Brand Name Pulling Into Search Results Incorrectly
-
Hi Moz Community!
I have a client, Acme Stove Co., whose branded search results are pulling in the wrong name. A Google search for "Acme Stove Co" returns pages with the title "Acme Stove & Video." Really not sure where this "& Video" part is pulling from - there is no mention of videos on the pages that are ranking with these terms, and Google is definitely using a title tag other than the one that we have worked to optimize. It appears to be happening on the homepage and our store location pages. Screen shot of search results is attached.
The company definitely does not offer any sort of video services whatsoever, so we're really stumped as to where this may be coming from.
Any insight would be greatly appreciated!!
-
My gut feeling is that Google is doing the same thing to the BBB entry (re-writing, that is) and not that BBB is the cause, but it's a little hard to separate.
-
Thank you, everyone, SO much for your responses! We did see that BBB listing and were able to contact them and have the name of the business changed to the correct one. We will definitely try the Meta NOODP tag and re-work the homepage title tag and meta description and see if that helps. The weirdest part is that this just started happening recently - our search results didn't used to look like that.
We'll keep working on it. Thank you again, everybody!
-
I saw the BBB and noticed it does mention it but couldn't figure if it was any real cause -
-
It's definitely odd. I am seeing some evidence of bad data in DMOZ:
http://www.dmoz.org/search?q=acme+stove
...so I'd definitely try Meta NOODP (). Sometimes, it can shake that stuff loose.
What's weird, though, is that Google is crossing that same bad title into your listing on other sites. For example running an exact match search for ("acme stove & video") and Google is putting that title on the BBB listings, even though it doesn't appear on those pages either. It is possibly that it's bleeding over from a bad local listing or something in the Knowledge Base, but that won't usually impact title tag rewrites.
Your home-page title tag is a bit keyword-heavy, which doesn't help. It's basically:
"Product Location | Product & Product Location"
...and doesn't even mention your brand. Unfortunately, that reads a little spammy, and that makes Google more inclined to do a rewrite. I'd personally tone it down a bit and get the brand in there.
-
Don't know if this helps or not. Acme Video Fireplaces & Stove is/was a real place and was located in Harrisburg, VA.
Sometimes Google will rewrite or add the brand to your url and in this case, it changed your title tag w/this brand. How to fix it? I'm guessing you will need to increase your use of brand signals until Google catches on.
-
Very Strange indeed META NOODP tag? It can help if Google decided it likes DMOZ more though you don't seem to have a link but its handy. You can also implement some Rich snippets - https://support.google.com/webmasters/answer/99170?hl=en to help Google know e.g the name of your site etc.
Hope that helps sorry i couldn't get to the bottom though another clever person here might be able to.
Good luck
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
-
Local Search - can I use a shortened company name
Can I use a shortened version of our company name for local search or does it need to match the name registered at companies house exactly?
Local Listings | | paulfoz16090 -
How do I measure the results of my local spam crackdown?
I've recently been cracking down on some spammy listings. How do I measure the success? Can I only do so with a third party tool like Moz? Thanks!
Local Listings | | DigitalMarketingSEO1 -
Does business name capitalisation count when making sure you have the same NAP across all directories ?
We've got a UK company with a company name like the following "ABC cars" (3 letter capitalised name followed by a word). With the Thompson local directory (one of the top 10 uk directories for local NAPs (and listed as a direct partner in Moz Local)) they dont allow you to have multiple capitalised letters in a company name. As far as i can see there are a few options to get around this : A B C Cars Abc Cars abc Cars (or abc cars) But none of them are ideal, as they dont match the actual name as listed on all of sites 100% in terms capitalisation. Which one of the above (or other) would be the best solution ? Does capitalisation count when people say your NAP must match ?
Local Listings | | mike8780 -
Google My Business page no longer appearing with search results
Title pretty much says it all--my company's local Google+ page has always appeared under our listed website information up until very recently. I'm also noticing the same with our competitors. Has anyone else just began to experience this? Our NAP, map, photos, and review are still displayed to the right of the results, but nothing is linked to the actual Google page itself. Am I missing something? Thanks!
Local Listings | | LMcLaughlin0 -
address on my websiteto help with local searches
If I put my address on my website, does it help that page to rank for local searches? especially if it's the same address that i am using for moz local and all my citations? I want my other pages to rank in different cities as well as i have a service that travels to all cities in my state. Will that address of my home town on my home page make google think that i don't service other cities? Thanks, Ron
Local Listings | | Ron100 -
Brand term for local showing wrong knowledge graph
It was discovered that when you search our brand and our city "alaska airlines seattle" that the brand knowledge graph shows a building at the University of Washington that is named after us as part of a sponsorship deal. This seems logical that it would do that since the building is branded Alaska Airlines and it is in Seattle. The problem is information listed would confuse customers that call the number posted and instead of our customer service they are getting the University. I admit I am not too familiar with local SEO so any help is greatly appreciated. r6GlDj9 wMZQnRB
Local Listings | | Shawn_Huber0 -
Local SEO Brand Name Question
I have a franchisee client where the standard practice is to list their brand name as (ex: "[Brand] of San Diego, CA") on their website. I don't think that's the legal business name of the company, just how corporate chooses to organize the franchisees. The client often uses this name in the offline world so it seems to fall within Google's guidelines for creating a listing on Google My Business. https://support.google.com/business/answer/3038177?hl=en&ref_topic=4540086 I've heard conflicting answers from Google Places reps on whether to use brand + location or just brand. I've also seen articles that state if your business name is greater than 40 characters it can often be shortened if directories choose to pull your business data from a different source and that would make the listing name inconsistent. I'd like the added benefit of keeping the location in but I know large franchises like Subway don't bother adding location though. Anyone have any experience with this?
Local Listings | | GSO0 -
Correlation between ranking on Google organic result page and ranking on the local listing
Hi Moz fans, A quick question: any correlation between ranking on Google organic result page and ranking on the local listing or vise versa? Thnx Saab
Local Listings | | S.Saab0