Grammar rules: how much does it matter?

How important is your copy? Should writing quality evaporate for rankings? I have read articles that talk about these issues. Some say that grammar and spelling are not essential. Some say the key is to post your stuff; Don’t worry if an article debacle doesn’t make sense. I’ve even seen it suggested that intentionally misspelling is okay to get SEO rankings.

So is it acceptable to have typos, misspellings, bad grammar, and poor sentence structure in your articles or on your website? Spelling, especially, is a difficult concept for many people. The grammar is a bit fluid because the rules change for different styles of writing. And, besides, readers don’t really realize it anyway. Or them?

Many people do not know how their car engines work. You know when it’s working and when it’s not. You may not know exactly what the problem is, but it is there. Would you be more comfortable with a mechanic fixing your car who does or doesn’t care about all the little details? One tiny spring could mean the difference between fixing your car for good or having to come back because it stopped working… again.

It is very unfortunate that the quality of writing is not taken more seriously. It’s especially unfortunate when professed writers scoff at the rules and say it doesn’t really matter. If it matters. If you’re the professional and want to appear that way, regardless of what your average Joe and Jane knows or doesn’t know, quality must, unequivocally, matter.

It boils down to personal pride in your work despite the goods or services you offer to your readers. With the ability to post anything and everything via the World Wide Web, quality and pride go where you know it in a resplendent hand basket. It’s important to be seen, but it’s twice as important to be heard.

There are many interesting ideas, information and businesses out there. The competition is getting tighter every day. Google and Yahoo are focusing more on content these days. Rankings are increasingly dependent on their content structure. Newspapers and magazines have relied on this method to stand out from the rest for a long, long time.

Poorly designed print with poor quality copy doesn’t win any awards, doesn’t win the reader’s trust, and doesn’t last. Now, with the ability to move from page to page with just a tap and click, first impressions count.

When content is cluttered, poorly structured, full of typos, misspellings, weird punctuation, and leaves the reader wondering what the point was, people may visit once, but most will never see it again. When I see more than five errors on a web page, I leave. I have lost respect for the writer. I can’t believe him anymore because they didn’t care enough. Fool me once…

So what rules do you follow? The spelling is obvious, but don’t completely trust your spell checker. He doesn’t see the difference between “I don’t have my shoes” and “I don’t have my shoes.” The grammar check may see you as a bad sentence, but be careful. Edit, read it out loud, take the time to get it right.

For articles, blogs, general types of essays, stories, and so on, I’d say you could stick closely to the Chicago manual style. It makes more sense. For general web content, such as Internet retail, the Associated Press (AP) Style makes the most sense. Clients scan pages as if it were a newspaper. AP condenses certain things so that the copy is quick and easy to read.

I have yet to see or hear of a web style manual. Maybe there is one out there. There will be eventually. The important thing is to keep your copy clean and as bug-free as possible. Your readers will notice. And you’ll get your rankings without being tricky, lazy, or careless.