Moz Q&A is closed.
After more than 13 years, and tens of thousands of questions, Moz Q&A closed on 12th December 2024. Whilst we’re not completely removing the content - many posts will still be possible to view - we have locked both new posts and new replies. More details here.
Should the Product Name/Keyword be first in meta description?
-
I'm writing my meta descriptions for my products.
Right now I have it as
<product name="">at <company name="">and a brief description.</company></product>
However, I was wondering if I put a word in front of the <product name="">such as "Wholesale". So for example</product>
Wholesale <product name="">at <company name="">.......</company></product>
Is that advisable? Or should the product name always be the first word?
-
You're right Paul - I was talking about the title.
The description is your call to action.
-
Where the words are in a meta-description is not a ranking factor, Icarus. Think of meta descriptions as your opportunity to make a mini sales pitch for your page on the search results page.
You'll want to use the primary keywords that explain what the page is about, as that just makes sense, but artificially forcing them to be the first words can make the meta-description look very spammy and artificial in many cases.
There is a benefit to having the words in the meta description that your visitor actually searched for, as they will show up in bold in the description, but remember they'll also be showing in bold in the page title too, so overdoing/forcing it can contribute to looking artificial, which can turn visitors off.
Also to keep in mind, especially after last week's Google change to longer meta-descriptions, is that Google will often change the meta description if they think the one you wrote isn't a good match for the searcher's query. So keeping them effectively descriptive of the page, instead of keyword-stuffed, and having a good call-to-action in the description is still your best bet.
In your specific example, if the page is primarily about the wholesale distribution of that product, it makes perfect sense to include that in the description. Whether those should be the first words depends entirely on whether you can write a natural-sounding description text that way. I often use such words to expand on what the page is about in a way that often can't be effectively handled in the much shorter, more restrictive page title.
Hope that helps?
Paul
-
This is relatively true for page title, but the OP is asking about meta-descriptions.
-
Hi,
No that is not mandatory. You can use that one which gives detailed idea of your products/services.
Thanks
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
-
Title Tags for Medical Names
Hi Everyone! I just transitioned into SEO in the medical spectrum and have never come across such long names. In terms of recommendations for character counts in title tags, what would be the recommendation? Write until it gets truncated (which is current state)? Use the abbreviation? Try to ensure the "plain language" words appear towards the front? Any viewpoints would be appreciated!
Keyword Research | | yaelslater1 -
Focus Keyword
Hi everyone! I am pretty new to SEO so all the help would be great. Does every webpage on our website need a focus keyword for example like the about us page. We have webpages for every location in the UK - Would it be helpful if the location webpages had a focus keyword also? Just to note that I am using Yoast on Wordpress. Many thanks,
Keyword Research | | SMCCoachHire
Aqib0 -
When is it wrong to use a competitors brand name?
I recently started with a company who've benefited from using a competitors brand name to explain why theirs is superior. They're not wrong and neither have they been derogatory, however they have had significant traffic to their website using the competitors branded search terms. I'm concerned Google will penalise us for this (if so can you point me to case studies/similar examples), or am I worrying unnecessarily?
Keyword Research | | LJHopkins0 -
Multilingual keyword research
Does anyone have any experience in multilingual SEO? We are looking for software that conducts research for GEO Locations such as UAE, Oman, Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan & India. Writing content for each of these countries is difficult unless we speak their language, we could look at outsourcing the translation but conducting keyword research for each location is almost impossible.
Keyword Research | | Jseddon920 -
How to finalize the keywords for SEO?
Hi, I use the following method for keyword research: Create a long raw list of keywords. Use Google AdWords Keyword tool to find monthly searches. Find raw competition. Find direct competition (via allinanchor: search operator) Calculate KEI (Keyword Effectiveness Index) Calculate KOI (Keyword Opportunity Index) Is there any other (better) way to execute the keyword research? Or is finalizing/selecting the keywords only on the basis of monthly searches sufficient? In short, how to select the best keywords from a long list? Thanks & Regards
Keyword Research | | IM_Learner0 -
Keyword research tools
So I went to a panel a while back that said Wordtracker is basically useless. I'm not using it as an end-all, be-all, but more for insights and context. Do you agree with that statement? The hosting company provides a keyword research tool, so I wasn't sure how seriously to take it. Have you guys been using Bing for the search data previously provided by Google's Keyword Research Tool? Do you find that to be a viable resource? Thanks.
Keyword Research | | SSFCU0 -
Why does this keyword have much greater volume in Bing Keyword Research Tool than Google AdWords Keyword Planner?
I'm using the Google AdWords keyword planner and Bing Webmaster Keyword Research tool. For both, I'm trying to get accurate search volume for the exact term "advertising sales". Over the last thirty days, Bing reports a volume of 5,988. Google's average monthly search volume is 880. Given the market share Google has, I would expect a much higher volume, especially when compared to Bing. Can you offer some ideas of why this might be happening?
Keyword Research | | Kevin_P0 -
Keyword Conundrum...
I have 3 keywords that I am targeting. Assume for the time being that they are all equally competitive. Includes local exact match monthly searches: Managed IT Services - 3600 IT Managed Services - 720 Managed IT Support - 170 They are all exactly synonymous, not to mention other keywords such as IT Managed Support, Managed IT Service, IT Managed Service, Managed IT Service Provider, etc.. My current strategy is to target the top 3 all on one page. The problem then is the title tag: Managed IT Services | IT Managed Services | Managed IT Support Pretty spammy. I could build pages for all 3, but how would I incorporate them into the website since they are all synonyms. Can I get some recommendations on how to handle this? What would you use for a title tag? How would handle separate pages with synonymous content?
Keyword Research | | CsmBill0