Pronouns are bad…for SEO, that is. In case it’s been awhile since your English Composition 101 course, I’ve included the definition of pronouns below:
pronoun
any member of a small class of words found in many languages that are used as replacements or substitutes for nouns and noun phrases, and that have very general reference, as I, you, he, this, who, what. Pronouns are sometimes formally distinguished from nouns, as in English by the existence of special objective forms, as him for he or me for I, and by nonoccurrence with an article or adjective.
So why are pronouns so bad for SEO? Everytime that you use a pronoun, you are substituting a very generic word for a more meaningful word. Search engines are smart, but they simply cannot parse who “he” or “she” or “it” or “they” are. Using a pronoun instead of the proper noun or the word to which the pronoun refers is a missed opportunity. Of course, there are those times when you simply can’t avoid the use of a pronoun–such as when you are quoting material. But most of the time you can edit your website or blog content to eliminate the use of most pronouns.
Eliminating the use of pronouns may be the easiest, most cost effective thing that you can do to enhance your website’s search engine optimization. Don’t have the time to tweak the content on your website? Let the content management team at Triple Canopy Media take care of it for you. We’re expert content writers, and we’d be happy to help rein in your site content.
I’ve included a list of pronouns below as a reference. Try your best to eliminate these pronouns from your website, and begin reaping the rewards for SEO.
| A through H Aall another any anybody anyone anything Bboth E each few he | I through O II it its itself L little many N neither one | S through Y Sseveral she some somebody someone something T that us W we Y you |