Meta Keywords Analysis: What It Is and Why It Matters in SEO

Meta keywords analysis is a term you might come across if you’re delving into the world of SEO. In this article, you’ll learn what meta keywords are, why they were once important (and why they mostly aren’t now), and what proper keyword analysis means for your digital marketing strategy. We'll also clear up common confusions and show you exactly how to approach keyword analysis in 2024.

What Are Meta Keywords?

Meta keywords are a type of meta tag—code snippets you place in the section of your web page that used to help search engines understand what your content was about. For example:

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Back in the early days of search engines, this tag helped sites rank for relevant searches. Site owners would add a list of target keywords, hoping to influence their site’s ranking. However, because the tag was invisible to users and easy to abuse (keyword stuffing, irrelevant words), search engines eventually stopped using it as a ranking factor.

Are Meta Keywords Still Important for SEO?

For Google, meta keywords are now obsolete—the search engine ignores them entirely. Bing and Yahoo also place little to no value on these tags. Instead, modern SEO focuses on the quality of your content, how well it matches search intent, and traditional on-page elements like title tags, meta descriptions, headings, and natural keyword usage within your content.

If you’re using a CMS like WordPress or Shopify, you can usually ignore the meta keywords field and focus your energy elsewhere.

What Does Meta Keywords Analysis Mean Today?

When people talk about "meta keywords analysis" nowadays, they’re often really asking about keyword analysis in general—identifying which keywords are most valuable for your content or business, and how to use them effectively on your site.

Modern Keyword Analysis

Proper keyword analysis involves:

You can use free tools like the Keyword Difficulty Checker on KeywordNumbers to analyse which keywords are achievable and valuable for your site.

Worked Example: Analysing Keywords for a Running Blog

Suppose you run a blog about beginner running. You want to choose between targeting “how to start running” and “running tips”.

Let’s look at hypothetical keyword data:

If you’re just starting out, focusing your content on “how to start running” could yield better results. You can always expand to more competitive keywords as your authority grows.

If you’re writing about running, you might mention “5 kilometres (3.1 miles)” to suit both metric and imperial audiences.

How to Optimise Your SEO Without Meta Keywords

For a free, simple way to check keyword difficulty, try the Keyword Difficulty Checker.

Questions People Are Actually Asking

What are meta keywords?

Meta keywords are a type of meta tag placed in a web page’s HTML code to list target keywords for search engines. They are now largely ignored by modern search engines.

Are meta keywords important?

No, meta keywords are not important for SEO today. Major search engines like Google and Bing do not use them as a ranking factor. Focus on other SEO best practices instead.

How to put keywords on meta ads?

If you’re running Meta (Facebook) ads, you don’t use meta keywords tags. Instead, you target keywords through audience interests and behaviour settings within the Meta Ads platform. There’s no HTML code involved.

What is keyword analysis?

Keyword analysis is the process of researching and evaluating keywords to identify which ones you should target for your website or content. It’s essential for understanding your audience and improving your search visibility.

How to perform a meta analysis?

In academic research, a meta-analysis is a statistical method for combining results from multiple studies to identify trends or overall effects. In SEO, however, ‘meta analysis’ usually refers to analysing meta data (like title tags and descriptions), not combining studies.

How to read a meta-analysis?

To read a meta-analysis (in research), review how the studies were selected, what statistical methods were used, and what conclusions were drawn. In SEO, if someone refers to a ‘meta analysis’, clarify whether they mean research or analysing meta tags/data.

How to write a meta analysis?

In research, you conduct a meta-analysis by systematically collecting data from multiple studies, statistically analysing it, and reporting your findings. In SEO, focus on writing strong meta tags (titles, descriptions) rather than meta keywords.

Conclusion

While meta keywords analysis was once a hot topic in SEO, it’s no longer relevant for modern search engines. Instead, focus on genuine keyword analysis—finding and targeting the words your audience actually searches for. Use free tools like the Keyword Difficulty Checker to help you get started, and prioritise high-quality content and smart optimisation for real results.

Free tools to put this into practice

Reading is one thing — testing your own pages is what moves the needle. Here are the free KeywordNumbers tools that pair best with this guide:

Every one of our free SEO tools is genuinely free to use, with no sign-up required.