Learn about Google’s support of site names for subdomains on all devices in four languages, plus a workaround for preferred site names.
Highlights
- Google expands support for site names on all devices in four languages: English, French, German, and Japanese.
- New documentation encourages use of the alternateName property in WebSite structured data.
- Google is working on a known issue with internal pages.
Updates to Google’s site names system now enable more subdomains across all platforms in English, French, German, and Japanese.
Updated Site Names Guidance
The IT behemoth recently wrote on its blog that it had enhanced the system’s ability to choose appropriate websites to display in search results.
The feature was only available on mobile devices and only supported a few languages when it was first introduced in May. The system is now functional on all platforms and in all supported languages.
The most recent site name system upgrade demonstrates Google’s dedication to improving the user experience when conducting searches.
According to the site name documentation, Google advises that using WebSite structured data is the most efficient way to suggest a preferred site name.
In order to encourage more frequent use of the alternateName attribute, the firm has recently updated this documentation.
This update is particularly useful when a preferred site name is unavailable, such as when two globally oriented sites share the same name.
Workaround For Unavailable Site Names
A potential problem where neither a preferred nor an alternate site name is chosen has also been addressed by the IT giant.
This could happen if a name isn’t recognized as being distinctive, succinct, or frequently connected to a certain website.
Google’s documentation now proposes using a domain or subdomain name as the site name as a solution.
Google advises users to confirm whether preferred and secondary names are provided via WebSite structured data and backed by other sources on your homepage before performing this repair.
Internal Pages Issue
Additionally, Google is actively fixing a problem where the site name displayed on a homepage might not match that on other pages of the website.
Google tells customers that the chosen site name from a homepage should eventually display on all internal pages and that an update is planned to address this issue.
Google Encourages User Feedback
The business intends to add support for site names across all languages. For questions or issues, Google invites users to post on the Search Central assistance community.
Your site can potentially reach a larger audience thanks to the extension of languages and gadgets. Users’ search experiences are enhanced and your website is easier to find because to Google’s emphasis on using descriptive and correct site names. Some people might find the suggested fix for unselected site names to be extremely useful.
