I was curious what companies rank in the top ten Google results for “domain name” and it had been quite some time since I last checked out the rankings. I was a bit surprised by the top results I found when I did an incognito mode search this morning.
Below the top advertisements, here are the ten results that appear when I searched Google for the domain name term:
- Register.com
- GoDaddy
- Wikipedia
- Wix
- Google Domains
- Namecheap
- (Top Stories – News Link)
- DomainName.com
- Network Solutions
- InstantDomainSearch.com
I found this list to be interesting for a few reasons. First, I was a bit surprised that Register.com is outranking GoDaddy for the top result. The last time I checked in 2012, GoDaddy ranked #1 for this particular search. Because of GoDaddy’s growth, I was surprised the company did not keep its top ranking.
Another surprise was that some of the largest domain name registrars were not listed in the top ten. Tucows, eNom, and 1&1 are just three examples of domain registrars I do not see listed in the top results. Companies who are not listed in the top results will need to advertise via Google’s Adwords if they wish to be seen when searchers search for a particular keyword or term.
I was not surprised to see Wikipedia in the top results. I would imagine there are plenty of “domain name” searched made by people who are not interested in buying a domain name. They want to know what a domain name is, and the Wikipedia page discussing domain names will likely give them a good background about what a domain name is and how a domain name is used.
It was a bit surprising to see Google Domains ranking so highly. Google is a relative newcomer to the domain registrar business, so it is a bit surprising they rank so highly for this search. Interestingly, the listed result is Domains.Google, so it is a relatively new entity and it is using a new domain name extension as well.
I understand that search engine rankings can change regularly, and my search is a moment in time. I also understand that my geographic location can play a role in the rankings as well.
It’s interesting to see who has the best-targeted keyword/phrase campaigns in the industry. I’m not really surprised to see the majority of those up there. Though, it does leave some to wonder how Google managed to compete so fast with that phrase in their new division that other industry leaders have been targeting and building on for over a decade.
Not surprised that Domains.Google ranks at the top in Google. I think the question is do they give a boost to their own companies for competitive search terms or is it only because they know exactly how to rank well in their own search engine…
Not that other search engines matter as much, but for me, in the Seattle area, Domains.Google shows up on page 3 in Bing for ‘domain names’ & isn’t even in the top 5 pages for ‘domain name’.
GoDaddy is the #1 search result in Bing for ‘domain names’ and #2 for ‘domain name’ after Wikipedia.
As far as ads, both Godaddy & Domains.Google show up within the top 4 ad positions for both terms in Bing.
Things change when searches are made from another country (Google will change to that ccTLD). Try Google.com.au for example.
Google has had their thumb on the scale for a long time.
http://blogoscoped.com/archive/2006-12-06-n57.html
Did something similar on Baidu as interested in universal new tech terms in this case “Cyber” that will become the go to term universally. CyberSecurity the term we are all concerned about China wangluoanquan 9500,600,000 listings on Baidu = wangluo = network/internet anquan = security: CyberAnquan = 6300 listing not mine) very smart move. Hindsight is an advantage sometimes.
“It was a bit surprising to see Google Domains ranking so highly.”
The only surprise is that Google didn’t make itself #1.
Tweet from @GeorgeKirikos
12,000 startups are being created EVERY DAY in China. That represents a huge demand for domain names.