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A Quick Guide to Correctly Writing SEO and General Internet Terms

by | Jul 16, 2022 | Writing Tips | 6 comments

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.

 

Internet Writing Terms List

is wifi capitalized

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.

Email

The AP Stylebook no longer accepts “e-mail” and has adopted the cleaner, hyphen-free email. Always use standard capitalization rules.

Facebook

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 ishashtagged. Always use standard capitalization rules.

Homepage

The Yahoo Style Guide has declared that homepage is correct, not home page. However, both forms are still regularly used, 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.

Pinterest

Pin + interest = Pinterest. Make sure you don’t drop the first E, which is a common mistake (Pintrest ).

Retweet

Posting messages on Twitter is called tweeting (not twittering), and reposting them is called 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

Twitter is a company and brand name, so it follows the rules of proper nouns and is always capitalized. A message on Twitter is called a tweet.

URL

URL is an acronym for Uniform Resource Locator. Since all acronyms are capitalized, a lowercase version of URL should never be used. 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 Writing Terms You Need Help With?

wifi ap style

Outside of whether or not ‘Wi-Fi’ is capitalized, or if ‘internet’ is a proper noun, are there any other internet writing terms that you struggle with? If so, comment below!

 

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