Google's disregarded my meta description? (Full Version)

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Nicole -> Google's disregarded my meta description? (11/9/2006 3:48:44)

When updating my site to reflect my new location I made a few mistakes and only updated the opening page totally and the other pages partly. I know it's my fault, but when I was finally picked up by Google some 2 weeks later I was ranking 304th for my main key phrase, a fairly simple one to achieve good rankings with I thought based on the competition here and that all of them use tables for layout.

I mention about 6 other place names on my opening page and having done this in my last location which was slightly easier thean here, I think the best I'm doing is 7th for a nearby town with a population of just over 1,000, pretty pathetic stuff up huh?

I've gone and made the changes that I should've made in the first place and am now having to sit back for another month waiting to rank in the top couple, but what concerns me is that I only changed place names, i.e. the hidden text behind my banner, and the place names in the bottom section of my opening page (and now I've changed page titles for all other pages), but when Google picked up these pages a week or so ago it disregarded my meta description and plucked something out of my page links (the left include) and displays my "page descriptions" as seen in the image below.

Does anyone know why forgetting to replace all old locations in the meta tags with the new location would've suddenly caused Google to think that the on-hover link description of my strategy page was more important than my meta description?

Does anyone also know whether this situation will be rectified now that I've corrected all place names in the meta tags and content?

Nicole

[image]local://12879/31220B724C104C848A59C3E47141B7FE.jpg[/image]

Edit: I'm getting a yellow and black error message for that image? The link should work though, if not, search google for "nambucca web design", I'm ranking about 13th I'm sorry to say.



jaybee -> RE: Google's disregarded my meta description? (11/9/2006 6:05:26)

The link doesn't work, 404.

Nambucca isn't mentioned in your meta desc and it's the very last keyword. Don't know for sure but I reckon Google has gone for the text it believes to be most relevant to those search terms.

Wait till Google has been round again, then look at the results.



Nicole -> RE: Google's disregarded my meta description? (11/9/2006 6:15:51)

Thanks Jaybee,

Just tried to reload a new image but I got the same yellow and black error message. Nambucca was just one of the examples, Coffs Harbour is the main one and it appears the same way.

I will wait for Google to re-crawl the site, but I wondered if there was anything I can do in the meantime to make sure it doesn't happen like this again.

Nicole



jaybee -> RE: Google's disregarded my meta description? (11/9/2006 7:28:51)

I would wait and see what happens next time round, might just be a glitch. I would however change your Meta. It doesn't matter that you're on the North Coast, nobody is searching for that.

quote:

Located on the NSW North Coast, NixDesign provides professional and affordable website design services locally, nationally and internationally


I would go with

NixDesign provides professional, affordable, website design. Based in Coffs Harbour NSW, we work with local and International clients.



Nicole -> RE: Google's disregarded my meta description? (11/9/2006 16:00:24)

uh ha! But I'm not based IN Coffs Harbour. I'm anout 100km inland and am also 100km from 2 other large towns. Coffs Harbour is the best SEO wise and a couple of those other towns are quite touristy so that's wht they were included.

Unlike Albury Woodonga which was unique and it accurately described the region, there is no accurate regional description for where I am now.

Anyway, I might delete the NSW north coast as you mention.

Nicole



jaybee -> RE: Google's disregarded my meta description? (11/9/2006 16:55:04)

But you need to get the name in your description for a bit more of a boost as a keyword



Nicole -> RE: Google's disregarded my meta description? (11/9/2006 17:04:00)

"Located 100km west of Coffs Harbour along a long and windy road that is quite dangerous in wet and foggy conditions, NixDesign . . ."

[:D]

I'll try and work it in there somewhere, somehow.

Nicole.

p.s. after a few days I'll remove place names from this thread, I noticed before that I'd mentioned some key phrases to do with Albury-Wodonga that were for a while outranking my site!




Nicole -> RE: Google's disregarded my meta description? (3/31/2007 18:46:22)

Okay, I've given Google long enough to get it right and what I wrote about back in November is still happening, but . . .

I've noticed something interesting.

If I do a search for words or a phrase that IS in my keywords, description, headings or page content, then the description that appears under my listing in Google is correct as in the example in the first image.

But If I search for a combination of words that aren'r necessarily grouped together in the content, headings, description or keywords, then the silly "Strategy" thing is still occuring as seen in the second image.

I also have a further question. I appear in Google for some phrases, and not in Google Australia? Is this crazy? Or is it because my site is hosted in America? I have a .au domain name though.





[image]local://upfiles/12879/3657D7BFF9DB4C63ABCE459EA23A60A4.jpg[/image]



Nicole -> RE: Google's disregarded my meta description? (3/31/2007 18:50:26)

The second search




DebSpecs -> RE: Google's disregarded my meta description? (4/2/2007 16:13:45)

Though not a web designer, I do run an online web business. We once dropped completely off Google for our main keyword, and i noticed that our webmaster had changed not the meta keywords or description, but the Title Bar. A simple resetting of our major keywords in the title bar, and we were back on the first page within a day or two. Have you tried to fit as many keywords here as possible, to see the effect on SE ranking? Good luck!



jaybee -> RE: Google's disregarded my meta description? (4/2/2007 16:22:12)

quote:

Have you tried to fit as many keywords here as possible, to see the effect on SE ranking?
Errr let's not get carried away here, there is a limit after which you're more likely to lose rank than gain it.



Reflect -> RE: Google's disregarded my meta description? (4/3/2007 7:41:16)

I always heard the maximum is 63 characters for page title.

Take care,

Brian



DebSpecs -> RE: Google's disregarded my meta description? (4/4/2007 9:17:40)

The page title isn't long, and i didn't mean they should be "stuffed" with keywords, but I have seen first hand how choosing the proper keywords in the page title can be more effective than having good meta keywords. Of course, all the other factors, such as inbound links, etc, are important in conjunction with this, but that page title does help.



Reflect -> RE: Google's disregarded my meta description? (4/4/2007 15:19:38)

By all means Deb. It is the little pieces that make up the big picture. If only we knew exactly what it was.

Nirvana:

A Google owned web site with the algorythem explained on each update [8|].

Better yet, just rank the page on the on page content and nothing else.....period.

Sorry just hoping out loud.

Take care,

Brian



DebSpecs -> RE: Google's disregarded my meta description? (4/4/2007 15:45:38)

Sign me up for your Google Utopia!



Asiadeep -> RE: Google's disregarded my meta description? (6/5/2007 13:04:26)

I've had this also happen to me. It refused to take up the META description but took something from a sentence somewhere at the top if the index page. I just changed the META to something else, more like rewording it then after the next spider came by it changed back to the META.

Give it a try, it might work for you too.



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