Hi all, I know this doesn’t apply to Webflow, I did create the site in Webflow though.
So here is the issue, my client created a startup, the company name is Furst Steps… as you can imagine when you google furst steps it’s corrected to first steps, showing results. I setup their google business page also under their company name, so first steps appears as the results over furst steps. Obviously most people searching will search for the type of services that the company provides, so their domain name furst steps will show in search results. But when searching directly furst steps the name will always be corrected to first steps… Does anyone know the best way to get around this issue?
I had a similar problem with a client, so I recommend creating a Google Business profile. You won’t get rid of the google auto-correct, but there’s a chance the GB profile will show up.
Thanks Edgar… I did create the Google Business page. The issue is if you search for the way the company name is (Furst), google instantly shows results for the corrected version of Furst (First) so their Business page never appears, unless you show results for Furst then the page pops right up. One good thing is most people will search for a service not a name so their business profile does show in the search results.
It’s highly unlikely that “Furst Steps” will ever rank higher than the phrase first steps - since it’s so common. The client should know this and choose a different marketing strategy than discovery in organic search.
The good thing is most people don’t know the name of the company, they will be searching for the service that they offer, such as puppy or dog training in their area… The do rank now in the search result in like the sixth or fifth position on some organic searches… So I am pretty pleased with that. Thanks for your input, much appreciated.
You’re right their GBP never shows up due to auto correct, correcting to First Steps. But the due rank well in the search results, which then shows their GBP. Thanks for your input, much appreciated
While it’s not an exciting option, Adwords is likely best bet for a quick solution. You can specifically target [furst steps] so that ONLY people who type that exact phrase will see the ad. But then, if they click it, you’re paying for that click. However, you’ll have about zero competition on that spelling, so you might get it very low per click, perhaps even as low as $0.10 ppc if you’re patient and lucky.
Another thing you might do is to try to rank higher on the “first steps” keyword search.
One way you might be able to achieve that is to register alternative domains like FIRSTSTEPS.COM and then alias that to your Furst Steps website. Doing that can be tricky- I’d probably do it outside of Webflow through a domain registrar that allows for 301 temporary redirects, so that Google preserves that domain in its listing rather than replace it.
Also, Google seems to prioritize domain name matches in a specific order, like COM, ORG, EDU… etc. Chances are, all those are taken for you, so you’ll have to settile with something else that works, maybe .CO or .BIZ or .ME Hopefully something relevant to the client’s business.
Basically you’re working with a weird edge-case scenario that’s not well-supported, and you’ll have to try several different approaches to see what works for you.
Hi Mike, thanks for this awesome reply. I have the company landing on page 1 third to sixth position in certain organic searches. It’s been two weeks since time of launch, so I am pretty pleased with their positioning. As I figured most people are not searching for the company name “Furst Steps”, but I did add puppy and dog training center to their GBP, to give them more relevance for most keywords regarding puppy/dog training. Your advice is excellent and will look into applying it, especially if they ever decide to do some paid advertising.
Thanks again Mike
Hi Garry, you’re right the company has worked up on the SERP and I am pretty pleased with the organic search results. I took a look at your site that you provided and it looks great. Being completely honest here, I think the rotating light is an awesome touch. It may be more impactful if it were flush to the top, hanging under the Nav bar and the logo right under it. Just my thoughts.
