Google displaying different meta descriptions for the same URL but different keyword
-
Hi All,
A quick question that may even have a quick answer:
Why would Google display a different meta description for the same URL for a different keyword?
For example I enter 2 of our similar keywords into Google:
KEYWORD A | META DESCRIPTION A DISPLAYED | URL A
KEYWORD B | META DESCRIPTION B DISPLAYED | URL A
Thanks in advance
-
Awesome resources here from Laura on the subject - definitely check them out!
-
Google may use your meta description, or they may pull your meta description from the content on the page if it's more relevant to the query. That's why you see different descriptions for different queries. They may also be using the description from the Open Directory Project.
Here's a post from Dr. Pete that addresses the issue:
Why Won't Google Use My META Description?
Here's another Q&A that addresses the same issue:
http://moz.com/community/q/why-does-google-not-show-my-meta-descriptions-sometimes
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 not show results for my domain as keyword
Hello seomoz! The problem My issue is that from around 28-7-2014 when i search on google "domain.com" it doesn`t return any webpages of my website. What is working as it should I get results for the homepage if i search any other keywords. For example if i search "site:domain.com" i get many results including the homepage. Other helpful information On Google webmaster tools i didn`t receive any message regarding this, or a penalty.
Technical SEO | | vatraxos
Also at manual actions there is nothing. The traffic coming from google didn`t dropped. Actually the last weeks i have an increase on visits Any idea what could be wrong ? Any solution for this? Thanks a lot for your time!0 -
Google adding strings to meta title in SERPs => Driving my client crazy!
Fellow Mozzers, I'm really baffled by Google's behaviour adding strings before my meta title in the SERPs.
Technical SEO | | TheReference
This behaviour seems random, but it mainly happens on queries that trigger the homepages (multilingual .com domain).
I'm aware of meta title guidelines concerning length, and I know that Google may insert strings if it thinks it could benefit the user.
But clearly their "aid" is not helpful at all... Client is really anxious to get this resolved and we're stumped on what could be the cause for this... Some examples: Query: https://www.google.co.uk/#hl=en&pws=0&q=Ogone - Online payment gateway
Result title: en-gb - Ogone - Online payment gateway
Normal title: Ogone - Online payment gateway Query: https://www.google.at/#hl=de&q=Ogone Online Payment Service Provider
Result title: ogone.at - Ogone. Online Payment Service Provider & e-payment ...
Normal title: Ogone. Online Payment Service Provider & e-payment Deutschland
=> For longer titles it will just prepend strings, and leave out our piece of the meta title Query: https://www.google.nl/#hl=nl&pws=0&q=Support Ogone
Result: Support | Ogone
=> For very short titles, Google doesn't add anything, why does it so for the other results? I really don't understand why this happens. The titles are long enough (but not too long), no strange characters inserted. Please, please help. Thanks in advance! Nikolaas0 -
Templates for Meta Description, Good or Bad?
Hello, We have a website where users can browse photos of different categories. For each photo we are using a meta description template such as: Are you looking for a nice and cool photo? [Photo name] is the photo which might be of interest to you. And in the keywords tags we are using: [Photo name] photos, [Photo name] free photos, [Photo name] best photos. I'm wondering, is this any safe method? it's very difficult to write a manual description when you have 3,000+ photos in the database. Thanks!
Technical SEO | | TheSEOGuy10 -
Why does google show two different titles for my rankings?
I have two keywords I am ranked for but google is showing two different title tags. One is the more updated version while the other is the older version. In all in one seo pack it shows the updated title tag but google still shows the old Why is this?
Technical SEO | | junkcars0 -
Keyword and URL
I have a client who has a popular name (like 'Joe Smith'). His blog URL has only his first name and the name of his company in it, like joe.company.com. His blog doesn't rank well at all in the first 3-4 Google SERPs. I was thinking of advising him to change the URL of his blog to joesmith.company.com, and having his webmaster do 301 redirects from the old URL to the new one. Do you think this is a good strategy, or would you recommend something else? I realize ranking isn't just about the URL, it's about links, etc. But I think making his URL more specific to his name could help. Any advice greatly appreciated! Jim
Technical SEO | | JamesAMartin0 -
UK website ranking higher in Google.com than Google.co.uk
Hi, I have a UK website which was formerly ranked 1<sup>st</sup> in Google.co.uk and .com for my keyword phrase and has recently slipped to 6<sup>th</sup> in .co.uk but is higher in position 4 in Google.com. I have conducted a little research and can’t say for certain but I wonder if it is possible that too many of my backlinks are US based and therefore Google thinks my website is also US based. Checked Google WmT and we the geo-targeted to the UK. Our server is also UK based. Does anyone have an opinion on this? Thanks
Technical SEO | | tdsnet0 -
Difference between URL Rewrites and 301 Redirects for Rankings
What is the difference between URL rewriting and 301 redirects? Specifically if my home page is rewriting the www. version and the /index.html version rather than 301 redirecting them is this equivalent? Does it still pass the link juice on those alternate variations the same way a 301 redirect will?
Technical SEO | | rcarll0 -
Existing Pages in Google Index and Changing URLs
Hi!! I am launching a newly recoded site this week and had a another noobie question. The URL structure has changed slightly and I have installed a 301 redirect to take care of that. I am wondering how Google will handle my "old" pages? Will they just fall out of the index? Or does the 301 redirect tell Google to rewrite the URLs in the index? I am just concerned I may see an "old" page and a "new" page with the same content in the index. Just want to make sure I have covered all my bases. Thanks!! Lynn
Technical SEO | | hiphound0