Are meta keywords worth using these days

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mistajay1031

Registered Member

Sep 10, 2013

81

15

• Oct 4, 2013

• #1

I have a question for you guys. I appreciate any help!

I been getting a lot of mixed answers on whether it is effective to use meta keywords. I have read that Google doesn't care about them but other search engines might. I'm just trying to figure out what the majority of you are doing. I always thought it was common practice to include a couple keywords on your homepage, but I am starting to have my doubts. Could the meta keyword tag have negative effects on ranking?

Thanks for your help!

 

innozemec

Elite Member

Aug 19, 2011

5,404

1,815

• Oct 4, 2013

• #2

For G i dont think they matter in anyway now (be it positive or negative), but for other SEs i think they still count, so i am just used to write them

 

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IceHD

Power Member

May 8, 2013

533

221

• Oct 4, 2013

• #3

Only google ignores that tag. You should use it, won't have a negative impact on the website.

 

seocrab

Elite Member

May 2, 2013

1,579

1,991

• Oct 4, 2013

• #4

As innozemec said, not worth it for Google, but other search engines like them still. In fact, I think that makes them more valuable than ever; if people are ONLY optimising for Google these days, it makes it easier to rank on Yahoo, Bing etc.

 

BusinessMagnet

Power Member

Jul 4, 2013

675

326

• Oct 4, 2013

• #5

I have been using it from long. So it doesn't matter whether Google consider it or not, i'll continue using it.

 

SOCOM

Elite Member

Jul 21, 2010

4,301

3,270

• Oct 4, 2013

• #6

Google ignores them, as does Yahoo. Bing looks at them, but not as a ranking signal. Bing reads the META Keywords tag as a spam signal.

Click to expand...

Source:

Code:

http://www.semrush.com/blog/tips/the-myths-behind-meta-keywords/

 

gullsinn

Elite Member

Dec 24, 2009

2,556

2,311

• Oct 4, 2013

• #7

Don't forget Yahoo has a big share in search and Search engines like Yahoo and Bing still focus on keyword meta tag.

 

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dinkish

Power Member

Apr 19, 2013

689

159

• Oct 4, 2013

• #8

Don't keyword stuff or make it too long though. Look up the suggested max characters and abide by it.

 

briptech

Power Member

Apr 4, 2011

567

223

• Oct 4, 2013

• #9

innozemec said:

For G i dont think they matter in anyway now (be it positive or negative), but for other SEs i think they still count, so i am just used to write them

Click to expand...

I basically agree with this sight.

Anyway, if you are using WordPress as a CMS plus the Yoast WordPress SEO plugin, there is an option to enable/disable the meta keywords tags in your post/pages. Could this be a signal that setting the meta keywords disabled is better than keeping it enabled? Don't really know...

Btw I am still using it. I don't think it is useful in terms of ranking, but who knows?

FYI there are also the same concerns out there about the use or not for the tags in WordPress: many SEOers out there are suggesting to completely disable the use of tags in WordPress... well, I still have a huge percentage of my ranking(s) due to the tags, so I won't disable them until I see them disappearing from SERPs.

 

luke6966

Power Member

Sep 30, 2013

650

157

• Oct 4, 2013

• #10

It doesn't hurt to use them, but you won't see much benefit from it.

 

nanavlad

Elite Member

Dec 2, 2009

2,807

1,082

• Oct 4, 2013

• #11

Personally i always use them.
Even if google say they don't count them now
They may sometime in the future

 

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Shakeel123

Newbie

Aug 27, 2013

18

1

• Oct 4, 2013

• #12

can say when the updates may change you can use meta tags unless and until it is not affecting your website.

 

Ash2012

Regular Member

Nov 20, 2012

343

59

• Oct 4, 2013

• #13

Just because Google & Yahoo don't use them how they used to, it doesn't mean you should do likewise. There are plenty of other reasons to keep them and until I am told with 100% authority that they're either (a) total waste of a few mins each page, or (b) have negative effects on rank, I'll continue to use them.

Yoast is actually ok for WP sites, but I still tend to write all that stuff when I write the page anyway, as a matter of habit more than anything else.

 

Last edited: Oct 4, 2013