Are Meta-keywords coming back?
-
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.
-
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.
-
I agree, the competitor argument seems meaning less to me.
-
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
-
couldn't agree more with this ^^
-
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.
-
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.
-
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:
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 -
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
-
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!
-
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.
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
-
Meta title not showing up correctly on SERP
We have an issue with some clients on a Wordpress CMS where title tags implemented on a Yoast SEO plugin for the Homepage are not coming up as we'd implemented them. However, the source code shows we'd implemented them correctly according to what we'd wanted.**For example, this is the title tag we implemented in the CMS:Towing Services Alberta | Jack's TowingSource code shows:Towing Services Alberta | Jack's TowingHowever, SERP results shows:**Jack's Towing | Towing Services Alberta This is not an issue with the rest of the other pages and there isn't a global template for our client's sites. It's perplexing that it's only happening on the Homepage and this is across for 3 of our clients' sites.Even more perplexing, recently we've noticed that SERP is only showing the client's business name as the title tag and this is across for 2 out of the 3 clients we'd mentioned above. Nothing has changed in the back-end.Would appreciate some insight on this issue!
On-Page Optimization | | Gavo4 -
Changing posts that target same keyword to target SIMILAR keywords
Hello, I'm new to SEO and until the last year I was not aware that creating content that target same keywords would make Google choose only one to rank better. Can I leave the best page (highest ranked one) as it is and change the rest that target the same keyword to target similar keywords ? Just a simple example: I have two pages targeting "best supplements to muscle gain" Leave the best one targeting that keyword and now I change the content of the other to target "best supplements for muscle size" This is the smartest move or I'm missing something here and will make things worse ? Ex: maybe some of tthose pages with same keyword arent ranking for the keyword I want but are ranking for another one that I dont know. I'm really insecure about making changes and end up getting worse results.. Thank you (sorry for my bad english)
On-Page Optimization | | Glinski1 -
Homepage target keyword less volume than subcategory keyword
As an example - let's say that I have an online store that sells home accessories. Within my store, I have categories like "kitchen accessories", "bedroom accessories", and "bathroom accessories" among others. Naturally I would want my homepage to be the broadest keyword that best describes my store's offering (i.e. "Home Accessories"). Then, on my sub-category page, I would target "Kitchen Accessories". In this example - let's assume "Kitchen Accessories" has more search volume than "Home Accessories". Would it be better to focus on that keyword on my homepage instead? Example Current Homepage Title: "Beautiful Home Accessories - Crate + Feather" Alternate Homepage Title: "Bath, Bedroom, and Kitchen Accessories - Crate + Feather" Which one would you do assuming everything is equal aside from search volume?
On-Page Optimization | | clarasboutiqueusa0 -
Is Article Length A Factor For Keyword Stuffing?
I've noticed that the SEOmoz On Page analysis tool sets a limit of 15 occurrences for a keyword on a page. It seems this is not dependent on the page length? Is that not relevant? Thanks!
On-Page Optimization | | andersvin0 -
Avoid Keyword Self-Cannibalization
Okay so if my website has the keyword 'dog training'. My main page shows one of my posts in which the title is 'dog training'. I cannot change it because the SEOMOZ on page tool tells me to keep the keyword at the front of the title for SEO increase I don't understand... <dl> <dd>Although employing targeted keywords in the H1 tag does not correlate well to high rankings, it does appear to provide some slight value. It's also considered a best practice for accessibility and to describe a page's content, hence our recommendation.
On-Page Optimization | | 678648631264
However, keyword stuffing may be perceived negatively by the search engines and can impact rankings. Thus, we suggest keeping keyword usage in the H1 to 2 or fewer uses.</dd> <dd>If I remove it then this shows up or change the anchor text. It pisses me the hell off because this damn tool doesn't even say how to fix the problem. If I go into one of my posts, the main title of my blog shows up in the top right corner which happens to be my keyword (I cannot change it) so what the f' do I do?????</dd> <dd>If someone could just take a look at my blog and tell me all the wrongs about it and how to fix everything, that would be amazing.
</dd> </dl>0 -
Keyword reversal
Suppose you want a page in your website to rank for a two word phrase like "red wagon". So you create a page mywebsite.com/redwagon.html and optimize it for "red wagon". Suppose the domain name redwagon.com is taken, but the domain name wagonred.com is available. Is it possible to take advantage of the available domain name wagonred.com to improve the rank of mywebsite.com/redwagon.html?
On-Page Optimization | | ChristopherGlaeser0 -
Meta Keywords
Hello Everyone- Quick question about meta keywords. Most SEO's agree that meta keywords are no longer used as a ranking factor in Google. My question is, if a client comes to me and they already have a bunch of meta keywords on their site what would the smart strategy be? 1. Remove all the meta keyword data from the clients site 2. Scale the meta keywords back by only leaving the top keywords in the code? 3. Do nothing Thanks for all your time! Regards, Bill Parlaman
On-Page Optimization | | wparlaman0