Incorrect name on search result
-
Hi,
While auditing the website for a new client that i inherited just noticed that when i search for 'hyundai roswell georgia' on Google the dealership name appearing on Google search result is incorrect. The name of the business is Rick Case Hyundai. However, it appears as Rick Case Honda(see attached screenshot). Any recommendation on how to fix this and why is this happening?
Regards
Neil
-
Hi Nakul,
NOODP tag was added months ago as we have seen such instances earlier with other clients in the same niche.
-
I second what Brent said. It is your YDIR listing. The domain is 301'd to a sub-folder of your website.
I don't know if it's just me, but I have a strong feeling that this is coming off your ODP listing, but then you have the noodp. How long have you had the NOODP in your meta ?
-
I see you have noodp in the title tags, and as you said it has been there awhile, so I would assume that would have been updated by now. It could just be taking a particularly long time to update.
Another guess is that it may be due to the main site's title at rickcase.com. The title is 145 characters long:
Rick Case Automotive Group | Leading auto dealers for Acura, Audi, Honda, Hyundai, Mazda and Mitsubishi models at Ohio, Georgia and South Florida
It also includes the word Honda. Occasionally Google will rewrite titles based on what they feel is more relevant.
Here is a post on SEOMoz about Google changing long title tags:
http://www.seomoz.org/blog/long-title-tags
Here is also a short post on Webmaster world:
-
Thanks Brent. The noodp meta was part of the standard setup. I'll add the Noydir to it and wait to see if it helps resolve the issue.
-
Hi Marie,
The meta name for noodp was added months ago as part of our standard setup. However, the problem still remains.
-
They are pulling that information from Dmoz.org. (http://www.dmoz.org/search?q=rick+case+honda)
To fix this you will want to add the meta robots that Marie suggested, but I would also include the Yahoo Directory code as well.
name="robots" content="noodp,noydir">
-
I suspect this is a flaw in the title generating algo they've recently implemented. Honda doesn't appear anywhere in the code, so perhaps Google thinks Hyundai and Honda are synonyms?
My only other explanation would be that the title tag used to say "Honda" and Google hasn't crawled the corrected version yet.
-
It's likely because of this DMOZ listing:
http://www.dmoz.org/search?q=rick+case+honda
Sometimes Google grabs the DMOZ title instead of your page title. To stop that, just insert this code in your head:
(It stands for no open directory project).
Got a burning SEO question?
Subscribe to Moz Pro to gain full access to Q&A, answer questions, and ask your own.
Browse Questions
Explore more categories
-
Moz Tools
Chat with the community about the Moz tools.
-
SEO Tactics
Discuss the SEO process with fellow marketers
-
Community
Discuss industry events, jobs, and news!
-
Digital Marketing
Chat about tactics outside of SEO
-
Research & Trends
Dive into research and trends in the search industry.
-
Support
Connect on product support and feature requests.
Related Questions
-
Google Search Console - Sitemap
Hi all, Quick question. I'm trying to update my sitemap via Google Search Console using a sitemap.xml file that I've created with ScreamingFrog. However, when trying to submit it, it seems that Google only allows sitemaps that are located at a path within your domain (i.e. www.example.com/sitemap.xml) as opposed to being able to directly upload a sitemap.xml file.Is there any way that I can easily upload my sitemap.xml file? Or is there any easy way that I can upload the file to a path on my domain so I can upload via the URL?Any insight would be much appreciated!Best,Sung
Technical SEO | | hdeg0 -
Treatment of domain names in content that are not actually a link
From PR activity we've found that lots of newspaper sites will include reference to a domain name in an article but not actually make this a link through to the domain. For example we will see text like: For further information read the full report at www.bluewidget.com Of course we make attempts to contact the newspaper to request they make it a link but this doesn't always achieve a result. So the question is, does Google place any value for the identified domain in a case like this?
Technical SEO | | bjalc20110 -
Links under Meta Description when performing a search
Doing research for clients, I have came across seeing sites displaying hyperlinks underneath their own meta description. keywords that I have googled that result with hyperlinks displaying under meta descriptions: Google'd: iacquire (brand) bmw wheels (Beyern Wheels, position 1) aftermarket bmw wheels (MMR Wheels, position 2) These companys have hyperlinks underneath their descriptions. Anyone have any ideas why this happens or how it happens?
Technical SEO | | frnprz0 -
Choosing a company name to rank for with main keyword in it?
First question is in regard to the relevance of the main keyword in the company name when used in anchor texts for linkbuilding and also on the website on page seo title tags etc.. We used to call our selves "Isle Surfboards" but now call ourselves "Isle Surf & SUP" , sup is an acronym for "stand up paddle boards" as our core biz in now paddleboards If we are trying to target the main keyword of "paddle boards" should we reconsider and call ourselves on the web " Isle Surfboards & Paddle Boards" or "Isle Surf & Paddle" or does it even matter? Then when we link build should we be building links with our new name "Isle Surf & SUP" or just as "Isle Paddle Boards" or does it even matter? Any help out there? bottom line is we want to rank better for the phrase "paddle boards" & "stand up paddle boards" as those are the top keywords. And in closing since both above are the 2 most popular keywords and are very similar "stand up paddle boards" has "paddle boards" in the phrase should all my on page related seo target "stand up paddle boards" phrase since that would have both phrases or "paddle boards" or a combo of both?
Technical SEO | | isle_surf0 -
Why is my site jumping around in google search ?
Hi I've been trying to get my page up in google results and I was wondering why the constant fluctuation. For example, on one day the pages is nr. 26, the next day it's nr. 65 then jumps back on say 30 and then in a few more days it's going back to 50. What's the logic behind that ? Thanks Cezar
Technical SEO | | sparts1 -
CSS Hiding Text - Does this matter to search engine crawlers
Hello, I'm working on a site and a developer is using CSS to mask crawlable links below. Then, java, advanced search links go on top of this. So, if you disable Java, but have CSS enabled, you don't have a lefthand nav. With both CSS and Java disabled you have a fully crawlable website. Is this a red flag? I understand a user without java would have a problem since most people don't disable CSS. But, is this a problem for search crawlers? Thanks!
Technical SEO | | Blenny0 -
If people link to you incorrectly, does it hurt you?
In Google WM tools I'm seeing so many 404 crawl errors but they're all from other sites linking to us incorrectly, which I can't do anything about. Will this hurt us somehow as far as SEO goes? The logical thing would be that it would hurt the site doiing the linking but it does come up in OUR WM tools, so it makes me wonder.
Technical SEO | | UnderRugSwept0 -
How long does it take for customized Google Site Search to show results from pdf files?
The site in question is http://www.ejmh.eu I am pretty unsatisfied with the results I am getting from the Site Search provided by Google. We have over 160 pdf files in this subfolder: http://www.ejmh.eu/mellekletek The files are the digital versions of articles. When I search for content in those pdf files, Google does not show results. It does show results from older pages, dating back 1-2 years but it is certainly not showing anything from pdf files that I have just put up 3 weeks ago. My questions: If I place a Google Search on a site, does it not automatically display results from ALL the content in the root domain? Is there any correlation between how the Site Search is indexing the files and how Google is indexing the urls in general? Should I just wait and see whether site search performance improves or should I switch to another Search software like Zoom Search? It is vital to have a proper, high-quality search functioning on that site in the very near future. What are your experiences? Any tips are greatly appreciated.
Technical SEO | | Lauroca0