Autocorrect changes spelling of word in my domain name

[kila_m]

When I look for my domain name, Google autocorrect changes the spelling:

My domain name is called widgetframer.tld. When I search for "Widget Framer" Google always auto corrects it to "Widget Frames".

Causing my domain to be on the 2nd or 3rd page.

Is there anything I can do to get my keyword to the top ?

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Mod's note: When I first published this post, I assumed the posted domain was an example. Turns out it's not... that the actual domain is online... but is apparently penalized. We don't allow public posting of actual domain names for review or discussion, whether posted by the owner or someone else, and I've changed those and fixed up the thread.

I'll post more in a subsequent post. I'm exemplifying actual terms in keyplyr's post below. That answer is now answering a slightly different question than was asked, but I'm leaving it because of possible helpful observations.

[edited by: Robert_Charlton at 7:39 am (utc) on Mar 16, 2015]
[edit reason] exemplified [/edit]

[keyplyr]

Is there anything I can do to get my keyword to the top ?

Maybe someone will have a suggestion, but IMO there's nothing you can do to control how Google, or any other search engine (SE), performs their search.

The good news is, you search for your site's name but most people don't. If they know your site's name, they know where your site is. The visitors that find your site through a SE are seeing it in the results because of related words/terms they used. So while this problem may be upsetting to you, it's probably not a big deal.

I think the auto-correct is a user setting, so there again, not much you can to since each person sets that (or not) themselves.

On the SEO side, you could stuff the term "Widget Framer" in your description tag & all over your pages in hopes of higher relevancy, but there's probably a big downside... I'm joking, don't do that :)

FYI - SERP (search results) are sometimes very different for people, depending on many factors. I just did a Google search for "Widget Framer" and did not see any auto-spelling-correct nor did I see a SERP weighted heavily toward "Widget Frames."

[edited by: Robert_Charlton at 6:43 am (utc) on Mar 16, 2015]
[edit reason] exemplifed names from original post [/edit]

[Robert Charlton]

I just did a Google search for "Widget Framer" and did not see any auto-spelling-correct nor did I see a SERP weighted heavily toward "Widget Frames."

Before I published the above post, I did the same search as keyplyr did, and some other searches too, and incorrectly concluded that what the OP had posted was an example, not an actual site name.

As it turns out, the domain is apparently penalized. Only a search for "widgetframer.tld" would bring it up, and that's a sign of Google penalization. Searching "widgetframer" by itself does not suffice to return the query... It needs the tld if penalized. So the following examples do not apply to this original question any more, though they may have at one time. They do apply to the general question of Google and autocorrected misspellings.

In my experience, Google currently will autocorrect without asking you only when it sees that the odds are very strongly in favor of a misspelling... ie, it finds essentially no examples of the searched term in the index, and many examples of an alternative.

I'm going to post an actual query I've tested which is so common that there's no problem posting it, and also a slightly obscured example, which should be clear to readers here. I'm not posting the actual vocabulary because I don't want it to distort actual results... and posting on WebmasterWorld can do that.

The situation should be analogous to the OP's, in that last letter of the query gets changed to a much more common spelling. In this case the terms are...

a) lady gaga
b) l*dy g*gs

Searching example (b) resulted in the final "s" getting changed to an "a" in some circumstances.

Searching for...
[l*dy g*gs]

No quotes on the comparatively rare query caused Google to assume a misspelling, and returned results for lady gaga, along with the message...

Search instead for l*y g*gs

Using quotes to force the exact query caused searches for "l*dy g*gs", or for "l*yg*gs" (the latter without the space, and with or without the quotes), caused Google to return the correct results, but Google, still in a questionable range, asked:

Did you mean: "lady gaga"

In a normal situation, without a penalty, more awareness on the web and real traffic for the search query would change the suggestions. I would not try to game the autosuggest tool.

For an old discussion on a more aggressive autosuggest test Google ran, so you can see how much better things have gotten ;) ...see....

A Red "Did you mean: ____" Shows in Google Drop Down Suggestion
Jul 28, 2010
http://www.webmasterworld.com/google/4178034.htm [webmasterworld.com]

[lucy24]

On a lighter note...

[webmasterworld.com...]

[keyplyr]

Before I published the above post, I did the same search as keyplyr did, and some other searches too, and incorrectly concluded that what the OP had posted was an example, not an actual site name.

Since the post was published, I assumed it passed scrutiny and in turn was within forum rules to address the information given. Sorry for the need to edit my reply. Thanks for giving it a second look.

[Ramian]

you have to wait...once you will be a BRAND...the auto-correct disappear

[netmeg]

Tell me about it.

- Did you mean nutmeg?

[Leosghost]

One of the ways that you can tell when you have become "a brand", is when Google stop doing this to your "brand name"..or "site name" ( if either of them is normally spelled differently from your chosen spelling )..It can take them a few weeks months, a year, possibly even a few years..I think it depends on how many times they are searched for your "name" spelling, as opposed to the "standard spelling".."Personalised results" do(es) learn quickly though..
I just searched for.. netmeg..
G "corrected" and gave me "nutmeg" and asked if I'd rather search for "netmeg"..I closed the window..searched for.. netmeg.. again..this time G gave me results for.. netmeg.. and asked if I'd rather search for.. nutmeg.. ;)

So..if we all search for netmeg..and then close the window / tab when they give results for nutmeg..and search for netmeg again..we can get them to see the error of their ways..;)

You want G to stop autocorrecting your spelling, get people to search for your spelling, and close the window/ tab and search again when G gets it wrong the first time..they will eventually get the message..

Eventually their algos will decide that your spelling is valid, and G will give everyone your spelling first choice..

Took me around 7 to 8 months to get them to to do this with my 1st "brand"..( about 10 years ago )..nowadays they never ask anyone if they want the "other spelling" ( I check things from many IPs and machines in many places / countries , evens out "personalisation effects" )..just persevere..

[lucy24]

<tangent>
There doesn't seem to be any awareness of what could be a legitimate typo. They just pull words out of a hat.

spelling a word phonetically in English (i.e. misspelling): range of likely errors
spelling a word with a letter that's adjacent on the keyboard (like r for t): likely typo
spelling a word with a letter that looks alike (like n for u or rn for m): possible physical typo or scanno
saying "umiarjuap" in place of "marijuana": Google, you're delirious
</tangent>

[kila_m]

I dont mind if it prompts you with a "did you mean". What I object is the auto-correction and instant search of the auto-corrected word without asking.

This is what it does with my domain.

I dont know if my site was penalised, but last year hackers broke into my forum and spammed it full of back links of Viagra, pharmacy and penis enlargement spam. Spoke with google who unpenalised me after I cleared it up.

[keyplyr]

penis enlargement spam.

Does the mobile version fit the screen?

[Robert Charlton]

Does the mobile version fit the screen?

Depends on whether you've got the phone in portrait or landscape mode (as well as on some other variables).

[keyplyr]

I use a tablet myself :)

[Robert Charlton]

There are always widescreen desktop monitors. ;)

Getting back to the original topic, I've re-checked the original keywords supplied by the OP (which I have since removed, and which should not be reposted), and there's now no sign of the domain on Google whatsoever, even when I search it as "example.com" in quotes.

It would help if the OP confirmed whether his original post contained the actual domain, or whether it was simply an example. With the query that keyplyr and I originally saw, we observered no autosuggest activity at all. If the OP did in fact post the actual domain name in he's original post, then he's got serious indexing problems... might be something like an expired registration, server problems, a meta robots noindex tag in the source code, or a penalty.

Google autosuggest depends both on search frequency (actual searches) and existence of the queried vocabulary on the web. Autosuggest does vary over time. A name with an unusual spelling that won't show up for a while might suddenly pop up, say, if that person is appearing at an event... then disappear after the event if there's no search activity for a while.

In this case, apart from clearing up a possible penalty and/or technical issues, publicizing the site and getting some legit inbound links might be helpful.

Also, for our info, how long has the site been online?