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We all have made them, those little mistakes we notice later in our writing. We may even have had the blog comment to a post or ad which tells us we made a grammatical error.

In some businesses, one single grammatical error can make the difference between a huge company mistake and a huge success during a business deal.

Just like big corporate businesses, the success of your website or blog depends much on your ability to write effectively. To make your writing effective you need good grammar. That will pave a foundation which will set your marketing or ideas above the rest.

Here are eight of the most common grammatical mistakes:

1. Your vs. You’re

“Your” is a possessive pronoun. “You’re” is a contraction of “you are.” This mistake is becoming common among bloggers. It absolutely drives me nuts. This one simple mistake can be easily corrected by simply thinking first about what you are trying to convey.

Choose your words wisely, your blog grammar matters.

Look for this common mistake while you’re out reading other people’s blogs.

2. There vs. Their vs. They’re

“There” is usually a reference to a certain place. “Their” is a plural possessive pronoun belonging to a group of people. “They’re” is a contraction of “they are.” Nearly every Internet marketer and writer has trouble with this sometimes. Usually it’s just a simple typo. Be sure to watch for it when you write and when you proof read. Often it is hard to work with contractions when we write. It’s even more difficult, at some points in our writing, to decide if we need a contraction when its non-contracted homonym sounds so much like it even when we read it out loud.

Are you going there?

Their blog made sense grammatically.

They’re going to have to wait.

3. Affect vs. Effect

“Affect” is a verb. Verbs have past tense. “Effect” is a noun. If you can put “the” in front of it, then you will need the noun. You may need to stop and mentally sort these two out when you want to write it. It is a very common mistake, one that makes all the difference to your readers. Some people see it as merely a typo, while other will stop dead in their tracks and try to figure out what is really meant.

Your ability to communicate your thoughts clearly will affect your reader’s understanding.

The effect of the fireworks was amazing.

4. It’s vs. Its

“It’s” is a contraction. It can be divided into either “it is” or “it has” easily. “Its” is a possessive pronoun. It means that something is owned by something else. This common mistake can be avoided by following a simple guideline. If you can separate “its” into “it is,” and it still makes sense in the sentence, then you need “it’s.” Repeat your sentence out loud using “it is” and if it doesn’t sound right, then you need “its.”

It’s become evident that knowing the correct usage of a contraction will serve your writing well.

Your blog will sound better when its correct grammar is in place.

5. Then vs. Than

This one is easy to a trained eye. Are you trying to compare two things or are you showing a cause and effect? “Then” is used to organize events or show a cause and effect. “Than” is used to compare two objects, events, or people.

If your grammar is incorrect, then your readership may be low.

This blog is easier to read than that blog.

6. Different than vs. Different from

Many writers and Internet marketers slip up on this one. I bet we all have messed up from time to time. You can easily tell which one to use if you just remember which one makes more logical sense. “Different from” is used to compare one subject while setting it apart from the other. Using the word “than” after “different” is really a grammatical mistake.

Incorrect way:

Your blog will be different than mine.

Correct way:

See how this sentence is different from the previous sentence.

7. Could’ve, Would’ve, Should’ve, Might’ve

While “could’ve,” “should’ve,” “would’ve,” and “might’ve” are correct, it’s that the ending of those contractions are slurred when spoken. While making the contracted form is grammatically correct when writing, its readers will slur them. If your writing is to be read out loud, and especially if it is on the Internet, you should have a non contracted form so that it sounds grammatically correct as well.

Incorrect way:

I should of taken tennis training more seriously. If I would of, then I could of been a better tennis player at the outset and my trainer might of had fewer frustrations to begin with.

Correct way:

I should’ve taken tennis training more seriously. If I would’ve, then I could’ve been a better tennis player at the outset and my trainer might’ve had fewer frustrations to begin with.

8. P.S.S. vs P.P.S.

Have you ever stumbled upon an email or a salesletter and found that the writer has used “P.S., P.S.S.” instead of “P.S., P.P.S.?”

Knowing the difference between these when we write will make all the difference. While they may look closely related, they mean far different things. Many people add a “P.S.” at the end of their script to bring up something important to the reader’s attention or simply because they use it to express an afterthought.

P.S. stands for “Post Scriptum.”

P.P.S. stands for “Post Post Scriptum.”

P.S.S. is added by people who don’t know the difference between the two above and who add an extra “S” because they assume that is correct. In reality, does “Post Scriptum Scriptum” really sound logical?

Why Good Grammar Makes a Difference

We all make mistakes when we write. And English grammar can sometimes be quite a chore. Even I have had my fair share of grammatical blunders.

Aside from a patient editor constantly reminding you of your mistakes, the only real solution is to write and edit with a careful eye to detail. Proof read at least twice, once to fix mistakes and once out loud to check it. If you have a willing friend at hand, ask them to be your second pair of eyes and read your stuff through one last time.

If you really want your blog or website to stand out above the crowds, then your marketing needs to include grammatically correct writing. In fact, your whole website will be taken that much more seriously and you may even see a boost in your revenues, if your writing is meticulous.

Do you know any other grammatical mistakes that we must avoid? Share it with us, so we all can be better writers and Internet marketers. Please post your comments and questions below.