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google doesnt use meta keywords?

by Wham
9 replies
  • SEO
    • |
I didn't know this until just now, so what the fux is used then? Repeating words over and over in the content?
#google #keywords #meta
  • Profile picture of the author dburk
    Hi Wham,

    Google has never used the keywords meta tag for ranking purposes, but they haven't ruled out using it at some point in the future. One of the reasons Google was able to break into the search engine market was their ability to look at the web page as a human might see it (no meta tags) and index it based on page content.

    The key to optimizing for Google is to create content that works well for users, including your target keywords in key page elements like the page title, headings and anchor text.

    Google does look at and use the description meta tag as the text snippet in your SERP listing so that is very important for SEO.
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    • Profile picture of the author Runner26
      Yes, use keywords and especially keyphrases wisely, starting with page title, headings and text (but keep density 2-4% for each term to avoid looking like keyword spam). If at all possible, use keywords in the domain name. That's why domain names are growing in length.

      Keyword META tag means little to google, but some engines give it at least a little weight, so keep the habit of having the tag on all pages, along with description.
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  • Profile picture of the author AdInventive
    Don't simply ignore the meta keywords though. Other engines still use them.
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    • Profile picture of the author edwatki
      Originally Posted by AdInventive View Post

      Don't simply ignore the meta keywords though. Other engines still use them.
      While Google does directly ignore the meta tags think about this...

      When someone bookmarks your site that bookmark will often pull in the meta keywords and add them to the bookmark. With Google Caffeine there is a increased weighting on social media and Google will look more at bookmarks. When determining the theme of a bookmark link Google will look at the bookmark keywords..

      SO.. indirectly google is paying attention to them.. just a thought!
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    • Profile picture of the author 12holger34
      We are so addictive on Google, that we often forget that other search engines are existing.
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  • Profile picture of the author nettech
    It doesnt hurt to have them in there as other sites may use them but dont rely on Google to use them.

    Google does use meta description though, thats one meta that may be worth using although it doesnt really help rankings, only a short synopsis of what the page is about!
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    Thanks
    Zaheer

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    • Profile picture of the author Joshua.E1
      Due to the nature of Google, that keyword stuffing in the past has made Google decide to ignore meta Keyword.

      The good news is, it does not mean that Google will penalized you in positioning keywords in the meta keywords (no stuffing of course).

      There are other ways to make your web page rank well for the keyword, by doing good basic on page optimization.
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      Joshua
      Website Building Tips Blog
      Adwords Code Exposed
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  • Profile picture of the author jschop
    Google tell us they do not to use meta keywords and this is probably because if they did, people would exploit them as they did in the past (keyword stuffing etc). Like someone mentioned though, don't forget about them altogether. Other SEs use them so there's little harm done in adding them.
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  • Profile picture of the author Goatboy
    Google will still penalize you for keyword stuffing. To my mind, that means Google is still paying attention to the keywords. They may allow little or no credit for them, but they are still watching.
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