Fault Tolerant Keywords: Incorporating the Unusual - Sources of Data Error
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In the second edition of Modern Systems Analysis and Design, Jeffrey Hoffer et al describe four main sources of data errors: Appending, Truncation, Transcription and Transposing. By using these four main error types as guidelines, plus my own addition of Substitution, you can effectively optimize the keywords on your site to take these errors into account.
Appending: This type of error stems from the addition of extra characters into the search string. If two words in your domain run together or share a letter (www.comsumerrecreation.com as opposed to www.consumerecreation.com) it's important to try to account for the bending of traditional spelling and grammar rules, especially when you're using a non-traditional domain name.
To take a moment and let the obvious Dan Quayle joke go whizzing by, some people actually do spell it 'potatoe' and do so often. Correct or not, this is a fact an optimizer cannot ignore, especially if running www.potatohq.com.
Truncation: The subtraction of characters from the search string. This is especially important for clients using their names as URLs. If a client has a difficult or unwieldy first or last name, a good strategy would be to try and come up with a few likely variations in spelling to try and catch visitors who may be slipping through the cracks.
The vast majority of my personal experience with SEO work involves realtors in Ocean City, Maryland, and while property rentals and sales had their share of the market, most of the real estate sites I was involved with were focused on condomin-, condomeni-, condominim-, err condos. Instead of forcing the wandering real estate client off the Internet searching for a dictionary or worse, onto another site looking for the proper spelling of 'condominium,' ensure they don't have to by including commonly-used abbreviations or the longer form of the words to minimize the effect of truncation errors.
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