Search Engines

Google is not showing a description of my site

Site descriptions in Google results are actually quoted from the web page in question. Google automatically generates different descriptions based on the search terms used to find the site (these “snippets” display the search term(s) in the context of the page on which they appear).

For example, if there is a pet site that deals with cats and dogs, and someone enters a search for the word ‘dog,’ the site description on Google will only talk about ‘dogs.’ If a person searches Google for ‘cats’ and the same site is delivered as a result, the description will be different – it will contain references to the word ‘cat’ as it appears on the website.

Google does not display a standard description. We look for the search terms specified (and in some cases, variations of those terms) and show snippets of where those terms appear. This is a completely automated process and editing is not an option. If you alter the relevant text on the page itself, Google will pick up those changes during our next crawl in a few weeks.

Excerpt taken from Google Webmaster Info

How do I change my URL in Google?

It is not possible to manually change your listed address at the exact time you move to your new site. There are steps you can take to make sure that your transition goes smoothly, however.

Google listings are based in part on the ability to find your site by following links from other web pages. To preserve your ranking, you will want to inform any sites that currently link to your pages of your change of address.

Excerpt taken from Google Webmaster Info

My site on Google is on old version

If Google continue to list an ‘old’ version of your site (i.e. to list www.my123site.org despite the fact that your site now lives at www.my456site.org ) you need to update the links that are pointing to the sites.

Since Google robots jump from page to page via hyperlinks, someone must still be linking to the defunct page. Once others correct their links, Google can too.

Once your new site is live, you may wish to place a permanent redirect (using a “301” code in HTTP headers) on your old site to inform visitors and search engines that your site has moved.

Excerpt taken from Google Webmaster Info

Google shows out of date site content

When you update information on your site it does not automatically update instantly in Google’s index. Rather, Google’s index is updated approximately once a month after the Google robots have crawled more than 8 billion web pages.

This process is totally automated, so updated or outdated link submissions are not necessary. Changes to your site’s content will be noted by the next crawl. Due to the volume of sites in the index, it is not possible to manually update pages on an individual basis.

Excerpt taken from Google Webmaster Info

How to manage meta tags using FrontPage

Adding and maintaining your META TAGS with FrontPage is easy! Follow the simple steps below to ensure your web site is fully optimised.

Step 1) Right Click on your home page and choose “PAGE PROPERTIES” from the Popup Menu.

Step 2) Click on the TAB that says CUSTOM

Step 3) Under the UserVariables section click ADD.

For the name type “keywords” and for the value, enter keywords applicable to your page.
To keep your page search engine friendly type 15-25 significant keywords that describe your site.

Step 4) Under the UserVariables section click ADD again.
For the name type “description” and for the value, enter a description applicable to your page.
To keep your page search engine friendly, the recommended maximum of characters for you keywords tag is 200 characters.

Step 5) When finished you will see the two new custom META tags showing (as below)

Step 6) Save your page and publish your web site to the server.