Google provided an update on the use of emojis in page titles and meta descriptions, saying they neither hurt nor help SEO.
Google’s search advocate John Mueller said this in a Google Search Center SEO office hour hangout recorded on January 28.
One of the issues submitted asked for an update on Google’s stance on emojis, especially when using them in titles and descriptions.
Sites can use emojis when optimizing their pages because they don’t violate any of Google’s guidelines.
But is it recommended to use them?
Optimizing a web page with emoji may seem like a waste of energy, but you can decide for yourself after reading Mueller’s response below.
Google’s stance on the use of emoji in page titles and descriptions
Websites can use emoji anywhere they want – whether it’s in the title, meta description, or main content.
However, there is no guarantee that Google will show them in search results.
Google rewrote most of the titles As is, but it may ignore emoji even if it chooses to show the title you wrote.
Mueller said Google would not show emojis if they were disruptive or made search snippets look misleading.
Instead, Google will try to find the corresponding word and use it.
“You can definitely use emojis in the title and description of a page. We don’t show all of that in search results, especially if we think it will clutter search results in some way, it might look misleading, Or something like that.
But you can definitely leave them there, it’s not that they will cause any problems. I don’t think there’s any significant advantage to putting them there, since at best we’re trying to figure out what the equivalent of that emoji is, and maybe using that word too, associated with the page. “
While emoji won’t cause any problems with your site’s SEO, they won’t do anything to help it either.
Google doesn’t put more emphasis on titles and descriptions with emojis just because they’re more colorful than plain text, Mueller said:
“But that’s not to say you’re going to get an advantage because of some kind of like, oh, you have a colorful title or something. So from that perspective, if you want to include those in your title and description, Then go for it. If you don’t want them there, that’s okay. I don’t think it’s going to hurt or harm SEO or help SEO in any way.”
With all of this in mind, you’re better off writing your title and description in plain text.
Emojis are allowed, but it’s very different from how Google shows them.
There is also no SEO advantage to using them.
The only potential benefit of emojis is an increased click-through rate, so you’ll have to weigh that when deciding whether they’re worth using.
Hear Mueller’s full response in the video below:
Featured Image: DiA99/Shutterstock
