Spelling Mistakes Can Affect Your Rankings - Confirmed

[weegillis]

Ok, makes sense. I wonder how they chose the sample environment contributors.

My guess is they chose a single (or small group) of data centres and siphoned queries off of them.

[deepsand]

Google refers to them as "rolling" tests. They randomly select query strings from a given demographic group; then, from another group, etc..

[SteveGerencser]

And when Google changes how it presents results, I would call that news, even if it's not an earthshaking change.

Agreed, but this change was rolled out more than a few weeks ago.. I've been seeing it for more than a couple weeks.. I guess I just assumed everyone else had noticed it as well..

But then I also tend to spell things right

[Clint1]

This is what I've been seeing for a long time now:

http://www.google.com/search?q=mulit...umbs-list&cd=1

Results in:

"Showing results for multifunction machines. Search instead for mulitfunction machines"

By default, the correct spelling's results are shown. (That's a very common typo, not misspelling, but typo due to the way our brains and fingers get transposed for those that know how to type. Those that type know how it's spelled, but the fingers just won't cooperate).

But clicking the link for the typo:

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&n...es&nfpr=1&sa=X

You'll see how common it is and you'll still see sites ranking for the typo-error (misspelled) word.

[DaveSawers]

But then you get those annoying occurrences where Google thinks the wrong spelling is the right spelling. I was just searching for "backmans island mahone bay" (which is in Nova Scotia if you need to be more specific) and its says "showing results for bachmans island nova scotia". This then did not bring up the link I was looking for (http://www.mahoneislands.ns.ca/event...cnic2011.shtml).

I assume this happens because more people misspell it than get it right.

[williamc]

I assume this happens because more people misspell it than get it right.

That is the major flaw with any algo based assumptions, it only has user input to go by. Humans are often wrong.

[williamc]

Now this video revealed that not only the content but also your spelling needs to be correct and these are some facts that helps you to get ranking in top of the list.

You didn't actually watch the video did you? It said no such thing.

[Glen Lawrence]

During keyword research, I do encounter odd typos that actually rank as keywords. From that, we can derive two things. One, typos aren't all that bad because they can be additional long-tail keywords. Two, Google is definitely strict with proper spelling, but we already know that, given that pluralizing a word with "s" at the end counts as hitting a new keyword.

[Clint1]

.....Two, Google is definitely strict with proper spelling, but we already know that, given that pluralizing a word with "s" at the end counts as hitting a new keyword.

Not really, I've seen the opposite. Every time I search for a word that can be both singular and plural, they return both inflections regardless of the search word.

They are also doing something incredibly annoying and rather insane for site owners: I have to search for a lot of manuals, and in searches for: [product name] manual, they are hitting on and bolding in the results: instructions, userguide, user guide, guide, etc. Yesterday I searched for a product along with: irregular heartbeats, and arrhythmia, and for each search they were returning the other in the results. (But for some odd reason I can't duplicate that right now! )

I guess that sort of thing makes sense for some people, but it should be an option, and not mandatory! There should be a way to turn that OFF. It's ridiculous to now have to put every frickin' word in quotes in order for that word to show in the results! (And even then they still return irrelevant pages).

[mukluknation]

This is merely a change that relies on a condition. If you are in an industry where misspellings are the norm (like in medicine), then you should spend all the effort you need to fix it in your site. If you are in something that's about widgets and only contains common words, I doubt the misspellings will make a difference since it is highly unlikely that someone will find your site by typing a common phrase. Correct me if I'm wrong, but it only penalizes you if people actually go to your results...