Everyone is bad at spelling at some point, especially when we’re in a hurry. Look at it this way, how many times have you gone to Google, typed something in, and then realized that you didn’t spell your keyword correctly? If you’re a perfect speller on the computer every single time, go ahead right now and try this. No, really, we won’t tell anyone. Ok, did you notice that search listings still came up even when you misspelled a search keyword?
Yes, people misspell keywords on Google and other search engines all of the time.
But is there a chance to take advantage of this for the benefit of search engines? Be careful, though, because some search engines punish you for doing this. Remember, search engines are smarter than you think.
Our #smbiz chat recaps are a relatively safe place to capitalize on misspelled words because, well, there are a ton of words on those pages. Google won’t penalize you as much when your misspelled words take place in an area where there’s lots of text. (plus, keep in mind that on these pages we aren’t intentionally trying to take advantage of any misspellings. These are reprinted as-is from the chat recaps.)
Pay close attention to where you do your misspellings, though, because there are obvious areas where they can actually hurt you and backfire. Any high traffic pages or places like title tags are areas where you do NOT want to have misspelled words. Forget getting any Google love on those pages, even if you have deliberate intentions of trying to take advantage of the situation. You’re simply better off having correctly spelled words here.
Here are a few more great resources to help with good search engine optimization (SEO):
Search Engine Optimization Bible
Search Engine Optimization: Your Visual Blueprint for Effective Internet Marketing
Website Optimization: Speed, Search Engine & Conversion Rate Secrets
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This is a tough one because nobody wants to put misspelled words on their website but I think targeting misspelled keywords for PPC works great.
Hey Nick, yeah this is one of those areas where you cringe to even think of doing so, but seriously how many times do you spell something wring in a search engine. If anything you’ve got to think of all opportunities to get a leg up on SEO competition, right? Thanks for chiming in.
John
I find that sometimes companies are found with the search term being misspelled but no misspellings on the website. There are terms that no matter how many times we try to type in the proper term we always misspell them. I jot those down but just cannot intentionally have a misspelling on the website or blog. Unintentional mishaps do happen.
I agree, misspelled words for ppc may work; however, if google asks me if their corrected suggestion is what I mean, then I am clicking the correct link!
On frequently overlooked method to exploit misspelled words is to purchase a domain name that contains them. That way you don’t have to worry about having your website look unprofessional and sloppy by using misspelled words in either the headlines or body text.
In fact, I use this trick myself with my blog’s domain (Home-Base-Business.net) which is an obvious attempt at exploiting the much harder to optimize for keyword phrase “home based business”.
Thanks for the tip on that one.
We don’t intentionally look for misspeled words but due to our products, there are misspeled words that you cannot overlook.
These insights gives us info on a percentage of people from different locals spell differently than another area.
These are raw data coming in thru our log servers.
So yeh, we do capitalize on this!
Thanks for the feedback. Great example of how misspellings can be a natural fit for strategy.