Does using AP Style on a website kill traffic?
- Aug 15, 2014 12:13 PM
I was told that my organization needs to abandon using AP Style because it kills traffic. Can someone please provide some background on this?
3 Answers
- Aug 18, 2014 8:13 AM
Hi Anna - if traffic is your primary goal, then you should follow SEO best practices. While I've not read extensively on the subject, I have picked up some rumblings that faithful compliance to the AP style can penalize you to some degree in the area of SEO. At the same time, I understand that the AP style is evolving the keep up with the current reality. For example, "web site" is now "website" and "e-mail" is now "email". Hopefully the AP style will continue to evolve in this way and remove the conflict that tortures those of us who were taught to comply with the AP style, but who also wish to get the full SEO advantage.
- Aug 27, 2014 12:08 PM
Google's algorithms are more than adequate to correlate "web site" and "website", "e-mail" and "email". Lots of great resources out there Anna. Suggest starting at http://www.moz.com/ I'm confident what you'll learn is long form, informative, linkable/likeable content will win the day.
On the topic of Google Algorithms, if people are bouncing off the page without reading it... no matter how well written it is you won't overcome the algorithm. Relevance, engagement and context are crucial. Style is inconsequential. Lots of AP stories out there with massively high pagerank. Lots of STM articles out there written in Chicago style with incredibly high pagerank.
- Oct 7, 2014 12:34 PM
Anna,
I have been doing SEO and web design since 1998 and this is the first I've heard of this. Using variations of the same word will not hurt. In fact, using variations of the same word will help because everyone has their preferences when it comes to search terms. Anyone who has ever viewed Google analytics will know many variations of the same word including mispellings, plural, nonplural, and abbreviations. I have used them all and have success in all websites I have applied SEO to in the past.