Is HTML [keywords] section still used?

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Is HTML [keywords] section still used?

locutus

12:55 am on Sep 26, 2017 (gmt 0)

There's a thread on this page about the importance of keywords. It's so old I can't reply to it. I've been told to put keywords in the title and body of as many pages as possible. What about the HTML [keywords] section of a site that sites used to have? Is there no point to this anymore? I think it was put at the very top of the HTML code and would contain all the keywords, separated by commas, that you wanted your site associated with. I made my site with WordPress. Should I add a [keywords] section to the HTML code? How do I know what page to put it on?

NickMNS

1:11 am on Sep 26, 2017 (gmt 0)

No. Not by any of the major search engines.

The concept of a keyword is in and of itself is quickly becoming obsolete. Google search algorithms do not match search terms to terms that appear on a page. The algo is far more sophisticated. It tries to match user's intent with the web page. The need for including lists of keywords on a page in various permutations and combinations is pointless and will only make the page seems spammy. Think keyword stuffing. So there is no need to include text like "We sell blue widgets", "widget that are blue are sold here", "buy blue widgets" etc...

If a page is about blue widget, one must be sure to make it obvious to any human reader that that is what the page is about by using simple, concise and well written text. Then move on.

lucy24

1:23 am on Sep 26, 2017 (gmt 0)

Are you asking about the <keywords> meta that goes, or used to go, in the <head> of a document?

No. afaik, nobody in the world uses it for anything. Nor have they done so for many, many years.

You can still use the <description> meta if you like. Sometimes search engines use it in place of a search snippet, though the description itself isn't indexed.

keyplyr

1:55 am on Sep 26, 2017 (gmt 0)

People used the keyword meta tag for years but I never did. It never made sense to me.

I've never seen a SE pay attention to anything we tell it to do regarding what a page is about or how often to index it. Even the noindex or noarchive directives are not supported universally.

tangor

11:16 am on Sep 26, 2017 (gmt 0)

There's a meme out there "keyword stuffing" which pretty much sticks a fork in the concept.

Write content, not keywords.

ondesk007

2:13 pm on Jan 7, 2018 (gmt 0)

NO ...It's Long time ! Google STOPPED Following this HTML Tag

JonathanEdmonton

4:58 pm on Jan 24, 2018 (gmt 0)

Short answer: NO