Why are Product Meta Desc not doing as instructed?

Hello @simon_a6,

Thank you for contacting Rank Math support, and sorry for any inconvenience that might have been caused due to that.

This is the order we follow to generate meta descriptions for WooCommerce products or product categories for that matter:
1. Content from SEO Description field
If that is missing, then:
2. WooCommerce Excerpt or Product Short Description
If that is missing, then:
3. Template From General Settings in WordPress Dashboard > Rank Math > Titles & Meta > Products
If that is missing, then:
4. Auto-generated Content from the product page.

However, if you wanted to force the use of the description you have set in Global product settings (Rank math > Titles & meta > Products > Single Product Description), please add the following filter:

/**
 * Use the Description from Global Setting, if the description is missing in the Post metabox
 */
add_action( 'rank_math/frontend/description', function( $description ) {
 global $post;
 $desc = RankMath\Post::get_meta( 'description', $post->ID );

 if ( ! $desc ) {
 $desc = RankMath\Helper::get_settings( "titles.pt_{$post->post_type}_description" );
 if ( $desc ) {
 return RankMath\Helper::replace_vars( $desc, $post );
 }
 }

 return $description;
});

Here’s how you can add a filter/hook to your WordPress site:
https://rankmath.com/kb/wordpress-hooks-actions-filters/

Hope that helps.

Are you serious? So while it has that field in the Products section of Rank Math, it is …. if I may say it like this … useless. Unusable. Unless we contact you for code to FORCE it to work?

Does that function work on ALL the Meta Descriptions, as we have some Portfolio type descriptions that are doing the same thing – taking the first lines of text, rather than what is actually in the RM settings.

Also, if I go into the Meta Description of the category itself in the Portfolio, and manually set it, it ignores even that! It still forces the wrong one.

Hello @simon_a6,

The field is Titles & Meta settings is not unusable. It will be used if the product doesn’t have a short description. The short description of products is usually optimized for the keyword you want to rank for, and it also has a brief summary of the product’s details, and that’s why our plugin prioritizes it.

The filter is available if you want to use the global template for the SEO description instead of the short description.

Please do not hesitate to let us know if you need our assistance with anything else.

I am completely lost!
In Yoast, you set the Metas from the Global point in the plugin. IF you want to overwrite it, you can per page/product etc.

In this plugin, nothing i do changes it. It is forcing it all the time.

It’s like, no matter what I put in the RM titles/Metas section, it ignores it.
And if I go to the Category of the Portfolio, and manually enter it, it STILL ignores it.

Hello @simon_a6,

Apologies for the confusion.

Setting the meta description individually should work and the desired meta description should appear on the frontend.

If its not on your end, then please check if the meta description is indeed saving on the product editor. If it’s not saving, please follow this guide: https://rankmath.com/kb/meta-data-not-saving/

If the issue persists, please let us know and we will check further the issue.

Looking forward to helping you.

Via the RM Titles and Meta, it is saving it. I can see it.
In each individual Portfolio page, it is saving it.

But when you load the Category itself, it still shows content I have not added. I’ve cleared the cache from the Category page, but still to no available. Something is really wrong.

Hello @simon_a6,

If possible, can you please share a full screenshot of both the settings you set in the Titles & Meta settings and the meta you set in the individual page? Lastly, you may share the affected URL as well so we can check if the changes have been applied.

Looking forward to helping you.

Hi. I have posted this to the Rank Math Support pages too. IF you have access to that. I assure you we have set it correctly.

Please confirm if you have access to the RM Support thread on your own website?

Hello @simon_a6,

Yes, we have access to our support threads. Since you have already created a topic in our support forum, please don’t reply to this thread. We will check this further and get back to you on the topic created in our support forum.

Thank you.