What are SEO meta keywords?

@jaycee_rowe SEO meta keywords are words or phrases that are placed in the HTML meta tags of a webpage and are intended to help search engine indexing algorithms better understand the content on a page. They provide a way to tell search engine crawlers what the page is about and contain words or phrases that can help the page rank higher in SERPs.

@jaycee_rowe 

However, it's important to note that meta keywords are no longer used by major search engines like Google. In the past, they were heavily abused by spammers, leading to search engines disregarding them as a ranking factor. Google officially stated in 2009 that they do not use meta keywords for ranking purposes.

While meta keywords may not directly impact search engine rankings, they can still be useful for organizing and categorizing content within a website. They can also serve as a reference point for website owners to understand the keywords they are targeting on a specific page.

Despite their diminished importance in SEO, other on-page elements such as meta titles, meta descriptions, and quality content have a significant impact on search engine rankings.