Do you ever wonder if you are writing social media, SEO writing terms and general internet terms correctly? For instance, do you know the AP style rules for spelling Wi-Fi? Or have you ever wondered if the word “internet” is capitalized? If so, you’re not alone.
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Internet SEO Writing Terms List
Use this quick list to help keep your work grammatically correct and maintain your online cred.
Backlink
Keep backlink one word and never hyphenate it. Always use standard capitalization rules.
The AP Stylebook no longer accepts “e-mail” and has adopted the cleaner, hyphen-free email. Always use standard capitalization rules.
👉BUY – The Associated Press Stylebook: 2024-2026
Keep Facebook one word and never hyphenate it. Avoid any yearning you may have to write “FaceBook.” Also, if you want to kick a Facebook friend to the curb, you are unfriending them, not defriending them.
Google+
If you want to follow the AP rules, then write out Google Plus. Otherwise, Google+ is just fine. Note that there is no space between the word and the symbol.
Hashtag
The # symbol is called a hashtag, not a hash tag. To use a hashtag is called hashtagging, and the past tense of that is hashtagged. Always use standard capitalization rules.
Homepage
The Yahoo Style Guide has declared that homepage is correct, not home page. However, people still regularly use both forms, and both follow the standard capitalization rules.
Hyperlink
Keep hyperlink one word and never hyphenate it. Always use standard capitalization rules.
Internet
Go for the lowercase internet.
Keyword
Keep forms of keyword one word and never hyphenate them. Always use standard capitalization rules.
Online
Keep forms of online one word and never hyphenate them. Always use standard capitalization rules.
Pin + interest = Pinterest. Make sure you don’t drop the first E, which is a common mistake (Pintrest ).
Retweet
Posting messages on Twitter is tweeting (not twittering), and reposting them is retweeting. Additionally, RT (always capitalized) is the abbreviated form of retweet, which uses standard capitalization rules.
Search Engine Optimization
SEO is the well-known acronym for search engine optimization, which uses all standard capitalization rules.
Twitter is a company and brand name, so it follows the rules of proper nouns and is always capitalized. A message on Twitter is a tweet.
URL
URL is an acronym for Uniform Resource Locator. Since all acronyms are capitalized, you should never use a lowercase version of URL. Likewise, U.R.L. is not an accepted form. More than one URL should be URLs.
Web
When Web is used alone, always capitalize it. When referring to a website, a webcam, or a webmaster, abide by standard capitalization rules (and also keep them one word). Note: Web site is no longer recognized by the AP Stylebook.
Wi-Fi
Many people try to crunch this word together (wifi), but the correct use is Wi-Fi (always hyphenated and always capitalized). This is according to Wi-Fi AP Style guidelines.
YouTube
You can do the word crunching when writing YouTube. Make sure the Y and T are always capitalized.
Any Other Internet or SEO Writing Terms You Need Help With?
Outside of whether or not ‘Wi-Fi’ is capitalized, or if “”internet” is a proper noun, are there any other general internet or SEO writing terms that you struggle with? If so, comment below!
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