I thought META KEYWORDS tag was dead?
-
http://www.wpkube.com/wordpress-seo-plugin/ this article just came out as a one of the many guides to Yoast's Wordpress SEO. I am surprised it mentioned:
- Use meta keywords tag: Google reportedly doesn’t use the keywords that your enter for your posts but as Google isn’t the only show in town, you might want to check this box.Recommendation: check
-
I stopped using meta keywords tag because Google doesn't use it any more, plus if you are in a competitive field by using keywords you are giving free keyword research to your competitors? Does any one still use meta keywords here? If so why?
-
Google doesn't use keyword tags, has anyone experienced a dis-benefit to meta-keywords tag from Google ie. dropped rankings etc.?
-
I read that Bing looks at the keyword tag to make sure there's nothing spammy going on. Ignore it and you'll avoid raising any red flags.
Mike
-
"I'd have to quit my job and just drink full-time."
You say that like it's a bad thing?!
Paul
-
Dr. Pete,
"at least one major search engine used META keywords as a spam signal in the past" - I heard that some where as well, that is partly why the question was asked
...Safe to assume some search engines still use it as a spam signal?
-
Oh meta keywords, curse you and your inevitable betrayal.
-
OK, now I am confused... Scientist vs sense of humor (and a good one at that). But, how can this be???? For he is the Kwisatz Haderach!!!
Good one Pete.
-
Pete, you crack me up:)
-
That's the kind of study I don't do because I'm secretly afraid it might work and then I'd have to quit my job and just drink full-time.
-
Dr. Pete,
While I agree with what you have here, I am disappointed that you are unwilling to set up a single variable study of some type focusing on the aftereffects of putting the wrong keyword meta tags in to trap the lazy, unrepentant, claimers of SEOdom, etc.
I would love to see how many cosmetic surgery sites that do liposuction would end up ranked for Saw2 barbequed ribs! as a long tail keyword!!!
If anyone can do it, you can do it. We believe in you!
Best to you and the team!
-
One warning - not to derail the discussion, which is amazing - I'm as sure as is reasonably possible that at least one major search engine used META keywords as a spam signal in the past, and I'd bet it's still corroborating evidence for Google. Probably goes without saying, but if you use it - use it well. Just because it's not a positive ranking factor doesn't mean it's not a negative ranking factor.
I agree that the competitor aspect never bothered me. Hopefully, you also use your keywords in your actual content. Otherwise, what's the point?
-
I'm working from home today and trying not to wake up my husband because I'm laughing so hard. Time to move downstairs before I read any more replies!
-
I read somewhere that BING use the keyword tag as a spamming signal. Anyone else see that?
EDIT: Read that here:
http://www.semrush.com/blog/tips/the-myths-behind-meta-keywords/
-
Thanks for your input Tom, that sounds right. Now just curious, has anyone experienced a benefit?
-
I have seen no drop in placement with my projects that have no kw tags on Google, Bing or yahoo.
-
They don't call you clever for no reason
-
@Ron and others,
I am just looking for some evidence from those that use keywords to see if they help. Example maybe someone has found that some search new search engine, like duckduckgo, topsy, etc that uses meta keywords for example and they see keywords helping them get traffic from those places. Otherwise why not is not a good enough reason for me, as its extra work to add keywords without benefit, plus it looks SEO 1.0 (think html tables, static pages) vs SEO 2.0 to me.
Thanks for adding bit of FUN to this thread BTW
-
one of the first things I look at to judge an SEO on is whether or not they have 50 keywords per page with meta tags.
--Yup that's one of the things I look at as well
-
The keyword meta tag is alive and well, they just call it the meta title nowadays
-
I put key words in as it cannot hurt. If it gets a few more leads per year why not :). As far as the previous string goes I think these comments are truly silly as there are many good tools to figure out the key words you are targeting without the meta key words. So if "why not" is a good enough justification then you should do it.
-
UPDATE: wordpress all in one seo pro has the same thing keyword siggestion.......
-
Funny thread!
how would you respond to this?
Customer "Q#1" why didn't you write keyword tags for my website.....? " give proper answer"
Q#2... If Google does not care about my keyword tags than why is it listed here "cache:domain. com" ?
-
Actually, I laughed my a__ off when I wrote it.
-
barbequed ribs
OMG! Oh, I am laughing so hard I will have to wash my glasses.
-
Uh?
-
I am going to start putting the wrong keywords in. So on a physician site for lipo, my keywords will be: Saw 2, barbequed ribs, Halloween 3, Dexter, cannibals, etc.
Can't wait to see that competitor rank now!
Thanks EGOL!
-
Well........ if you are ranking well, they are going to try to use what you are using. Again, they are lazy and they are certainly not smart so kudos to EGOL.
-
**Anybody who is lazy enough to harvest that info is lazier than smart. Not a threat. And, I believe in the theory that imitators come in second. **
Bravo. A competitor is gonna look at those 5-20 meta keywords and do what?
-
We prefer to make our client's competitors do their own work and break a sweat.
I fill that tag with BS. That'll fix those lazy weasels.
No, honestly... I still use meta keywords.
When I write an article I write the title tag first.... "Begin with the end in mind." Then I write the meta keywords. Makes me think about where I am going.
Anybody who is lazy enough to harvest that info is lazier than smart. Not a threat. And, I believe in the theory that imitators come in second.
..... and.... I bet Google is using meta keywords and counting those nofollow links it's their "reverse psychology" algo to screw SEOs. (Of course they are not counting blog and forum spam and sitewides... but nofollow links that appear to be editorially given - such as wikipedia citations - are counted at 5x the normal rate)
-
Vadim
As to using it there is no negative effect re Google. The reason most do not use it is that since Google does not, why would you put the keywords in and make it easy on those who want to know what you are targeting?
We prefer to make our client's competitors do their own work and break a sweat. (Also, if I am honest, one of the first things I look at to judge an SEO on is whether or not they have 50 keywords per page with meta tags.)
Hope that helps,
best
Got a burning SEO question?
Subscribe to Moz Pro to gain full access to Q&A, answer questions, and ask your own.
Browse Questions
Explore more categories
-
Moz Tools
Chat with the community about the Moz tools.
-
SEO Tactics
Discuss the SEO process with fellow marketers
-
Community
Discuss industry events, jobs, and news!
-
Digital Marketing
Chat about tactics outside of SEO
-
Research & Trends
Dive into research and trends in the search industry.
-
Support
Connect on product support and feature requests.
Related Questions
-
How is this possible? #2 ranking with NO on-page keywords, no backlinks, no sitemap...
Hi everybody. I have a question ... I'm totally stumped. This question is being asked today (November 16th, 2015) just after Google updated something in their algorithm. Nobody seems to know what they did. and it has something to do with the new "Rank Brain" system they're now using. My niche is Logo Design Software (https://www.thelogocreator.com). I had the keywords "logo creator" on the page roughly 7 times. After Google updated, I lost about 10 spots and as of this writing, I've dropped to #15. So, maybe I over optimized. fine. Noticing that for the keyword "logo creator" ... NONE of the top 14 spots actually have "logo creator" in their page title and NONE of them have more that 2 instances (if any) of the keyword "logo creator" on the actual page. So I removed ALL instances of my keyword "logo creator" from my home page - used the Webmaster's Fetch Tool and moved up a few spots instantly. So what the heck? And the #2 spot for that keyword is www.logomakr.com - they have NO words at all on their pages, no blog, no sitemap and far fewer links than anybody in the top 10. Can anybody reading this shed some light? Marc Marc Sylvester
Algorithm Updates | | Laughingbird
Laughingbird Software0 -
Does Google ACTUALLY ding you for having long Meta Titles? Or do studies just suggest a lower CTR?
I do SEO in an agency and have many clients. I always get the question, "Will that hurt my SEO?". When it comes to Meta Title and even Meta Description Length, I understand Google will truncate it which may result in a lower CTR, but does it actually hurt your ranking? I see in many cases Google will find keywords within a long meta description and display those and then in other cases it will simply truncate it. Is Google doing whatever they want willy-nilly or is there data behind this? Thank you!
Algorithm Updates | | Bevelwise0 -
Meta description & Meta keywords
Good morning, One of our HTML experts, just told me that Google is not reading meta keywords or meta description - and they (or one of them) are no longer part of my website SEO ranking Do you know where can i read about it? Are other SE do look at these parameters? Thank you SEOWiseUs
Algorithm Updates | | iivgi1 -
Schema tags demystified
I am looking for a basic description of the use for schema tags and how and in what circumstances they are best applied. I have found a few resources such as schema.org and here on this forum, but find I still need a basics lesson and subsequently, some ways to execute. The Raven plugin appears to make the code visible to the viewer which seems unacceptable...Guess I'm just a bit stumped! Thanks in advance for any available hand-holding on this. ;o)
Algorithm Updates | | gfiedel0 -
Will we no longer need Location + Keyword? Do we even need it at all?
Prepare yourselves. This is a long question. With the rise of schema and Google Local+, do you think Google will now have enough data about where a business is located, so that when someone searches for, a keyword such as "Atlanta Hyundai dealers" a business in Atlanta that's website: has been properly marked up with schema (or microdata for business location) has claimed its Google Local+ has done enough downstream work in Local Search listings for its NAP (name, address, phone number) will no longer have to incorporate variations of "Atlanta Hyundai dealers" in the text on the website? Could they just write enough great content about how they're a Hyundai dealership without the abuse of the Atlanta portion? Or if they're in Boston and they're a dentist or lawyer, could the content be just about the services they provided without so much emphasis tied to location? I'm talking about removing the location of the business from the text in all places other than the schema markup or the contact page on the website. Maybe still keep a main location in the title tags or meta description if it would benefit the customer. I work in an industry where location + keywords has reached such a point of saturation, that it makes the text on the website read very poorly, and I'd like to learn more about alternate methods to keep the text more pure, read better and still achieve the same success when it comes to local search. Also, I haven't seen other sites penalized for all the location stuffing on their websites, which is bizarre because it reads so spammy you can't recognize where the geotargeted keywords end and where the regular text begins. I've been working gradually in this general direction (more emphasis on NAP, researching schema, and vastly improving the content on clients' websites so it's not so heavy with geo-targeted keywords). I also ask because though the niche I work in is still pretty hell-bent on using geo-targeted keywords, whenever I check Analytics, the majority of traffic is branded and geo-targeted keywords make up only a small fraction of traffic. Any thoughts? What are other people doing in this regard?
Algorithm Updates | | EEE30 -
Troubleshooting Decline of Branded Keyword Searches
Hi, Over the past year, I have seen a huge change in the distribution of our organic keyword traffic. I'm trying to research why our branded keywords have gone down. Google analytics only shows me impressions for the past three months. Does anyone have ideas on how to explain this change in traffic? Please see the attached chart. Thanks! branded-v-nonbranded-organic-search.jpg
Algorithm Updates | | netdiva_amy0 -
Why won't my keyword search results appear on google's top 50?
They are only appearing on Bing and Yahoo, can anyone share some insight?Help? Here is the URL: www.aaexs.com
Algorithm Updates | | RealmindTechnology0 -
Is my page footer the reason keyword rankings have dropped?
Hi all, One of my sites http://henstuff.com/ has seen some ranking drops for major keywords over the past few weeks and I was wondering if it was something to do with Penguin not taking a positive view of link-filled footers. It is something we are looking at phasing out but wanted to get the opinions of the SEOMOZ community. Thanks! Rob
Algorithm Updates | | RobertHill0