Why does Google not show my Meta Descriptions Sometimes ?
-
Hi Friends
We have Meta Descriptions on our Pages but when certain keywords are typed into google search , different meta descriptions are created , for example when searching for "fancy dress" we see our meta description which is correct -
Shop with Party Domain for all your Fancy Dress. 1000s of Fancy Dress Ideas at CHEAP Prices. Halloween Fancy Dress. Next Day Delivery and Same Day ...
However when searching for "fancy dress costumes" the same page is ranked but the meta description is
Fancy Dress. Female Pirate Fancy Dress Costume. £ 13.80. Female Pirate Fancy ... SKU: G11034. Pirate Captain Fancy Dress Costume. £ 12.22. RRP: £ 15.02 ...
Thanks
Adam
-
Hi Matt
It was the only change we made , I have since optimised more meta descriptions across main landing pages so I will let you know what happens.
-
Was this the only change you made? Supposedly meta descriptions have no bearing on rankings, but this depends how much you believe what Google says. I personally don't believe they are a ranking factor but it would be hard to argue this if you think you haven't amended anything else.
-
Thank you very much everybody, we made that change on friday. The changes can be seen today when searching for the relevant keyword "fancy dress costumes" and we have increased our position from 13th to 7th !
-
Matt summed it up nicely. If you rank for a keyword, and that keyword is not in the meta description, Google will sometimes pull the snippet of where the keyword is featured in your content. So, if you decide not to change your meta description you can still try to optimize that snippet to increase ctr in serps.
-
Your snippet will be populated based on the information Google feels is the most relevant to the query. Meta descriptions are one of the elements Google can use for this purpose, but if it feels your on-page content (for example) is more relevant to the user's search, this will show instead.
The Open Directory Project is another way your snippet can be created - Google uses DMoz and other listings to create your snippet, although you can opt out of this by using the noodp instruction in your robots meta tag.
If you want your carefully-crafted description to show in search, make sure it is directly keyword-relevant to the query you want it to show for. If you're selling red shoes, make sure 'red shoes' is included in the meta description, preferably as an exact match phrase. This won't help you rank higher, but it will help your MD show as opposed to your page content or any other information.
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
-
Google Data Highlighter
Hello Mozers! Anyone out there have any experience using the Google data highlighter tool in WMT? I'm just curious if it is something I should be utilizing or should just try to get the same results using microdata markup. I'm not a fan of "tools" per se...I'd rather get my hands dirty. Just looking for any thoughts or experiences in using it.
On-Page Optimization | | adamxj21 -
How does user behaviour signalled at Google affect rankings?
Hi, Just a quick question. How important are the signals received by Google on a websites user behaviour? For example: Bounce Rate, Avg Time on site, # of pages viewed, Geo of user etc Thanks.
On-Page Optimization | | followuk0 -
Meta description not showing in search results
Hi, One of my client's websites is not showing its Meta descriptions in search results. I've looked at the html and have noticed that they are using ' rather than " around the description tag (see below) <meta name="<a class="attribute-value">description</a>" content='<a class="attribute-value">Student Accommodation in Portsmouth or Southampton - Fully Furnished Studios, Close to the Universities. All Inclusive Rent with WiFi. Going Fast, Book Now!</a>' /> Is this likely to be the problem, or am I missing something very obvious? The website is http://www.unilife.co.uk/ Many thanks, Ben
On-Page Optimization | | bendyman0 -
Google picking up old pages
I recently redesigned a site that had all the keywords it was ranking for going to the home page. Now I have specific pages for each of these keywords but I'm seeing the home page (not the page that, if I do an on page optimization by hand in MOZ gives me an A rating) showing up in the auto reports (assuming pages Google sees for these keywords related to the url) as F's. They're all pointing to the home page. I've redirected the old index.html home page to the new but I suspect the reason is actually these pages (were) ranking for these terms (though none too well - all but one were not in the top 50 and one was 45) because these rankings are all dropping as well. I'm at a loss, with the site replaced, as to how to correct this and tell Google these keyword phrases all have their own pages now. I've dug through this forum and the only applicable answer I can see would be to add these phases to the home page (where they all rank for now) with anchored links to their new (A rated by Moz for these terms when I hand enter them) singular pages? Or is it just a waiting game?
On-Page Optimization | | adworksofboca0 -
How often should ecommerce category and product descriptions be rewritten?
We are a 15 year old ecommerce company. Most of our category descriptions are about 3 years old. Our product descriptions are 5-8 years old. While our category pages still rank well in Google our product pages have dropped significantly over time. How often should product page descriptions be rewritten so they do not become stale to Google? We have about 1,000 products on the site. If we rewrite them we are thinking about 250 words each. Thanks.
On-Page Optimization | | SLINC0 -
Why Does Google Keep Changing My Page Titles?
I know Google has been doing this for quite some time but how do you "control" what Google will display as your page name? Lots of my pages come up with a title like "[searched keyword] - [website name]" in the search results. I usually a huge drop in CTR when this happens. On the other hand, there are some pages which have kept their title intact in the search results. So what gives? How come one page's title is changed and the other is not?
On-Page Optimization | | sbrault740 -
Meta Description Question
Is it ok to put your domain name in the meta description if that is the name of your company? so if my company name is BlaBla.com and I want to have a meta description like Shop for your next Widget at BlaBla.com. We have Widget in 30 colors. Free shipping for orders over $50. and I am obviosuly promoting the widget page is this ok. I am concerned that Google will not like the domain name in the meta description. After Peguin I am paranoid about my shadow.....LOL
On-Page Optimization | | freestone0 -
Why is SEOMoz telling me that meta descriptions are missing?
We have descriptions using an Ektron CMS on a .NET platform. IT is wondering if using "meta ID" vs "meta name" is the issue? Here is an example of the HTML code: <meta http-equiv="<a class="attribute-value">Content-Language</a>" name="<a class="attribute-value">Language</a>" content="<a class="attribute-value">en</a>" /> <meta id="<a class="attribute-value">ctl00_metaTagControl1_metaKeywords</a>" name="<a class="attribute-value">Keywords</a>" content="<a class="attribute-value">hunting, fishing, outdoor, sportshooting, rodeo, off-road, hunt, fish, outdoors, community, shotgun, rifle, bass, trout, sportfishing, tarpon, ATV, television</a>">meta> <meta id="<a class="attribute-value">ctl00_metaTagControl1_metaDesc</a>" name="<a class="attribute-value">Description</a>" content="<a class="attribute-value">Deep-cranking technique lands Starks his second Elite Series victory.</a>">meta> <meta id="<a class="attribute-value">ctl00_metaTagControl1_metaSubject</a>" content="" name="<a class="attribute-value">subject</a>">meta> <meta id="<a class="attribute-value">ctl00_metaTagControl1_metaRating</a>" content="" name="<a class="attribute-value">rating</a>">meta>
On-Page Optimization | | cmoise0