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.
