Why is google showing wrong meta tekst?

Technical Q&A

Topic summary

A Shopify store owner reports that Google has been displaying incorrect meta description text for their homepage for over two months, while Bing and DuckDuckGo show the correct version. Google appears to be pulling text from elsewhere on the site instead of the specified meta description about their 19th and 20th century art dealership.

Suggested solutions include:

  • Ensuring homepage content aligns with meta description keywords
  • Implementing structured data (Schema markup)
  • Using Google Search Console’s “Request Indexing” feature
  • Checking for conflicting meta tags from apps or themes
  • Being patient as Google updates can take time

Resolution: A later responder checked the site’s source code and Google search results, finding that the meta description is actually displaying correctly in Google. They provided screenshots showing the meta tag in the source code matches what appears in Google search results, suggesting the issue may have resolved itself or was a misunderstanding of which text should appear.

Summarized with AI on October 28. AI used: claude-sonnet-4-5-20250929.
1

Hello there,

Can someone please help me. The meta text of my homepage is not displayed correctly on google. I have waited for more than two months now but it keeps displaying the wrong text. The strange thing is that other search engines (Bing / duck duck for example) do display it correctly. Google picks up the text of a part of my website?

And i mean the tekst: Online Store > Preferences in your Shopify admin

My website is:

https://kunstiek.nl/

Tekst it should display :
Kunstiek is a artdealer specialising in art from the 19 th and 20th century. Paintings, sculptures, watercolors, drawings and prints. Dutch and Belgian art.

wat is going wrong?

Bart

2

Hi @Bartk1970

I understand how frustrating that can be.

Google doesn’t always display the exact meta title and description set in your Shopify admin (Online Store > Preferences). Instead, it often rewrites them based on the page content and what it thinks is more relevant to the user’s search query. That’s likely why Bing and DuckDuckGo show the correct version, but Google doesn’t.

A few suggestions to help Google pick up the correct text:

1. Check your homepage content
Make sure your homepage includes the same key phrases as your meta description (e.g., “19th and 20th century art”, “paintings”, “Dutch and Belgian art”). Google might be pulling text from your visible content because it sees that as more relevant.

2. Use Structured Data (Schema)
Adding proper structured data can help Google better understand your website. You can use Shopify apps to implement this easily.

3. Use the Inspect URL tool in Google Search Console
Go to Google Search Console → enter your homepage URL → click “Request Indexing” after inspecting. This can speed up the re-crawling process.

4. Check for conflicting meta tags
Sometimes, apps or custom themes override Shopify’s default meta tags. You can inspect your page source (Ctrl + U on Windows or Cmd + Option + U on Mac) and look for multiple or incorrect <meta name=“description”…> tags.

5. Be patient
Even after fixing, Google may take time to update your listing. But ensuring consistency between your meta description and on-page content can help it align better.

Let me know if you need help checking your theme or structured data. Happy to take a look!

1 Like
3

Tnx very much for the input. I will try some of your solutions!

1 Like
4

Hi,
This question is easy to check.
How does Google display meta descriptions?
Instructions from Google’s official documentation:

SEOAntZoey_0-1748591843192.png
SEOAntZoey_0-1748591843192.png1730Ă—882 139 KB

Website source code check:
This is in Dutch

SEOAntZoey_1-1748591887661.png
SEOAntZoey_1-1748591887661.png1593Ă—805 40.2 KB

Check Google’s actual display. What I display here is consistent with the text of <meta name=“description”

SEOAntZoey_2-1748591924147.png
SEOAntZoey_2-1748591924147.png1038Ă—502 74.3 KB

Result: Your meta description is displayed normally

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