can boost your blog (and your site) to higher search rankings.
Google, Bing, and the rest of them are real sticklers when it comes to spelling and grammar, and they can send your blog plummeting down in insignificance.
Just remember a good BoLOGnese always needs SPAGhetti.
Mind Your Language
The kind of language you use can make or break a blog.
Developing your own writing style is almost as important as working out what kind of language to use in your content.
Although there’s no definitive answer for how to write, we can suggest a couple of tips and tricks to help you develop a confident writing style.
Adopting an appropriate tone, voice, and the right kind of word usage, can excel your blog in the eyes of Google (other serach engines are available).
Search engines are renowned for being finicky when it comes to blog writing, so make sure you’re producing content to the highest quality!
Finding Your Voice (And Tone)
Voice is the way in which the author of content conveys information to the reader. Like how I’m writing and you’re reading this now.
Developing a personality for your writing makes it distinctive and memorable, meaning it’s more likely to have a lasting impact on your reader.
The voice you use should vary depending on the medium that you are writing. It wouldn’t be appropriate to use the same voice for a casual magazine article and an important medical document.
If you’re writing a blog for something medical or professional, you need to make sure your writing style matches that.
From a lot of personal writing experience, it’s important to make sure your writing is confident and on topic.
There’s nothing more off putting when looking for professional advice than finding an unrelated article that’s using keyword stuffing to try to manipulate Google.
This brings us to the next important topic of content writing; the tone of the piece.
Just like voice, tone is crucial to the success and readability of the content. Tone is created by elements like sentence length, grammar and punctuation usage.
Tone is another important part of writing that can be adjusted depending on what it is that you’re actually trying to produce.
Adopting a relevant tone and voice means you’ll be on the right track towards producing an effective piece of content.
Keeping the tone and voice consistent is something to keep in mind if you’re creating a website for a business or a blogging platform.
What If English Isn’t My Native Language?
You shouldn’t let this hold you back producing content.
If you are concerned about writing content because English isn’t your first language, then there are plenty of tools and resources at your disposal.
For starters, if you need any advice on anything regarding content or blog writing, you should get in touch with us. We live and breathe quality content.
In the modern world of blog and content writing, there’s a plethora of tools that can help you with your spelling and grammar, for example WordPress and Grammarly can help you get started.
When approaching writing content, you need to make sure that you check the meaning of words you’re unsure about.
Using different words can drastically change the meaning of your sentence, so make sure you know exactly what you’re wanting to say and which words you’re going to use to do this.
Grammar in English can be wildly inconsistent, whether (or weather if you’re feeling sunny) it’s two, to, too or there, their, or they’re.
Always remember SPAG! (Spelling, punctuation and grammar) It’ll keep you on the right track on your way to producing great content.
A Quality Blog Is Worth A Thousand Words
(Don’t mind us, this subheading is just a turn of phrase, 1500 words is what you should aim for with a blog.)
The kind of words you use can have a real impact on your audience, brand and image.
If you’re wanting to convey professionalism, you will need to make sure that your choice of language is confident, informative and accurate.
Alternatively, if you’re trying to achieve a more casual blog, you’ll need to make sure to include less technical terminology and adopt a more colloquial tone.
Writing content can seem quite overwhelming. Especially if you’re not sure where to start and/or you’re trying to run a business.
Blog writing is the key to your business’s online success and it’s important to make sure you get this right.
Whether it’s just for some advice or if you decide you need our blog writing services, contact us now we’re ready to help.
If you’re still not convinced about the value of blogging and SEO, why not get in touch with us today and see how we can help!
Johnathan Elliott
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