Varn takes on Bradford on Avon’s rogue hyphens
Report a BOA hyphen
"Fake news and bad data spreads fast, especially with AI. As a search marketing agency with an office in Bradford on Avon, we couldn't just sit back and watch rogue hyphens take over the internet, or our town. We’re on a mission to clean up and set the Bradford on Avon hyphen record straight, once and for all."
Bradford on Avon - no hyphens required
The official name of our town is Bradford on Avon, but you don’t have to look far to find it written as “Bradford-on-Avon”.
Today, there are around 5,800 incorrect references online, including on major platforms such as Google Maps, Tripadvisor and Wikipedia.
The problem has also made its way into artificial intelligence. Ask Gemini, ChatGPT or Claude how to spell the town’s name and you may well find an unwanted pair of hyphens appearing in the answer.
That matters because AI systems learn from the information available across the web. If incorrect versions of the town’s name are repeated often enough, they risk becoming further embedded in search results, databases and AI-generated content.
Reports of Bradford on Avon hyphens
Companies that have updated or are updating their content:
- Google – contacted and updating
- BBC – contacted, and reviewing
- Tripadviser – contacted and updating
- Visit Bath – contacted and updated
- Discover Frome – contacted and updated
- Silver Travel Advisor – contacted and updated
Awaiting Replies:
Please help if you know anyone who works at these organisations.
- Great Western Railway – contacted, awaiting reply
- Wikipedia – contacted, awaiting reply
- National Highways – contacted, awaiting reply
- The Times Newspaper – contacted, awaiting reply
- Canal Trust – contacted, awaiting reply
- English Heritage – contacted, awaiting reply
- Kayak – contacted, awaiting reply
- Encyclopedia Britannica – contacted, awaiting reply
