Meta Descriptions?

Jump to Last Post 1-6 of 6 discussions (17 posts)
  1. Kenna McHugh profile image90
    Kenna McHughposted 4 years ago

    What are meta descriptions in general?  How do I know where to place it on a normal site not just HP?

    replyreport
    1. Natalie Frank profile image93
      Natalie Frankposted 4 years agoin reply to this

      Meta descriptions are snippets that are around 155 characters long (Google had lengthened to 300 but in May cut back again - they aren't saying exactly how long but some indication that 110 -130  best for mobile) that summarizes the article.  Its what you see on the search page under the title when you do a search.  Where you put them and how depends on the site.  With HP it's our summary section at the very beginning.

      replyreport
      1. Kenna McHugh profile image90
        Kenna McHughposted 4 years agoin reply to this

        Natalie, Thank you for the clarification. That is what I thought. Funny,  my host for my other website, which runs on WP recommend that I do that as well.

        replyreport
  2. Glenn Stok profile image98
    Glenn Stokposted 4 years ago

    Meta descriptions are records in the HTML code that provide summaries of the web content. Search engines sometimes use this information as snippets in the search results, especially if the searched keywords are in the meta description.

    If you’re creating your own web site, it goes within the <head> on each page, and the format of the record is:

    <meta name="description" content="summary text goes here”>

    In the case of HubPages, the meta description record is automatically created in the HTML from the summary you write for your hub.

    The descriptions tend to get truncated to fit in the SERPs. Google has recently been experimenting with an increased length of 300 characters. But quickly lowered this again in May 2018 to ~160 characters. So it’s best to keep your summary in hubs under 160 characters.

    replyreport
  3. Kenna McHugh profile image90
    Kenna McHughposted 4 years ago

    Thank you, Glen. This is helpful.

    replyreport
  4. NateB11 profile image87
    NateB11posted 4 years ago

    On a related note, you can also do this with images; add meta data.

    If you have a Wordpress site, when editing/uploading an image, you'll notice a box for the "caption" and under it is a box for "alternative text". In alternative text you put in your meta data.

    This helps the search engine understand what your picture is and put it in search results.

    Edit: Also you can give a meta description for your whole site, in Wordpress done in settings, under "general" where you see "tagline" under your sites title. The tagline is pretty short, I think you can provide a longer one if you get a plugin like Yoast SEO.

    replyreport
    1. Kenna McHugh profile image90
      Kenna McHughposted 4 years agoin reply to this

      Nate, This is very helpful. Thank you.

      replyreport
    2. Glenn Stok profile image98
      Glenn Stokposted 4 years agoin reply to this

      Nate, That is not meta data!  You are confusing HTML meta records with the alt attribute on images.

      The meta data is placed within the <head> section and the "alt" attribute is placed in the <img> records in the <body>.

      replyreport
      1. NateB11 profile image87
        NateB11posted 4 years agoin reply to this

        Okay. I was just thinking generally on what the search engine reads sort of underneath things. Wasn't sure about terminology. Although some people call those things meta data. But Google could be wrong.

        Literally metadata means data about data https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metadata#Definition , which pretty much describes what I described. People like this http://www.wpbeginner.com/wp-tutorials/ … scription/ and others use the term the way I used it. This article also implies that alt tags (on images) are metadata in the sense that they give data on data. https://yoast.com/image-seo-alt-tag-and … imization/

        So at any rate that's the way I was understanding it. Semantics aside, just seemed like good tools that related to the OP.

        replyreport
        1. Glenn Stok profile image98
          Glenn Stokposted 4 years agoin reply to this

          The OP was asking about sites other than HP. She wanted to know how to specify meta descriptions. “Metadata” is a general term, but HTML “meta” records are used for specifying various attributes of the web page. The meta descriptions do not include image alt information, which is why I needed to correct your statement. Just because some people use incorrect terminology is no reason to repeat it if you don’t know HTML programming.

          replyreport
          1. NateB11 profile image87
            NateB11posted 4 years agoin reply to this

            Loosen up a little bit, Glenn. You seem a little wound up too tight. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zANvYB93u2g

            Just because you think you're educated doesn't mean you should go around like an arrogant know-it-all.

            replyreport
            1. NateB11 profile image87
              NateB11posted 4 years agoin reply to this

              I've seen you get things wrong on numerous occasions, by the way. Which is funny considering your tendency to want to prove your knowledge and expertise which seems to have sunk down deep into your ego.

              replyreport
              1. Glenn Stok profile image98
                Glenn Stokposted 4 years agoin reply to this

                No need to get into an argument. I just try not to let people get confused when I see incorrect information.

                replyreport
          2. Kenna McHugh profile image90
            Kenna McHughposted 4 years agoin reply to this

            Glenn, Thank you. There are so many levels of understanding this stuff. I consider myself just a writer. Still, I need to understand some of these basics in order to excel on the Internet, per say.

            replyreport
        2. Kenna McHugh profile image90
          Kenna McHughposted 4 years agoin reply to this

          Nate, Thank you. I will check these out.

          replyreport
  5. Don Bobbitt profile image88
    Don Bobbittposted 4 years ago

    Hey Guys! I'm an old Engineer and spent a number of years programming pretty much everything on the market from main frames to the first cell phone test systems.
    I respect both of you and your opinions, but just let me say that NO we do not need to proliferate confusing information at the same time, there are so many people here on HP that do not "speak computers??" at all, we are occasionally going to not "speak computers in the same dialect???
    It's a danger that many of us techie people fall into, but I need for both of you (and others) to keep getting along and have frank cordial discussions on such subjects, otherwise how are we going to help our fellow HPers?
    Anyway, thats my 2-cents worth.
    DON

    replyreport
  6. NateB11 profile image87
    NateB11posted 4 years ago

    https://mor10.com/power-of-wordpress-image-metadata/ and the author: https://www.lynda.com/Morten-Rand-Hendr … 270-author https://twitter.com/mor10 This guy seems to think alt text is metadata. Weird considering all of his experience working on web design and development and he even teaches this stuff.

    replyreport
jump to first post
 
working

This website uses cookies

As a user in the EEA, your approval is needed on a few things. To provide a better website experience, hubpages.com uses cookies (and other similar technologies) and may collect, process, and share personal data. Please choose which areas of our service you consent to our doing so.

 Necessary
 Features
 Marketing
 Statistics

For more information on managing or withdrawing consents and how we handle data, visit our Privacy Policy at: https://corp.maven.io/privacy-policy

Show Details
Necessary
HubPages Device IDThis is used to identify particular browsers or devices when the access the service, and is used for security reasons.
LoginThis is necessary to sign in to the HubPages Service.
Google RecaptchaThis is used to prevent bots and spam. (Privacy Policy)
AkismetThis is used to detect comment spam. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide data on traffic to our website, all personally identifyable data is anonymized. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Traffic PixelThis is used to collect data on traffic to articles and other pages on our site. Unless you are signed in to a HubPages account, all personally identifiable information is anonymized.
Amazon Web ServicesThis is a cloud services platform that we used to host our service. (Privacy Policy)
CloudflareThis is a cloud CDN service that we use to efficiently deliver files required for our service to operate such as javascript, cascading style sheets, images, and videos. (Privacy Policy)
Google Hosted LibrariesJavascript software libraries such as jQuery are loaded at endpoints on the googleapis.com or gstatic.com domains, for performance and efficiency reasons. (Privacy Policy)
Features
Google Custom SearchThis is feature allows you to search the site. (Privacy Policy)
Google MapsSome articles have Google Maps embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
Google ChartsThis is used to display charts and graphs on articles and the author center. (Privacy Policy)
Google AdSense Host APIThis service allows you to sign up for or associate a Google AdSense account with HubPages, so that you can earn money from ads on your articles. No data is shared unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Google YouTubeSome articles have YouTube videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
VimeoSome articles have Vimeo videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
PaypalThis is used for a registered author who enrolls in the HubPages Earnings program and requests to be paid via PayPal. No data is shared with Paypal unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook LoginYou can use this to streamline signing up for, or signing in to your Hubpages account. No data is shared with Facebook unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
MavenThis supports the Maven widget and search functionality. (Privacy Policy)
Marketing
Google AdSenseThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Google DoubleClickGoogle provides ad serving technology and runs an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Index ExchangeThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
SovrnThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook AdsThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Unified Ad MarketplaceThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
AppNexusThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
OpenxThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Rubicon ProjectThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
TripleLiftThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Say MediaWe partner with Say Media to deliver ad campaigns on our sites. (Privacy Policy)
Remarketing PixelsWe may use remarketing pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to advertise the HubPages Service to people that have visited our sites.
Conversion Tracking PixelsWe may use conversion tracking pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to identify when an advertisement has successfully resulted in the desired action, such as signing up for the HubPages Service or publishing an article on the HubPages Service.
Statistics
Author Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide traffic data and reports to the authors of articles on the HubPages Service. (Privacy Policy)
ComscoreComScore is a media measurement and analytics company providing marketing data and analytics to enterprises, media and advertising agencies, and publishers. Non-consent will result in ComScore only processing obfuscated personal data. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Tracking PixelSome articles display amazon products as part of the Amazon Affiliate program, this pixel provides traffic statistics for those products (Privacy Policy)
ClickscoThis is a data management platform studying reader behavior (Privacy Policy)