Meta Descriptions, Jibber Jabber and Personalised Google Searches
There is a general consensus amongst internet marketing specialists that meta-descriptions (the text snippets you see in search results) are not a factor that Google and Yahoo consider when ranking pages within their listings. Some people go as far as suggesting that optimizing meta-titles and descriptions is a waste of time. The reason behind this negativity is an apparent announcement sometime ago by both Google and Yahoo stating that they no longer use meta-descriptions in their search algorithms. However, pay close attention because the dynamics have since changed.
Ask an Internet Marketing Expert about Personalised Google Searches
Your internet marketing specialist should have informed you by now that Google are personalising searches based on search history regardless of whether the user is signed into a Google account or not. Google are using cookies in the user’s browser history to produce search results based on previous activity. So, meta-data has now become very important again. Make sure your internet marketing specialist is optimising your meta-titles and descriptions to help Google target your market through its personalised search mechanism.
Ask an Internet marketing Expert
Regardless of this new revelation, ask any competent internet marketing specialist and they will tell you that meta-data is still of considerable importance to your SEO campaign. Meta-descriptions still appear under search engine listings which make them useful for targeting descriptive text and keywords/phrases. It is true meta-data doesn’t hold the weight it used to when it comes to calculating rankings, but by no means should it be disregarded completely.
Ignore the Jibber Jabber
Internet marketing specialists still pay close attention to meta-data regardless of the negative jibber jabber they post around the forums. What people say and what they actually do are two completely separate things. No internet marketing expert would waste an opportunity to target keywords/keyword phrases if there is a chance it might help achieve higher rankings.
