PAGE 1 - What is the purpose of the Meta Description Tag
PAGE 2 - Autogenerate or type your Meta Description, plus Post Tags
PAGE 3 - Why you should not get upset if Google does not use your Description
PAGE 4 - When an obscure keyword in a comment gets you to Google Page 1
You may have heard that the Meta Description Tag is important for your SEO and rankings. Though that is partially true, the Meta Description is more important for your CTR, Click Through Rate. Your title captures the attention and your description gets people to click your link.
You place your target keyword in your page or post title to not just grab the attention of the person seeking that specific search term, but to rank higher for it. We are also taught that we should “try” to use our target keyword again in the Meta Description of our page or post.
HOWEVER IT IS NOT ALWAYS NECESSARY
If you can get your target keyword to appear in your Meta Description and still have it read naturally, then yes, use that keyword there. However if you cannot, Google will still know what your target keyword is and what you want to rank for by looking at your entire content.
The job of your Meta Description is to compel those who do a Google (Bing or Yahoo) search, to want to click on your link by informing them what your content is about beyond that of your keyword. The description does not need to have your keyword for it to make people click on it.
Of the three Meta Tags; Title, Description & Keyword, the Description can be changed from time to time. Whereas the Title should remain the same and the Keyword should be avoided. Back in 2012 Matt Cutts of Google explained which Meta Tags are important, see video at link below.
How To Use Keywords & Why You Do Not Use The Meta Keywords Tag
The above image is the search result for a Wealthy Affiliate review I did in 2018. My target keyword “What is Wealthy Affiliate About” not only appears in my Meta Title Tag but appears naturally in my Meta Description Tag too. Did you notice that the keyword is not bold faced?
Normally Google will highlight or bold face the keyword you searched for in the description. However I searched for a different keyword, “Wealthy Affiliate 2018 Review” which was ranking higher than my original keyword. How is that possible? Read on and I will explain.
NEXT UP = Why I let the All In One SEO automate the process
Very useful tutorial, thank you!
One question I have regarding Meta Title - Is it okay to change or add to the visual title after publishing (leaving the Meta Title unchanged)? An example of this would be "Best........for 2020" where I might change it to 2021 next year.
I'm particularly concerned with posts that are ranked 1st page on Google , so don't want to ruin the ranking.
Or does WP automatically change the Meta Title?
Reply
Leave the ones already published as they are and moving forward make sure to create your titles differently if you intend to use a date. This is what I am doing for a recent review I wrote.
For posts you know that will have a date in the title which you would like to update each year, make your Title your keyword. Then add the date in the Meta Title Tag.
Example
I did a review of WA a couple of months ago using the keyword "The Honest Wealthy Affiliate Review" as my title. I then saved the draft version of my review to solidify that title.
Later on I added a date in the Title Meta Tag by re-typing "The Honest Wealthy Affiliate Review" and then adding the extra text "- With Complaints 2020" which I can change each year.
The title you create at the top of your content will automatically be your post title and your Meta Title visible on your website and in search results. Adding a date must only be done in the Meta Title.
This added text will only appear in Google search results. It is not part of the saved original title. As you can see in the 2 screenshots below one is what my title looks like on my website and on Google.
Wow, thanks for taking the time to write such a detailed and thorough response!
That really is helpful and I'll make sure to follow it to the letter.
So basically I should publish with the "generic" permanent title and then change the meta title at a later time with any bits that I will be updating - if I'm reading that right.
I really appreciate the time you've taken here Robert.
Thank you again.
Adrian.
Great post! I wasn't aware that there was an option to auto-generate a meta description in All In One plugin. So it does really make sense for Google to fill in the meta description.
Each time someone searches for a keyword and lands on your site, a different description shows up in the results. And this helps with ranking?
I'll have to experiment with it. That's what I want. More traffic and clicks! Thank you.
All the best, stay safe!
Peter
The first thing I'll do after reading through your training is to switch on Auto generate. Thank you for your training around this.
I have several sites where my SEO us Yoast, but my gardening site is still with All in One. I had no idea that you could set it to autogenerate.
Jim
