[Richard101]

Hi

At present when I search the key phrase 'indoor venues northampton' my site (http://www.bouncebus...oor_venues.html) is ranking top however I would like to change Googles describing text. If you take a look at the attachment google.jpg you will see how its showing at present. I believe that the text could be more descriptive but I don't know how to change it. Can anybody help?

 google.jpg (34.25K)
Number of downloads: 20

Regards
Rich

[jheg]

You need to change the meta description in the head section buddy.

Place this in your head section.

<meta name="description" content="YOUR DESCRIPTION GOES HERE " />

This post has been edited by jheg: 28 November 2011 - 03:06 PM

[oakleaves]

Hi rich, I notice you have the meta description in place and it is quite long. Google is taking bits from that that it thinks is the most appropriate and the result isn't great.

For more control you should think about condensing the description to the most basic essential things and word it carefully.

[rallport]

A lot of the time, Google will use what it thinks, even if you've set a description yourself. For example, say you've set a description that Google determines isn't related to the content of your page - Google will use it's own description.

[BohnStudios]

rallport, on 01 December 2011 - 06:56 PM, said:

A lot of the time, Google will use what it thinks, even if you've set a description yourself. For example, say you've set a description that Google determines isn't related to the content of your page - Google will use it's own description.

I agree 100% with rallport. I will add that if you have a page that shows up in search results for multiple keywords, Google can have different descriptions for the same page, depending on the keyword that is being searched.

[jamesosix]

your best bet is to keep your meta description over 70 characters, but below 165 and keep it relevant to what the page content is. If you want to achieve results too, then adding a good CTA (call to action) cant hurt.

Good luck

This post has been edited by jamesosix: 11 April 2012 - 08:24 AM

[BohnStudios]

jamesosix, on 11 April 2012 - 08:23 AM, said:

If you want to achieve results too, then adding a good CTA (call to action) cant hurt.

A CTA for a TV commercial - SURE...A CTA for a Meta Description - NO. I respectfully must disagree with you. The only scenario that I can think of where a CTA would be appropriate(and not hurt you with Google) is if that particular page was dedicated to a promotion that required an action from the user...even then "promotion" or a similar word would probably need to be in the keyword...that's all still a BIG maybe in my opinion and I would stay faaaarrrr away from call-to-actions in meta descriptions and keep those CTA's for banner ads, opt-in email marketing and TV commercials. SUNDAY, SUNDAY, SUNDAY...click here, come and get it....you can't miss this deal! Do very much of that and you are going to flirt with being black-balled...in my opinion

[Jason Dexter]

I think I'll have to disagree with you on this one Bohn. A user who has searched for something on Google will, 9/10, have no relationship with yours or anyone else's website and are given a list of 10 organic results along with PPC's and local search. That's a lot of information to take in and your meta description has mere seconds to attract a click from the user. Sure, being first is nice but in the meantime you have to compete with a number of other websites.

I think gone are the days where you see a call to action like

!!**>>>CLICK HERE FOR AMAZING DEALS ON PHOTOCOPIERS<<<**!!

Why not have a CTA such as a phone number? Or advertise your lowest price? What if I offer a product that is £5 and everyone else is £10? Surely the best way to get someones attention is to place it in the meta description?

"We're Music Corp (0800 123456), the leaders in Guitars. Why not have a look at our range, starting from as little as £5"

It offers a telephone number, so if you're searching Music Corp for their number then they can easily contact you. Plus you're letting people know what you have to offer, before they land on your website.

Surely you use CTA's on your websites? It's not all about screaming and shouting at a user to buy something, it's about gently nudging them through a well constructed conversion funnel, or prompt them to make an enquiry

[BohnStudios]

You make some very good and logical points. However, from a competitive SEO standpoint, particularly for high volume keywords, there are some things I recommend taking into consideration...

Jason Dexter, on 11 April 2012 - 09:23 PM, said:

Why not have a CTA such as a phone number?

Phone numbers for businesses are included in Google Maps/Local/Places. Additionally, this is where your sitelinks can come into play. For example, having a "contact" page in your sitelinks is one way to achieve this...at least how Google seems to prefer. Also, if you put your phone number in all of your descriptions it is possible to get tagged for duplication in Google Webmaster Tools. Keep in mind that some of these things are relative to the keywords being typed by the user. Google also manipulates your descriptions based on the keywords being used. For example, if the user searches for "MusicCorp phone number" then Google will often manipulate the description anyways to include the number or Google will bring up the sitelinks and/or the Google Maps info for that specific business search. It can, and often does, grab text from the body of the page being listed.

Jason Dexter, on 11 April 2012 - 09:23 PM, said:

Or advertise your lowest price? What if I offer a product that is £5 and everyone else is £10? Surely the best way to get someones attention is to place it in the meta description?

This is what Google Shopping Results were designed for. Search for "guitars" on Google.... A very competitive search phrase I might add. When I searched this keyword, "Guitars" from my location, there is not a single "regular" search result (that uses meta description) on the first page that has a price listed. However, on the "shopping results" you will see prices, but this is of course separate from meta descriptions we speak of.

Jason Dexter, on 11 April 2012 - 09:23 PM, said:

"We're Music Corp (0800 123456), the leaders in Guitars. Why not have a look at our range, starting from as little as £5"

It offers a telephone number, so if you're searching Music Corp for their number then they can easily contact you. Plus you're letting people know what you have to offer, before they land on your website.

If you know the name of the business, then google places/maps listing for the business should appear and/or the sitelinks with their contact link.

Jason Dexter, on 11 April 2012 - 09:23 PM, said:

Surely you use CTA's on your websites? It's not all about screaming and shouting at a user to buy something, it's about gently nudging them through a well constructed conversion funnel, or prompt them to make an enquiry

I absolutely agree with you that CTA's can and should be part of a business website and it is a more appropriate place for CTA, as I mentioned in "banners" being one of the appropriate places for a call-to-action...banners that can apply for 3rd party advertisers on a website, or, for the website owner's products/services.

This post has been edited by BohnStudios: 12 April 2012 - 12:55 AM

[Jason Dexter]

You're making huge assumptions here about where the listing is displayed. What if the website isn't on the local results or shopping results? Obviously, there is the aim should the website be e-commerce. But that isn't always going to be the best solution for a website.

I do a lot of work for a paintball company. Sites are located all around the UK and their keywords are often "Paintball London" or Paintballing in Scotland". Sometimes, the keyword is that niche that it doesn't trigger the local results and obviously doesn't trigger the shopping results. But, they're still selling a product and it's the first page of the SERPs is littered with competition. What if a user is on their phone and they search Paintball Nottingham (My city) and see that the venue does paintball from 5 quid and it has the number? They can quickly ring and find out more information.

You mention about sitelinks etc. Great point, if the user knows the company name. But what if they don't. What if their search term doesn't trigger all these?

Again, in an ideal world then yes the shopping results etc etc are the key. But it's not often like that, or isn't the solution for the website.

PS Interesting point about the meta description. I only put the phone number on the homepage, as my research shows that if someone is searching for "Music Corp Location" they aren't bothered about the number. Or if they search for "What is Music Corp" then they want to read about it.

But I might do some experiments and use SEOMoz to see what the thresold for duplicate meta description is

[jamesosix]

I'm not talking about screaming CTA, as Jason says, subtle ones to gently nudge the seearcher to your site.

Personally I wouldnt include a phone number in the meta description, but thats just me. I dont really think it helps the work I do, but it may work for other companies.

Also you do make lots of assumptions but in the case of the OP I stand by his meta desc should be over 70 chars, under 165 chars and have a subtle cta.

Surely that would be much better than what it currently is?

This post has been edited by jamesosix: 12 April 2012 - 09:21 AM

[JoshUK]

interesting post's