Improving SEO is as indispensable as it gets to online marketing. Any website or blog would do anything possible to get high rankings on search engine results pages. There is a lot of advice about what to do and what not to do to improve your SEO strategy. Meta keywords are one of those debatable topics related to SEO.

Many SEO experts suggest that they are a thing of the past, yet many still use it. We shall find out why meta keywords are debated in the digital world.

Optimising a website for search engines requires a comprehensive technical and content strategy. One small but potentially impactful factor is ensuring your page markup contains relevant, thoughtful meta keywords. Defined in the page’s HTML code, meta keywords specify a webpage’s main topic and keywords. While meta keywords alone won’t lead to high rankings, they provide helpful cues to search engines.

This guide will explain meta keywords, proper optimisation best practices, their role in SEO, and how to leverage them effectively as part of an integrated approach. With strategic meta keyword placement, sites can improve keyword targeting, visibility in search results, and user intent matching. We’ll demystify meta-keyword optimisation, from extracting the right terms during research to updating tags regularly and avoiding stuffing. If you want to maximise the SEO value of your metadata in 2023, leveraging meta keywords as a supportive element may help unlock more opportunities.

Meta Keywords: A Definition and Brief History

Meta keywords, also known as meta tags, are snippets of text embedded within the HTML code of a webpage. These keywords are not visible to users when they visit the page, but they are used by search engines to index and categorise the content. In the early days of SEO, meta keywords played a crucial role in determining search rankings. However, as search engine algorithms became more sophisticated, the emphasis on meta keywords has declined.

Are Meta Keywords Still Relevant in 2024?

• Continued Irrelevance: As of 2024, meta keywords remain largely irrelevant in SEO. Major search engines, including Google, Bing, and others, do not use meta keywords as a ranking factor. This trend has been consistent for over two decades, and there are no indications that this will change.
• Evolution of Search Algorithms: Search engines have developed sophisticated algorithms that prioritise content quality, user experience, and relevance over simplistic keyword tracking. Algorithms now analyse a variety of signals, such as user engagement, content structure, and semantic relevance, to determine rankings.
• Content-Centric SEO: The focus of SEO in 2024 is on creating valuable, informative content that meets user intent. Strategies now emphasise:
  • Quality Content Creation: Content should be engaging, informative, and valuable to the target audience.
  • Keyword Optimisation: Keywords should be incorporated naturally within the content, title tags, and headers instead of being relegated to meta keywords.
  • User Experience: Factors such as page speed, mobile optimisation, and ease of navigation significantly impact rankings.
• Best Practices: SEO best practices have shifted to focus on:
  • Title Tags: Ensure they are descriptive and include primary keywords.
  • Meta Descriptions: Write compelling descriptions that accurately reflect page content and encourage clicks.
  • Header Tags: Use these to structure content and include relevant keywords.
  • Image Optimisation: Use alt text for images to enhance accessibility and context for search engines.
• Alternative Considerations: Some niche search engines or specific platforms might still utilise meta keywords, but this is rare. For most mainstream applications, their inclusion offers minimal value.
• Adaptation to Trends: SEO practices are continually adapting to changes in technology and user behaviour. Keeping up with the latest SEO trends, such as voice search optimisation and the importance of user-generated content, is essential for staying competitive.

Definition of Meta Keywords

Meta keywords are a type of metadata tag that reflects your content. Most people are familiar with tags, thanks to Twitter and other social media platforms. They are called “metadata” tags because they are data about the data on your page.

Unlike primary keywords, for example, meta keywords do not appear on the web page’s content. They do not target readers or even humans.

They are only visible in a webpage’s code (HTML), and they exist only to be read by machines, i.e., search engines. Meta keywords instruct the search engine to rank your website based on your added keywords. This is what they may look like:

You can find this information by right-clicking anywhere on any webpage and clicking “view source code.” So in brief, meta keywords are a list of keywords that you insert in the code of your page to tell the search engine what your content tackles.

Many websites in the past have exploited this tactic of SEO, which you will find out more about below.

Meta keywords are HTML tag attributes that specify relevant keywords for a specific webpage. They are placed in the <head> section of the page markup and look like:<meta name=”keywords” content=”keywords, keyword list, keyword phrases”>

Meta keywords help search engines understand the topic of a page. However, they have diminished importance compared to on-page content itself.

Best Practices for Optimising Keywords

• Include 5-10 keywords per page, separated by commas. Avoid overstuffing.
• Match page-specific keywords to content and intent. Don’t use unrelated terms.
• Include variations and long-tail versions of keywords.
• Place the most important keyword first.
• Regularly updated to reflect the new page content.
• Check ranking keyword terms and add synonyms.
• Don’t rely only on meta keywords. Optimise actual content first.

Optimising Keywords for SEO Success

Despite their reduced impact on search rankings, keywords can still be a valuable asset in an SEO strategy. Here are some key guidelines for optimising keywords:

• Quality over Quantity: Focus on using a few highly relevant and specific keywords rather than a large number of generic keywords.
• Strategic Placement: Place your primary keyword at the beginning of the keywords list and consider incorporating variations and long-tail keywords.
• Natural Integration: Avoid keyword stuffing and ensure that the keywords are naturally integrated into the page’s content.
• Regular Review and Update: Regularly review and update your keywords to reflect changes in search trends and your website’s content.

Comparative Importance

While search engines analyse meta keywords, other on-page factors have a greater impact, including:

• Page title tags
• Headings (H1, H2)
• Image file names and alt text
• URL slugs
• Schema and structured data
• Actual page content

Where Did It Go Wrong?

Back when web searching was still a new industry, meta keywords were valuable for better SEO results. However, these days did not last long.

Do you know when people say that we are all born innocent and straightforward, and as we grow older, we become complicated and deceived? To a great extent, this is what happened to web searching. So, do Meta Keywords still matter?

Meta keywords allowed website owners to “directly command” the search engine to rank their articles based on whatever they inserted as meta keywords. You can guess what happened next.

As the search industry grew more popular and, therefore, more commercial, website owners manipulated the tool. They started to insert keywords irrelevant to the page’s content just because those keywords were trending and would bring many viewers. This is called black hat SEO or SEO spam in the digital marketing world.

What Happened Next?

In 2009, Google announced that meta keywords are no longer effective in ranking. Although Google is pretty close-mouthed when explaining how their algorithm works, this is one of the few occasions where they were not discreet about it.

Google and other search engines decided to devalue that tool to maintain the quality of search results. To guarantee that researchers reach credible results whenever they perform search queries, they had to give up on that ranking factor since websites were abusing it.

Should you Stop using Meta Keywords?

Now, this is controversial. Many SEO experts suggest that you should not use them at all. Nevertheless, nineteen per cent of websites still use meta keywords. It comes naturally to ask why they still use them if they do not count in the ranking.

There is a 0.001 chance that search engines may look at those tags; users do not want to miss that chance. As mentioned, search engines’ algorithms are always kept secret so nobody can manipulate the results.

Therefore, some websites still prefer to use meta keywords to be on the safest side because who knows about those algorithms anyway? On the other hand, the remaining eighty-one percent are not convinced by this theory.

What if You Want to Use Them?

If you wish to use meta keywords in your code, you should be careful about using them, in order not to be blacklisted by search engines. You do not want that to happen.

The first and most important condition is to avoid using high-volume keywords irrelevant to your content; this will not get you anywhere and is considered spam. Second, it is recommended to use ten keywords at most; do not “stuff” your list with more keywords in the hope of getting more viewers.

This may be a bad signal for search engines. In addition, the best tip about selecting keywords is to include long-tail keywords and common misspellings of your main topic. Meta keywords are a good place to include common misspellings because nobody likes to include spelling mistakes in the content.

How do Search Engines USE Meta Keywords now?

Generally, Search Engines such as Google, Bing and Yahoo do not tend to rank meta keywords anymore. So they are almost unneeded nowadays. Yoast, the amazing WordPress Plugin, even goes out of their way to say no to meta keywords.

So, why would you want to continue using meta keywords when all they seem to do is waste your time?  Yoast has even removed the meta keywords toggle out of their updated plugin in favour of the other SEO techniques. This feature has been removed since mid-February 2018.

Google and Meta Keywords

Since Google is the world’s number one search engine, we know this because of how we live our lives. We all say ‘I’ll Google that’ when we don’t know something. It would be weird to say, ‘Let’s Bing that’, or ‘Wait, I’m going to Yahoo that’.

It might be best to know how Google still uses Meta Keywords.

Realistically, Google is very similar to other search engines such as Yahoo and Bing. It does not use the meta keywords like it once did. In short, using them might be just a waste of your time, and your main focus should be more on the Title Tags and the Meta description, which is discussed below.

Meta Tags that Matter

There are other meta tags which Google and other search engines consider significant. Most websites use these meta tags, and they can help your website reach high rankings.

Title Tags

Title tags are the titles which appear on search results pages; this is the part where researchers can click to go to a specific website. These are important because they directly express what your page includes. The first thing Google users will see is title tags when they search for anything.

Grabbing their attention with a relevant and informative title will make them want to see more of your page. Please focus on the length of your title tag; do not make it too long because Google allows a limited number of characters. Please make the most out of it, and make your title straight to the point.

Meta Description

Meta Descriptions are located exactly under title tags on search results pages. They are the second thing that your viewers’ eyes will fall on. These descriptions are like teasers to your content.

You should ensure they are interesting and reveal what your page includes in a sentence or two. Meta descriptions also have a limited number of characters. Please do not make them too short or too long; experts suggest 160-character-long is the most suitable length for meta descriptions.

Are meta Tags and YouTube Video Tags Similar?

One area where meta keywords are still quite common is YouTube.

When you upload a video to YouTube, you can add many ‘Videotags’. These help your videos rank within the YouTube algorithm. The only difference between YouTube and Search Engines is that it is much easier to see if your tags work with different Google Extensions. This is like how Search Engines use Meta Tags to allow your sites and posts to rank.

YouTube has not taken the step of updating its Algorithm by removing the importance of keywords. This is solely due to how big this change would affect the platform. It would also make it much harder for your videos to rank, as YouTube does not have as many SEO techniques to help them rank.

This is because it is a video and is not static content. With static content, there is the content, headings, titles, descriptions, keywords, readability, images, and links, whereas YouTube can only have titles, descriptions and keywords.

Here, people can exploit this feature quite easily if a specific topic is trending and ranking well. Using these keywords can help your video rank. YouTube is trying to help this, but it is very difficult.

Alternative to Meta Keywords: Focus on Content-Length Instead

Whether you use meta keywords or not, the choice is entirely yours. If you decide not to, rest assured that you are not missing a ranking factor. The most important aspect, if you decide to use them, is to be careful that your keywords do not mislead the search engine.

In addition, spend more time investing in your website’s content or other important SEO tips. Remember that other meta tags, such as title tags or meta descriptions, are the window to your website. They will affect your SEO results and your number of viewers. Make sure your window looks nice and inviting to researchers. Finally, make content your top priority and work on improving it rather than focusing on meta keywords.

Conclusion

Meta keywords are largely considered a waste of time; instead, focus on using tags and target keywords for your content effectively. Each page should have a unique primary target keyword that informs both the article’s content and its meta tags, but it’s crucial to avoid keyword stuffing.

Target keywords should be integrated naturally and descriptively within the body copy and meta tags. When done correctly as part of a comprehensive SEO strategy, optimising for meta keywords can help improve search engine interpretation of page content and reach relevant queries. However, they are less significant than on-page content, quality backlinks, and other technical factors. Used ethically, meta keywords can support your SEO efforts, providing another tool for enhancing visibility and rankings.

A well-researched and updated meta-keyword strategy can incrementally boost performance, but overreliance on keyword stuffing without strong content will likely result in disappointment. Thus, the best practice is to balance meta-keyword optimisation with broader SEO initiatives.