Are you still using META Keywords?

by mahol
11 replies
  • SEO
  • |
I think everyone of you using wordpress for your sites.

In your posts do you use Meta Keywords or just unique Meta Description and Meta Title.
#keywords #meta
  • Profile picture of the author Paul Hooper-Kelly
    Hi mahol,

    It's a good idea to use a separate set of meta keywords, title and description for every post, because Google indexes posts not whole web sites.

    And, because Google tends to use your meta description as the blurb they put in your search engine entry, it pays to show a really compelling reason in it why visitors should click through to your site.

    I've had great success putting quotes from satisfied customers in the meta description.

    Bear in mind Google takes only the first 160 characters (including spaces ) of your meta description. So make every word count!

    Warmest regards,

    Paul
    Signature
    If you want to stack the copywriting deck in your favor with tricks and hacks producing winners like: "$20K in three days" "650 sold" "30% conversion", then you might like to know I'm retiring and will spill the beans to two people. More info here.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[7757366].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author mahol
      Sir,
      So I should ignore Meta tags?
      Originally Posted by Paul Hooper-Kelly View Post

      Hi mahol,

      It's a good idea to use a separate set of meta keywords, title and description for every post, because Google indexes posts not whole web sites.

      And, because Google tends to use your meta description as the blurb they put in your search engine entry, it pays to show a really compelling reason in it why visitors should click through to your site.

      I've had great success putting quotes from satisfied customers in the meta description.

      Bear in mind Google takes only the first 160 characters (including spaces ) of your meta description. So make every word count!

      Warmest regards,

      Paul
      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[7757400].message }}
      • Profile picture of the author Paul Hooper-Kelly
        Hi mahol,

        So I should ignore Meta tags?
        No, use the full range of options available: one set to cover the overall description of your site and then each individual post should have its own set.

        Many folks disregard the meta description, these days, so I was highlighting just how valuable it can be, if set up correctly.

        Warmest regards,

        Paul
        Signature
        If you want to stack the copywriting deck in your favor with tricks and hacks producing winners like: "$20K in three days" "650 sold" "30% conversion", then you might like to know I'm retiring and will spill the beans to two people. More info here.
        {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[7757420].message }}
  • The 'Title' is not a meta tag and should definitely be used, include your main keyword phrase but also try and make it enticing and interesting i.e something that is likely to interest someone searching on Google e.g if you have a page about coffee makes then you might consider something like 'Best Coffee Makers For Your Kitchen' or 'A New Coffee Maker - How To Get The Best Out Of It' and not something like 'Coffee Maker | What's The Best Coffee Maker'. You can probably come up with something better than I've used there but it's just to give you an idea - search Google for something like how to write good headlines / page titles.

    Meta description is still useful although Google does not always use it, it can take an extract from your content. Meta keywords are ignored by most search engines for ranking purposes so there's not much point in including them and if you include too many then you always run the risk of a penalty.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[7757441].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author mahol
      Thanks for tips man..

      Originally Posted by 100KAffiliateManager View Post

      The 'Title' is not a meta tag and should definitely be used, include your main keyword phrase but also try and make it enticing and interesting i.e something that is likely to interest someone searching on Google e.g if you have a page about coffee makes then you might consider something like 'Best Coffee Makers For Your Kitchen' or 'A New Coffee Maker - How To Get The Best Out Of It' and not something like 'Coffee Maker | What's The Best Coffee Maker'. You can probably come up with something better than I've used there but it's just to give you an idea - search Google for something like how to write good headlines / page titles.

      Meta description is still useful although Google does not always use it, it can take an extract from your content. Meta keywords are ignored by most search engines for ranking purposes so there's not much point in including them and if you include too many then you always run the risk of a penalty.
      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[7757594].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author nik0
      Banned
      Originally Posted by 100KAffiliateManager View Post

      The 'Title' is not a meta tag and should definitely be used, include your main keyword phrase but also try and make it enticing and interesting i.e something that is likely to interest someone searching on Google e.g if you have a page about coffee makes then you might consider something like 'Best Coffee Makers For Your Kitchen' or 'A New Coffee Maker - How To Get The Best Out Of It' and not something like 'Coffee Maker | What's The Best Coffee Maker'. You can probably come up with something better than I've used there but it's just to give you an idea - search Google for something like how to write good headlines / page titles.

      Meta description is still useful although Google does not always use it, it can take an extract from your content. Meta keywords are ignored by most search engines for ranking purposes so there's not much point in including them and if you include too many then you always run the risk of a penalty.
      We did some tests recently and it showed that keywords dropped quite big time when you put the keyword in the title in a sentence way.

      For example we had some site that was focused on a certain type of game.

      First the title was something like:

      Farming Games

      Then we changed it to:

      The best Farming Games for Boys

      and the keyword "farming games" dropped almost 80 positions. so the longer the title the more you're killing the relevancy, tested this on 5 sites and saw similar results everywhere where the long tail kw's obvious started to rank better like "best farming games" and "farming games for boys" but as said the main kw really got hurt by it.

      5 sites is not a large sample obvious so share your results after changing titles I would say
      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[7757787].message }}
      • Profile picture of the author mahol
        Thanks for your valuable tip as well as strategy....I will keep in mind...
        Originally Posted by nik0 View Post

        We did some tests recently and it showed that keywords dropped quite big time when you put the keyword in the title in a sentence way.

        For example we had some site that was focused on a certain type of game.

        First the title was something like:

        Farming Games

        Then we changed it to:

        The best Farming Games for Boys

        and the keyword "farming games" dropped almost 80 positions. so the longer the title the more you're killing the relevancy, tested this on 5 sites and saw similar results everywhere where the long tail kw's obvious started to rank better like "best farming games" and "farming games for boys" but as said the main kw really got hurt by it.

        5 sites is not a large sample obvious so share your results after changing titles I would say
        {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[7759253].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author WebMeUp
    Well, here is the post by Matt, where he says that Google do not use keywords as a ranking factor any more.
    Google doesn’t use the keywords meta tag in web search
    There is also another thing you should take into consideration. When you put your keywords into this meta tag, your competitors can easily see the keywords you are trying to rank for. So in a competitive niche it can be tricky.
    But it does not mean that other SEs do not use them.
    All in all meta keywords do not influence your rankings in any way in comparison with titles and meta descriptions, which still play a certain role.
    Signature
    WebMeUp Backlink Tool - the largest growing backlink index on the Web: http://webmeup.com/tools/backlinks.html
    [HOT] WebMeUp solution for NOT PROVIDED: http://webmeup.com/not-provided.html
    [NEW] WebMeUp Blog - the blog about the latest industry news and hottest trends: http://webmeup.com/blog/
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[7757759].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author david87
    Yes,Google doesn't use meta keywords Tag but many other search engines count it so it will be good to use and optimize a website for relevant keywords.We use meta tags not only for search engine ranking but it generates good traffic from search snippet so it's always good to use it very wisely.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[7757992].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author Jose Princely
    Sure, keywords will be highlighted in meta description and place the keyword in title also.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[7766565].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author challanger
    Using meta keywords is not very good or bad practice. Although Google almost don't consider it..

    But using Meta news keywords are still in
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[7766586].message }}

Trending Topics