Meta keywords were once a cornerstone of on-page SEO, helping search engines understand the content of a webpage. But do they still hold any value today? In this article, we’ll break down what meta keywords are, their original purpose, and whether you should still be using them in 2025.

What Are Meta Keywords?

Meta keywords are a specific type of HTML meta tag used to define a set of keywords relevant to the content of a webpage. Placed in the <head> section of the HTML document, they look like this:

htmlCopyEdit<meta name="keywords" content="meta keywords, SEO metadata, search engine optimization">

These HTML meta elements were designed to tell search engines what your page was about without affecting how it appeared to users.

A Brief History of Meta Keywords

In the early 2000s, search engines heavily relied on meta tags like meta keywords to determine a page’s relevance. SEO professionals would include dozens—sometimes hundreds—of keywords in the meta tag to rank for various search queries.

However, this led to widespread keyword stuffing, a black hat SEO tactic where webmasters would overload pages with irrelevant or repetitive keywords to manipulate rankings. As a result, search engines like Google started ignoring the meta keywords tag entirely.

Do Meta Keywords Still Matter?

Short answer: No—for Google, meta keywords do not affect SEO.

Google officially stopped using the meta keywords tag as a ranking signal back in 2009. Matt Cutts, a former head of Google’s Webspam team, confirmed this publicly. Most modern search engines, including Bing and Yahoo, also disregard this tag due to its history of misuse.

However, some internal search engines (like those in enterprise platforms or CMS systems) may still utilize meta keywords. So while they don’t help with organic SEO rankings, they might play a role in specific use cases.

The Role of Other Meta Tags

Even though meta keywords are outdated, other types of SEO metadata are still highly relevant, especially the:

  • Meta Title Tag: Appears as the blue clickable link in search results.
  • Meta Description: A short summary of your page content that appears below the title in search engines. It doesn’t affect rankings but can improve click-through rate (CTR).
  • Meta Robots Tag: Controls how search engine bots crawl and index your page.

Focusing on these meta tags instead of meta keywords will yield better SEO results.

Best Practices for Modern SEO Metadata

Even without meta keywords, your page’s on-page SEO can be strong if you follow these best practices:

  1. Write Unique Meta Descriptions: Craft compelling, human-readable summaries for each page.
  2. Use Target Keywords Naturally: Include primary and secondary keywords in headings, content, and meta tags.
  3. Avoid Keyword Stuffing: Focus on user experience and content relevance over raw keyword density.
  4. Optimize Title Tags: Keep them under 60 characters and include your main keyword.

When Should You Use Meta Keywords?

Though obsolete in mainstream SEO, meta keywords might be useful in:

  • Legacy CMS platforms that still support them.
  • Intranet or internal search systems.
  • Non-Google environments like academic databases or niche directories.

If you’re developing a custom search feature for a website, you can still program it to scan meta keywords.

Google’s Guidelines and Meta Keywords

According to Google’s SEO guidelines, meta keywords are not part of Google’s ranking algorithm. Using them doesn’t hurt your rankings, but it’s also not a worthwhile strategy.

If you’re submitting content to Google News, the platform emphasizes:

  • High-quality, original content.
  • Transparency of authorship and source.
  • Fact-based reporting, not keyword manipulation.
  • Clear and concise metadata like publication date, title, and category—not meta keywords.

Conclusion

Meta keywords are a relic of the early SEO era. While they were once essential to search engine rankings, Google and most modern search engines have long since deprecated them. If you’re optimizing your website for SEO in 2025, you’re better off focusing on meta titles, meta descriptions, and high-quality content.

Key Takeaway: Meta keywords no longer play a role in search engine rankings and should not be a part of your current SEO strategy. Instead, invest your time in content optimization, semantic SEO, and technical SEO best practices that align with Google’s evolving algorithms.

FAQs

Q: Can using meta keywords hurt my SEO?
No. Google ignores them completely. But overusing them may signal outdated practices.

Q: Are meta keywords the same as regular keywords in content?
No. Meta keywords are placed in HTML; regular keywords are naturally integrated within your actual content.

Q: Should I remove old meta keywords from my site?
It’s not necessary unless you’re cleaning up bloated code. They won’t impact performance or SEO.