Meta Description / Meta Keywords
-
So, I am using Wordpress and the seo by yoast..... I have heard that meta keywords and descriptions are no longer recognized or used by search engines with respect to page rankings in the serps. Is this true? If so, why do people still recommend using these? I thought content is king these days?
-
The right meta description can get people to click - so while not ranking factor, it's very critical to success in driving traffic.
-
Hi Quilbur
These guys have all given you some great answers I just thought you might like this extra little bit of info - Bing actually takes meta keywords as a spam signal since about 2011.
Have a look at this article by Danny Sullivan - http://searchengineland.com/the-meta-keywords-tag-lives-at-bing-why-only-spammers-should-use-it-96874
As the only thing that meta keywords actually do is make it easier for your competitors to know what keywords you are targeting (as jamesm5i stated) I never implement them.
I always make sure that there is a strong call to action on the meta description as I have seen the results of implementing this with sites already in postions 2 and 3 - a strong call to action increased the search traffic generated by them significantly.
-
You meta description, while not a ranking factor, can significantly affect the number of click-thoughs you get in the search result pages (SERPS).
Think of your Page title, and description as the equivalent of a small ad you might place in a newspaper. It's got to be relevant, interesting and compelling for the searcher. You want them to think that they're going to find what they're looking for if they click on your page.
Try to match snippet to the searchers intent implied by the keyword (where possible).
-
Hey Quilbur
As stated, the meta keywords tag isn't worth your time and can even show competitors which keywords you plan to target.
Meta descriptions, while not a major ranking factor, can help with click-thru rates on search engine results pages. If any of the query appears in your description, it will bold. The bold text gives the searcher that much extra assurance that you are the source to trust.
-
Thank you, I have not been keeping up with things, so, nice to hear I am somewhat in the right track
-
Hi!
You are right regarding keywords. They are a waste of time. In regards to the meta description, this is still used for display in the SERPs, so it's still worth the extra few minutes to craft a well-thought text explaining what the page is really about.
Hope this helps
Anders
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 much do branded search organic traffic & direct traffic impact the ranking for their non-branded topic/keyword?
Hi Moz community, We can see many websites with a reputation will have more number of visitors landing with these two types of traffic mostly (>90%): organic traffic of brand queries and direct traffic. Will these visits help and impact the ranking of these websites for the keywords/topics they been employing? Ex: Moz will have many such visitors. Will this really impact the ranking of Moz for non-brand queries they try to rank for, like "SEO Software". If so, will this have a huge impact or it's just a minor ranking factor. Because we have this with our website and we don't see such boost in rankings compared to our competitors with less direct traffic; where as I been looking at some SEO articles that direct traffic is one of the most important ranking factors. Thanks
Algorithm Updates | | vtmoz0 -
When Is It Okay To Use Bold, Underline & Italic Text? Should I Stay Away From My Keywords?
Hey guys I have a few questions. I am pretty sure that I was penalized by Panda a few years back because I went very heavy on bold, italic and underlining my keywords. Since then I removed the bold, italic and underlines and never have used them again. I was just reading an article on the Moz Blog and I saw some bold words. My questions are, When Is It Okay To Use Bold, Underline & Italic Text? Should I Stay Away From My Keywords? Any help would be great! Thank you.
Algorithm Updates | | Videogamefan1 -
How is best to use Permalinks for Wordpress /category/postname or /postname
Hello , I have a question Regarding the Permalink structure form Wordpress ,I am trying to figure out what would be the best structure of the blog post link ,for the moment I am using the structure example.com/postname and I changed the structure to example.com/category/postname ,redirected with 301 the old links to the new links and I thought about it and wanted to ask , I would really appreciate if you could tell me what is best form SEO point of view to do. Regards,
Algorithm Updates | | anitawapa0 -
Special Characters in Keywords
Do search engines consider keywords such as "1099 E-File Software" & "1099 "EFile Software" the same? Many of the keywords for my website will have a dash "-" when properly spelled out but there are many users who would simply omit it when spelling the word. Another example would be "W-2 Software" as opposed to "W2 Software".
Algorithm Updates | | Stew2220 -
Which domain is better - a Long descriptive or Short Abbreviated?
I want to start a new company and have an option to have a long and descriptive domain or buy out the 5 letter Abbreviated domain for $2000. abstract example:
Algorithm Updates | | NikitaG
LegalMigrationServiceCapeTown.com
V.S.
LMSCT.com The advantage of the shorter domain is that it is 13 years old.
so now for the SEO - which one do you think is better? is Exact Match Domain a better thing for SEO or can I get away with a shorter domain? I can buy both, but which one should I build on as the main domain? any advice would be much appreciated, as well as the PROS & CONS of both.0 -
Google Webmaster Tools: Quality Issues on http://www.enakliyat.com.tr/
Specifically, we detected low-quality pages on your site which do not provide substantially unique content or added value. Examples could include thin affiliate pages, doorway pages, automatically generated content, or copied content. We encourage you to make changes to your site so that it meets our quality guidelines. Once you've made these changes, please submit your site for reconsideration in Google's search results. Google Webmaster Tool send me this message I think the low-quality pages is like the this http://www.enakliyat.com.tr/detaylar/bursa-fethiye-ucevler-nakliye-5834 page and we have so many pages like this... Example 1: http://www.enakliyat.com.tr/detaylar/evden-eve-nakliyat-5906 **Example 2 : **http://www.enakliyat.com.tr/detaylar/cekmekoy-izmit-5905 **Example 3: **http://www.enakliyat.com.tr/detaylar/evden-eve-nakliyat-5906 What should I do to these pages HELP 😞
Algorithm Updates | | iskq0 -
Penguin Update and Long Tail Keywords
Since the Penguin update, organic traffic for our site; oxygenconcentratorstore.com
Algorithm Updates | | chuck-layton
has dropped almost 25%. The thing I cannot figure out is that when I compare April 1<sup>st</sup> to May 15<sup>th</sup> (before the update) and June 1<sup>st</sup> to July 15<sup>th</sup> (after); 8 of our top keywords are up. Our 2 main keywords are up 15% and 11%. Where we lost most of our traffic is from our longtail keywords. We have almost 1000 longtail keyword phrases that we got visits from in the April/May period that we did not get in the June/July period. Is there a reason why our top keywords would continue to improve while we most of the longtail keywords?? If Google penalized us, won’t all of our keywords be dropping and just not the longtail. Any help/info would be awesome. Thanks.0 -
Keyword Research for Real Estate Industry
I just finished reading the Beginners Guide to SEO at SEOMoz and joined as a Pro Member. I have created a campaign for my new SEO project and feel like I have a good understanding now of on-page optimization. I am going to start fixing title tags and on page content for our top 50 pages and start a new campaign to go after some keywords. Our website is 360dwellings. I am struggling to determine what the best keywords are for us to target. Right now our primary markets are Denver and San Diego, we also display listings for all of Colorado as well. We had originally gone after competitive keywords like "Denver Homes for Sale". What I am learning is that even ranking bottom of page one for that term doesn't bring a ton of traffic. Meanwhile, we rank well for a lot of niche content like "5280 best neighborhoods" "Denver Lofts for Sale" and "Denver Neighborhood Map". My questions is do we completely abandon going after big keywords like 'Denver CO Homes for Sale", and 'Denver Real Estate" and go as far as removing them from title tags? We have pages for every Denver neighborhood like Park Hill and the Highlands, but there is no search data for these searches in Google Keywords. My gut says that if each of those pages ranked for terms like "Denver Highlands Neighborhood Homes for Sale" that it would bring good targeted traffic. Does anyone know of search terms for Real Estate that are low competition but have some search volume? Thanks!
Algorithm Updates | | 360ryan0