Moz Q&A is closed.
After more than 13 years, and tens of thousands of questions, Moz Q&A closed on 12th December 2024. Whilst we’re not completely removing the content - many posts will still be possible to view - we have locked both new posts and new replies. More details here.
Does keyword at the very front of meta description have impact?
-
I know that it is important to have your primary keyword target as the first word or two words of your title tag. But what about your meta description tag? does it matter where they keyword is in the description tag? I see a lot of other sites stuffing their keywords right at the front of the description tag and it looks somewhat unnatural. What's your take? do you put the primary keyword as the first word or two words of your description tag?
-
I did a lot of research on this topic for you Storwell. I read articles from Bing, Duanne Forrester, Q&As on Bing Webmaster's area and checked a few other sources as well. There are several non-credible sources that discuss the topic so be careful if you go searching online for the answer. There is even an article on Sphinn which is titled "Bing Says Goodbye to META Description as a Ranking Factor". The article simply has no credibility and serves as an example of what leads to so much confusion in the SEO world.
Bing does not definitively state meta descriptions are not a ranking factor. It would be my best guess that Bing either does use meta descriptions as a ranking factor or it is an extremely low weighted factor.
Indirectly, Bing does weigh CTR as a ranking factor and a meta description does influence CTR so it can have an effect that way. In this sense, I would suggest writing a meta description tag for users. Write the most compelling and accurate description you can which will entice readers to click-through to your site. I would not make any attempt to modify a meta description to improve rankings. Focus CTR.
-
You can confirm directly from Google here: http://www.google.com/support/webmasters/bin/answer.py?answer=35624
"While accurate meta descriptions can improve clickthrough, they won't impact your ranking within search results."
-
Agree with pbhatt, a compelling description that convinces searchers to click through can make a ton of difference. Without one, even a high ranking page may not get the traffic you'd expect.
-
The meta description has absolutely no impact on rankings, at least not for Google. When your page's meta description is actually used for a search result, it may impact Click Through Rate but it definitely has no impact on ranking position.
-
When your keywords match the search query they are bolded on the SERPs. That can potentially increase the CTR if it catches the searchers' eyes. If every site in the results is doing the same thing and they all have the bolded keyword in the beginning of the result, you may stand out more if it's in the middle. Just keep it in the first 150 - 160 characters or else it won't make it onto the SERP.
Thinking about what Zsolt said about answering the searcher's questions is more important than the exact placement of the keywords though.
-
You're right that having your primary keyword in the Title tag is import.
However, even Google admits that they no longer take meta keywords into consideration for ranking factors.
There has been shown to have some benefit in putting your primary keyword(s) closer to the beginning of Titles and descriptions - but you still need to make it natural and not stuffed or forced. One reason why you don't want it too far down the sentence is that the descriptions can get truncated and your primary KW can get cut off.
Try to get it in there using the best written sentence for your users.
-
It has some impact bust not very serious, I would say converging to zero. I think writing a good description that answers the serchers's querry and generates clickthroughs is more important than stuffing your kw in the first few words.
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
-
Page Title (Meta descriptions) length... how strict are you?
I have just had a conversation with a client... the gist was this... Is it more important to stay under the 55-60 characters OR go over a bit and have the page title make sense and include the clients company name. The same argument for meta description. I have a client insisting on 55-60 length but the keywords are long and if we use the primary keyword phrase the length is 44 if we use the keyword phrase and add the company name it becomes 64. This is with us trimming it a bit. Anyone else discussed this before?
On-Page Optimization | | JohnW-UK1 -
Different meta-description per country?
I have this .com domain which is the corporate website. Next to this domain, we also have local domains. We would like to test with a different meta-description per country on this one corporate .com domain. Does anyone knows if this is possible and how we could integrate this?
On-Page Optimization | | WeAreDigital_BE0 -
Business Name is Meta Description
I would like to know what your opinion would be regarding the business name displayed in the meta description. Would you write your business name as: Business Name or BusinessName™ (no space with Trademark) I used MOZ example from here (Meta Descriptions Best Practice) and inserted the different business names. Welcome to Business Name in San Diego, California - the nation's largest urban cultural park. Home of 15 major museums, renowned performing arts venues... Welcome to businessname™ in San Diego, California - the nation's largest urban cultural park. Home of 15 major museums, renowned performing arts venues... I'm not sure which would be best for Google and other search engines. Thanks for your help.
On-Page Optimization | | Kdruckenbrod0 -
Exact keyword match for meta title and h1 what is best practice?
How exact should my meta titles and H1 one be compare to the keyword you wish to rank on. Eksample. When I do a research with google AdWords the keyword tool shows me: 260 monthly searches for house for rent Hua Hin 140 monthly searches for Hua Hin house for rent 70 monthly searches for House for rent in Hua Hin The first two includes the exact same 5 words while the last one includes the stopword "in". That google have different search volumens for these very smilair search queries tells me that small differences matters. So how does that effect the way i shoulf write my: a)meta titles b)H1 I feel I get better sentences often by reordering the keywords etc. “Top tips on how to rent house in Hua Hin” Instead of “Top tips if you want a house for rent in Hua Hin” Do you use stop words like “in” hua hin. (only used in 25% of the searches queries)? Also would it matter if i write a plural form of a keyword instead of a singular etc propeties and sted of property? My goal is to write easy to read and unique content but i feel i can make exact matches if required with out compromising to much.
On-Page Optimization | | nm19770 -
How many words for product description
Hi, I've read articles on the MOZ blog, which stress the point for unique product descriptions. I think this was even mentioned in one White Board Friday. Now I am in the process of writing them. How many words should they have at least in your opinion? Best, Robin
On-Page Optimization | | soralsokal0 -
Duplicate eCommerce Product Descriptions
I know that creating original product descriptions is best practices. What I don't understand is how other sites are able to generate significant traffic while still using duplicate product descriptions on all product pages. How are they not being penalized by Google?
On-Page Optimization | | mj7750 -
Impact of removing category sidebar with keywords?
Our site (a niche financial publication: insideARM.com) requires some more room in the sidebar. We're considering removing the categories (we call them topics) sidebar block, or cutting down the number of items displayed within it. My concern is that we'd be removing a direct link to landing pages for important keyword terms from our most powerful page (the index). Sure, we have the terms listed in the footer, but I am worried that the position change will lower the value of the links. Our users don't really use these links for navigational purposes, which is why it comes up as a potential removed item. Am I wrong to worry about this? Would we be crippling our category pages by doing this?
On-Page Optimization | | insideARM0 -
Are Amazon meta tags efficient?
We are probably all familiar with general and Google guidelines for writing title and description tags. But Amazon. com often create another structure where they put in a) amazon.com, b) product name or description and c) the Amazon category the product is featured in, like this: | Amazon.com: Mac Motion Chairs Model 2-Piece Recliner with Matching Ottoman Mocha Microfiber with Walnut Frame: Home & Garden Is this a well developed description tag? |
On-Page Optimization | | KnutDSvendsen
|0