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August 31st, 2006 
QuadsZilla Pop Quiz. Which of these two sentences is correct?
1. Google is going to launch more beta products.
2. Google are going to launch more beta products.
If you answered 2, you are like far too many other SEO and Google bloggers . . . and you are incorrect. When one refers to a single company (the noun) any verb or verbs associated with that noun must be in the singular form.
Sometimes it is correct to use “Google Are”. Examples include these 16 at the New York Times.
“Microsoft and Google are competing head-to-head.” In this instance, the subject is plural (two companies).
However, the vast majority of the time you should be using “Google is.” Here is the search for “Google is” in the New York Times with 255 results.
Is the grammar on SEO Black Hat perfect? No. Does your grammar need to be perfect? No. However, this is one mistake that you should seek to avoid so people don’t think that you are less intelligent than you really are.
Some of you may take this post personally but I am not singling YOU out. This would not have been a blog post if the problem was not so pervasive.
Do you have a grammar peeve that you seem to find everywhere? If so, get it off your chest in the comment section.
Posted in 
You are correct. Basically, such a typographical error exists due to many writers forgetting — or failing to realise — that a company or a collective in itself is singular.
Naturally, when one mentions multiple such sources, such as Microsoft and Google, it is only possible to refer to them in the third person plural. That is different and I don’t believe it has become a problem.
What ticks this little grammar Nazi off to no end is the seeminly ubiquitous use of the concatenation known as ‘noone’. Damn it, folks, ‘no’ and ‘one’ are two separate words. If you must have a single word, at least hyphenate the two — no-one — or use the word ‘nobody’.
Okay, yes, I’m all good now, thanks. The steam has escaped. ;o)
Ahem.
Brilliant. I am sure I will upset someone who is tired of seeing ’seemingly’ missing the letter ‘g’ — or perhaps even those only too familiar with present participles missing said letter.
That does it; the grammar Nazi towel’s in.
Thank you for this. Drives me crazy.
Although, I think Australians and Europeans do this becaues they don’t want to recognize the “legal fiction” of the corporation as a person, like those of us currently (and formerly) in the States do as a matter of course.
Blogging at 2am might be another contributing factor here. I’ve posted headlines with misspelling or grammatical errors before. Its might not be professional but proof reading really kills the concept of blogging for me.
copyblogger:
I’m inclined to disagree with your musing regarding said countries; I am Australian-born, raised, and residing. As a professional writer, each and every publishing house I have written for explicitly states this rule in its house style.
Coming from a family where 3 quarters of the women is language teachers, it’s hard to decide what are more annoying, poor spelling and grammar or the people that nags about it.[sic]
copyblogger, you are wrong. I’m from Austria and we refer to Companies in the same way you do.
“Most importantly.” Like fingernails on a chalkboard. It’s “most important,” people!
On the other hand, if you really are “less intelligent,” and you want people to know, make this mistake over and over again.
Of course this is not the one that bothers me. My pet peeve is “then” vs. “than.”
Sorry Brian – Like Meaty this Australian never refers to Google in anything but the singular.
Actually this Australian rarely refers to Google in polite terms if I can avoid it.
All of my grammatical pet peeves can typically be found together in any single Slashdot thread. Let’s face it, the majority of people don’t have a mastery of grammar basics.
Thanks to the Aussies for clarification. Just something I always wondered about, and that’s the only half-assed thing I could come up with.
[...] and i’m sure QuadsZilla will be happy that i said “is” [...]
Their is no problem with there grammar over they’re.
can’t we all use there,their,they’re correctly?