meta name="Keywords" Discussion

[Jock]

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Do you use the meta name="Keywords" bit in your coding? I’ve used it for years though find it time consuming. Lately I’ve spoken to two different SEO companies and both say not to use them anymore. They each say that search engines are now seeing these as spammy and using them may penalise you. Instead they recommended just using the title and description tags.

Before I make changes to sites I thought I’d start a discussion thread here. Anyone want to share their experiences? I can’t find anything at the G advice for webmasters.

[Keith]

I dont think Google pays much attention to the keywords tag (i'm sure someone will correct me if i'm wrong) although to be on the safe side I would avoid repeating the same word too many times.

[Ditzy]

The whole issue blows my brains

Lately when I've been searching Google to either to check my rankings or when I'm shopping myself the top listed sites seem to be fairly ropey and leave me wondering how they've managed to bag the number 1, 2 or 3 spot

It's a bit like the "what to eat" versus "what not to eat" issue ... there are usually as many people telling you to do something as there are telling you to avoid it.

I haven't quite managed to get the hang of Google yet although me and MSN are the best of friends

[Rich]

I don't really think the keywords are used significantly by search engines but I don't think there is any harm in including them.

I can see the argument that, if you have obviously spammy keywords, it might be an easy way for them to detect your page as spam, but I think if you try to be truthful with your keywords it might, possibly, maybe help a tiny amount.

[markzz]

you won't get penalized for meta keywords, but they mean very little. except telling your competitors what keywords you're targetting.

[deano6410]

Its a bit of a grey area to be honest. I would say the answer could be any of these three:

a) Keywords tags have ZERO effect on your rankings
b) Keyword tags have a tiny effect on your rankings
c) Keyword tags can lead to small penalties if you use keyword stuffing.

Personally i use keyword tags, BUT i only use one keyword phrase per page.

[Nosmo_King]

The meta tags debate.... great.

I'll guarantee if you look at the source of anyone's site who say's they are a waste of time.... they'll still be using them

[deano6410]

Spot on Nosmo_King