Are Meta-keywords coming back?

[makote]

I'm currently doing some benchmarking for a big realtor site here in México, while looking at the biggest players in the US I noticed most if not all are using the Keywords meta tag in their detail listings.

I've been really open to my client about not using this tag at all given the current common knowledge but when sites like: Trulia.com, Realtor.com, appartments.com and the like, are using them I'm second guessing their utility.

Does anyone have any insights on this? Should or should not we use meta-keywords?

On a side note, there is some interesting microdata going on, in those sites.

[Dr-Pete]

The short answer is: No. They're not coming back, in the sense that anything has changed or that they carry any more weight than they did last year. All signs point to their continued decline. Google has publicly stated that it carries no positive ranking value.

Technically, Alan is correct - evidence suggest that Yahoo/Bing used Meta keywords as a ranking signal more recently than Google. Most of that evidence is 2+ years old, though, and I've seen no compelling reasons to think that it will tip the balance in any competitive situation on Bing. Even that 2009 article basically says: "Sure, use it, but don't expect much", IMO.

Here's the other problem - Meta keywords has been used as a negative ranking signal, and probably still is to some degree. In other words, you might not gain much or anything from using it, but if you spam it, you could get devalued. My gut feeling is that the negative signal is much, much stronger than the positive one, and even Google may still use it as a negative signal. I'm certain that Yahoo/Bing has used it as a negative signal (not sure if they still do).

I tend to agree that the competitive fears are overblown. Any decent site's keyword targets should be pretty clear - otherwise, it's not a very well SEO'd site.

Personally, if you want to use them, use them - but keep them short, sweet, and relevant. Once you do, get on with your life.

[AlanMosley]

I agree, the competitor argument seems meaning less to me.

[tvinson]

I feel like it could be useful in that it helps with Bing.

Competitors would typically already know what keywords you're targeting, especially if they're using SpyFu or just look at your page or anchor text profile on OSE to see what it's optimized for.  I think it's a little silly for that to be the only reason not to use it.

Besides, you can always use it for less-searched keywords and throw your competitor's off

[jesse-landry]

couldn't agree more with this ^^

[KevinBudzynski]

From Matt Cutts (Google):

To this day, you still see courts mistakenly believe that meta tags occupy a pivotal role in search rankings. We wanted to debunk that misconception, at least as it regards to Google. Google uses over two hundred signals in our web search rankings, but the keywords meta tag is not currently one of them, and I don’t believe it will be

However, this is from 2009--so I have no idea if they are coming back.

From Bing:

The tag’s keyword attribute is not the page rank panacea it once was back in the prehistoric days of Internet search. It was abused far too much and lost most of its cachet.

KW: Cachet

Notice Alan had this link before me.

[DarinPirkey]

Bing does technically use it but I strongly recommend against it.  If it is part of their algorithm there is no indication that it is a strong indicator.  Besides, why would you want your competition knowing what your strategies are.  If you think you need to use it I would consult your traffic through Google Analytics and Bing Webmaster tools to see how much of your traffic, if any, is coming from Bing.  If it is a high number then maybe consider it.  But again, I wouldn't worry about it.  Bing says it uses it....doesn't mean it doesn't use it to indicate spammers.

[EvolveCreative]

You should definitely use them. Just don't be stupid with it and stuff 100s of keywords in there.

Here is a case study showing they still work:

http://www.micrositemasters.com/blog/penguin-analysis-seo-isnt-dead-but-you-need-to-act-smarter-and-5-easy-ways-to-do-so/

And one of my favorite quotes of all time:

If you ever have the good fortune to create a great advertising campaign, you will soon see another agency steal it. This is irritating, but don't let it worry you; nobody has ever built a brand by imitating somebody else's advertising.
David Ogilvy

[AlanMosley]

Yes you should use the keywords tag, Bing uses it as a signal.

A good and recommended use is misspellings of keywords and alternative keywords

http://www.bing.com/blogs/site_blogs/b/webmaster/archive/2009/07/18/head-s-up-on-lt-head-gt-tag-optimization-sem-101.aspx

[makote]

Yeah I totally understand using them to see their strategies, but the fact that all of them are doing it, made me second guess, thanx for the answer!

[jesse-landry]

no they aren't coming back and I would suggest not using them. I would also suggest tracking your competitors and using that to your advantage. It might be something you already knew, but you might also find a keyword in there you weren't thinking to target that the Google Keyword Tool produces a surprising number of searches for.

That, by the way, is why you should avoid meta keyword tags.