Hide keyword tag or not?
-
We have a mandatory keyword tag field in our cms page templates, which we have to keep
as our internal search facility bases queries on the keywords we use. Should we hide the keywords from the search
engines, as I read that Bing uses it as a spam signal? Or do we just need to stick to best practise ensuring the keywords match the keywords found in the body content? Many thanks for any help. Sophie -
Just to chime in Bing has also hinted that it sometimes uses the keywords as a negative factor in ranking signals which is another reason in my books to not use it. Tim makes some great points though so thumbs up all around!
-
Good point - strengthens my case to get rid of it. Thanks
-
The only issue I can think of from an SEO perspective is more from the stand point of competitor spying/research. There was a time when you could simply look at a competitors site structure and determine all of their targeted keywords just from the meta tag, so in effect free keyword research.
This has changed somewhat and as soon as it was no longer determined to boost rank most simply dropped the tag.
Nowadays it is simply just not recommended to use them.
-
Hi Tim,
That is helpful, thank you. I think the devs are looking for a way to avoid this job unless it's completely necessary. If there isn't a big issue from an SEO perspective then the consensus is we can just leave the field there. I guess if you have a reputable site with no spam markers a few keyword tags on a page aren't going to be detrimental.
Thanks again for your help.
Sophie
-
Hello Sophie,
I am not sure which CMS you use, but I personally have not used the keywords meta tag for some time now. Not due to it being a spam signal, but simply because it is no longer used as a ranking factor.
To alleviate your issue and not show your tag but still continue to use the CMS field, could your developers not look into the template files that are used and remove the location where a meta tag is dynamically added to your header. That way the CMS can still have the field for search queries but not be present in the pages code structure.
That way you get the best of both worlds, without causing you any issues. Hopefully I have understood how your site works and this is a possible solution.
Tim
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
-
My Top Keywords Ranking Going Down (continuously)
hi,
White Hat / Black Hat SEO | | seotoolshero06
I have an affiliate website where most of my articles are about product Reviews. And it was all going good before 15 february. After that Most of my keywords that were in top 3 places in SERP loses their position.
One of the keyword that was hurted badly after is "best coffee beans".
I have checked the search console and their is no warning issues or something suspicious. I have improved the onpage again, fixing every issue i got from audit tools, from speed to optimize images, titles to alt text, in short everything i could or that can be improved. But still coffee beans keyword is going down every passing day.
I am so worried and want you guys to please help me regarding this. Thanks2 -
Canonical tag On Each Page With Same Page URL - Its Harmful For SEO or Not?
Hi. I have an e-commerce project and they have canonical code in each and every page for it's own URL. (Canonical on Original Page No duplicate page) The url of my wesite is like this: "https://www.website.com/products/produt1"
White Hat / Black Hat SEO | | HuptechWebseo
and the site is having canonical code like this: " This is occurring in each and every products as well as every pages of my website. Now, my question is that "is it harmful for the SEO?" Or "should I remove this tags from all pages?" Is that any benefit for using the canonical tag for the same URL (Original URL)?0 -
Keyword Stuffing
I am working with a client which has amazing results on Google but his site hits every "no no" to any of the google algros. The site has duplicate content, keyword stuffing, poor content and poor UX. However the site ranks p1 on any of the keyword searches. The site has about 2000 pages all duplicated maybe 1 our 2 words changed. I am a little apprehensive to get him to remove the duplicate contents and remove the keywords stuffing if it means he drops traffic and loses page rank. I have also noticed competition to me rank higher on keywords when they've got a list of keyword and locations i.e web design windsor, web design manchester etc... etc... however they don't seem to get penalised. Is there any accurate tools to check keyword stuffing? and has anyone else experienced this and has any recommendations to tackle this?
White Hat / Black Hat SEO | | Cocoonfxmedia0 -
Why is this Page Ranking for such a competitive keyword?
Hello MOZ Community! I have a question, I am hoping someone can help me understand. I am looking at this URL: http://goo.gl/BkSish ...it is ranking for this Keyword: POS Systems Now, this seems to be a pretty new URL, with few links being generated to it, as seen here: Open Site Explorer: http://moz.com/researchtools/ose/comparisons?site=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.shopkeep.com%2Fpos-system Majestic SEO: https://www.majesticseo.com/reports/site-explorer/link-profile?folder=&q=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.shopkeep.com%2Fpos-system&oq=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.shopkeep.com%2Fpos-system&IndexDataSource=F&wildcard=1 QUESTION: Can someone help us understand how or why this page is ranking so well, so quickly, for such a competitive Keyword? Thank you!
White Hat / Black Hat SEO | | mstpeter0 -
Repetition in Title Tag and Description
Let's say this is a hypothetical title: "Chevrolet Parts in Buffalo, NY | Novotny Chevrolet" Would having two instances of Chevrolet between the name of the store and the keyword set off a spam warning or at least be a bad SEO practice? Also, would it be smarter to phrase it, "Novotny Chevrolet Parts in Buffalo, NY" or something of the sort? Would this principal also apply to meta descriptions? Thanks!
White Hat / Black Hat SEO | | oomdomarketing0 -
Is horizontal hashtag linking between 4 different information text pages with a canonical tag to the URL with no hashtag, a White Hat SEO practice?
Hey guys, I need help. hope it is a simple question : if I have horizontal 4 text pages which you move between through hashtag links, while staying on the same page in user experience, can I canonical tag the URL free of hashtags as the canonical page URL ? is this white hat acceptable practice? and will this help "Adding the Value", search queries, and therefore rank power to the canonical URL in this case? hoping for your answers. Best Regards, and thanks in advance!
White Hat / Black Hat SEO | | Muhammad_Jabali0 -
Multiple domains different content same keywords
what would you advice on my case: It is bad for google if i have the four domains. I dont link between them as i dont want no association, or loss in rakings in branded page. Is bad if i link between them or the non branded to them branded domain. Is bad if i have all on my webmaster tools, i just have the branded My google page is all about the new non penalized domain. altough google gave a unique domain +propdental to the one that he manually penalized. (doesn't make sense) So. What are the thinks that i should not do with my domain to follow and respect google guidelines. As i want a white hat and do not do something that is wrong without knowledge
White Hat / Black Hat SEO | | maestrosonrisas0 -
How does someone rank page one on google for one domain for over 150 keywords?
A local seo is exclaiming his fantastic track record for a pool company(amonst others) in our local market. Over 150 keywords on page one of google. I checked out a few things using some moz tools and didn't find anything that would suggest that this has come from white hat strategies, tactics or links etc. Interested in how he is doing this and if it is white hat? Thanks, C
White Hat / Black Hat SEO | | charlesgrimm0