Surely you don't think you're the only webmaster out there testing the effectiveness of various SEO methods? Everywhere I go here at DP, I see you swaggering around with an unctous and smarmy bearing. If you already know it all, and aren't interested in imparting some of your awe-inspiring knowledge to the plebes, why exactly are you here?
Shame nobody has been prepared to explain what they have done to test the effectiveness of various SEO methods then. The only evidence presented so far suggests entirely that Google uses neither meta description or meta keywords in determining SERPS, and only uses the meta description as the snippet after the SERPS have been determined. Unless you can present evidence to the contrary i don't see how you can believe otherwise.
You have made a claim to "know" something for a fact. I'm asking you to share with the rest of us HOW you "know" that to be a fact. How exactly is requesting evidence for a dubious claim "swaggering"? As for imparting "some of [my] awe-inspiring knwledge", I've done that in this thread, as have others. Now, back to the topic at hand: How DO you "know" this? Or is that a secret? Well said.
Your attitude makes the assumption that the folks here are stupid, and it shows in the way you treat people. As for your answer: I have more than one web page that ranks for a keyword that is nowhere in the content on the page or included the title tag, and has no links using the keyword as the anchor. The ONLY place where the keyword was to be found was in the META tags. Granted, it was an obscure keyword (a synonym of one of my other keywords), but it was granted some weight, no matter how tiny, with Google. And unless Google is using synonyms in it's ranking system, the META tags would seem to have some weight when looking for a contextual match to a keyword.
Pardon me if I don't just take your word for it. URL? He hasn't provided an example. He's merely made another unsubstantiated claim. Show me the site and the "obscure keyword" and I'll investigate it myself.
Why do you keep bringing this up? What does googlebombing have to do with whether or not the description or keywords tags are used for Google ranking?
Yes im aware of them (though i believe a lot of them still work). But that is neither here nor there. To say that meta description could be a contributing factor as long as there are other factors supporting that phrase or word, Such as a backlink with that as the anchor text, is pure speculation. There is nothing to support that opinion at present. At present all evidence suggests meta description and meta keywords are entirely ignored by the SERPS algo. Which is the point we are trying to make to anybody who claims otherwise and has no evidence to support it.
Well, stOx, that would be what this post would be all about, now wouldn't it? You can continue arguing, or you can just wait and see what happens. This post already got indexed: http://www.google.com/search?q=chookattu&num=100&hl=en&safe=off&filter=0 Now we just need to wait for that page to get caught up, k? -Michael
Are you now ignoring my question? It's not an argument. It's a simple statement of fact. The evidence to date indicates that Google does not use meta keywords or meta description tags for ranking. Until someone provides evidence to the contrary, the only "arguing" going on is from those who claim otherwise. I notice Fastweb still hasn't backed up his statements.
Ok, I need to know, please be honest. Are you a drinker? It's not a value judgement, and I am not accusing you of such... I just don't want to continue discussing this and going in circles if it turns out the reason that you cannot follow along is due to intoxicants. I already answered this: I then set up a test publicly here in this forum. Which is exactly what the test I set up should prove or disprove. Any further insistence about what the actual case is before those pages are all re-indexed is indeed arguing. -Michael
Okay I am starting a new site for which the competition is very less I will update here I am going to use META keywords,description etc., Also Minstrel you can provide evidence of your own findings about meta keywords and why are you not providing it?
Actually Minstrel is right... to date, the public evidence shows that Google ignores the metas for rankings. My point is that I have evidence for it using them in conjunction with other factors now that do count. If you put a made up word in your metas, and Google indexes the page, and the meta is the only place that word is, then when you search on it Google does not return the page. This has been shown multiple times. -Michael
Google bots sure checking all the meta keyword. Only when you mixed up the keyword and replicating it many times then Google bots will ignore you.
Google not allways using meta description as a snippet! Google putting most relevant text from the page(including meta description) to snippet and it's not allways meta description. regards