Country · Western Europe · DE
SEO and AI search in Germany. Precise, compliant, and compared.
Search work in German for a market where the Impressum, a working consent banner and good ratings on comparison sites come before rankings.
First step in GermanyStart with a legal and technical checkFrom $[X] /project
- Impressum, privacy policy and consent banner
- Tracking that waits for consent
- Indexing, speed and Bing Webmaster Tools
- German keyword map with compound terms
01 / Market facts
What changes the plan in Germany
Four things we plan for on every German project.
| Fact | In Germany | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Language | German; formal “Sie” for business buyers | German linguists |
| Search | Google 87.8% · Bing 6.5%; on desktop Bing has 19.4% | StatCounter, Sep 2026 |
| Devices | 59.9% of web traffic from mobile, 38.3% from desktop | StatCounter, Sep 2026 |
| Comparison sites | idealo, Check24 and billiger.de | Search results check |
| Reviews | Trusted Shops, ProvenExpert, Trustpilot | Review platforms |
| Directories | Gelbe Seiten, Das Örtliche, 11880; wlw for B2B suppliers | Directory sites |
| Payments | PayPal, invoice (Kauf auf Rechnung), SEPA direct debit | Checkout data |
| Marketplaces | Amazon.de, Otto, Kaufland, eBay; Zalando in fashion | Marketplace sites |
| Domain | .de, run by DENIC · google.de | denic.de |
01Legal pages are part of SEOA missing Impressum or a broken consent banner can bring a warning letter before it brings traffic.
02Compound keywordsGerman joins words: “Steuerberater” plus a city, “Wärmepumpe Kosten”. Research covers compounds and their split forms.
03Comparison sites come firstidealo and Check24 take many first-page spots. Your pages win on detail, not on claims.
04Bing matters on desktopBing has 19.4% of desktop searches in Germany, business buyers on Windows machines. Bing Webmaster Tools gets the same care as Search Console.
02 / Rules
Before anything ranks: the legal basics
German sites get warning letters (Abmahnungen) for legal gaps, and competitors send them. We check these first.
Impressum under § 5 DDG, one click from every page Consent before non-essential cookies and tracking (§ 25 TDDDG), with Google Consent Mode A privacy policy that matches what the site really loads Total prices including VAT for consumers (PAngV) Accessibility for consumer shops and services under the BFSG, since 28 June 2025
We flag gaps and fix the technical side. Your lawyer signs off on the legal text.03 / Where we start
The first 90 days in Germany
A dated plan comes with the proposal. This is the usual shape.
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- Weeks 1-2Legal and technical checkImpressum, consent, tracking and indexing, fixed before anything else.
- Weeks 3-6German keyword mapCompounds, regional terms and comparison-site gaps turned into a page plan.
- Weeks 7-12Pages, reviews, linksNative German pages, a review program and links from German trade media.
Services in this plan
Review platform program ↗Reviews from real clients on Trusted Shops, ProvenExpert or Trustpilot.From $[X] /month
04 / Market research
What ranks for buyers in Germany
A fixed set of local searches, re-checked every quarter. Here is the format.
ILLUSTRATIVE| Search | Meaning | Page one is mostly | AI Overview | Your page |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| steuerberater münchen | tax adviser Munich | [TYPE] | [Yes / No] | #[X] |
| wärmepumpe kosten | heat pump cost | [TYPE] | [Yes / No] | #[X] |
| crm software vergleich | CRM software comparison | [TYPE] | [Yes / No] | #[X] |
| zahnarzt in der nähe | dentist near me | [TYPE] | [Yes / No] | #[X] |
| online shop erstellen | create an online shop | [TYPE] | [Yes / No] | #[X] |
[X] of 10 first-page results are comparison or directory sites [X] of 20 searches show an AI Overview [X] words average length of a top-3 page [X]% of top-10 pages pass Core Web Vitals
05 / Calendar
The calendar we plan around in Germany
Content goes live before the peak, not during it.
- JanNew budgetsTenders and annual plans start; B2B searches pick up.
- Jun-SepStaggered school holidaysEach state has its own dates, so B2B slows unevenly.
- NovBlack Friday weekRetail content goes live in October.
- DecWeihnachtsgeschäftChristmas trading, the biggest quarter for retail.
06 / First report
What the first report shows
A sample of the dated log you get after the first month, the format, not a client result.
ILLUSTRATIVE| Check | Found | After |
|---|---|---|
| Impressum on all templates | Missing on blog posts | Fixed in week 1 |
| Consent banner | GA4 loaded before consent | Blocked until consent; Consent Mode on |
| Bing Webmaster Tools | Not verified | Verified; sitemap submitted |
| “steuerberatung online” | Position 18 | [X] after new page |
| Trusted Shops reviews | 12, last one in 2024 | [X] new reviews in 90 days |
07 / What changed
What changed in Germany
Rules and numbers that changed how we plan here. This page was last reviewed [DATE].
- Dec 2021The TTDSG takes effect: consent before non-essential cookies becomes German law.
- May 2024The DDG replaces the TMG, the Impressum duty moves to § 5 DDG, and the TTDSG is renamed TDDDG.
- 28 Jun 2025BFSG accessibility duties apply to many consumer shops and services.
- Sep 2026Bing has 19.4% of desktop searches in Germany (StatCounter).
08 / Reviewed by our linguist
[LINGUIST NAME] · GermanA freelance linguist we hired for Germany. Writes and checks every page before it goes live.Reviewed [DATE]How we work with linguists →09 / Questions
Questions about Germany
01Do we really need an Impressum?
Yes. Commercial sites must name the provider with an address and contact details (§ 5 DDG). Competitors and associations can send costly warning letters for missing or wrong details.
02Can we use Google Analytics in Germany?
Yes, with consent. Non-essential cookies and tracking need consent first (§ 25 TDDDG). We set up the banner and Google Consent Mode, so reporting keeps working.
03Is English enough for German B2B buyers?
For some tech audiences, but German pages win German searches. We write with the formal “Sie” and the terms your buyers use.
04Are comparison sites competitors or partners?
Both. idealo and Check24 rank for many searches, so we plan listings where they pay off and pages that outrank them where you have more to say.
Also in Western Europe
Austria Belgium France Ireland Luxembourg Netherlands SwitzerlandEurope overview →Start here
Get a snapshot for Germany
- 1Send your site — scope and commercial terms to be confirmed
- 2We check search and AI visibility
- 3PDF by email: five website problems and AI visibility, within two business days of receiving your website URL
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