Should you really let go of the meta keywords tag in SEO?

Why does Google ignore this tag?

The meta keywords tag was designed in the 1990s to help search engines understand page content. At that time, algorithms were rudimentary and relied heavily on the signals that webmasters provided.

The problem quickly became apparent: this tag was too easy to manipulate. Webmasters stuffed it with dozens of unrelated keywords, creating a massive disconnect between what the tag promised and what the page contained. Google decided to ignore it completely, likely as early as the 2000s.

Does this tag still have any usefulness?

For Google, no. Absolutely none. The official statement is unequivocal: this tag does not influence ranking or indexing. Even if it is present on your site, it will simply be ignored during crawling.

Some secondary search engines like Yandex or Baidu sometimes claim to use it, but concrete evidence is lacking. In practice, no serious SEO has observed any measurable impact from this tag on those platforms either.

How many sites still use this tag?

Surprisingly, many. A significant proportion of sites, particularly those running on old or poorly configured CMS, continue to automatically generate this tag. This is often a legacy of outdated templates or obsolete SEO plugins.

The problem isn't so much the presence of the tag itself, which remains neutral. It's mostly the wasted time spent filling it out manually, sometimes painstakingly, while that time could be better spent optimizing internal linking or enriching content.

• The meta keywords tag has been completely ignored by Google for a long time, likely over 20 years
• It has been a victim of massive abuse and has never regained algorithmic legitimacy
• No major search engine uses it in a documented and measurable way
• Its presence does not harm, but manually filling it out is a waste of resources
• Modern CMSs no longer include it by default in their templates

Does this statement contradict observed practices in the field?

No, it confirms them. For years, experienced SEOs have known that this tag serves no purpose. A/B tests conducted by reputable agencies show zero variation in ranking based on its presence or absence.

What's interesting is that Google regularly takes the time to reiterate this. This indicates that webmasters continue to ask questions, probably because automated SEO audit tools still flag its absence as an error. Some of these tools are a decade behind on best practices.

Why do some SEOs continue to fill it out?

Several reasons explain this inertia. First, the weight of habit: professionals trained 15 years ago repeat actions that have become obsolete. Then, some clients or superiors demand this tag out of ignorance, and it is sometimes easier to concede than to explain.

Lastly, there is a stubborn myth that “it costs nothing to add it, just in case.” This is false. It costs time, and that time has a real value. On a site of 500 pages, manually filling this tag takes several hours that could have been used for content creation or title tag optimization.

Are there cases where this tag could be harmful?

Rarely, but yes. If you stuff this tag with spammy keywords that do not appear anywhere in the content, some security tools or compliance audits might flag your site as suspicious. It won’t be Google that penalizes you, but third parties analyzing your practices.

Another scenario: if your CMS automatically generates this tag with sensitive information or terms that you do not want exposed in the source code, it could pose a privacy or competitive strategy issue. It’s best to remove it completely in that case.

What should I do if this tag is present on my site?

Two options: remove it completely or ignore it. If your CMS generates it automatically and it costs you nothing in maintenance, you can leave it. It won’t harm you. But if you have to intervene manually to manage it, remove it without hesitation.

On WordPress, most modern SEO plugins like Yoast, Rank Math, or SEOPress no longer generate this tag by default. If you are using an older plugin, check the settings and disable this function if it still exists.

How can I check if I'm wasting time with this tag?

Inspect the source code of a few key pages on your site. Look for <meta name="keywords". If this line appears, trace it back to the source: theme template, SEO plugin, CMS configuration. Identify who is generating it.

Then ask yourself: is anyone spending time manually filling out this tag? If so, stop immediately. Reallocate this time to tasks that have a real impact: improving meta descriptions, optimizing images, fixing broken links, enriching content.

Which optimizations truly deserve my attention?

Focus on meta descriptions, which do not directly influence ranking but affect click-through rates. Work on your title tags to ensure they are accurate and enticing. Optimize the Hn structure of your pages for better readability and understanding by Google.

Invest in smart internal linking, semantic enrichment of content, and loading speed. These are levers that yield measurable results, unlike the meta keywords tag.

• Check if your CMS still automatically generates the meta keywords tag
• Disable this feature in your SEO plugin settings if it exists
• Remove any old meta keywords tags in your custom templates
• Train your editorial teams so they don’t waste time filling out this field
• Redirect this time towards optimizing meta descriptions and title tags
• Document this decision in your internal SEO charter to prevent regression