You are pretty well versed when it comes to SEO. You know that you need amazing content, that keywords matter, and that quantity counts just as much as quality. But there’s just one thing you can’t seem to get straight: Do you use “a” or “an” before the term SEO company?
Don’t worry; you aren’t alone.
Those darn acronyms are tricky for even the most experienced wordsmith. So let’s break it down. Just one glance at “SEO company” and it would seem like you have your answer—duh, it doesn’t start with a vowel so it must be a SEO company. That was an easy one. But wait. Is that correct? Let’s use it in a sentence:
I want to hire a SEO company.
That sounds a little weird doesn’t it? Now let’s try it using “an” instead:
I want to hire an SEO company.
Ah, much better. So if you are speaking, you should definitely use “an SEO company.”
And yes, the same is true for the written word. When using abbreviations of any kind, you choose your indefinite article based on how it sounds. So how is SEO pronounced? Well, when spoken it sounds like “ess-ee-oh,” which absolutely begins with a vowel. Therefore, “an SEO company” is the right choice whether you are writing or speaking the term.
But remember, you choose your article based on pronunciation, so if you decide to write out the acronym, make sure you us “a search engine optimization company,” otherwise you might look kind of silly.
Now you know how to be grammatically correct when you talk about an SEO company, but do you know how to correctly run your SEO campaign? If not, Zero Gravity Marketing is here to help. Because we are an SEO company with the experience and knowledge that will get you the results you want.
