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Though meta keywords tags are not a major factor search engines
consider when ranking sites, they should not be left off the page. Both
the meta keywords tag and the meta description tag
contribute to your search engine ranking. A meta keywords tag is
supposed to be a brief and concise list of the most important themes of
your page. The meta keywords tag takes the following form:
<meta name="keywords" content="keywords,keyword,keyword phrase,etc.">
When
you write a meta keywords list, start by scanning the copy on your
page. Make a list of the most important terms you see on the page. Then
read through the list. Pick the 10 or 15 terms that most accurately
describe the content of the page. If you can't narrow your keyword list
down to 10-15 keywords, then the content on your page may be rambling
to far. Because of the hyper-competitiveness of the current search
engine placement landscape, pages need to be very focused on one or two
specific keyword phrases in order to have a chance to get a top ten
placement. For example, a page about northern Michigan apples and
central Florida oranges doesn't have much of a chance to win for either
"northern Michigan apples" or "central Florida oranges." To have any
chance to win, you need to have one page about northern Michigan apples
and one page about central Florida oranges.
Another example:
If you page is a list of exercise or fitness tips, and on the page you
list tips for things to do before, during, and after a workout, then
you need to think to yourself, "what 10 or 15 words or phrases is this
page MOST about?" Just because your page mentions dieting in the text
doesn't mean that the page is about dieting. If you want to win for
dieting, then create a page about dieting. The ultimate example of a
page which is focused and ready for search engine optimization is a
page from an encyclopedia. Each page is brief, focused, and has just
one theme.
Search engine optimization and the meta keywords tag.
Long
ago in Internet time, the meta keywords tag was very useful in helping
pages to win on search engines. Unfortunately, so many unscrupulous
webmasters have abused the meta keywords tag that search engines have
had to de-emphasize their importance. Still, you should not leave the
meta keywords tag off your pages.
Meta keywords tags should
adhere to the following guidelines: (1) keep your list of keywords or
keyword phrases down to 10 - 15 unique words or phrases; (2) separate
the words or phrases using a comma (you do not need to leave a space
between words separated by commas); (3) do not repeat words or phrases;
(4) put your most important word or phrases at the beginning of your
list.
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