Custom Meta Description per Page

chipjchipj Registered Users Posts: 149 Major grins
edited January 16, 2014 in SmugMug Feature Requests
How about the ability to add a custom meta description to each page, or at least page type?

Google Webmaster Tools reports on this as an issue and Matt Cutts of Google also mentioned this on November 18, 2013 (see http://youtu.be/W4gr88oHb-k). I know we can set the meta description on the home page, but it would be nice to have an option to overwrite this default on other pages.
www.chipjonesphotography.com | Search Engine Marketing (SEO, PPC)

Comments

  • rnrjoshrnrjosh Registered Users Posts: 266 Major grins
    edited November 19, 2013
    For your galleries, the gallery description you enter in the gallery settings will automatically be used as the gallery's meta description as well. You can also set a meta description for any page or folder on your site as well. Just go to the folder or page in question and click Customize Folder (or page) Settings, and you'll see a place to enter a meta description here.
    Josh
    SmugMug Support Hero
  • chipjchipj Registered Users Posts: 149 Major grins
    edited November 19, 2013
    Okay, I see that. In the past I've added a description to several galleries which takes care of this at the gallery level.

    BUT Google is indexing unique URLs per each image in those galleries. In essence, the meta tag for the gallery is duplicated across all images in that gallery. For example, let's say I have a gallery called "Flowers". This gallery contains a description which (as you mentioned) becomes the meta tag for that gallery. Also in this gallery are twelve photographs of flowers.. each flower has a unique URL that ends with some sort of ID like; "/i-CtVhZZd" or "/i-sMQXmRQ".

    In Google Webmaster Tools, each photo is seen as having a unique URL but the meta tag remains the same and in Google's eyes, the meta tag is a duplicate. Make sense?

    Duplicate meta tags based on the home page setting are also happening on keyword search URLs and any gallery that does not have a description. According to Matt Cutt's latest YouTube video (about description meta tags), he states that web sites are better off NOT using a meta tag, rather than having a duplicate meta tag. I'm just asking for an option to turn off duplicated meta tags.
    www.chipjonesphotography.com | Search Engine Marketing (SEO, PPC)
  • AdamNPAdamNP Registered Users Posts: 178 Major grins
    edited November 20, 2013
    It would be better if each unique image URL took the image caption as the meta description. But yes, if we can't have that, it would be better to have no meta description at all. Having potentially hundreds of URLs with the same meta description is terrible SEO design. Same with page title tags actually, they should include some form of the image title in each one.
  • chipjchipj Registered Users Posts: 149 Major grins
    edited November 20, 2013
    AdamNP wrote: »
    It would be better if each unique image URL took the image caption as the meta description. But yes, if we can't have that, it would be better to have no meta description at all. Having potentially hundreds of URLs with the same meta description is terrible SEO design. Same with page title tags actually, they should include some form of the image title in each one.

    Couldn't agree more. I don't usually title my images, but I agree... the title of the image should be included in the title of the page that's associated with the unique URL for that image.
    www.chipjonesphotography.com | Search Engine Marketing (SEO, PPC)
  • AdamNPAdamNP Registered Users Posts: 178 Major grins
    edited November 20, 2013
    What I'd really like to see is a tool to build your own page titles and meta descriptions, like you see with some SEO plugins. It shouldn't be that hard to implement, I would think. Some sort of template system where you can add parts. Examples:

    Page Title: [Image Title] - [Gallery Name] - [Site Name] or [File Name] - [Gallery Name] , etc, etc

    Meta Description: [Image Caption] or [File Name] + [Image Title]

    You get the idea. Just add as many parameters as is reasonable, and let people build their own template. Easy. And the current 100s of duplicate metas and titles are disastrous for something that is being sold as SEO friendly. It's not, in any way.
  • chipjchipj Registered Users Posts: 149 Major grins
    edited November 21, 2013
    Yes, I totally agree with your title tag structure. You'd think that such a basic SEO item like this would be at the top of the list at SmugMug. This is really indicative of an underlying lack of interest (or knowledge) of SEO at SmugMug. There are other areas that need to be addressed as well when it comes to SEO for new Smugmug.
    AdamNP wrote: »
    What I'd really like to see is a tool to build your own page titles and meta descriptions, like you see with some SEO plugins. It shouldn't be that hard to implement, I would think. Some sort of template system where you can add parts. Examples:

    Page Title: [Image Title] - [Gallery Name] - [Site Name] or [File Name] - [Gallery Name] , etc, etc

    Meta Description: [Image Caption] or [File Name] + [Image Title]

    You get the idea. Just add as many parameters as is reasonable, and let people build their own template. Easy. And the current 100s of duplicate metas and titles are disastrous for something that is being sold as SEO friendly. It's not, in any way.
    www.chipjonesphotography.com | Search Engine Marketing (SEO, PPC)
  • tomoscotttomoscott Registered Users Posts: 92 Big grins
    edited January 16, 2014
    Please add ability to separate meta-description
    Especially for galleries. My gallery descriptions are more like artist statements, but they are not good as meta descriptions. We really need the ability to provide a separate meta description for each gallery.
    My Site: tomoscott.com
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