Meta Keywords for SEO: Definition & Best Practices

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is essential to any successful online marketing strategy. One aspect of SEO that has been around for a long time is meta keywords. But with changing search algorithms, many people wonder if meta keywords are still relevant. What’s the meta keyword definition?

In this blog post, we’ll define meta keywords, discuss their importance for SEO, and provide best practices for using them effectively.

Meta Keyword Definition

What’s the meta keyword definition?

Meta keywords are meta tags that website owners once used to tell search engines what the website was about.

These meta tags were placed in the header section of a website’s HTML code. And contained a list of keywords or phrases relevant to the page’s content.

The idea behind meta keywords was that search engines could use them to index a website and show it in relevant search results. However, as search engines evolved, they began to place less importance on meta keywords, and now most search engines don’t use them at all.

Do you still need to use Meta Keywords?

In the early days of search engine optimization (SEO), meta keywords were essential to optimizing web pages for search engines. However, with the evolution of search algorithms, meta keywords have become less important and, in some cases, are even ignored by search engines.

So, do you still need to use meta keywords? The short answer is no. Most search engines don’t use meta keywords anymore, and a few have even said that they ignore them completely.

Google, for example, has stated that they don’t use meta keywords in their search algorithm. Additionally, Bing stated in a blue posts that meta keywords is “dead in terms of SEO value.”

That being said, some website owners still include meta keywords on their pages. Some believe that including meta keywords can’t hurt and may still provide some small benefits for SEO.

The point, meta keywords are no longer as vital as before, but there may still be some benefit to including them on your website. However, if you choose to include meta keywords, it’s important to only use relevant and high-quality keywords and not engage in keyword stuffing.

Other Use Cases for Meta Keywords

Although Google have confirmed that they do not utilize meta keywords in their ranking algorithms, there are still some use cases for meta keywords.

One common use case of meta keywords is for internal search engines. If you have a large website with tons of content, adding meta keywords can help your internal search engine identify relevant content more quickly.

Additionally, some social media platforms still use meta keywords when displaying content. For example, if you share a blog post on Twitter, the platform will attempt to display relevant keywords in the tweet preview.

Including meta keywords in your content can assist in ensuring that the correct keywords appear in the tweet preview. Thus, improving the likelihood that users will engage with your content.

Lastly, meta keywords can help organize and categorize content on your website. For example, if your blog has many different topics, adding relevant keywords to each post can help readers find related content more easily.

However, it’s important to remember that excessive use and use of irrelevant keywords can harm your SEO, so be sure to use them judiciously.

How to Remove Meta Keywords (and why)

Final Thoughts

While meta keywords may not be as important for SEO as before, they can still be beneficial for particular purposes. This may include internet site search or internal keyword tagging systems.

Even if search engines don’t use them, including meta keywords can help organize your content. And ensure that all pages on your website focus on a specific set of topics.

If you include meta keywords on your website, ensure to only include relevant and high-quality keywords. Also, avoid keyword stuffing.