Blank Meta Descriptions in SERPs

#46709
  • Resolved Laura
    Rank Math pro

    Hi there,

    I wonder if you can help me.

    I’m having some issues with blank meta descriptions appearing in the SERPs which is massively affecting CTR and ranking. It only seems to be an issue for some posts rather than a site-wide issue.

    I have provided two examples of affected URLs in the sensitive data section.

    When looking in search console and when viewing the page source, the meta-descriptions are there within the code.

    Any advice you may be able to offer would be greatly appreciated.

    Many thanks,

    Laura

    • This topic was modified 4 years ago by Laura.
Viewing 5 replies - 1 through 5 (of 5 total)
  • Alberto
    Rank Math business

    Hello,

    Thank you for contacting Rank Math and sorry for any inconvenience that might have been caused due to that.

    I have checked your website’s source code, in Google Search results and also in https://www.heymeta.com/. In all those places you have a meta description. So, you should test the following:

    ​1. First of all, I am assuming that you have already changed the SEO Meta Title and Meta Description with the help of Rank Math:
    Add a Meta Description in Classic Editor:

    Add title and description in Gutenberg:



    ​2. Then, ensure that this is the setting in the Schema tab if Rich Snippets are enabled on your website:


    ​To reiterate, the Schema title must show %seo_title% and the description should show %seo_description% – this will ensure your SEO title and SEO Description that you set up via Rank Math can also be used for your schema details:

    ​3. The next step is to check if your title/description is properly set up in the page source:
    https://i.rankmath.com/HwXR1o

    You can use this tool for the same as well: https://www.heymeta.com/

    4. If it matches your settings, then you must check if Google has seen the changes already or not.

    For that, please check when the Google cache was updated for that page:
    a.

    b.

    If the cache date is from before adding the new meta description, then you just have to wait for Google to re-crawl and re-index the page with the new info. If the date is after you made the changes,

    ​Do note that if everything’s fine and Google still decides to show a different meta title/description for your search keyword, there is nothing you can do as Google sometimes ignores the custom meta info altogether and show something from the page’s content that matches the search intent better.

    The best you can do is optimize your meta tags to try and match the intent of the search/keyword.

    You can read more about it here

    https://support.google.com/webmasters/answer/35624?hl=en

    This section sheds light on that:

    Why the search result title might differ from the page's <title> tag

    Hope that helps. If you have any further question(s), please let us know. Thank you.

    Laura
    Rank Math pro

    Thank you for your speedy response. I have been through and checked each step and everything is as it should be. The page was last cached 22/04/2020 the meta description was added when the post was published a few months ago and has not been changed since.

    The meta description did originally appear on the SERPs (both my description or a more relevant description from Google) but now nothing appears (not even a different description filled in by google).

    I originally noticed the meta description missing on 22/04/20 for the first example URL but the second example has been missing for a lot longer and has been cached since then.

    I’m not worried if google decides to show a different meta description or title than the one that I wrote but no meta description appears at all (just the title and URL).

    Thanks again for any advice you are able to offer.

    Alberto
    Rank Math business

    We might need to take a closer look at the settings. Please edit the first post on this ticket and include your WP logins in the designated Sensitive Data section.
    Sensitive Data Section

    It is completely secure and only our support staff has access to that section. If you want, you can use the below plugin to generate a temporary login URL to your website and share that with us instead:

    https://wordpress.org/plugins/temporary-login-without-password/

    You can use the above plugin in conjunction with the WP Security Audit Log to monitor what changes our staff might make on your website (if any):

    https://wordpress.org/plugins/wp-security-audit-log/

    We really look forward to helping you.

    Laura
    Rank Math pro

    Hello,

    I have updated the sensitive data as requested. Can you please check further?

    Thank you.

    Alberto
    Rank Math business

    Hello,

    I have checked the website and also the source code and it seems like your meta description is fine.

    You should wait until Google crawls again your website and let’s see if by then your description is back again.

    You could also try to tell Google to crawl again your URL (in the Google Search console).

    Also, you should keep in mind sometimes Google doesn’t show the meta description you set, as you can read here: https://www.sistrix.com/ask-sistrix/onpage-optimisation/meta-element-meta-tag/my-own-meta-description-is-not-being-displayed-in-the-search-results-why/

    Thank you.

    Hello,

    Since we did not hear back from you for 15 days, we are assuming that you found the solution. We are closing this support ticket.

    If you still need assistance or any other help, please feel free to open a new support ticket, and we will be more than happy to assist.

    Thank you.

Viewing 5 replies - 1 through 5 (of 5 total)

The ticket ‘Blank Meta Descriptions in SERPs’ is closed to new replies.