Meta tags keywords were once the be-all, end-all for search engine optimization. Create a page, stuff a bunch of words into the keyword meta tag and, like magic, you ranked well in the fledgling search engines.

Today, of course, that’s no longer the case. So clients who engage us for SEM (search engine marketing) purposes often ask if meta tags are even important anymore. And the answer is no … and yes. No, because the search engines virtually ignore meta tag keyword entries. Yes, because spending time researching and developing keywords to enter into meta tags focuses attention on what is most important on the page, what words appear naturally on the page, and what words should appear more often.

Don’t spend an extraordinary amount of time populating the keyword meta tag. And don’t stuff it with irrelevant words. But do spend time focusing on what the main keywords/phrases are for a page, do create content that utilizes those words, and do populate those words into the meta tag. You might even add synonyms and a misspelling or two to help the engines. This article’s image shows how easy it is to enter meta data for your blog using the All In One SEO Pack plug-in for WordPress.

We’ll cover meta tag descriptions and titles in another post.