How does Google handle meta keywords in SEO?

If you’ve been learning about SEO, you might have come across the term meta keywords. Meta keywords were once a critical part of optimizing websites for search engines, allowing site owners to specify which keywords they wanted search engines to notice. However, the question many new website owners and marketers ask today is: Do meta keywords still matter for SEO, and how does Google handle them?

What Are Meta Keywords?

Before we dive into how Google deals with meta keywords, let’s first clarify what they are. Meta keywords are a specific type of meta tag that you could insert into the HTML of your website to tell search engines what the main topics or focus areas of the page are. For example, if your website was about gardening tools, you might include meta keywords like “gardening tools,” “best gardening shears,” or “top lawnmowers.”

In the early days of the internet, meta keywords were used by search engines as an important ranking factor. It allowed website owners to provide a list of relevant keywords that matched the content of the page. The goal was to help search engines understand what the page was about and rank it for those specific terms.

Does Google Still Use Meta Keywords?

Now, here’s where things get interesting. Google does not use meta keywords as a ranking factor in its search algorithm anymore. In fact, Google officially stopped using meta keywords back in 2009. This was largely due to abuse by website owners who would “keyword stuff” the meta tags with irrelevant or misleading terms just to rank higher in search results.

Instead, Google focuses on content quality, relevance, and user experience. The algorithm looks for content that satisfies a user’s search intent and matches it with relevant pages. So, if you’re still spending time adding meta keywords to your web pages with the hope that it will help you rank higher in Google’s search results, you are wasting your efforts.

Why Did Google Stop Using Meta Keywords?

Google’s decision to stop using meta keywords was influenced by several factors:

1. Keyword stuffing: Many website owners would fill the meta keywords tag with dozens, if not hundreds, of irrelevant terms. This led to low-quality websites ranking higher than they should have, as they were tricking the system.
2. Focus on content: Google wanted to shift the focus from technical optimization to creating high-quality, user-focused content. By ignoring meta keywords, the search engine could place more emphasis on pages that genuinely provided value.
3. Evolving algorithms: As Google’s search algorithm became more sophisticated, it could easily identify the main topics of a page without the need for meta keywords. Google’s crawlers can now analyze the content, headings, and overall structure of your page to understand its relevance.

Do Any Search Engines Use Meta Keywords?

While Google no longer uses meta keywords, some smaller search engines might still consider them. For instance, Binghas stated that while they don’t weigh meta keywords heavily, they don’t completely ignore them either. Additionally, certain content management systems or search platforms that aren’t as sophisticated as Google may use meta keywords as a ranking factor.

However, the impact of meta keywords is negligible compared to the broader strategies needed for SEO success, such as creating high-quality content, using on-page SEO techniques like optimizing headers, titles, and descriptions, and building a strong backlink profile.

Should You Still Add Meta Keywords to Your Website?

Although meta keywords are not used by Google, adding them won’t necessarily harm your website. However, it’s important to keep in mind that they won’t provide any direct SEO benefits for Google rankings.

That said, there may be some niche cases where it’s worth adding them:

1. Internal search systems: Some CMS platforms or internal site search systems use meta keywords to help users find content within a website.
2. Other search engines: As mentioned earlier, smaller search engines and international platforms may still consider meta keywords to some extent.
3. Historical best practices: If your industry or website follows older SEO practices, you may choose to include them as part of a broader SEO strategy. However, this is more for completeness than effectiveness.

What Should You Focus on Instead?

Since Google no longer considers meta keywords, it’s important to invest your SEO efforts in areas that will actually improve your rankings. Here are some strategies that can provide real value:

• Quality content: Create in-depth, original, and relevant content that solves problems for your target audience. Google prioritizes content that answers users’ questions thoroughly and effectively.
• On-page optimization: Ensure your page titles, meta descriptions, headings (H1, H2, etc.), and content are optimized with relevant keywords. These are still important ranking factors in Google’s algorithm.
• User experience: Focus on providing a great user experience by improving site speed, mobile responsiveness, and overall usability. Google values sites that load quickly and are easy to navigate on all devices.
• Backlinks: Build high-quality backlinks from reputable websites in your industry. Backlinks remain a critical ranking factor in Google’s algorithm and help establish authority and trust for your site.

To answer the question, Google no longer uses meta keywords as part of its ranking algorithm. While you can still add meta keywords for completeness or for use by other search engines, it’s not something that will directly impact your Google rankings.

Instead, focus on creating high-quality content, optimizing your on-page elements, and improving the overall user experience on your site. These are the factors that Google’s algorithm values most, and they will help you achieve better rankings and more traffic over time.

By understanding this shift and adjusting your SEO strategy accordingly, you’ll be able to focus on what really mattersin today’s SEO landscape.