Digital Marketing / SEO / Search Engine Optimization
Do You Still Need to Use the Meta Keywords Tag in Your Content?
Nope. Here’s why.
Do You Still Need to Use the Meta Keywords Tag in Your Content?
No, you do not.
Although once common practice, you really don’t want to use the meta keywords tag.
Let me tell you why.
But first, what is a meta tag?
In the earlier days of the Internet, webmasters used a few different meta tags to inform search engines about their content.
Meta tags are lines of HTML that look like this:
Back then, Google (and other search engines) trusted website makers to tell the truth about their content and code the meta keywords tag accurately.
The trouble is, people figured out they could choose a different keyword or keywords— ones that had more search volume — and use it to get more eyeballs on their website.
It didn’t matter if the keyword actually matched the website or content. It could be something totally unrelated.
This was a common practice in the late ‘90s and early 2000s. This, along with other deceptive tactics used to artificially get high ranks, are referred to as “black hat SEO.” Other forms of black hat SEO are keyword stuffing, cloaking, and sneaky redirects.
Black hat SEO tactics lead to a bad experience for the person using the search engine.
For this reason, search engines quit relying on webmasters and started evaluating content using their own set of criteria.
Why you don’t want to use the meta keywords tag
There are a few different types of meta tags, but one is specifically for keywords.
You don’t want to use this tag, for an obvious reason:
As of 2009, Google no longer uses the meta keywords tag as a factor when determining ranks.
But there’s also a less obvious consideration.
If you add this tag to your content, anyone can view the source code on your site and see it. It’s not hidden at all.
Why would anyone want to see that tag? Competitors can use this information to form strategies about their own content and how to out-rank you for certain topics. Yes, it actually happens.
If you want to keep track of which keywords you’re focusing on for a particular page or article, I recommend keeping a simple spreadsheet with the article or page title, the URL, and your focus keyword. It’s nothing fancy, but it does the job.
Or if you use a content management system like WordPress, you can keep track of it on the site itself with a free plugin like RankMath or Yoast. With the plugins, your keyword information is recorded but hidden for everyone except the site admins.
Keep using meta description and title tags
You should continue to use the meta title and meta description tags.
The meta title tag is still a major factor in keyword ranks. It’s also what shows up in search results, in web browsers, and when the article is shared on social media.
Although the meta description tag is not technically used as a ranking factor for Google, it’s still very important.
The meta description is usually (but not always) shown in search results. It’s something that people will actually read, so use it to your advantage.
A well-written meta description can have a major impact on click-through rate.
Make it compelling, unique, interesting. And make sure to include your focus keyword so that searchers quickly understand your content will match their search.
If you made it this far, you might be wondering why I’m writing about the meta keywords tag now, since it hasn’t been used by Google in more than 10 years.
Believe it or not, this question still comes up in my line of work, especially when working with writers who still remember when this tag was common practice.
Hopefully this brief review is a good reminder about which meta tags matter for web writing in 2020.
To summarize:
- Say “yes” to the meta description and title tags
- Say “no” to the meta keywords tag
Please check out my SEO Checklist for Writers if you’d like to learn more about how to use SEO in your writing.
