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.
URL Domain Used in Meta Description
-
Today I was asked if using a domain url in your meta description can have a negative impact on your website. This description includes a list of the homepage url, but directs visitors to a different internal page of the website.
My concern fell with directing visitors to a different page of the site, but promoting the homepage in the description/snippet. With Penguin 2.1 release on the 4th, I'm very cautious of my links/urls.
What are your thoughts behind this? What are the possible, if any negative impacts this could have on a site?
This URL does have a brand name as so the Title.
-
I agree! Thank you for your response. I wanted to make sure I gave an appropriate answer.
-
I see, so you mean.
Title tag: SEO Tools @ Moz.com
Description Tag: SEO tools are awesome at Moz.com
SERP URL(Where the result actually points to): Moz.com/ToolsNowadays Google includes your brand name automatically to the end of your title tag(if theres enough space), so it doesn't make any sense to include your URL in the title tag or description.
From an user POV it makes no sense to make a description or title not related to the actual URL. You want everything to relate to THAT URL, so Google ranks and prioritizes the correct one.
-
Yes that was something I explained. And thats not all the description said, it was just an example of how the url would be listed in the description.
I wanted to see how other SEOs would respond. I myself have not done this so I wasn't sure what the right answer would be when I was asked if this was something that could negatively impact the site. Nor have I read much about it. This was brought to my attention by a co-worker whose client has a firm that practices this. I'm curious what others thought and how they would respond.
-
If all the meta description said was "Visit www.blah.com today" then I'd be more worried about it not being interesting or descriptive enough to grab a user's attention.
-
The meta description just includes a listing of the homepage. For instance
Description: Visit www.blah.com today
Title: Savings on Blah | Blah.com
URL:www.blah.com/savings-coupons
Obviously the description doesn't include a hyperlink to a different page, but can list a different URL than what the actual page URL is.
So my question is, can listing a homepage in the description of an internal page have a negative impact on a site? The reason I thought more of Penguin is because Penguin deals with links where an anchor text is overly optimized. So would Google see this tactic as keyword stuffing/over-opitmized if my brand/keyword is in the title and URL?
-
I don't think your question is clear. How would a URL point to another page when they click through from the meta description? The description doesn't allow hyperlinks, so I don't see how putting a URL in there would result in any clicking through.
Also Penguin 2.1 and Penguin in general are link spamming tactics, what you mentioned seems to be about on page optimization, more likely Panda than Penguin.
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
-
Product Descriptions (SEO)
So I would like a few opinions. How long should a product description be? Enough to get the point across? 100 words? 800 words? Over detailed? Any advice would be appreciated.
On-Page Optimization | | mattl990 -
Using Bold text for keywords
Hello I am updating an old e-commerce website of mine and many keywords are in bold - shall I remove the bold tag or keep them there? This is for SEO.
On-Page Optimization | | xdunningx0 -
Each page with a different meta description?
each page on my website represents a different department, can I program the header to show a different meta description on each page or should there only be 1 meta description tag per domain?
On-Page Optimization | | RonnieT0 -
Use of '&' in meta title
Hi, I know that use of '&' would be helpful to save space and also add more keyword variation to the title tag. But just want to make sure if it matters if I use '&' in most of my title tags? And also is it common to use more than & in one title? Would the following title be different in Google's perspective regardless of the title length? I am thinking they are all targeting the keywords 'fruit cake' and 'fruit bread', but the first one is the best. buy fruit cake & bread buy fruit cake & fruit bread buy fruit cake and fruit bread Thanks in advance.
On-Page Optimization | | russellbrown0 -
Using keywords in my URL: Doing a redirect to /keyword
My website in "On Page Grade" received an A.Anyway, I only have 1 thing to optimize:_"Use Keywords in your URL__Using your targeted keywords in the URL string adds relevancy to your page for search engine rankings, assists potential visitors identify the topic of your page from the URL, and provides SEO value when used as the anchor text of referring links."_My website is ranking in top10 for a super high competitive keyword and all my others competitors have the keyword on their domain, but not for my URL.Since I can't change my domain for fixing this suggestion, I would like to know what do you think about doing a 301 redirect from / to mydomainname.com/keyword/So the index of my website would be the /keyword.I don't know if this can make a damage to my SERP for the big change ir it would be a great choice.
On-Page Optimization | | estebanseo0 -
Meta description for Privacy Policy?
Hello guys, Quick question about optimizing other pages on my woocommerce e-commerce store. Do I need to optimize pages like the cart page, checkout page, privacy policy, return policy, shipping policy, etc? Strictly talking about on page SEO for these pages, like meta titles, description. Thanks!
On-Page Optimization | | The_Kiwi_Man0 -
Do I need a Meta description for every page?
HI Guys, We have just developed a new website and I'm looking to add meta descriptions with relevant key words to the pages . As the site has over 80 pages it is quite an undertaking and i was wandering if pages, such as the shopping cart and FAQ's etc, need meta descriptions as well? Thanks in advance : ) Pete
On-Page Optimization | | dawsonski0
