I don’t know what it is about the digital age, but there appears to be a massive decline in the quality of the typewritten word.

I cannot tell you how many website owners, blog and article authors I have contacted due to typos.  We’re not talking the one word that slips through here or there – as humans that’s bound to happen.  I’m talking flagrant, in your face, how could you miss THAT typo and, even worse, why do I find at least one typo every time you publish?

Now, Martha would call having typos in your content not a good thing.  Typos convey a lack of care, lack of professionalism and lack of attention to detail.  Certainly typos do not generate a good impression for any business owner!

In our fast paced, digital world you still only get 7 seconds to make that good  first impression.  Having a typo in sentence 3 … well, let’s just say, it could turn some off and even worse can have some turn you off.

In fact, typos are not only embarrassing, but in some instances, they can harm and even cripple your PC.

There’s a huge threat to typing errors in the website urls you are visiting.  Some not so honest people purposely purchase an incorrectly spelled version of a very popular site – such as liknedin or linkedim.  Then anyone who happens to spell linkedin.com incorrectly will be taken to their “dummy site”.  Once your PC has connected to that dummy website, you’re at their mercy.

What could they do?

• they could try to get you to log in or otherwise give up your credentials/passwords; or
• get you to buy something so they can capture your cc information; and/or
• they could automatically and immediately start downloading as much crap as possible to your PC before you can hit the red x and close the connection.

The best way to prevent typos is, of course, proof reading.I recommend you walk away from whatever it is you are drafting for a few minutes, then come back and proof read it from start to finish.

Another option is to print it out. You are much more likely to spot a typo on the printed page, than you are on the monitor of your PC. Something about holding pen/paper seems to queue up the proofing gene (at least in me).

In the end, typos matter – pay attention, proof read and protect your professional image.