Sreaming Frog vs. Yoast - meta description clash

[Bee159]

Hi all, I'm working on a site where when I crawl it with SF, SF doesn't pick up on the meta description (as in the source code it IS blank). However, the meta description has been set via the Yoast Wordpress plugin and it does exist in the source code and is shown in the SERPs.

The code looks like this:

<title>Dining Table and Chairs set</title>

So my question is: will this be affecting SEO and how the website is ranking if all the actual  are blank?

Thank you

[VeroBrain]

Hi Ben,

I assume that you published the page, before the SF attempt.

Regarding your exact question, if there is no meta description established, Google will pick up from the content in your page. Let´s say it is much better if you use that huge opportunity to rank in SERPs as well as to engage the Google visitors to became visitors to your website, by creating a wonderful appealing meta-description. Yes, normally it will affect due to Google algorithms might chose from your content not the most appealing meta description for attract your desired visitors.

Is the noodp Meta Robot Tag in place?

Mª Verónica B.

[evolvingSEO]

Hi Ben

A blank meta description will not hurt your rankings. However, if you want to control what users see to entice them to click, that may be something worth considering.

Also, Google's guide on meta descriptions is really nice!

https://support.google.com/webmasters/answer/35624?hl=en#1

[aafpitadmin]

We have a similar issue. We contracted with an agency to redesign and migrate our website to WordPress, using the YoastSEO plugin. The pages do not have a meta description, however there is an og:description. Will Google/Bing use the og:description tags as the snippet when a meta description is missing? My instincts say no, but the agency says they use this solution all the time and haven't run into issues.

[evolvingSEO]

Garrett - to my knowledge Google does not use og:description if the meta description is blank.