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
-
The importance of meta keywords?
Hello, Is adding meta keywords still worth doing nowadays? I have been reading and hearing some different opinions about it. For a ' beginner ' in this field it is hard to find a definite answer to this questions.. Thank you for reading(and answering) my question!
Algorithm Updates | | EPPD0 -
Does Google use dateModified or date Published in its SERPs?
I was curious as to the prioritization of dateCreated / datePublished and dateModified in our microdata and how it affects google search results. I have read some entries online that say Google prioritizes dateModified in SERPs, but others that claim they prioritize datePublished or dateCreated. Do you know (or could you point me to some resources) as to whether Google uses dateModified or date Published in its SERPs? Thanks!
Algorithm Updates | | Parse.ly0 -
Looking to condense SERP reults
For several of our keywords we have two listings on page 1 of the SERP's, both pages on the same domain. It's the "top"
Algorithm Updates | | absoauto
level category and than sub category within that top level category. Ideally, we could condense and have just the one result, at a higher position in the SERP. I thought Google would eventually do this for us as I've seen in the past, but it's been a few years now and still hasn't happened. Any suggestions?0 -
Mobile SERPs
Morning Mozzers, Please can someone tell me if Mobile SERPs are different to desktop? Do they have a separate algorithm? Mobile makes up 50% of my sites traffic and I want to make sure I am visible on all devices. Any articles welcomed. Kind regards Ben, London
Algorithm Updates | | Bendall0 -
SERP Drop
Hi, I have been trading online since 2006 and over the years I have built up some impressive SERP's for keywords such as "mens underwear' which I was SERP 1 for. However, over the past 6 months I have pretty much dropped off the face of Google for a large proportion of my keywords. I suspect I have been hit by the Panda/Penguin updates and do not know how to recover this. I have a mixture of what I consider to be relevant and healthy links, but there are also a few links in there that Google would no longer like. However, I believe that the majority of my links are OK. What should I do? Thanks i97zo6W.jpg
Algorithm Updates | | UnderMe0 -
Why do weaker competitors on open site explorer outrank me on SERP
Hi I am new to the whole SEO + marketing and was just wondering why the competition is doing better in SERP they are all in the top 1-5 positions; however i am 5th on page 2 ?? after doing a site explorer analysis i found that I am beating them in all aspects, my site is sparrowmakeup.com.au keyword is "makeup artist sydney' any suggestions on how to increase my SERP would be helpfull.
Algorithm Updates | | EdsonGroupMedia1 -
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 -
Meta Keywords ... Client request
I have a client who would like to include Meta Keywords in their site as they have seen competitors with it, we haven't used Meta Keywords tag before as doesn't impact ranking as we all know - however if I am to put them in - is there a limit - would 200 + negatively impact the site? Thanks
Algorithm Updates | | lauratagdigital0