Google / DDG do not use the Meta description
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Hello,
I set a custom Meta description in the field but Google and other major search engines don’t seem using this field ans use a custom meta description.
Is it intended ?
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That’s google and other search engines problem.
see here: ” Google’s aim is to help users to get the right content to answer their questions and to solve their problems. If your meta descriptions aren’t doing a good job of doing that, Google might show something different.”
Howdy!
To understand how, why, and when Google processes meta descriptions, please see https://developers.google.com/search/docs/advanced/appearance/snippet.
The gist is that the description you provide must match some (or most) of the keywords used in the search query. Otherwise, Google will look elsewhere. Facebook doesn’t act as haughty and will accept your input (mostly) blindly.
You can bypass this search-query bias by using a
site:-query. For example,site:example.com(in action: https://www.google.com/search?q=site%3Aexample.com).This issue is what our Focus extension teaches you to tackle, but it stands optional: https://tsf.fyi/e/focus.
Lastly, also make sure the pixel counter bar for your meta descriptions is green, otherwise, Google is more likely to ignore your meta description. To learn why, see https://tsf.fyi/kb/pixelcounter.
Pierre, I thank you very much for your excellent insights. I’d like to explore the “glaring opportunities” you suggested. My client is willing to hire “an SEO expert”.
Yes, our sitemaps are as follows:
https://intouchgraphics.com/sitemap.xml
https://intouchgraphics.com/sitemap_index.xmlYou may have seen that our sister website, clickandgomaps.com, has a lot of rich content, images, and some news releases. Plus, it has never been hacked. That is why it remains ranked high. But intouchgraphics.com used to rank higher, just prior to the late-May/early-June Japanese Keyword Hack.
I just want a way to tell the Almighty Google Algorithm that “all is fine again – please restore our ranking.” We have WordFence installed now. We previously had iThemes Security installed. I still don’t know what the vulnerability was with WordPress that allowed the Japanese Keyword Hack to occur. Some say that the vulnerability may be web hosts (like GoDaddy) that do not have robust intrusion monitoring, as opposed to WordPress itself.
Alarmingly, there was a remnant of a mystery WordPress User that had no associated email address and no role. That does suggest that someone breached WordPress via a vulnerable plugin.
Our FTP webspace had a handful of mystery directories (all outside of wp-content) plus hundreds of malware .ico and .php files. They were all purged when I did a clean install of WordPress.
I have changed passwords for the MySQL database, FTP and the two WordPress admin users.
Four weeks ago, I moved website hosting from GoDaddy (which has a reputation for poor firewall security unless you pay a chunk extra for it) to InMotion Hosting. Web response time (page speed) has been 2 to 3 times faster.
I set up verified business profiles in Google and Bing for InTouch Graphics:
https://www.google.com/search?q=%22InTouch+Graphics%22
https://www.bing.com/search?q=%22InTouch+Graphics%22
But my client thinks these are useless because no one will be searching for “InTouch Graphics”. He is also opposed to paying for ads.
Here’s the biggest problem. My client thinks that less is more. I told him several times that more is more. He wrote this to me yesterday:
Well, for the last 25 years or so (before the hack), I always had a high ranking with Google searches, and I never once did anything extra to generate traffic.
In the present scenario, if I do a Google search for “tactile maps” or “maps for the blind”, nothing comes up at all, even if I look at every page of results.
That’s why I think there’s something not quite right here. Hence my desire to get a consult from someone who specializes in SEO.
As for redirecting the ClickAndGo results to InTouch, nothing wrong with doing that, although that ClickAndGo page already has a hyperlink that connects directly to InTouch.
I agree with your assessment that the site needs more engaging and useful content. Feel free to suggest “an SEO expert” unless you think that together we can solve this “fall from grace” with major search engines. Should I connect with you via Private Support? Should I get a quote from your partner Codeable (with pricing from $70 to $120 per hour)? My client is willing to pay what it takes.
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