Are meta keywords and description necessary any longer?

16 years ago

I never use them and I find it pretty easy to get ranked on page 1 of Google - on page SEO is nowhere near as important as off page.

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RichardLegg

16 years ago

I'd agree that it's not going to make or break your rankings.

The one good thing I've found by using the description tag is that you can write it to be a 'mini-headline' of sorts, so that you can entice people to click through to your site from the search listings.

I've had an increase in traffic (with the same rankings) just by making a more compelling description tag that gets people to click.

Richard

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Simon_Sezs

16 years ago

If you are trying to rank for Google then no...however, understand that some search engines still use them. With that in mind, why not take the extra 2 minutes and add them?

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dburk 16 years ago

Hi Johnny,

Getting listed is only halfway there. You still need searchers to click your listing.

Your Title and Description tags are going to have a major impact on whether people click your listing or someone else's.

What good is it being on the first page of results, if everyone clicks your competitor's better written listing?
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- Johnny12345 16 years ago
  
  OK, thanks for the info. I'll keep the meta description tag -- but what about the meta keywords?
  
  Do any of the search engines still use them? (I kind of doubt it, because that would make it too easy to skew the rankings via simple keyword stuffing.)
  
  Johnny
  
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businesscredit

16 years ago

Originally Posted by Simon_Sezs

If you are trying to rank for Google then no...however, understand that some search engines still use them. With that in mind, why not take the extra 2 minutes and add them?

Yes I agree, You will not lose anything if you do this. As for me, it really helps a lot.

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imb

16 years ago

"small time" search engines still use meta keywords but then again, almost everybody uses Google, Yahoo, MSN. So you can actually forget about meta keywords.

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seach4s 16 years ago

every little help.....
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- Simplweb 16 years ago
  
  I might be wrong here... but doesn't google penalize you if you have keywords in meta that are NOT on the page. That is, there is little useful positive effect, but a potential negative one.
  
  I think it was seomoz.org where I read that titbit.
  
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  flashgordon 16 years ago
  
  I'd agree, why not use them. The description tag is useful as RichardLegg says - for creating a mini-headline to help getting people to click through from the SERPs.
  
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  colinredk 16 years ago
  
  Another help or resource you might want to look at is the alt-text on your graphics. This also counts toward rankings but is almost never mentioned in SEO discussions. Maybe it's too trivial I guess (much the same that meta keywords are basic and not much given attention.)
  
  If you've got any graphics on your site, take the extra time to add the alt-text.
  
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  Johnny12345 16 years ago
  
  Originally Posted by colinredk
  
  Another help or resource you might want to look at is the alt-text on your graphics.
  
  Thanks. That's a good point. I had forgotten about ALT tags -- it can't hurt.
  
  Johnny
  
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  strauss 16 years ago
  
  A well written meta description can bring in more visitors to your site. When your site appears in the search results it is the description that gives a good impression to the people. I think it would not take much time to add one.
  
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  David Neale 16 years ago
  
  Usefull & Interesting;
  
  "It's not always necessary to have a meta description tag on every page of your site. In fact, there are some instances when you probably don't want to use a meta description tag."
  
  When, Why and How to Construct a Meta Description Tag - Search Engine Guide Blog
  
  Forget Meta keywords
  
  Everything You Need to Know About The Meta Keyword Tag - Search Engine Guide Blog
  
  Thanks
  
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  David Neale
  
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  lelaiskandar 16 years ago
  
  I still use them. Not for the search engines but for my potential visitors.
  
  I don't want Google bots to pick whatever piece of sentence it likes from my site and stick it up as an introduction/representation of the info in my site.
  
  Thanks
  
  1 reply
  
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  macchiavelli 16 years ago
  
  Meta TITLE is the most important.
  And I always use description, because that is what the SE's will use when displaying you in their results.
  
  About the meta keywords, I dont know...I hardly ever use those.
  
  Thanks
  
  1 reply
  
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  James Schramko 16 years ago
  
  Title is a good idea to use for SEO and quality scores.
  
  Only a few keywords per page max.
  
  Images should be labelled.
  
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  Simplweb 16 years ago
  
  Originally Posted by James Schramko
  
  Title is a good idea to use for SEO and quality scores.
  
  I would even go so far as to say your <title> is CRITICAL and perhaps the top 1-3 most important things for SEO...
  
  Thanks
  
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  realistics Banned 15 years ago
  
  Hi friend,
  
  Here I am new member.
  
  Read Your Question.
  
  And sure Meta Keywords & Description are necessary.
  
  Thanks
  
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Oling

15 years ago

They are not as useful as they used to be but if you put meta keywords in a properly constructed way the one who are searching might have cahnce of getting click.

just my 2 cents

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JustVisiting

15 years ago

Originally Posted by Johnny12345

I'm just wondering if it's even worth the bother to add meta keywords and/or meta description to web pages any more. Apparently, Google does not use either one.

Johnny

Google may not use them at the moment...however...they do change the algorithm every so often.

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tomer1

15 years ago

Hi,
I'm sur it's necessary!

But I'm sure It's not necessary as it was before

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Are meta keywords and description necessary any longer?

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