__/ [ tonnie ] on Monday 20 March 2006 21:05 \__
> Borek wrote:
>> On Mon, 20 Mar 2006 21:52:02 +0100, tonnie <t.prasing@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
>>
>>>> I keep coming across references which indicate that Google "couldn't
>>>> care less" about Meta Descriptions or Meta Keywords.
>>>> Therefore, if I design a site which only uses page titles, and
>>>> doesn't even have meta description / meta keywords, will Google
>>>> penalise it? Or is it still best practice to use them? Any idea of
>>>> how many words in each?
No penalty unless misused, I believe; Best practice is probably to spend time
on content rather than invisible information that is bound to the page and
contributes little or nothing. Key pages might be the exception. A 'healthy'
amount of content would fit in a single line and require no wrapping or
horizontal scrolling. Think about how this would seem if they appeared among
the visible text.
>>> About meta keywords: Don't just look at what others say or don't say.
>>> Use about 10 to 15 keywords, words that *are* on the page.
>>>
>>> Google uses the description (if there is one) to show if the word or
>>> phrase that was searched for is in it.
Yes, I believe that "description" is the most (if the the only) important
field.
>> Not always and - as usual - rules are known only to G. But it happens
>> often enough to make description preparation worthy. Try to make it
>> catchy, it may help in getting clicks even if you are not first in SERPs.
>
> No, if the searched word or phrase is in the description, then Google
> will use it. The only case in which it does not is if there is an update
> / or synchronising their databases.
>
> If the meta-description does not contain the word or does not exist, and
> you are listed in DMOZ and the description there has the keyword, Google
> will take that as a description.
>
> If for some reason both are not available or does not contain the
> searched word, Google will pick a short piece of the text on your site
> and shows that.
This leaves place for the following argument: does the description override
or supersede some of the on-page content and thus should reflect on the text
effectively enough? Could it actually detract from the text and degrade
ranks?
>>> And no, Google does not penalise you for using them, if you use them
>>> in the proper way.
>>
>>
>> This is answer for the non-posted question :) But answer for the posted
>> question is identical - Google will not penalize you for lack of meta
>> description and keywords :)
I think I once heard about penalties -- these which badly affect the site is
meta is misused and carries a lot of the weight (volume) in the page.
Best wishes,
Roy
--
Roy S. Schestowitz | "No, I didn't buy that from eBay"
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