Meta description and its influence on the SERPS
-
Hi Hi,
on the On-Page Ranking Card I read:
"The meta description, while it does not influence rankings in the results, can still be valuable to employ to improve the click-through-rate of searchers from the results page and to provide context to those visitors about the page's topic/focus."
And Google confirms that it doesn't influence the results.
On the infografic on this page (text is in german), the say, it has a little relevance for the serps and that is what I experience, too. http://t3n.de/news/diese-faktoren-beeinflussen-365580/
What is you experience with meta description and serps?
André
-
Hi André,
While Meta Descriptions really don't effect the Search Engine Rankings it can give a quality signal for your page, just as you quoted, by the click-through-rate.
If you think about it, it makes sense, if you get a high number of impressions in SERPs but you have a low CTR, what could cause it?
- Do you have an engaging Title?
- Do you have an engaging Description?
If you were a Search Engine and you see someone in the top 10 results for a highly searched query, but with a low CTR, would you let them stay there? (Underlining the fact that your motto contains: "make the web a better place").
If it was me, who can take that decision... I wouldn't let them stay there.
Both your Meta Title and Meta Description should describe the real intent of the specific page, of what you are trying to deliver there.
Write your meta title and meta description for your potential visitors and your CTR will grow.
I hope that helped,
Istvan
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
-
Meta descriptions
When writing a meta description is it ok to use keywords that are not on the page or site itself?
Algorithm Updates | | aplnzoctober181 -
How do I control the "link-tree" part of the SERP results?
Hey Mozanarians 🙂 Is there a way to change the pages that are shown on the "link tree"? (e.g. see bellow picture)
Algorithm Updates | | DanielBernhardt
Lets say that I dont want the "career" page to show on the "link tree" can I do that? Thanks and lots of love!
Daniel Bernhardt BLo9KSr.jpg0 -
I thought META KEYWORDS tag was dead?
http://www.wpkube.com/wordpress-seo-plugin/ this article just came out as a one of the many guides to Yoast's Wordpress SEO. I am surprised it mentioned: Use meta keywords tag: Google reportedly doesn’t use the keywords that your enter for your posts but as Google isn’t the only show in town, you might want to check this box.Recommendation: check I stopped using meta keywords tag because Google doesn't use it any more, plus if you are in a competitive field by using keywords you are giving free keyword research to your competitors? Does any one still use meta keywords here? If so why? Google doesn't use keyword tags, has anyone experienced a dis-benefit to meta-keywords tag from Google ie. dropped rankings etc.?
Algorithm Updates | | vmialik2 -
New feature on the SERPs - anyone know what this is!?
Hey guys, I've just been doing a bit of searching to give the new Penguin update a good going over and came across the following result on the right side of the page. As you can see, it's a link to the site that's sitting at the top of the SERP. At first, however, I thought it was some snazzy AdWords feature. Although, having clicked into the link "20 hours ago", it seems that Google has pulled the snippet from the diy-kitchens.com's Google+ feed. Anyone seen this before? Is it a new thing? Is it only the top result that's able to get a snippet from Google+? 7hA4g49.png
Algorithm Updates | | Webrevolve0 -
Increased importance given to spammy/educational domains in SERPs!?
Hey guys, Can anyone shed some light on these bizarre and confusing SERPs which Google seems to be producing following their latest update?? For example, we have a client who targets "payday loans" with another targeting "IT services". However, since the update, the former keyword brings back a host of spammy domain results while the latter seems to have given all focus to educational institutions like universities. This just seems utterly ludicrous considering that if I'm searching for "IT services" I don't want the help desk of a local university - that's completely irrelevant, right? Can anyone provide some information on what seems to be going on? Thanks
Algorithm Updates | | Webrevolve0 -
Geographical location influencing Auto Complete / Search Suggest
I was reading this q and a and found some video that Rand had made about this and how using influence to change the auto completes in Google. Is there any chance Google is also dividing the lists from a Geographical location. So users on the East Coast might see something different than the West Coast. I also wonder if Google takes local search over regional. That could also make the auto completes different based on location. Just curious...
Algorithm Updates | | cbielich0 -
7 Pack Google Serps?
What is the best way to get into the 7 pack of google serps? I have a site that ranked well before this changed but not was pushed back to page 2. I have Unique content and I currently have provided my info to all the standard local sites, like Yelp, Manta, Local.com and others. I already have a Google Local page and I also have links from local sites. What else can be done?
Algorithm Updates | | bronxpad0 -
Why some results in SERP have a www. and some don't
Hello all, If this is posted twice, I didn't mean for it to be - but it looks like last time I tried to post this question it didn't post. This is my question: How come some results on Google's SERP page are shown with a "www" and some are not? Does this effect SEO at all? I am including a screen shot so you can see what I mean. The Geary Interactive result has a "www" in front of while ingenexdigital doesn't. R6GLL.png
Algorithm Updates | | digitalops0