As the nature of the internet, website design and search engine optimization have all evolved over the years, certain new considerations have to be made. Likewise, previous elements and concerns are no longer front and center with regard to ranking in search engines or creating well-designed websites. Probably one of the biggest examples of these trends is the use of meta keywords.

Once very crucial to the overall design to websites and the ability for search engines to categorize content, meta keywords have since faded into the background. Many people ignore them altogether – but they still have some inherent value for those who know how to use them.

We’ll take a peek at how meta keywords still provide intrinsic value today.

Competitor Analysis May Feature Them

Perhaps one of the most productive methods to use meta keywords today doesn’t even involve your own use of them, but rather who else is using them. If your competitors are pinging to Google and other search engines a variety of meta keywords, then this information can be useful in determining which select keywords, search niches and strategies they are using to perform well.

Given that you’ll undoubtedly have competition within a given niche and given that at least some of these individuals will be better-positioned overall, determining exactly what phrases and terms they’re targeting can provide valuable insight. When coupled with select pages that are among their best-performers, you can data-mine the competition for new ideas and determine where best to compete with them.

Select Search Engines Still Use Them

Even though pinging to Google meta keywords no longer provides the benefits it once did, there are still other search engines utilizing meta keywords to some extent. While they’re not the comparable powerhouses that Google is, they can still affect how and where you’re seen among other sets of search results.

Most notably, Bing still looks at meta keywords – but from a negative standpoint. In other words, the inclusion of excessive meta keywords can actually penalize your ranking potential with them, causing your pages to fall into obscurity in Bing results due to the appearance of the page being of low quality.

Recent obscure answers from Chinese mega search engine Baidu have made some consider whether or not meta keywords have been re-incorporated into search engine rankings. Given their statement in regards to keywords in general being used to assess page value, it is worth considering if targeting this search engine.

For pages targeting Russian audiences specifically, Yandex still remains relevant (it has a comparable search engine market share in Russia as Google). Their latest comments on the matter in fact state that meta keywords can be used in determining value and relevance of pages, meaning that meta keywords still likely have direct relevance when targeting Yandex.

Other smaller, niche search engines may utilize meta keywords as well. However, the biggest targets for most brands in terms of search engines fall into the above four platforms.

Ultimately, meta keywords are fairly irrelevant in today’s world of SEO and marketing. However, there are niche examples where their usage – or usage by your competitors – can produce tangible value for your brand.