Posted on June 29th, 2010Keyword meta tags are an important aspect of search engine optimization (SEO). Within the SEO community, there are varying opinions on how to actually use the keyword meta tag.
Keyword Meta Tags Defined
Keyword meta tags are HTML tags that store information about a web page but are not visible within the browser. Search engines use this information when they index web pages. The meta tags are located at the head of a web page or blog post. The source code would be presented as:
<meta name = “Keywords” content = “Your set of keywords for the page”>
Meta Tag Abuse
Meta tags can be abused by internet marketers by utilizing the practice known as “keyword stuffing.” This is the procedure of placing as many keyword meta tags onto a page as possible, many which do not relate to the actual content of the web page. This was an effort to manipulate search engine results.
Current Practices
Most search engines became aware of this unethical practice and consequently changed their algorithms to compensate for this method. If there are enough unrelated keyword meta tags on a web page, the search engine simply won’t index the page or even the whole site.
Google’s Response to Meta Tags
Google officially stated in 2009 that it does not recognize keyword meta tags when indexing pages and determining web search ranking. They’ve taken this stance in response to keyword stuffing and created an indexing algorithm that takes into account many different aspects of a web page.
Google also stated that they could utilize this information in the future in case they find a useful method for meta tags. They haven’t used this feature for years so it’s unlikely they will change their policy.
Meta Tags and Other Companies
Although Google is the largest search engine, there are other search engines that continue to utilize meta tags in their indexing. For instance, Yahoo uses a distinct list of keywords related to a specific page. There are also software applications that utilize keyword meta tags such as, Site Search software.
Are Keyword Meta Tags Beneficial?
Although Google states there is no affect of meta tags on search results, it cannot hurt to put them in if planning on submitting the site to other search engines. Since meta tags have a large affect on many search engines, it may be beneficial to include them during a website build.
Meta tags can be a useful resource on other sites besides Google. Since they don’t affect Google, it’s a good idea to include them. Additionally, Google stated that meta tags may be used in the future so it’s better to be prepared than not.