Meta keywords no longer in use
-
Can someone point me to the official article explaining why meta keywords are no longer taken into account by search engines please?
I know Moz has indicated that search engines ignore them, but I would like to read a bit more about it - what was the reason behind it and since when.
-
One of the main reasons they stopped looking at them is because it was easy to spam and stuff the tags. Any site can easily stuff the meta tags, so it's an unreliable ranking factor.
A few years back it was beneficial for when directories/info sites would scrape your site. When they list your site they would use those keywords for categories, and possibly even anchor text. You don't see it as much anymore, especially since that scraped information is just junk content.
The way I see it, it can hurt your site to have the KWs. Your competitors can easily see what keywords you are going after (which they probably can anyway by looking at a given page). Giving them one spot to check on every page though will make it much easier for them to benefit from your keyword research.
Some people like to use meta tags as product tags on their site. So if you search for "black cats" on a cat website, anything with the meta tag black cats would come up first. It also works for when you want to make a black cat page that features every single black cat related item on your site. Of course, you can just do internal tagging for this, and don't need to use the meta tags.
Moral of the story: not much use for them.
-
I think you're right - if we can't find a reason for using them, best to ignore / remove it altogether.
-
From what I understand algorithm would figure this out from the title, description and content.
I thought more of any other potential use such as advanced search where you can select specific tags to look within - did anyone hear of any place they can be used except for SEO purposes?
-
I really wouldn't worry about meta-keywords. Much better to spend the time on the content!
-
Search engines may still use it for discovery. Meaning simply answering the question: what should the page potentially rank for?
best, G
-
Is there any other area that meta keywords could be used - for any other purpose perhaps?
From what I understand it is only ignored, but not penalised unless stuffed with keywords?
-
I usually say that if Google does it the others are doing it as well.
So:
The meta keywords tag is not in use for SEO with regard to Google and Yahoo.
I'm pretty sure Bing doesn't either.
Best, G
-
Here's a post about how Bing views keywords:
The Meta Keywords Tag Lives At Bing & Why Only Spammers Should Use It
So, over-stuffing your keywords isn't totally ignored and can cause a penalty on Bing.
Meta keywords were so abused in the past that they could no longer be used to accurately tell what the page was about. As a relevance/ranking signal it became worthless.
-
Thanks Gustav,
Is it only Google that this applies to or other search engines followed the same rule?
-
Here's Googles post about it:
http://googlewebmastercentral.blogspot.com/2009/09/google-does-not-use-keywords-meta-tag.html
Hope this was what you were looking for.
Best, G
Got a burning SEO question?
Subscribe to Moz Pro to gain full access to Q&A, answer questions, and ask your own.
Browse Questions
Explore more categories
-
Moz Tools
Chat with the community about the Moz tools.
-
SEO Tactics
Discuss the SEO process with fellow marketers
-
Community
Discuss industry events, jobs, and news!
-
Digital Marketing
Chat about tactics outside of SEO
-
Research & Trends
Dive into research and trends in the search industry.
-
Support
Connect on product support and feature requests.
Related Questions
-
Is it still best practice to optimize your site with geographic long tail keywords?
Since Google is tailoring search results to user IP and location, is it still best practice to optimize your site titles etc. with long-tail geographic keywords? For example, instead of optimizing a page for "dentist in West Palm Beach, Florida", search users who are IN West Palm Beach can just search "dentists" and a list of local dentists will be displayed (both in the local listings AND organic search listings). I'd love to see Rand cover this on a Whiteboard Friday!
Moz Pro | | RickyShockley1 -
How do YOU use site explorer?
I normally use open site explorer to identify links that competitors of my clients have and sometimes this gives me what I call 'some low hanging fruit' to go after. (and of course links that are more challenging to get) I don't know why this didn't occur to me sooner. If my client is a chiropractor why not look at the links for 50 or 100 of the top rankings chiropractic sites all over the US? This would HAVE to uncover a wealth of blogs to comment on that have good authority, great industry associations, publications, forums - a whole wealth of items. It made me wonder how many people use site explorer like I have been (top 3-4 competitors that your client has) or identifying links pointing to LOTS of competitors? How do you use it? Couldn't you almost base an entire link building campaign using OSE? Why would this be a bad idea if not? Just some random thoughts. THE WEEKEND IS ALMOST HERE - Have a great day everybody! 🙂
Moz Pro | | Mrupp441 -
Best Keyword Difficulty Tool?
Hi All, I'm a bit frustrated with the fact that I can only enter 5 words at a time into SEOmoz's keyword difficulty tool. Does anyone know of a better way (or tool) to analyze keyword difficulty for hundreds of keywords?
Moz Pro | | nicole.healthline0 -
Does SEOMOZ use Google Search?
I run a Joomla site and have noticed users having a hard time finding what they are looking for. The default Joomla search is lacking and the latest Joomla search component I added is better but still not great. I've always been able to find what I'm looking for on SeoMoz, do you guys use Google Site Search?
Moz Pro | | mr_w0 -
SEO MOZ keyword ranking tool
Hi Guys, Can anyone please help me! I have a client that has two web pages that he wants optimising, one page is the home page and the other page is within the page.. Does anyone know if the SEO MOZ ranking tool only looks at the home page for jeywords or will it look at what ranking is the the other page within the website?? Or do I have to set up separate campaign jut for one page within the website?? Can anyone answer this please? Thanks Gareth
Moz Pro | | GAZ090 -
What Q&A Forum Platform Does SEOmoz Use?
Completely custom built, or a 3rd party offering that can be customized? One of the most usable forums I've seen!
Moz Pro | | SEOPA0