How Contact Details and WHOIS Info Affect Your SEO

Impact of fake or mismatching contact details on site and whois info

The more Google trusts your website, the higher you will rank. To determine your score, Google looks at several elements, of which your whois data. And if you use inaccurate or fake whois contact information, your website SEO might be suffering because of this.

We can all agree that using fake registrant info in whois, looks fishy. Who would use false contact information?
1. Amateurs who have no idea what they’re doing.
2. Private blog network owners who don’t want to leave a footprint.
3. People involved in fraud, unethical or illegal business.

Private blog networks are the single biggest black hat way to build links and get high rankings these days. And search engine giants are after them. One certain reason that makes a website suspicious? Fake whois data.

Even though this fake whois data is not a hot topic in the SEO world, Matt Cutts – who works for Google – did mention Google hates false whois data. Additionally, MOZ included false whois register information as a factor of ranking factors in their report. Other than that, there is not that much information on the importance of this issue.

Google about Contact and Whois Information

Nonetheless, Google’s Quality Document states that Google prefers sites with an “appropriate amount of contact information”. Especially contact information that matches the whois data. In fact, on page 48 of Google’s Quality Document, you will see that Google gives the lowest ranking score to sites because:

“There is no information about who created this website, no contact information, and no authorship information.” – Google

This is why some experts recommend putting your real contact information – physical address and phone – on your contact us page – or anywhere else- for transparency. And of course, it should match your whois information. Another reason to list your contact information on your site is that you are legally obliged. Without it, or using fake contact details, your domain might be cancelled by your registrar.

Different Country Rules

Is some countries, such as Australia, accurate contact information and the ABN and/or ACN number must be displayed.

“You must include your Australian Company Number (ACN) or Australian Business Number (ABN) on all your company documents.“

We suggest you check the rules in your own nations for governance provisions such as this.

Whois Private and Public Settings

Another way whois can affect your SEO ranking is your whois settings: private vs. public whois. Research has shown that protected whois information can negatively impact your SEO ranking.

If you’re contact details are correct on both your site and whois, take your SEO to the next level. Follow these image optimization steps to improve your website SEO even more.