How to Remove Date from Google Search Meta Description
As a WordPress website owner, you may have noticed that the Yoast SEO plugin often includes the date in your Google search meta descriptions. While this information can be useful in some cases, it's not always desirable, and it can take up valuable character space in your meta descriptions.
Fortunately, there's a simple solution to remove the date from your Yoast SEO meta descriptions. In this blog post, we'll walk you through the steps to eliminate the date display and improve your overall search engine optimization (SEO).
Understand the Issue
The Yoast SEO plugin is one of the most popular WordPress SEO tools, and it's widely used by website owners to optimize their content for search engines. One of the features of Yoast SEO is the ability to preview how your page's meta description will appear in Google search results.
By default, Yoast SEO often includes the date in this meta description preview, which can be redundant or even detrimental to your SEO efforts. The date can take up valuable character space, making it more challenging to craft a compelling and informative meta description that entices users to click through to your website.
The Solution: Remove the Date from Yoast SEO Meta Descriptions
To remove the date from your Yoast SEO meta descriptions, you can use a simple WordPress filter. This filter will disable the date display in the Yoast SEO snippet preview, ensuring that your meta descriptions are focused on the most important information.
Here's the code you need to add to your theme's functions.php
file:
add_filter('wpseo_show_date_in_snippet_preview', false);
Alternatively, you can use the following code, which achieves the same result:
add_filter('wpseo_show_date_in_snippet_preview', '__return_false');
Once you've added this code to your functions.php
file, the date will no longer appear in your Yoast SEO meta description previews. This will give you more room to craft compelling and informative meta descriptions that can improve your website's visibility in search engine results.
Benefits of Removing the Date from Yoast SEO Meta Descriptions
Removing the date from your Yoast SEO meta descriptions can provide several benefits for your website's SEO:
-
Increased Character Count: Meta descriptions are limited to a certain number of characters (currently 155-160 characters), and the date can take up valuable space that could be used for more compelling and informative content. By removing the date, you can make the most of this limited character count.
-
Improved User Experience: When users see your website in the search results, they're more likely to click on a meta description that appears current and relevant. By removing the date, you can create a more timeless and enticing meta description that encourages users to visit your site.
-
Enhanced Relevance: The date in your meta description can sometimes make your content appear outdated, even if the information is still relevant. Removing the date can help ensure that your meta descriptions remain relevant and appealing to users.
-
Consistency Across Search Results: If your competitors' meta descriptions don't include the date, your website's meta descriptions with the date may appear less visually appealing and consistent in the search results.
Implementing the Solution
To implement the solution and remove the date from your Yoast SEO meta descriptions, follow these steps:
-
Access your WordPress Dashboard: Log in to your WordPress admin panel and navigate to the "Appearance" section.
-
Edit your Theme's Functions.php File: Locate the "functions.php" file in your current theme's directory and open it for editing. This is typically found in the "Appearance" > "Themes" section of your WordPress dashboard.
-
Add the Filter Code: Add the following code to your theme's functions.php
file:
add_filter('wpseo_show_date_in_snippet_preview', false);
Alternatively, you can use the following code:
add_filter('wpseo_show_date_in_snippet_preview', '__return_false');
- Save and Refresh: Save the
functions.php
file and refresh your website. The date should no longer appear in your Yoast SEO meta description previews.
It's important to note that this solution works specifically with the Yoast SEO plugin. If you're using a different SEO plugin or method to manage your meta descriptions, the steps may vary.
Conclusion
Removing the date from your Yoast SEO meta descriptions can be a simple and effective way to optimize your website's search engine visibility. By freeing up valuable character space and creating a more timeless and relevant meta description, you can improve the overall user experience and potentially increase click-through rates from the search engine results pages.
Remember, the key to successful SEO is to continuously monitor and optimize your website's content and metadata. By staying on top of the latest SEO trends and best practices, you can ensure that your website remains competitive and engaging for both search engines and your target audience.
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