Can using an exact sentence from your content as meta description hurt?
-
Hi Mozzers!
I'm uploading some press releases and the first sentence makes a perfect meta description. Would using the exact same wording ever hurt my rankings?
Thanks!
-
OK, now you don't want some very aggressive call to action sentence. I'd try to avoid words like "best", "leading" etc.
Try to describe what your website offers in a sentence.
-
This wont hurt at all. In fact, Google often uses a snippet from your content as the meta description.
With a meta description, your goal is to optimize for a click. So for that reason, the first sentence may not be you're best option.
-
Agreed, thanks for chiming in Chris!
-
Nope. Your description should help enhance your click through rate, though, so orient it towards a call to action.
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
-
How do I enter my own keywords to better my listing on google, using Squarespace?
I'm trying to use better keywords on my Squarespace website but can't quite figure out how to plug in my own using the site. I'm trying to improve my ranking on my google listing. Any help would be very much appreciated! (Sorry, I'm new to this!)
Keyword Research | | CloudJammer0 -
Thoughts on exact match domains to keywords? If your domain isn't an exact match, do you recommend buying another domain and getting a 301 redirect?
Thoughts on exact match domains to keywords? If your domain isn't an exact match, do you recommend buying another domain and getting a 301 redirect?
Keyword Research | | Kflo0 -
Can i get some insight as to why this is #1 on google?
So... our results keep slipping little by little. I am trying to understand the rhyme and reason to it all (aren't we all?)
Keyword Research | | CassisGroup
Since Penguin, one website seems to have strongly benefited from the update. And I can't seem to understand why except maybe for the lack of seo efforts which resulted in no bad efforts.
Search for "chaussures grandes tailles" in google.FR, you will find what I am talking about. This is what I seemed to have gathered. The #1 result has the KW in both their title and description is using blatant keyword stuffing (ie just astring of keyword with no phrase structure), has done little with links or optimization, does have 300 facebook fans (but they seem to have been bought according to the last 3 months activity). Text is very limited on their site. They have a lower authority than other websites.They are also a newcomer as far as the market goes. It is important to note, that they also rank #1 on many of the related field keyword or top 3. So according to google this is a "winning" website as of now.and that is why it grabbed my attention. The #2 results, is a big website, equivalent to zappos or the like, seems to have redone their optimization following penguin and to me seems to do a pretty good job at writing "natural" content for the user, not for google, as much as possible without killing their seo chances. Their authority should be good, and tons of people are linking to them. They also do use a lot of PR blog/article.(legit ones though I am not sure about before). They invest heavily in adwords and ads altogether (tv/radio/etc..). They are the big guy but are not specialized on this keyword. The lower results, are not as representative, a mish mash of good and bad but all are specialized stores in this market including mine. They all get some ranking on some of the major keywords but not nearly as much as that #1 website which is killing it all (see semrush for more on it). So I thought I would focus on these 2 top (neither of which are mine) to start a conversation.Though feel free to comment if you have any hindsight on any of them. Can anyone explain to me why the #1 can possibly be #1? I would love to hear everyone's opinion on the matter.
I fully understand that in the long run that #1 might not be #1 forever, but then again it has been several months now at least and the longer that last, the more likely they are to gain new (possibly repeat) customers...0 -
Can't think of any keywords I'd want to rank for
I run a box-of-the-month subscription club for Japanese candy called "Candy Japan". Users sign up for $24 / month and then I start sending them products to try from Japan. I'm curious about SEO, but lack in imagination for terms I would even want to rank for. I already rank OK for "japanese candy", but people who search for that who click over to the site don't seem to convert. People who search for "candy japan" do convert (obviously), since it's clear they already know they want to subscribe. I started making content pages about specific candies, but those are not working. Firstly no-one knows the name of specific Japanese candies, so there isn't any search traffic for them. And even when I get some clicks, they don't convert because I am not selling those specific products (and am not interested in doing so) but rather my product is the subscription club itself. Any ideas on what kind of terms I might be able to find new converting club members from?
Keyword Research | | Bemmu0 -
Using local monthly searches for generating website keywords
Hi Guys,Im researching keywords to add to our new website with google key words. At this stage we are not using any paid searches or any PPC and are solely looking to be optimized for organic searches. With this in mind should I focus on populating out site with words that rank high under the column " local monthly searches' and not worry about the words that rank high under CPC and the Competition columns? .
Keyword Research | | dawsonski0 -
Do you get an error in the search numbers when using the keyword difficulty tool?
Do you get an error in the search numbers when using the keyword difficulty tool?
Keyword Research | | jest0 -
Geographically Specific Keyword Research - What do you use?
Does anyone recommend a particular keyword research tool or tools for geographically modified keywords? i.e. Web DesignerF Fargo. I often find that searches focused on services in the area we serve does not get the traffic volume Google's keyword tool needs to provide me with a number. I know the traffic is there, because I see it coming in via analytics. Thoughts? Recommendations?
Keyword Research | | BedeFahey0 -
Do you use broad match or exact match on Adwords Keyword Tool when doing keyword research?
I wasn't sure whether to classify this as a discussion or a question. I'd love "the right answer" but I'm not sure if we're going to get one... Let's try. When you use the Adwords Keyword Tool for doing keyword research, do you use the numbers from "broad match" or "exact match" when comparing relative search volume of keywords? (And yes, I know the numbers need to be taken with a grain of salt, but when it comes down to it, you're using the numbers to compare and come to conclusions regarding the best keyword to use - so which match type gives you the data you're looking for?) To be a little more specific - when you select "exact match" for, let's say the keyword "baking supplies", is that telling you how many people searched for that phrase within quotes <"baking supplies">, or how many people searched for only <baking supplies="">, as opposed to that word within a phrase <baking supplies="" stores="">or with the words reversed <supplies baking="">?</supplies></baking></baking> Based on some keyword research we had done a year ago where any phrase reversals like <water bottles="">and <bottles water="">were coming out with the exact same numbers, even when it wasn't so intuitive that there would be the same search volume, we came to the conclusion - with the tentative suggestion of the SEOMoz staff on the old Q & A - that broad match would include all instances of the keywords in reverse order, so if you wanted to know how many people were searching for <water bottles="">only, you needed to use exact match. </water></bottles></water> That's what we did for about a year (I also think I saw Rand mention that somewhere in a presentation slide recently, although I could be mistaken and I don't recall exactly where it was to check it up) and then based on a recent forum discussion I had where someone was questioning that premise, I did another check with two KW reversals and while <water bottles="">and <bottles water="">still give the same number, <baking supplies="">and <supplies baking="">do not. </supplies></baking></bottles></water> So I'm left with a big question here as to what the best policy is. Google Adwords Help is very vague on what the match type means in the tool (it seems to be talking about only your settings for your campaigns). So - any input after this long saga? Thanks!
Keyword Research | | debi_zyx0