Meta Description Length Affects SEO Results
A long meta description is a sure way of diluting a site's search engine results.
The meta description is a slice of HTML code that is placed within the <head></head> section of a Web page. It usually goes in the document after the <title></title> tags and before the meta keywords tag.
A generic meta description tag looks like this:
<META NAME="Description" CONTENT="The page description goes here.">
Although it is possible to write a meta description that is 255 characters, it is a simple fact that search engines won't display more than about 155 characters including spaces.
Go to Google, Yahoo! and Bing and do a test search. Scroll down the page and look at each description. The descriptions come from one of two sources -- either the meta description tag or, if the page doesn't have a meta description, a snippet of content from the page.
For pages with meta descriptions longer than about 155 characters, the search engines cut off the display of the description with an ellipses (...).
The reason why a long meta description can impact search engine results is not so much the ranking of the page in the search engine as the likelihood of the searcher clicking or not clicking on the link.
If an important part of the description lies beyond character number 155, the searcher won't see it and will be less likely to click on that link and more likely to click on another.
So it benefits a site to keep meta descriptions shorter than 155 characters.
Categories
- Adobe Illustrator (8)
- Anti Virus, Spam & Spyware (25)
- Articles (11)
- content management system(CMS) (27)
- CSS (1)
- Forum (30)
- Framework (8)
- Internet Marketing & Earn Money online (90)
- JavaScript (1)
- Joomla (30)
- News (5)
- PhotoShop (1)
- PHP Forums (14)
- SEO (125)
- Site Map (16)
- SQL (1)
- Uncategorized (10)
- Web Design (30)
- Wiki Scripts (8)
- WordPress (54)
- XML (68)
Archives
Meta
Recent Posts
- 5 More Reasons Why IE6 Must Die
- Apple Mulling Mobile Search Switch to Microsoft Bing
- Google Expands Fast Flip with 55 Major Publishers
- Google Updates Translator Toolkit
- A Step towards Website Redesign Success
- Top 10 Twitter Tools
- Top Search Stories of 2009
- Request visitors’ permission before installing software
Technology news and tips
- How to Restore DLL Files on Your Computer
- Fixed: WordPress Language Translator Plugin
- WordPress – Show more than 15 recent posts
- WordPress – Show more than 15 recent posts
- How to make a WordPress Page or Post use a different sidebar
- WordPress Duplicate Sidebar Widgets
- How to customize the WordPress Login Screen
Twitter: itcrate
- Want to know about twitter tools....plz visit......http://tutorialblog.itcrate.net/articles/top-10-twitter-tools/
- want to know top search stories 2009....plz visit...http://tutorialblog.itcrate.net/search-engine-optimization/top-search-stories-of-2009/
- Want to about XML...please visit......http://tutorialblog.itcrate.net/category/xml
- Want to protect your PC from virus, spam and spyware....please visit......http://tutorialblog.itcrate.net/category/spyware
- RT @3WebSubmission is letting you submit your website to Search Engines, Directory's, Social Media Sites for FREE http://su.pr/7ye7a9