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Can you force Google to use meta description?
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Is it possible to force Google to use only the Meta description put in place for a page and not gather additional text from the page?
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Hey Robert,
Thank you for responding, the article was very helpful, however I still don't understand the following scenario:
If you search for Embrace care in Google, the first result is the Embrace 'About us' page with the following snippet: Embrace is a leading independent provider of health and social care in the UK. We provide residential, educational and supported living services which enable ...
Can you let me know your thoughts on why google would use this snippet instead of the meta description below, which includes both 'Embrace' and 'care'?
Embrace provides residential, educational and supported services in health and social care environments, supporting the elderly, adults and children.
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Completely agree with Robert steck.
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Hey A_Q,
This is a bit of a two fold answer.. No there isn't a way to force Google to use your META description, but there are ways to better ensure Google uses the best snippets from your site in conjunction with your META descriptions. Here is a great write up by the people of MOZ. It should help you out some....: https://azwa.1clkaccess.in/blog/why-wont-google-use-my-meta-description
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