What are Meta Keywords?
Meta keywords are an HTML meta tag that was historically used to specify a list of keywords that a web page should be associated with. The tag looks like this in the HTML code:
<meta name="keywords" content="ahrefs glossary, seo glossary, seo encyclopedia">Are Meta Keywords Important for SEO?
The short answer is “No.”
Meta keywords are no longer a relevant factor for SEO, especially for major search engines like Google and Bing. Here’s a deeper look into why:
- Google and Bing’s Stance:
- Google: According to Danny Sullivan, a prominent figure in the SEO industry, Google has never used the meta keywords tag as a ranking factor. Google’s algorithms focus on the content of the page and other ranking signals rather than a list of keywords in the meta tag.
- Bing: Bing also confirmed that it does not use the meta keywords tag for ranking purposes.
- Spam Magnet:
- Historically, the meta keywords tag was often exploited by SEO practitioners trying to manipulate search rankings. Some webmasters stuffed this tag with irrelevant or excessive keywords to deceive search engines about the page’s content.
- Current Usage:
- Modern SEO: Major search engines do not consider meta keywords when determining rankings. Instead, they rely on content quality, relevance, user experience, backlinks, and other sophisticated signals.
- Internal Search Systems: Some internal site search engines or smaller search engines might still use meta keywords for indexing or internal searches, but this is not common practice among the leading search engines.
Summary
Meta keywords are an outdated SEO element that has been largely ignored by major search engines like Google and Bing. The focus of modern SEO has shifted to high-quality content, user engagement, and relevant signals that better reflect a page’s value and relevance. While the meta keywords tag may still be used by some internal search systems, it has no impact on contemporary SEO practices. For effective SEO, it is more beneficial to concentrate on creating valuable content and optimizing other on-page and off-page factors.
