Is spelling really an issue with Google?

Spelling and grammar mistakes are a very common thing for many Estate Agents (especially ones that upload their content themselves).

These mistakes can have a negative effect on your SEO and lower your Google rankings.

Why spelling mistakes are important to avoid

Google have confirmed that spelling mistakes can have a negative effect as they usually occur more on less reputable websites. Google say reputable websites tend to spell better.

Although they didn’t directly say it is a ranking signal, Google’s Panda algorithm update indicates that several quality signals are in place to rank webpages. The Panda update is all about improving the quality on the content on the net as well as usability. Spelling and grammar mistakes aren’t good for the user and are definitely poor quality meaning it is likely this is one of the signals.

Quality signals that Google check:

When Google released the Panda update they included a list of questions to help you understand what they were looking for and what they mean by high quality content -

• Does the article have spelling, stylistic, or factual errors?
• How much quality control is done on content?
• Is the content mass-produced by or outsourced to a large number of creators, or spread across a large network of sites, so that individual pages or sites don’t get as much attention or care?
• Was the article edited well, or does it appear sloppy or hastily produced?
• Does the article contain insightful analysis or interesting information that is beyond obvious?
• Would you expect to see the article in a printed magazine, encyclopaedia or book?
• Are the pages produced with great care and attention to detail vs. less attention to detail?
• Does the article have an excessive amount of ads that distract from or interfere with the main content?
• Are the articles short, unsubstantial, or otherwise lacking in helpful specifics?
• Does the article describe both sides of a story?
• Does the article provide a complete or comprehensive description of the topic?

Improving your content

To ensure you are going to rank well, all the pages on your website need to have high quality content.

Low-quality content even on a part of your website will have a little bit of a negative effect on the whole. This content should be removed or edited.

By Luke Stanley
SEO Consultant