What Are Meta Keywords

What Are Meta Keywords, In the ever-evolving world of search engine optimization (SEO), meta keywords have been a topic of debate and confusion for many website owners and digital marketers. This comprehensive guide will delve into what meta keywords are, how they work, and whether they still hold relevance in modern SEO strategies.

What Are Meta Keywords and How Do They Work?

Meta keywords are a type of metadata that appear in the HTML code of a webpage but are not visible to users on the page itself. They are intended to provide search engines with information about the content of the page.

Here’s an example of how meta keywords appear in HTML:

<meta name="keywords" content="SEO, meta keywords, search engine optimization">

Historically, meta keywords were used by search engines to understand the topic of a webpage and determine its relevance to user queries. Website owners would include a list of keywords related to their content, hoping to improve their search engine rankings for those terms.

The Evolution of Meta Keywords What Are Meta Keywords

Year	Development
1995	Meta keywords tag introduced
2009	Google announces it no longer uses meta keywords for ranking
2015	Bing confirms it ignores meta keywords
2024	Meta keywords largely obsolete for major search engines

As search engines became more sophisticated, they began to rely less on meta keywords and more on the actual content of web pages, backlink profiles, and user behavior signals to determine relevance and quality.

Why Should I Use Meta Keywords? What Are Meta Keywords

Given the current state of SEO, you might wonder why you should consider using meta keywords at all. While their importance has diminished significantly for major search engines like Google and Bing, there are still some potential benefits to using them:

However, it’s important to note that the benefits of using meta keywords are limited, and they should not be a primary focus of your SEO efforts. What Are Meta Keywords in SEO

Incorporating Meta Keywords in Your Content

If you decide to use meta keywords, here are some best practices to follow:

1. Be relevant: Only include keywords that accurately reflect the content of your page.
2. Be concise: Limit your meta keywords to 10-15 terms or phrases.
3. Avoid keyword stuffing: Don’t repeat keywords or include irrelevant terms.
4. Use your main keywords: Prioritize the most important keywords for your page.
5. Include variations: Consider including singular and plural forms, as well as common synonyms.

Here’s an example of well-structured meta keywords for this article:

htmlCopy

<meta name="keywords" content="meta keywords, SEO, search engine optimization, metadata, HTML tags, keyword research, content strategy">

Common Misspellings

Including common misspellings in your meta keywords used to be a popular tactic to capture traffic from users who might misspell search terms. However, this practice is now considered outdated and potentially spammy. What Are Meta Keywords, In Modern search engines are sophisticated enough to understand and correct common misspellings, making this tactic unnecessary. What Are Meta Keywords

Instead of focusing on misspellings in meta keywords, consider addressing them in your content in a natural way, such as:

“If you’re wondering about ‘meta keywards’ or ‘meta key words,’ don’t worry – we’re talking about ‘meta keywords’ in SEO.”

Long-Tail Keywords

Long-tail keywords are longer, more specific keyword phrases that visitors are more likely to use when they’re closer to making a purchase or when using voice search. While these are valuable for your overall SEO strategy, they’re not typically included in meta keywords.

Instead of using long-tail keywords in your meta tags, focus on incorporating them naturally into your content, headers, and page titles. This approach is more likely to improve your search rankings and user experience.

Keyword Type	Example	Best Use
Short-tail	SEO	Page topics, meta keywords
Long-tail	how to optimize meta keywords for SEO	Content body, headers

Real Searches

When considering keywords for your content and SEO strategy, it’s crucial to focus on real searches that users are actually making. What Are Meta Keywords, Tools like Google Keyword Planner, SEMrush, or Ahrefs can provide valuable insights into search volumes and trends. What Are Meta Keywords

For meta keywords specifically, you might consider including some of the most common real searches related to your content. However, remember that the primary focus should be on incorporating these terms naturally into your visible content. What Are Meta Keywords

Do You Still Need to Use Meta Keywords?

The short answer is no, you don’t need to use meta keywords for SEO purposes on major search engines like Google or Bing. Here’s why:

If you’re focused on optimizing for Google and other major search engines, your efforts are better spent on creating high-quality, relevant content and optimizing other on-page elements like title tags and meta descriptions. What Are Meta Keywords

Other Use Cases for Meta Keywords

While meta keywords have lost their SEO value for major search engines, they may still have some use in specific scenarios:

1. E-commerce platforms: Some e-commerce platforms use meta keywords for internal categorization and search functionality.
2. Content management systems (CMS): Certain CMS platforms might use meta keywords for content organization or tagging.
3. News aggregators: Some news aggregation services might use meta keywords to categorize articles.
4. App store optimization (ASO): App stores may use keyword metadata to understand and categorize apps.

Platform	Potential Use of Meta Keywords
E-commerce	Product categorization
CMS	Content tagging
News aggregators	Article categorization
App stores	App description and categorization

How to Remove Meta Keywords

If you’ve decided to remove meta keywords from your website, the process is relatively simple:

1. Access your website’s HTML files or content management system.
2. Locate the meta keywords tag, which looks like this: htmlCopy<meta name="keywords" content="your, keywords, here">
3. Delete the entire line or remove the content between the quotation marks.
4. Save the changes and republish your pages.

If you’re using a CMS like WordPress, you might need to disable or reconfigure SEO plugins that automatically add meta keywords.

4 Tags to Use Instead of the Meta Keywords Tag

Instead of focusing on meta keywords, consider optimizing these four more important HTML elements:

Tag	Purpose	Impact on SEO
Title	Page title in SERP and browser tab	High
Meta Description	Summary in SERP	Medium
Header Tags	Content structure	Medium
Image Alt Text	Image description	Medium

Conclusion

While meta keywords were once a crucial element of SEO, their importance has significantly diminished over the years. For most websites focusing on major search engines like Google, meta keywords are no longer necessary or beneficial for SEO purposes. What Are Meta Keywords

Instead of spending time on meta keywords, focus your efforts on creating high-quality, relevant content that addresses user needs and search intent. Optimize your title tags, meta descriptions, header tags, and overall content structure to improve your website’s visibility and ranking in search engine results. What Are Meta Keywords

Remember, SEO is an ever-evolving field, and staying up-to-date with current best practices is crucial for maintaining and improving your website’s search engine performance. What Are Meta Keywords.