India is undergoing a digital revolution. The country has embarked on the ‘Digital India’ movement that has been officially promoted by the Indian government. It is therefore not surprising to see a jump in career opportunities in the field of digital marketing, especially search engine marketing (SEM). This field attracts a lot of freshers and young job aspirants. Having good English skills will enable a person to take advantage of the growing opportunities in this field. 

The reason why English is important for success in search engine marketing is quite obvious. Most businesses have their websites in the English language. A vast majority of them are trying to reach their target audience through visibility in Google searches in English or through ads served through Google Adwords. Basically, most of the search engine optimisation (SEO) work is done in English and the Adwords campaigns are also done in English.  So, you can well imagine that if your command of English is not very good, it can limit your career development.

Let’s drill down a bit further into all the areas where your English proficiency will be vital. An important part of SEO is being able to understand the website content and ‘optimise’ it. This requires the ability to use appropriate keywords at the right places without negatively impacting the readability and quality of the content.

Similarly, a SEO professional will be expected to write page titles and meta descriptions for pages. This task is not only about inserting a given set of keywords but also ensuring that the titles and descriptions shouldn’t read silly or grammatically incorrect. Note that these are some of the basic tasks in the field of SEO; so, you can gauge how important it is to know English well and be able to use it correctly.

Many SEO executives join the industry and start with something called “off-page optimisation”. This is where they approach other webmasters soliciting links back to the website they are optimising. These executives also promote their website on other websites by posting comments or submitting their listings with basic information. 

While many people do this mechanically by just copying and pasting information, a SEO executive, who wants to progress beyond doing things mechanically, has to find new ways of reaching out to webmasters and “selling” the idea of linking back to his/her website. This cannot be achieved without the ability to communicate in English, clearly and correctly.

As the executive gains experience, he/she will be expected to have face-to-face or telephonic meetings with clients to explain the progress of the engagement. They will also be expected to submit reports with analysis of available metrics and explain them during these meetings.  The ability to effectively deal with clients (‘client servicing’) is an important skill, one which is essential to help move the executive up the career path. In this kind of role, spoken English skills are not only beneficial, but they also become imperative.

SEO is a dynamic field that requires one to be continuously learning and updating one’s knowledge and skills, just to keep up with the progress. This dynamic nature also makes it extremely interesting and a career worth pursuing. But along with the technical skills that you acquire, don’t forget to work on improving your English communication skills (both verbal and written) regularly.  That will ensure an upward trajectory to your SEO career!

ABOUT EAGETUTOR:

eAgeTutor.com is the premier online tutoring provider. eAge's world-class faculty and ace communication experts from around the globe help you to improve English in an all-round manner. Assignments and tasks based on a well-researched content developed by subject matter and industry experts can certainly fetch the most desired results for improving spoken English skills. Overcoming limitations is just a click of the mouse away in this age of effective and advanced communication technology. For further information on the online English-speaking course or to experience the wonders of virtual classroom fix a demonstration session with our tutor. Please visit www.eagetutor.com.

-By Chander Madan

This is another article written specifically to help visitors to our blog avoid some common grammar mistakes and improve their spoken English skills. In this piece, we will focus on a common mistake that we keep hearing and reading from so many English speakers these days: the use of “one of the….” in sentences.

To start with, let us take some examples of the type of sentences that you may come across in everyday conversation. Pay specific attention to the words that are in bold and italicised.

• One of my friend has a shop.
• One of the place we went to is......
• One of the person I want to meet is Amitabh Bachchan.
• That is one of the thing I need to do.
• One of the best movie of Shah Rukh Khan is Swades.

Before we point out the grammar mistake in the above set of sentences, let us first understand when we use “one of”.  It is used when we are referring to someone or something specific among many others. In simpler terms, the “one of” is referring to something singular, while the ‘item’ being referred to has to be its plural form. 

Here is a simple example of this. Let us say that you have 4 books, out of which one is torn. If you say, “One of my four book is torn”, do you think the sentence would be grammatically correct? Obviously not as you can see clearly, because the plural four does not go with the singular book.  The same logic applies to all of the above sentences that we have shared above.

Let’s write what the correct forms should be:

• One of my friends has a shop.
• One of the places we went to is........
• One of the actors I want to meet is Amitabh Bachchan.
• That is one of the things I need to do.
• One of the best movies of Shah Rukh Khan is Swades.
• One of my four books is torn.

Do also note that we have used “is” and not “are” above because the action is related to “one” (another common English grammar mistake). To highlight this, look at the two identical examples below:

• One of the best movies of Shah Rukh Khan is.....
• Two of the best movies of Shah Rukh Khan are  Swades and Chak De.

Hope this gives a clear understanding of one of the most common mistakes that people make while speaking English, and will help you avoid the same errors.

If you have not seen some recent articles in our ‘English grammar mistakes’ series, do check out the articles on the correct use of words such as “did”, and “been” and “being”.

About EAgeTutor:

eAgeTutor.com is the premier online tutoring provider. eAge's world-class faculty and ace communication experts from around the globe help you to improve English in an all-round manner. Assignments and tasks based on a well-researched content developed by subject matter and industry experts can certainly fetch the most desired results for improving spoken English skills. Overcoming limitations is just a click of the mouse away in this age of effective and advanced communication technology. For further information on the online English-speaking course or to experience the wonders of virtual classroom fix a demonstration session with our tutor. Please visit www.eagetutor.com.

-By Chander Madan

Two important aspects of any language are the grammar and the vocabulary. While you focus on improving your English vocabulary, it is also important to ensure that you work on grammar as well.



The truth is that grammar is the foundation and the building block for becoming proficient in English, while vocabulary lends beauty to the language.It is also true that fixing grammar issues is more challenging than building on your vocabulary. So, the earlier you get the hang of correct English grammar, the better it is.

We often find a lot of people using ‘good’ words and giving the impression of having a good vocabulary, without being grammatically correct. However, you cannot be considered very good at spoken English till you get better with grammar. So, let’s focus on a fixing a couple of common English grammar mistakes to start with, which can be easily avoided.



 

When and how to use “been” and “being”

Here are two separate sentences that a person uses.


- This has done. 

- It has sent.


Do the above sentences “sound” right?


In both the sentences above, the speaker is trying to communicate that the task was done and ‘it’ was sent. However, reading the sentences above, the immediate question that comes to mind is- “this has done what?” or “it has sent what?”
 

The focus shifts from the completion of the action to the “what”, an indication that the sentence is not correct English. There is an important word missing. And that word is “been”. To convey the meaning of the completion of the tasks, the word ‘been’ is necessary. So, the correct form of the two sentences above should be:


This has been done.

It has been sent.


A similar and related mistake that we see is in the following sentence.


- This is been done.


Do you see the problem with the above sentence? “Is” generally relates to something in the present while “been” relates to something in the past. Both of them placed side by side create a confusion with the tense and therein lies the problem.


The correct forms of the above sentence should be:


- This is being done (if the action had already started in the past and is continuing in the present); OR

- This has been done (if the action has already been completed). 


Think of other examples where you have either come across these issues or where you may have used these words incorrectly. The next time somebody asks you for an update on an particular task or a report, remember how to use been and being correctly!


Do you have any other doubts related to English grammar or on speaking English fluently and correctly? Ask us and we will address them in future blogs on grammar and vocabulary. Register for a free demo of our online English training course today. eAgetutor.com, India’s largest online spoken English training provider, has helped thousands of people learn English and has made a positive impact on their lives and careers.

About EAgeTutor:

eAgeTutor.com is the premier online tutoring provider. eAge's world-class faculty and ace communication experts from around the globe help you to improve English in an all-round manner. Assignments and tasks based on a well-researched content developed by subject matter and industry experts can certainly fetch the most desired results for improving spoken English skills. Overcoming limitations is just a click of the mouse away in this age of effective and advanced communication technology. For further information on the online English-speaking course or to experience the wonders of virtual classroom fix a demonstration session with our tutor. Please visit www.eagetutor.com.

-By Chander Madan

The size of your vocabulary is one of the indicators of your command of the language. Having a large vocabulary does not automatically guarantee that one is a good communicator- because the appropriate usage of the vocabulary is even more important- but it certainly helps to have it than not.

The reasons are not too difficult to understand. A big English vocabulary is empowering because it gives the freedom to use different words at appropriate times. Even though the words may be synonyms i.e. have the same meaning, they may differ in the impact they carry depending on the context in which a particular word is used.

Secondly, a good vocabulary can make you a lot more interesting to listen to. Imagine listening to somebody who keeps using the same few words,  wouldn’t that be boring and turn you off? On the other hand, would you not prefer listening to somebody who tends to speak fluently in English using a wide range of words? As they say, variety is the spice of life, and this holds true for English vocabulary too!

Another important reason why good vocabulary is important, is that you will be able to understand someone in a much better way. For example, let’s say that you have a very limited vocabulary and you are interacting with someone with a significantly better one. Chances are that you will struggle to understand his English-- what the other person says may very well sound like Greek and Latin to you!

By the way, having a good vocabulary doesn’t only mean knowing and using lots of bombastic words that are not understood by others. That would simply defeat the purpose of communication. Having a good vocabulary means knowing lots of words and how to use them and when.

Speak better English with an improved vocabulary

Is it too difficult to equip your arsenal of English words with lots more? Not if you are willing to diligently make an effort at boosting your English vocabulary. We list some simple tips to help you get started in this endeavour. We are certain that following these tips will result in immediate benefits to both your written and spoken English skills.

❖ Start early - the earlier you start, the easier it is to build your vocabulary. Research shows that it easier to learn a new language or even new words when you are young. The average number of words that a child learns in the first few years is significantly greater than the number of words added to the vocabulary as one ages. The key thing, therefore, is to start immediately instead of procrastinating. Make up your mind to enhance your English vocabulary and get started! 

❖ Read a lot of good English books and magazines: Apart from well structured English language classes, regular reading is one of best ways to build a strong vocabulary.  As you read books, magazines or periodicals, note down words you don’t know, make a point to check them out in a dictionary and write the meanings down. Make a point to note and learn at least 5 to 10 new words in a day. You can keep flash cards that you can carry with you while traveling, refer to those and refresh the meanings of those words. Very soon, these words will become entrenched in your memory bank!

❖ Understand the etymology (origin) of words: If you understand the origin of certain words, it becomes a lot easier to understand and remember new words. A very good book that helps improve your word power on the basis of understanding etymology that we recommend is “Word power made easy” by Norman Lewis.

❖ Sign up for Merriam Webster’s word of the day e-mail: You’ll get a word per day in your e-mail. Sites like Dictionary.com or Merriam Webster not only provide the meaning of the words but also give their pronunciation and examples of their usage in sentences. That is a certainly a very good way to keep enriching your word bank. 

❖ Start using the words in sentences: Last but not the least, start to use the words you have learnt when you speak or write. Unless you start doing that, you will not feel comfortable with those words. It is important that you grow comfortable with the words, so that they become an integral part of your subconscious and you will be able to use those words effortlessly when you communicate in English.

Hope these tips were useful. Stay tuned for more such tips on improving your English communication. Let us know if there are any specific aspects of written or spoken English that you would like to have advice on, and we try to have our English tutors address those concerns.

About EAgeTutor:

eAgeTutor.com is the premier online tutoring provider. eAge's world-class faculty and ace communication experts from around the globe help you to improve English in an all-round manner. Assignments and tasks based on a well-researched content developed by subject matter and industry experts can certainly fetch the most desired results for improving spoken English skills. Overcoming limitations is just a click of the mouse away in this age of effective and advanced communication technology. For further information on the online English-speaking course or to experience the wonders of virtual classroom fix a demonstration session with our tutor. Please visit www.eagetutor.com.

-By Chander Madan