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Beyond the standard 255 keyword characters - typically acceptable for bulk registration upload via folks like BCentral - how far can you go in loading your own Meta keywords within your HTML before flags start flying at the major search engines.
Thanks for your time in responding.
Best,
Patrick
The META keywords tag has become almost extinct from an SEO standpoint. I believe there is only one major SE left who even looks at that tag, the rest of them ignore it.
Loading up your keywords tag is not going to serve any purpose other than weighing down your page. Since most pages are developed targeting a specific keyword phrase or possibly a group of keyword phrases, your META keywords tag is going to be short and sweet.
I still use them mainly to help me focus on the content for that page. I usually pull from the title, description, heading and first paragraph on the page. I may typically end up with a total of 10-20 words in the tag.
There really is no standard (character count) anymore for the META keywords tag. I've seen various numbers posted on the net; 744, 1000, etc. In theory, if the words do not appear on the page, then they shouldn't appear in the keywords tag as they are probably irrelevant to the page.
In summary, don't spend too much time developing your META keywords tag. If you do utilize it, keep it short and sweet. Primary phrases at the beginning, secondary phrases thereafter.
