Understanding  Meta Keywords Or Keyword Tag

As a search engine optimization (SEO) expert or digital marketing enthusiast, you may have heard of the term "Meta Keywords" or "Keyword Tag". But do you know what it is and how it can affect your website's ranking?

In this post, we'll explore everything you need to know about Meta Keywords or Keyword Tag, including its importance, how to use it correctly, and some common misconceptions.

What is Meta Keywords or Keyword Tag?

Meta Keywords or Keyword Tag is a HTML attribute that used to be an important factor in SEO. It was a way for website owners to inform search engines about the relevant keywords and phrases that were targeted on each page of their site.

The Meta Keywords tag appears in the HTML code of a page's head section, and it looks something like this:

<meta name="keywords" content="SEO, Digital Marketing, Content Marketing, Ad Tech, Advertising">

Why is Meta Keywords or Keyword Tag important?

In the past, search engines used Meta Keywords as one of many signals to determine the relevance of a webpage to a user's search query. However, over time, website owners started to manipulate this attribute by stuffing irrelevant keywords into their Meta Tags to rank higher on search engine results pages (SERPs).

As a result, Google and other major search engines no longer consider Meta Keywords as a ranking factor. In fact, Google clearly states that it ignores this tag entirely when indexing websites.

How should you use Meta Keywords or Keyword Tag now?

Since major search engines ignore Meta Keywords or Keyword Tag, does it mean that it's completely useless? Not exactly. While it may not directly impact your website's SEO rankings, including relevant keywords in your tags can still have some benefits:

• It can help organize your site's content and make it easier for users to navigate.
• It can provide some context to the search engines about the topics covered on your site.
• It can help other search engines or directories that still use Meta Keywords to categorize your site.

However, it's important to note that if you do include Meta Keywords on your site, you should only use relevant keywords and avoid keyword stuffing.

What are some common misconceptions about Meta Keywords or Keyword Tag?

There are several misconceptions about Meta Keywords or Keyword Tag that we need to clear up:

• Myth: Using Meta Keywords will help you rank higher on Google.

- Fact: Google ignores Meta Keywords entirely, so it won't impact your rankings.

• Myth: You should include all possible variations of your keywords in your Meta Tags.

- Fact: Including too many irrelevant keywords (otherwise known as "keyword stuffing") can get your site penalized by the search engines.

• Myth: You need to include a separate Meta Keywords for every page on your site.
• Fact: It's not necessary to use Meta Keywords on every page of your site, especially if they cover similar topics.

Should you still use Meta Keywords or Keyword Tag on your website?

While it's not necessary to include Meta Keywords or Keyword Tag in the HTML code of each page of your website, there's no harm in doing so. If you do choose to include them, make sure to use relevant keywords and avoid stuffing. Ultimately, focusing on creating high-quality and engaging content is the best way to improve your website's SEO ranking.

References

1. Search Engine Land's Guide To SEO
2. The Art of SEO by Eric Enge, Stephan Spencer, and Jessie Stricchiola
3. SEO Fitness Workbook by Jason McDonald
4. The Beginner's Guide to SEO by Moz
5. Keyword Research: The Definitive Guide by Backlinko