Cherry from CraveBeautyOnline.com asks:
“I was reading SEO tips today and I have two questions… Is it true that meta keywords are no longer required or advisable? If so, should I delete them? Also, what are “brand anchor text links”?
Hi Cherry,
It is true that the major search engines such as Google do not use keywords as part of their ranking algorithm but I would be very hesitant to delete keywords from your meta tags. One thing that we know Google likes is “perfection”, and the proper use of “structure”. So even though Google is not using those specific keywords in ranking your site, it may be looking at the overall use of how your website is structured, making sure that your code is optimized well. My recommendation is “DO NOT TRY TO DO WHAT YOU THINK GOOGLE WANTS YOU TO DO” – but to be honest, use the keywords meta tags properly, and make your content user friendly and informative.
The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) is the group that forms web standards, and as long as they list something as a best practice, I would recommend doing what they suggest. Should the W3C say that meta keywords are no longer a part of properly structured websites, then – and only then would I remove them. View the W3C HTML Elements meta page. But, one must use them properly. You should NEVER load up that field with a string of words. Only pick a few of the most important keywords for the page they are being used on. Never put a word in the meta keywords that does not appear somewhere on the page.
As far as “Brand Anchor Text Links”. This would be using “Anchor Text” to build brand awareness. Google and the other search engines are getting a lot smarter, and they are able to now understand the “context” in which paragraphs are written. I believe what this person is suggesting is to make sure if you are link building, that the text you are linking from sounds realistic. Keywords that are hyper-linked are now more “suspect” than “Click Here”, or “Brand Anchor Text Links” – in the sense that the search engines are smart enough to realize that not every blogger links to a website via keywords alone. It makes sense to have links to your website from “Click Here”, or “www.yourbrand.com”.
For Example:
Suspect Anchor Text: The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) is an international community that develops open standards to ensure the long-term growth of the Web.
Brand Anchor Text: The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) is an international community that develops open standards to ensure the long-term growth of the Web.
Google and the other search engines are evolving to the point where they just want you to “be real”. You don’t have to “game the system” if you really do the best you can do, and provide value.
Best of Luck, and Happy SEO!
Joe
