Meta Keywords Tag - 4 Years Later

In September 2005, I wrote a guest piece for Pandia about the meta keywords tag, arguing:

Do not use the meta keywords tag. Many people still think of this as a quick fix for SEO. It's not. Google no longer uses it.

In September 2009, Google finally posted an official statement, saying:

Google has ignored the keywords meta tag for years and currently we see no need to change that policy.

Thank you, Google. It's about time. ;-)

I continue to advise my clients to avoid using the meta keywords tag. Why provide your competitors with a nicely formatted list of your important keywords? Why not just email them a list of your best keyword ideas? On the flip side, since so many sites do still use the meta keywords tag, why not take a look and get some ideas for your own PPC or SEO projects? Plug a domain or URL into this free keyword research tool. Example output:



Some search marketing professionals still suggest using the meta keywords tag. In most cases, this will be a sign to avoid working with them. In some cases, though, theirs will be an opinion worth considering. So, examine a few different strategies and determine your own strategy for meta keywords tags.