Don't add Keyword Meta Tags to your pages? "What? They are the most important thing on my site for good search engine ranking", we hear you say!

Possibly not.

Google doesn't use Keyword Meta Tags for anything any more. In fact, some experts think that Google will rank you lower if you have Keyword Meta Tags. It uses the actual text on your pages to determine what words are relevant for people who search.

Our information isn't conclusive about Yahoo's use of Keyword Meta Tags at this point. So, you may want to keep them until that becomes clear.

Here's the thoughts behind removing the Keyword Meta Tags altogether. Since Google doesn't use them, who does? Your competition is the answer!

If you are highly ranked in Google, your competition is surely looking at your site and its source. If you have a bunch of Keyword Meta Tags in there, you can be sure they will be adding your Keyword Meta Tags to their site as soon as they can upload! If you are not highly ranked or are in a business that isn't that competitive it may not matter to you. But give it some thought.

The next article in this series is The No-Follow Meta Tag