Make Sure Bad Grammar Does Not Cost You Business

The Internet offers huge potential to people who know how to exploit its strengths. It's also the most competitive marketplace in existence: your rivals can be based anywhere in the world. So, you need to make sure careless errors don’t chase away customers.

One of the most common mistakes on websites is poor grammar and spelling. While many visitors may not notice such errors, others will be put off by them; they create an apathetic image that harms credibility. And credibility is key to successful marketing.

Three ways to reduce errors and write engagingly

• Never be verbose. Short sentences are easy to understand. They are also less prone to errors.
• Use the active voice as much as possible. Active-voice sentences tend to be shorter and more authoritative than passive-voice sentences. They make your copy more compelling.
• Check the grammar and spelling of everything you put on your website. A good spellchecker is simple to use and will catch many mistakes.

While spoken English is often riddled with errors, the very people who commit such errors in speech often do not like seeing them in print. Writing colloquially is one way of creating engaging copy, but take care not to overdo it. Colloquialisms will make your copy less intelligible to non-native English readers. Similarly, avoid writing regional dialect unless the target audience is local. The decision to narrow your writing to suit a particular reader should be weighed carefully.

Good grammar is vital if you want to hold on to website visitors. Readability is paramount. Writing should convey ideas clearly and in logical order so the audience isn't tied up in knots. As soon as you make readers work harder than is necessary, you've lost all but the most determined of them. Proofread all content for technical mistakes and flow if you want to keep people reading and coming back.