eShop - Need more flexibility with "Meta Description" text

[graemewilliams]

I've just been through a major review of all my Category/Subpage "Meta Description" text with a view to optimising each page for search engine results click through rates. However, whilst doing this I have hit upon a major limitation with the way this is implemented in ePages. This is because the software combines this text with the "List View" description text.

In order to show this better, it's best to use an example. On my website, I want to use the following text as Meta Description for my "Electric Guitars" subpage:

"Shop Online for Electric Guitars at Rikki’s Music Shop. We Sell High Quality Electric Guitars at the Lowest Possible Prices."

I don't want this text to appear onpage anywhere. I want it to appear as descriptive "snippet" text in Google search results, for example.

Unfortunately though, the ePages software also uses this text for the "List View" description text which appears onpage. You can see it in the main body on this webpage for my "Electric Guitars" subsection:

www.rikkismusic.com/guitars

For the "List View" description I would much prefer to use some different text which introduces the "Electric Guitars" subsection much more appropriately for on-site users.

Right now I think it looks crap but I place more importance on the "Meta Description" text. What I'll probably do is get rid of the onpage "List View" all together and rely on users to use the smaller categories menu on the left hand side.

That is unless, which is really what I'm getting to, BT/ePages change the "Meta Description" and "List View" text into separate fields in the Back Office. Do other people agree? Is there any chance of this happenning?

BTW - Exactly the same could also be said for the "Product" page Meta Description and List View text.

[eShopTeam]

Hello,

it is for the time being indeed not possible to dissociate the Meta description from the List view when creating an eShop.

We have transferred your suggestion to our "development" team so that they can study the feasibility of creating this function. However, we cannot garantee if/when this function will be implemente.

Kind regards,

[eShopTeam]

Hello,

We decided to leave it as it is. The main reason for that is for example the danger of Key-Stuffing, which is outlawed by google. Google is trying to behave like a human would, this makes it a great success. People looking for something on google don´t want first pages shown, which have best cheated. They want pages, which gives the right information. So there is no need for that. The content of your website is important. SEO-Experts are advising not to cheat on searchengines that way.

[naples12345]

NO META FACILITIES. YOU"RE MAD.

Forgive me for butting in.. but this reply to the original question has just stopped me in my tracks!! Also forgive me if I sound a wee bit bullish.

I am have joined this forum because I am considering or was considering moving my web site site to BT and having a rebuild onto the BT platform. Having read this reply and many other on different topics I think I will give it a miss.

Anyway back to Graemes question. This is not only a valid point, but being able to build in meta titles & meta tag descriptions (snippets) into the back end is crucial to the delvelopement of a successful site. This practise is also encourage by the big 3 search engines. GOOLE,YAHOO & BING. This allows them to pull the most relevant information to a search request. Further more none of the big 3 will pull the same information, they will mix & match from the front end and back end of a web site.

So it is important to be able to incert as much meaningful decription information about a product as you can while leaving a snappy decription for the customer. A word of warning though, make sure you link all your snippets, you don't want the search engines to think you are not selling what you say you are! As for keyword stuffing. Which I don't think Graeme is talking about. In my experience the big3 have a very effective way of dealing with this which does not involve flashing red lights and "You're Barred" banners appearing on your PC screen. No they quite simply ignore the product or your site information as not relevant to the search.

Come on BT get up to scatch, this is a very important module for any site.

You're just lost one potential customer by not having the facility and no ecommerce in there right mind would transfer to a platform that does not support Meta information.

STUNNED

Roma.

Message Edited by naples12345 on 07-11-2009 10:58 PM

[graemewilliams]

It is possible to create your own Meta Description text in eShop. The problem for me is the way it has been implemented. The Meta Description text (which should be off-page and used by search engines, directories, etc.) is combined with "List View" text (which is on-page and viewable to the user). I would like to write different text for each field because I think it has different uses. I.e. Meta Description (SEO) and List View (on-page user experience).

The same can also be said for the Meta Title text. I've optimised (as best I can) the page titles for SEO purposes using 70 characters or so. However, this too is combined with other fields which I find a limitation. For example, the breadcrumbs on my pages are now ridiculously long but this is the price I have to pay. Meta Title is possibly *THE* most important thing when it comes to SEO so I have to live with the breadcrumbs.

Just for the record, I'm absolutely not in to Keyword stuffing. I've no idea where the BT guys got that impression from.

[orchie]

@Naples this article from Google might be of interest to you http://googlewebmastercentral.blogspot.com/2009/09/google-does-not-use-keywords-meta-tag.html there are a hundred other things that matter before your meta content for good SEO.

[naples12345]

Thanks for that.

Correct Google does not use keywords but it does use meta titles and meta descriptions! Yahoo & Bing use keywords. This is not the point I was reffering to, Graeme asked a question about Meta description boxes so he could utilise this powerful tool to enhance his site and the answer came back "keyword stuffing is cheating". As you quite rightly state there is probably a 100 others things that matter before your meta tags. But again this is not addressing the origanal question why can't he have meta facilities, (keyword stuffing is cheating) is not a proper answer.

I was merely responding to an answer that I found completely inadequate and unprofessional to a very legitimate question.

So far it looks like BT are trying to score brownie point over their customers.