Meta Keywords Have No Ranking Value — Here's What Works!
Once upon a time, in the early web-wild west, website owners could sprinkle a <meta name="keywords" content="…"> tag into their HTML and hope it helped search engines understand their pages. Over the years, search engines became smarter, spam became rampant, and the meta keywords tag became an outdated practice with no ranking value.
For site owners, developers, and SEO professionals managing WordPress or Wix sites, this means one thing: your SEO efforts are vastly better spent elsewhere.
In this article, we’ll cover:
What the meta keywords tag is
When and why Google stopped using it for rankings
Why this change matters
What to focus on instead for modern, vastly superior SEO results
What Are Meta Keywords?
In HTML, a meta keywords tag looks like this:
<meta name=”keywords” content=”web design, wordpress seo, houston website developer”>
The idea was simple: explicitly tell search engines which keywords the page targeted. Back in the 1990s and early 2000s, this made sense because search engines had fewer signals to evaluate pages.
Today, however, meta keywords are an outdated practice. Modern search engines rely on content quality, links, semantic structure, and user behavior to determine relevance, making the tag irrelevant and providing no ranking value.
When Did Google Stop Using Meta Keywords?
Google officially announced in September 2009 that it no longer uses the meta keywords tag for ranking. From that point on, stuffing keywords into this tag had zero influence on Google search results.
Bing and other search engines followed later, with Bing reportedly deprioritizing meta keywords around 2014.
Bottom line: for Google and Bing, meta keywords are dead. No ranking value.
Why Meta Keywords Lost Their Power
Widespread abuse: Keyword stuffing and irrelevant entries made the tag unreliable.
Improved search algorithms: Search engines evolved to evaluate page content, links, and user engagement instead of relying on simple labels.
Better relevance signals: Google needed to focus on meaningful, hard-to-fake signals to deliver high-quality results.
Another reason meta keywords lost their power is that user behavior became a key signal for search engines. Google and other engines began tracking how visitors interact with websites—what they click on, how long they stay, and whether they return. Even if a page claimed certain keywords in its meta tag, what truly mattered was whether visitors found the content valuable. The emphasis shifted from what you say your page is about to what users actually experience when they visit.
In short, meta keywords became a weak, easily gamed signal and were quickly outpaced by modern SEO strategies that are vastly superior.
Implications for Your SEO Strategy
For WordPress and Wix site owners managing mid-size business clients, here’s what this means:
Ignore meta keywords: Leaving the field blank—or even present but unused—does not harm your rankings. Filling it provides no ranking value.
Focus on what truly matters:
Title tags (
<title>) and meta descriptions – influence click-through rates.High-quality content – content that provides real value for visitors.
Structured data – vastly superior to meta keywords for helping search engines understand your content.
Backlinks, site speed, mobile-friendliness, and UX – essential modern ranking factors.
Consider niche engines cautiously: If clients target search engines like Yandex or Baidu, meta keywords may still hold minor relevance.
Clean up legacy templates: Remove unused meta keywords fields in older themes or plugins to reduce clutter and client confusion.
Educate clients: Many business owners still ask about meta keywords. Explain that SEO is no longer about “telling Google what to rank for,” but about using modern signals that are vastly superior to outdated practices.
Structured Data: Your SEO Superpower
Structured data is one of the most effective ways to improve WordPress SEO today. It doesn’t magically boost rankings, but it helps search engines truly understand your content—far more effective than meta keywords ever were.
Benefits of structured data:
Improved context for search engines: Tags content as Product, Service, FAQ, Review, LocalBusiness, etc.
Enhanced search appearance (rich results): Star ratings, FAQs, breadcrumbs, and events stand out in SERPs.
Voice and assistant readiness: Powers Google Assistant, Siri, and Alexa for AI-powered summaries and voice search.
Better local SEO: LocalBusiness schema links NAP, hours, and service areas with Google Business Profile.
Future-proofing: Prepares your site for AI-driven search features like Google SGE and Knowledge Graph.
How to add structured data in WordPress:
SEO plugins: All in One SEO, Rank Math, Yoast
Schema builders: Schema Pro, WP SEO Structured Data Schema
Manual JSON-LD injection: Use Code Snippets, your theme, or plugins like “Insert Headers and Footers”
Key takeaway: structured data clarifies your content to search engines and enhances presentation—vastly superior to relying on meta keywords and carries zero risk of penalty.
Final Thoughts
This shift from meta keywords to modern SEO signals illustrates a deeper principle: any signal that is easy to fake loses value. Early search engines needed explicit labels, but algorithms now prioritize implicit meaning derived from content, links, and user behavior.
Think of it as moving from a crayon sketch to a high-definition map: the richer the signals, the better Google can navigate your site.
Meta keywords are an outdated practice with no ranking value. If you want to boost your visibility with modern, results-driven SEO, call HTX Website Designs in Houston at 281-793-9420 — we’ll help your business stand out where it matters most.
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