Subject-Verb Agreement: Why It Matters in SEO Copywriting

As a copy editor working in the realm of SEO, it`s important to understand the nuances of subject-verb agreement. Simply put, this grammatical concept requires that the subject and verb of a sentence agree in number. For example, „She walks“ demonstrates agreement, while „She walk“ does not.

While this might seem like a minor detail, subject-verb agreement plays a crucial role in SEO copywriting for a few reasons.

First, search engines like Google are constantly scanning content for quality and relevance. Sites that are sloppy with their grammar and syntax are likely to be seen as low-quality, and thus less likely to rank well in search results. Good grammar can actually be one of the factors that sets a site apart from the competition.

Second, poor subject-verb agreement can simply be hard to read. Readers might not be able to pinpoint exactly what`s wrong with a sentence, but they`ll know that something just doesn`t sound right. This can be a turnoff for potential customers or clients who are looking for clear, easy-to-understand content.

There are a few common scenarios in which subject-verb agreement can become an issue in SEO copywriting:

– Singular and plural subject confusion: This occurs when a writer uses a singular subject (e.g., „the dog“) but then pairs it with a plural verb (e.g., „were barking“). The correct version would be „the dogs were barking.“

– Indefinite pronoun confusion: Indefinite pronouns like „everyone“ or „each“ are technically singular, even though they refer to groups of people. It can be easy to forget this and mistakenly use a plural verb. For example, „everyone were“ is incorrect; it should be „everyone was.“

– Agreement with compound subjects: A compound subject is made up of two or more nouns joined by „and.“ The verb that follows must be plural to match. For example, „the cat and the dog are napping“ is correct.

If you`re not confident in your subject-verb agreement skills, don`t worry. There are plenty of resources available to help you. A good grammar book or website can provide a refresher on the rules and offer practice exercises to help you cement your knowledge. Additionally, many word processors like Microsoft Word have built-in grammar checkers that can flag any issues.

In conclusion, subject-verb agreement might not be the sexiest topic in SEO copywriting, but it`s an important one. By paying attention to this grammatical concept, you can help ensure that your content is clear, readable, and optimized for search engines.