Meta keywords

What are meta keywords?

Meta keywords are an HTML tag in the head of a page where the site owner listed keywords for that page. Google has ignored the tag for years and confirmed this in 2009. It therefore has no effect on how your page ranks in Google.

Why are meta keywords important?

• No ranking value: Google does not use the tag, so time spent on it brings nothing.
• Visible to competitors: anyone can read the tag in the source code and copy your keywords.
• Still in old advice: you still see it in guides and plugins, so knowing it is outdated saves needless work.

Examples of meta keywords

• <meta name="keywords" content="running shoes, sports shoes, wide feet">
• An SEO plugin that still fills a “focus keywords” field into this tag
• An old website where every page has the same list of keywords

How do you deal with meta keywords?

Leave the tag out or leave it empty, as it only adds maintenance. Place your keywords in the title, the headings and the text itself instead. You can read how in our guide to on-page SEO.