META Descriptions and NAPs
-
Does the meta description/snippet need to match the NAP for that office? If it doesn't, will it hurt local results/cause inconsistencies?
The reason I am asking is that we are using one line for one of our offices to answer texts. But, our other offices have their own distinct numbers. So, if we want people to text us and advertise it through the meta description/snippet, can we just use that one number for all the offices? Or, do we need to purchase additional lines?
Thanks,
Ruben
-
Thanks!
-
You can put anything into your meta description and it won't mess up any NAP inconsistencies. It's used purely as the text to show in SERPs - not related to SEO, link building, local map pack, etc.
Differences in NAP in the actual website content and various business citations could cause issues, but not in the meta description.
-
I understand it has no direct effect on rankings, however this is a little different. In regards to NAPs, they have to be consistent and if they aren't, then it will hurt your rankings locally. So, if I have a toll-free number listed on Yelp, but then a local number on Yellow Pages, that could cause a problem.
However, what I don't know is what the effect of having a different number in the snippet/meta description would have or if that would cause a similarly inconsistency?
The reason I am asking this is a cost issue. It's cheap to have dedicated lines for each office for someone to call into, but adding the ability to text to each number cost a lot per extra line. So, I'm trying to figure out if there would be any ill effects to just using the same number across the snippets for the different locations, or if we need to just pay the extra amount.
- Ruben
-
Not sure I totally understand the question but overall.. meta descriptions have no direct affect on rankings. The goal of a meta description is to entice people to select your link instead of the others on SERPs - use whatever it takes to make that happen.
If someone is looking for a specific office, it would make sense to use that specific office's info in the meta description.
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
-
Call Rail and NAP
Hello- My company has multiple physical locations, but one central toll free admissions line. We have CallRail to track where calls are coming from, however, I am nervous about the dynamic tracking numbers and how I approach NAP. Even if I set up a different toll free number for each of our 9 locations (which would ultimately route to one toll free number), how would I track where the calls were coming from (GMB, website, facebook, etc) without adding more dynamic tracking numbers? We've had calls with CallRail reps, but no one can give us an explanation. My question is how exactly do I approach CallRail with multiple locations and one main toll-free number to make sure we don't mess up NAP? Are there any CallRail experts out there that can tell me exactly what to do in our specific situation? Thank you so much in advance!
Local Listings | | lfrazer1230 -
Would two telephone numbers on a website affect NAP consistency? One is the "actual" business number with Schema, the other is a call tracking number.
Hello! I have two telephone numbers listed on a website - one is the "actual" business number and is utilizing proper schema, while the other is a call tracking number featured more prominently on the site (both in the header and above the "actual" business number in the footer). The code looks like this: New Patients: 999-555-5555 Current Patients: 555-555-5555 Does Google prioritize the "actual" business number because it has the proper schema on it? Or would the call tracking number still be counted and affect NAP consistency for Local SEO? Thanks!
Local Listings | | nowmedia11 -
Do you need contact details (NAP) on every page of your website for local search ranking ?
We’ve got a clients site which doesn't have the contact details on every page, all the contact details are on the /contact page which is using the schema.org local business markup Some sites that our outranking us locally have their contact details on all pages, where as others only have it on the contact page also. Is having your contact details on every page a ranking factor for local search ?
Local Listings | | mike8780 -
NAP question and Google local.
Hello, My client has successfully grown one of their event venues locally (lets call it venue A) and on the back of that bought two more venues (B & C). Then created an umbrella company to manage all three. He now wants to market the umbrella company and so redirected the original successful venue domain (A) to the new umbrella company domain. The umbrella company is located at the same address as the original venue A. So it shares the same address, phone number, website as venue A but a different name. All this done before me. He has a Google local page for the original venue - venue A- and changed the domain on it to the new one. He also has Google local pages for the other two venue locations. But doesn't have a Google local page for the umbrella company. Now he finds rankings are down. Looking around I can see that his citations are all based on the original successful venue name A - but he has changed the website URL on many of the citations to the new domain.So a bit of a mess as we have a mixture of addresses, same phone number for all 4 , different business names for all 4, same website for all 4. If all the venues plus the umbrella company are in the same city, but have different names and addresses but the same phone number (for bookings) and web address, are they allowed a Google local page each? I suggest just having a Google local page for the umbrella company and remove the others as they are not actually separate businesses although they do have different addresses. But unsure if this is correct or necessary. Not sure how to progress with this one and any help appreciated?
Local Listings | | AL123al0 -
Moving Locations and NAP
Hello, I am the new IT guy for a business that is moving. They have a ton of old NAP stuff for like 3 offices that they are no longer at and to be honest, the entire NAP is just a total chaotic mess. They did not keep a record of the accounts used to make the listings or anything of the sort. Now they want me to fix it all up. Does anyone have any suggestions on techniques for doing this? Is there a way to get these out of date listings closed or do I just simply make all new ones that are correct? Or is there something I am not thinking of? Thanks.
Local Listings | | Vspeed0 -
Description on Google+ & ALL Citations the same or?
Does it matter if the description is different on Google local and all the citation websites? Some websites allow a lot of description, some don't. So my question is it only the company name+address that needs to be the same across the board or the description has to be the same too?
Local Listings | | surfsup0 -
Is it best to avoid the meta keywords tag?
We were earlier using the meta keywords tag on our pages and on reading a recommendation on Moz for the same being redundant, we went ahead and removed the same! Can anyone provide inputs on whether the meta keywords tag is really irrelevant or actually detrimental to a page? Thanks
Local Listings | | prsntsnh0 -
Question about onsite NAP as it relates to Local Search
Hi Gang, State requirements mandate that our law practice (Keller & Keller) properly display their distinct business entities on all advertising materials, including our website. Specifically, our offices are set up in a way that makes Indiana's law office an LLP, New Mexico's an LLC, and Michigan's a PLLC. All 3 offices/states are represented on a single domain, but I want to be careful about mixing the different registration titles (LLP, LLC, PLLC) throughout our site when we commonly refer to ourselves simply as Keller & Keller throughout the main pages and in our content. I worry it may negatively affect our local listings? (One idea is to place a simple 'disclaimer' in the footer throughout our site that identifies the business entities, however, I'm still concerned this too might affect/confuse our local listings?) All thoughts, advice, and theories are welcome! Thanks, everyone! (And to my fellow Yanks, enjoy a safe Memorial Day weekend!) W-
Local Listings | | Wayne760