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Meta Keywords useless? Not needed? Obsolete?

by THpubs
15 replies
  • SEO
    • |
This is a big question I had for several months. Earlier, I used to pay good attention to adding meta keywords. But after installing the Yoast SEO plugin, it said that meta keywords are useless. It disabled them. But I enabled again.

So, my question is, are they really useless? Now that Google is taking down high SEO sites, will meta keywords play a role in that also? :confused:
#keywords #meta #meta keywords #needed #obsolete #seo #useless
  • Profile picture of the author Kurt
    It's been many years since Google used the meta keyword tag in rankings.
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  • Profile picture of the author EdwardDennis
    Originally Posted by THpubs View Post

    This is a big question I had for several months.
    Can't imagine what small question sounds like.

    To answer, they are USELESS.
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  • Profile picture of the author Leo Wadsworth
    Yoast has it right. They are obsolete. A great idea that got used too much by people trying to improve rankings instead of just indicating the subject of the page. Google and Bing have both publicly said that they do not use them now.
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    • Profile picture of the author Blue445nm
      Originally Posted by Leo Wadsworth View Post

      Yoast has it right. They are obsolete. A great idea that got used too much by people trying to improve rankings instead of just indicating the subject of the page. Google and Bing have both publicly said that they do not use them now.
      What about Yahoo!, ASK, AOL, MWS, Lycos, DogPile, WC, Info, Infospace, Search, Excite, Alta, Good Search?
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      • Profile picture of the author paulgl
        Originally Posted by Blue445nm View Post

        What about Yahoo!, ASK, AOL, MWS, Lycos, DogPile, WC, Info, Infospace, Search, Excite, Alta, Good Search?
        Maybe you don't know it, but all of those partner with either
        bing or google. Well, all of those that matter, that is. Others,
        like excite, dogpile, etc. give results from both. So again,
        meta keywords is moot.

        If people did not know that google/bing runs the gamut on
        search results, well now you do. Those other sites are
        just shells of their former selves. Just seeing excite brings
        back some memories of the old internet.

        I don't believe google has ever used meta keywords for rankings.

        That meta was to file sites in the right categories for directories.

        Search engines, real search engines, would never use them.

        Paul
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        • Profile picture of the author NRC1983
          I recently refreshed my meta tags and descriptions and saw my rankings SHOOT UP...not sure if this was just a coinsidance,but I updated them for someone else as well and he had the same experience...
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          • Profile picture of the author johnes4th
            Originally Posted by NRC1983 View Post

            I recently refreshed my meta tags and descriptions and saw my rankings SHOOT UP...not sure if this was just a coinsidance,but I updated them for someone else as well and he had the same experience...
            If this is the only changes you made, then it was likely the meta descriptions. Those can still be very powerful - especially in terms of boosting the CTR.

            Not only are meta keywords no longer beneficial from an SEO standpoint, they also make it incredibly easy for your competition to find out exactly what keywords you are targeting.

            One the first things I do when I enter a niche is scrape all of my competitions meta keywords and piggyback off the work the testing/keyword research they have already done. This not provides valuable information about the niche, but also helps get a better picture of how strategic my competitions SEO/targeting strategy is.

            There is no reason to give this type of info to current and future competitors in your niche.
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          • Profile picture of the author vardan
            contact me vanianvons17@gmail.com
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          • Profile picture of the author paulgl
            Originally Posted by NRC1983 View Post

            I recently refreshed my meta tags and descriptions and saw my rankings SHOOT UP...not sure if this was just a coinsidance,but I updated them for someone else as well and he had the same experience...
            Meta description and keywords has absolutely nothing
            to do with rankings. Period. Case closed.

            As far as the meta keywords, well, people can't let go
            of this voodoo SEO. So they insist on using the keywords.

            Same people stand at a signal light cross walk, continuously
            pressing the button,....makes 'em feel good.

            Paul
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            If you were disappointed in your results today, lower your standards tomorrow.

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        • Profile picture of the author Kurt
          Originally Posted by paulgl View Post

          Maybe you don't know it, but all of those partner with either
          bing or google. Well, all of those that matter, that is. Others,
          like excite, dogpile, etc. give results from both. So again,
          meta keywords is moot.

          If people did not know that google/bing runs the gamut on
          search results, well now you do. Those other sites are
          just shells of their former selves. Just seeing excite brings
          back some memories of the old internet.

          I don't believe google has ever used meta keywords for rankings.

          That meta was to file sites in the right categories for directories.

          Search engines, real search engines, would never use them.

          Paul
          They did at one time, but it's been about a decade since Google considered the keyword meta tag. It amazes me how some SEO "experts" still haven't caught up.
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          Discover the fastest and easiest ways to create your own valuable products.
          Tons of FREE Public Domain content you can use to make your own content, PLR, digital and POD products.
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  • Profile picture of the author Mike101
    I think what important is the content of your site not the meta keyword.
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  • Profile picture of the author THpubs
    But still big sites like Mashable, Neowin, NewYork Times and Softpedia use them...
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  • Profile picture of the author boxoun
    Op use search feature and stop trolling. You want to use them then use them.
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  • Profile picture of the author THpubs
    So, is there any negative impact if I still use it?
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    • Profile picture of the author gPlayer
      Originally Posted by THpubs View Post

      So, is there any negative impact if I still use it?
      Most of the major search engine don't allow meta keyword. So there is no need to use them for SEO. But has no negative effect.
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