META Description Not Showing Up On Google
-
Hi, I have noticed recently that for my highest ranking keyword on Google United Kingdom, the meta description (that has not changed for several months and always used to be displayed when someone searched for this keyword) now only shows the first couple of words. Also, instead of the rest of the Meta Description there is a list of items that I offer for sale all squashed together with their individual prices. I am the only company on page one of Google who's impression looks like this and I think it looks really unprofessional. Why has this happened and how do I change it?
Any help is much appreciated
-
If you visit your Google Webmaster account, you can instruct Google not to display your links like that on your search result page.
The content="noodp,noydir" syntax is to prevent other Directories from displaying (or cache) different meta descriptions about your site.
-
I noticed one competing page from Pandora's Choice.com was displaying the same format snippet. You're not the only one.
-
Yes, thanks Doug, makes sense now I have read up on Snippets.
-
Yes, thanks, I have just read through those two posts and it makes sense to me now as to why it is happening. I have to say I don't like it, it looks messy and amateur in my opinion, especially as I have spent so long learning about meta descriptions and how to apply them successfully etc My only question is that Google's post was dated August last year where they state that they were 'rolling it out globally'. So should I expect my competitors' sites to appear the same in the near future? (their sites are similar to mine) As at the moment, my website is the only one displaying these 'lists' for my most popular keywords.
Many thanks for your help
-
Looks like Google is creating an ecommerce related snipped. Your site isn't the only one that it's happening on. I can't see any particular mark-up in the html so I'm guessing Google is doing something cleaver as part of it's snippets for list pages. A search for other product pages of yours reveals snippets rendered the same way.
I don't think <metaname="robots" content="noodp,noydir">is going to work.</metaname="robots">
-
Hi! I'm guessing that you're seeing Google deploying some listing rich snippets for your meta description. Take a look at http://www.seroundtable.com/google-real-estate-snippets-13928.html and http://insidesearch.blogspot.com/2011/08/new-snippets-for-list-pages.html for a little more information about what may be happening. Does that help explain things at all?
-
Hi. Thanks for the quick response. I have never changed the meta description and Google has always shown this, up until the last few weeks. It is a good keyword-full paragraph that has worked well. If you want to look at the site it is www.simonsaysdressup.co.uk. The category I am refering to is 'Burlesque Wardrobe' and the highest ranking keywords for this category is 'burlesque clothing' and 'burlesque outfits'.
Thanks so much for your help
-
When did you change your meta description was it in the last few days?
Have you tried to add this:
<metaname="robots" content="noodp,noydir">Without looking at the site, I couldn't tell you what's causing the problem but Google could be pulling info from the open directory, this tag will force Google and Yahoo to use the description you give them</metaname="robots">
Google do not always show the meta description. If they feel a more meaningful snippet can be had from the content, it will take something from there. If you have little or no content (say just images) then Google does not have much to show.
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
-
Do things like using labels on an element that is not a form input affect how google sees us in regards to accessibility?
Do things like using labels on an element that is not a form input affect how google sees us? It's an accessibility error that our devs have made - using a label element because it looks good, not because it's an actual label on a form field. Just wondering how that affects accessibility in Google's eyes.
Web Design | | GregLB0 -
Looking for a new Web Developer and Graphic Designer - Where to look? Job Description in Post
Hi All, I know I can go to Guru.com, etc. but is there a place here that I can look for a web dev that can help with my tasks? I have a good bit of work to offer them and my current web dev who has been a great asset has suffered from health problems and it has affected his output, so I'm sad to say I need to look for someone that can help me get caught back up. If anyone has any suggestions on someone that is a knowledgeable web developer that has access to their own graphic designer (or can do graphic design themselves as well) please let me know. I am not opposed at all to hire a separate graphic designer to send work over to the web developer. SOMEONE WITH SEO EXPERIENCE WOULD BE VERY HELPFUL AS WELL AS MY CURRENT WEB DEVELOPER HAD IT AS WELL. The current projects going on are: Changing the header graphics on the home page to meet compliance. Constantly adding and editing my websites with small tweaks almost daily. Creating PDF's with content we give and uploading them as well as images to the sites. Keeping in mind that editing the site can affect responsiveness and we have to make sure our logo is a certain size compared to other metrics, etc. Creating web banners, tile ads, etc. Creating facebook main photo for biz page. I will be happy to share any info via PM or if anyone can point me in the right direction in finding someone that would be awesome! Thanks!
Web Design | | Veebs1 -
Curious why site isn't ranking, rather seems like being penalized for duplicate content but no issues via Google Webmaster...
So we have a site ThePowerBoard.com and it has some pretty impressive links pointing back to it. It is obviously optimized for the keyword "Powerboard", but in no way is it even in the top 10 pages of Google ranking. If you site:thepowerboard.com the site, and/or Google just the URL thepowerboard.com you will see that it populates in the search results. However if you quote search just the title of the home page, you will see oddly that the domain doesn't show up rather at the bottom of the results you will see where Google places "In order to show you the most relevant results, we have omitted some entries very similar to the 7 already displayed". If you click on the link below that, then the site shows up toward the bottom of those results. Is this the case of duplicate content? Also from the developer that built the site said the following: "The domain name is www.thepowerboard.com and it is on a shared server in a folder named thehoverboard.com. This has caused issues trying to ssh into the server which forces us to ssh into it via it’s ip address rather than by domain name. So I think it may also be causing your search bot indexing problem. Again, I am only speculating at this point. The folder name difference is the only thing different between this site and any other site that we have set up." (Would this be the culprit? Looking for some expert advice as it makes no sense to us why this domain isn't ranking?
Web Design | | izepper0 -
Do Google Fonts Slow Down Your Site?
Hi Guys,
Web Design | | jeeyer
I just did a webpage speed test on http://www.webpagetest.org to see how our site is performing.
I noticed that an exteral URL called fonts.gstatic.com has a "huge" impact on our sites loading time. See a screen here: http://monosnap.com/image/z6drzC2ELoJ48d1rM0Tmtuszl3pFpH#
An overview can be seen here: http://monosnap.com/image/9hofUpr5Ld8D7mi7zyaJmGFIGhpBsY# All our scores are green and A (finally!) but I was a bit concerned when I saw the outcome of the pagespeedtest regarding the fonts.
When I load a page on my pc I indeed notice that the text content is usally quite slow in showing up, pops up afer a few seconds. Is this a know problem and Is this something I need to fix? If so what is the best approach? Looking forward on your thoughts!
Joost1 -
Best way to add Google Analytics to a Joomla!
I am having difficulties installing (and getting it to work) google analytics to Joomla! 2.5.8 site. I have it working on some sites but then not on others even though I have installed it the same. Is there a recommended or easy way to do this that works?
Web Design | | Atlanta-SMO1 -
Does Google follow links inside a <noscript>tag?</noscript>
I'm looking at making an embedable calculator and asking users to embed it to their website. I had the idea of using javascript to include the calculator which would also conatain a text link back to my site in order to gain some back links. If it's possible Google won't see the link (as they may not execute the javascript), is it safe to place the link in the <noscript>tag? If so, Will it be indexed and will Page Rank be passed?</span></p> <p>Thanks in advance for your answers. </p> <p>Anthony</p> <p><span style="color: #5e5e5e;"><br /></span></p></noscript>
Web Design | | BallyhooLtd0 -
What is the new Google SERP highlighting?
My question is with the new Google SERP. I posted a pic of it at http://www.hortonwebdesign.com/images/new-google-page.gif. If you mouse over the arrows to the right of a result on the SERP, it pops up a preview of the page. On some results it also highlights a section of the page with a red box. What does this represent? Does it represent a key area that they are looking at in determining the positioning? I have some clients that are asking me and it doesn't make a lot of sense. In my example above I searched for "seo expert in georgia" and on my result (I'm #2), it shows a preview, but the part it has chosen to highlight with a red box is just, um, ...useless. It's highlighting a Recent Post sidebar on the right halfway down the page. Surely this can't be what they're looking at as what they view as "useful" to that search. This simply can't be what they're using to determine positioning. Or is it? Just please explain what I'm seeing here. new-google-page.gif.
Web Design | | GeorgiaSEOServices0 -
Google News we were dropped and need help finding ot why
Hi i have a site called in2town lifestyle magazine http://www.in2town.co.uk/ and up until two months ago we were with google news and for a long time. But then all of a sudden we were dropped which left us with no confidence about our site and led us to make changes to the site, some good and some bad to try and find out what was wrong with our site and why we were dropped. We have now been concentrating on sorting the site out which has led in a drop in traffic due to not updating it as we should because we are more concerned in trying to make it a quality lifestyle magazine and get back in google as well as making it a good experience for our readers.. I would like your help and finding out what you feel is wrong with our site so we can then work on it and change it and try and find out what went wrong with google news. we have spent years on the site but now we have gone in the wrong direction because we were more worried about google news. If you can advise us on how we should change the site and sort the site out and make it into the professional site it was once more then that would be great.
Web Design | | ClaireH-1848860