{"id":1579,"date":"2024-06-15T14:40:27","date_gmt":"2024-06-15T13:40:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/organicdigital.co\/blog\/?p=1579"},"modified":"2026-04-28T01:17:14","modified_gmt":"2026-04-28T00:17:14","slug":"how-to-stop-google-from-re-writing-your-meta-descriptions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/daveashworth.co\/blog\/how-to-stop-google-from-re-writing-your-meta-descriptions\/","title":{"rendered":"How To: Stop Google From Re-Writing Your Meta Descriptions"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Picture the scene:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You have spent hours doing extensive keyword research in order to create what you deem to be the perfect meta data for key landing pages on your site.&nbsp; You\u2019ve got a great title tag and meta description that you are certain will boost your click through rate from the SERPs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And then Google doesn\u2019t even display it, instead they use some random text from elsewhere on your page.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Annoying isn\u2019t it.&nbsp; One of the most common questions I\u2019m asked as <a href=\"https:\/\/daveashworth.co\/\">website optimisation consultant<\/a> is \u201cwhy does Google keep re-writing my search snippets\u201d?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Allow me to explain, and then show you how to stop them doing it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_82_2 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-grey ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<div class=\"ez-toc-title-container\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<span class=\"ez-toc-title-toggle\"><a href=\"#\" class=\"ez-toc-pull-right ez-toc-btn ez-toc-btn-xs ez-toc-btn-default ez-toc-toggle\" aria-label=\"Toggle Table of Content\"><span class=\"ez-toc-js-icon-con\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/div>\n<nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/daveashworth.co\/blog\/how-to-stop-google-from-re-writing-your-meta-descriptions\/#What_Is_A_Meta_Description_And_Why_Is_It_Important\" >What Is A Meta Description And Why Is It Important:<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/daveashworth.co\/blog\/how-to-stop-google-from-re-writing-your-meta-descriptions\/#So_Why_Does_Google_Rewrite_Meta_Descriptions\" >So Why Does Google Rewrite Meta Descriptions?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/daveashworth.co\/blog\/how-to-stop-google-from-re-writing-your-meta-descriptions\/#Meta_Description_Best_Practice\" >Meta Description Best Practice<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/daveashworth.co\/blog\/how-to-stop-google-from-re-writing-your-meta-descriptions\/#So_What_Can_I_Do_To_Stop_Google_Re-Writing_My_Descriptions\" >So What Can I Do To Stop Google Re-Writing My Descriptions?<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-3' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/daveashworth.co\/blog\/how-to-stop-google-from-re-writing-your-meta-descriptions\/#How_To_Use_data-nosnippet\" >How To Use data-nosnippet<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"What_Is_A_Meta_Description_And_Why_Is_It_Important\"><\/span><strong>What Is A Meta Description And Why Is It Important:<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>I assume you know this already, so will keep this brief.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A meta description is an HTML element that summarizes a webpage&#8217;s content. Search engines display the meta description in search results. Meta descriptions are important for:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Providing context: Helps users understand what the page is about<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Increasing click-through rates: Encourages users to click on the search result<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Influencing search rankings: Indirectly affects SEO by improving user engagement<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"So_Why_Does_Google_Rewrite_Meta_Descriptions\"><\/span><strong>So Why Does Google Rewrite Meta Descriptions?<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Google rewrites meta descriptions to:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Provide more relevant descriptions: Matches description to user&#8217;s specific query<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Improve user experience: Helps users find the most suitable content for their needs<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Compensate for missing or poor descriptions: Fills in when meta description is absent or low-quality<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Google&#8217;s algorithms analyze page content and search query to generate rewritten descriptions. The process aims to create descriptions that are:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Accurate: Reflects page content<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Informative: Includes key details<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Concise: Fits within display limits<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Rewriting occurs when the original meta description:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Doesn&#8217;t match the content<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Is too long or short<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Contains irrelevant information<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Is duplicate across multiple pages<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>This often ties into <a href=\"https:\/\/daveashworth.co\/blog\/seo-why-you-dont-need-to-include-brand-name-in-title-tags-anymore\/\">how your title tags are written and how well they match search intent<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>An example of this is on a query that returns a blog article I wrote along side others, that being:<br><br>\u201cgoogle tag manager events not showing in analytics ga4\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You will see my blog post appear with the exact description that I want to appear as follows:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"856\" height=\"282\" src=\"https:\/\/daveashworth.co\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/good_snippet.jpg\" alt=\"Good snippet\" class=\"wp-image-1580\" srcset=\"https:\/\/daveashworth.co\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/good_snippet.jpg 856w, https:\/\/daveashworth.co\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/good_snippet-300x99.jpg 300w, https:\/\/daveashworth.co\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/good_snippet-150x49.jpg 150w, https:\/\/daveashworth.co\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/good_snippet-768x253.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 856px) 100vw, 856px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Now I think that is a good description, and the article which ranks at #7 for that term has a CTR of 11%, so I\u2019m happy with this snippet, it\u2019s doing it\u2019s job.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But further down the page you have a result from the excellent blog of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.analyticsmania.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Julius Fedorovicious aka Analytics Mania<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"853\" height=\"217\" src=\"https:\/\/daveashworth.co\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/bad_snippet.jpg\" alt=\"bad snippet\" class=\"wp-image-1581\" srcset=\"https:\/\/daveashworth.co\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/bad_snippet.jpg 853w, https:\/\/daveashworth.co\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/bad_snippet-300x76.jpg 300w, https:\/\/daveashworth.co\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/bad_snippet-150x38.jpg 150w, https:\/\/daveashworth.co\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/bad_snippet-768x195.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 853px) 100vw, 853px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We can see from his source code that the meta description is as follows:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"827\" height=\"118\" src=\"https:\/\/daveashworth.co\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/meta_description.jpg\" alt=\"meta description\" class=\"wp-image-1582\" srcset=\"https:\/\/daveashworth.co\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/meta_description.jpg 827w, https:\/\/daveashworth.co\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/meta_description-300x43.jpg 300w, https:\/\/daveashworth.co\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/meta_description-150x21.jpg 150w, https:\/\/daveashworth.co\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/meta_description-768x110.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 827px) 100vw, 827px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But instead as you can see Google is instead using content from halfway down the page:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"845\" height=\"436\" src=\"https:\/\/daveashworth.co\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/page_content.jpg\" alt=\"page content\" class=\"wp-image-1583\" srcset=\"https:\/\/daveashworth.co\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/page_content.jpg 845w, https:\/\/daveashworth.co\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/page_content-300x155.jpg 300w, https:\/\/daveashworth.co\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/page_content-150x77.jpg 150w, https:\/\/daveashworth.co\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/page_content-768x396.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 845px) 100vw, 845px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Personally, I think his meta description is better than the one Google has provided.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Not cool Google.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>They don\u2019t just rewrite meta descriptions either, they do it for title tags.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The title tag on my home page is:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cFreelance Website Optimisation Consultant\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But if you search for \u201cOrganic Digital\u201d, the home page title shows as:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"828\" height=\"245\" src=\"https:\/\/daveashworth.co\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/title_tag.jpg\" alt=\"rewritten title tag\" class=\"wp-image-1584\" srcset=\"https:\/\/daveashworth.co\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/title_tag.jpg 828w, https:\/\/daveashworth.co\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/title_tag-300x89.jpg 300w, https:\/\/daveashworth.co\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/title_tag-150x44.jpg 150w, https:\/\/daveashworth.co\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/title_tag-768x227.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 828px) 100vw, 828px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I get that, it makes sense, it\u2019s saying \u201cthis is the site \/ brand that matches what you just search for so click here\u201d.&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;But as shown above, I don\u2019t think they always get it right.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Meta_Description_Best_Practice\"><\/span><strong>Meta Description Best Practice<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>When writing a description you should aim to:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Accurately describe the page content<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Include relevant keywords, USPs or call to actions<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Fit within the recommended character limit (usually 155-160 characters)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>This is just one part of how your pages appear in search <a href=\"https:\/\/daveashworth.co\/blog\/case-study-do-keywords-in-urls-impact-seo-rankings\/\">alongside URLs<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/daveashworth.co\/blog\/seo-why-you-dont-need-to-include-brand-name-in-title-tags-anymore\/\">titles<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"So_What_Can_I_Do_To_Stop_Google_Re-Writing_My_Descriptions\"><\/span><strong>So What Can I Do To Stop Google Re-Writing My Descriptions<\/strong>?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>You use an HTML attribute called \u201cdata-nosnippet\u201d and apply this to elements of the page you don\u2019t want Google to extract content from on your page.&nbsp;&nbsp; <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"How_To_Use_data-nosnippet\"><\/span>How To Use data-nosnippet<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>You could apply it to specific elements \/ blocks of contents and leave others, but personally I just add this to the div that contains the entire page content to give Google nowhere to go other than my actual meta description:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"513\" height=\"211\" src=\"https:\/\/daveashworth.co\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/data_nosnippet.jpg\" alt=\"data-nosnippet\" class=\"wp-image-1585\" srcset=\"https:\/\/daveashworth.co\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/data_nosnippet.jpg 513w, https:\/\/daveashworth.co\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/data_nosnippet-300x123.jpg 300w, https:\/\/daveashworth.co\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/data_nosnippet-150x62.jpg 150w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 513px) 100vw, 513px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>So now all my descriptions appear exactly as I intended:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"848\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/daveashworth.co\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/array_of_snippets-848x1024.jpg\" alt=\"an array of good quality snippets\" class=\"wp-image-1586\" srcset=\"https:\/\/daveashworth.co\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/array_of_snippets-848x1024.jpg 848w, https:\/\/daveashworth.co\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/array_of_snippets-249x300.jpg 249w, https:\/\/daveashworth.co\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/array_of_snippets-124x150.jpg 124w, https:\/\/daveashworth.co\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/array_of_snippets-768x927.jpg 768w, https:\/\/daveashworth.co\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/array_of_snippets.jpg 855w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 848px) 100vw, 848px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you find your performance or visibilty doesn&#8217;t improve, then you have <a href=\"https:\/\/daveashworth.co\/services-and-consultancy\/\">other SEO issues you need to resolve<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>So if that is something of interest to you and you need help implementing this, feel free to get in touch via the content form below or mail me at <a href=\"mailto:hello@daveashworth.co\">hello@daveashworth.co<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Are you tired of carefully crafting meta descriptions for your website, only to have Google rewrite them in search results? Learn why Google rewrites meta descriptions and discover practical tips to minimize the chances of your meta descriptions being replaced. From writing compelling, relevant descriptions to regularly monitoring your search engine results pages, this guide will help you take control of your meta descriptions and improve your on-page SEO.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1588,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1579","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-on-page-seo"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/daveashworth.co\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1579","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/daveashworth.co\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/daveashworth.co\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/daveashworth.co\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/daveashworth.co\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1579"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/daveashworth.co\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1579\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2075,"href":"https:\/\/daveashworth.co\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1579\/revisions\/2075"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/daveashworth.co\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1588"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/daveashworth.co\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1579"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/daveashworth.co\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1579"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/daveashworth.co\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1579"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}