Keywords or Keyword?

TechGeekPro wrote:
 > <meta name="keywords" content="">
 > No forward slash.

including the slash following a space will meet strict html validation
for the tag. leaving it out will cause it to fail. There are a couple
of killers for meta tags that could cause a robot to skip the whole
attribute: forums and any hyperlink. I've got both in mine and keep
meaning to fix that ...

*grumble*

Judy
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 >> Stay informed about: Keywords or Keyword? 

In article <jq6dncV5Y5jfIQzdRVn-jg.DeleteThis@adelphia.com>, %username%@yahoo.com
says...
 > <meta name="keywords" content="">
 > No forward slash.

In valid XHTML, all tags need to be closed. Within the tag itself if
necessery.

Example:

<meta name="keywords" content="yellow widgets" />

<img src="/images/yellow-widgets/jpg" alt="Yellow Widgets" />

<br />

Tags like <p>Yellow Widgets</p> remain the same.

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 >> Stay informed about: Keywords or Keyword? 

TechnoHippie wrote:

 > TechGeekPro wrote:
  >> <meta name="keywords" content="">
  >> No forward slash.
 >
 > including the slash following a space will meet strict html validation
 > for the tag. leaving it out will cause it to fail.

Huh? I think you meant: include the slash if you're using XHTML, leave it
out if you're using HTML.

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 >> Stay informed about: Keywords or Keyword? 

On Fri, 30 Apr 2004 02:31:18 GMT, "Davis Howard"
<davis.howard.TakeThisOut@worldnet.att.net> declared in alt.www.webmaster:

 > <meta name="keywords" content=""/> or <meta name="keyword" content=""/> ?

Neither. It certainly won't help your search engine rankings, and may
(probably will) hurt them.

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 >> Stay informed about: Keywords or Keyword? 

On Fri, 30 Apr 2004 12:37:39 +1000, Mark Parnell
<webmaster.TakeThisOut@clarkecomputers.com.au> wrote:

 > On Fri, 30 Apr 2004 02:31:18 GMT, "Davis Howard"
 > <davis.howard.TakeThisOut@worldnet.att.net> declared in alt.www.webmaster:
 >
  >> <meta name="keywords" content=""/> or <meta name="keyword" content=""/>
  >> ?
 >
 > Neither. It certainly won't help your search engine rankings, and may
 > (probably will) hurt them.

Google (and most other search engines) might ignore your "keywords" meta
tags, but they *certainly* would not penalize you for having a legitimate
tag that's part of the specifications. In most situations these days,
keyword tags are used to support internally built search engines or
reference engines. Google wouldn't penalize you for using a tag which
only *might* be being used maliciously.

Grey

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 >> Stay informed about: Keywords or Keyword? 

On Thu, 29 Apr 2004 22:59:33 -0400, GreyWyvern
<SP_bhuisman.DeleteThis@greywyvern.com_am> declared in alt.www.webmaster:

 > On Fri, 30 Apr 2004 12:37:39 +1000, Mark Parnell
 > <webmaster.DeleteThis@clarkecomputers.com.au> wrote:
 >
  >> On Fri, 30 Apr 2004 02:31:18 GMT, "Davis Howard"
  >> <davis.howard.DeleteThis@worldnet.att.net> declared in alt.www.webmaster:
  >>
   >>> <meta name="keywords" content=""/> or <meta name="keyword" content=""/>
   >>> ?
  >>
  >> Neither. It certainly won't help your search engine rankings, and may
  >> (probably will) hurt them.
 >
 > Google (and most other search engines) might ignore your "keywords" meta
 > tags,

At best that is what they do. Perhaps one or two minor ones still use
it, but certainly none of the major search engines do.

 > Google wouldn't penalize you for using a tag which
 > only *might* be being used maliciously.

No one (outside Google) really knows for sure, but lots of studies have
been done on it, and some SEO experts believe that Google will penalise
sites that use the keywords meta tag. Maybe they do, maybe they don't.
Or maybe they do but only if certain conditions are met. Either way it
is safer to not use it, because it certainly won't help.

--
Mark Parnell
<a style='text-decoration: underline;' href="http://www.clarkecomputers.com.au" target="_blank">http://www.clarkecomputers.com.au</a><!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
 >> Stay informed about: Keywords or Keyword? 

On Fri, 30 Apr 2004 13:16:15 +1000, Mark Parnell
<webmaster DeleteThis @clarkecomputers.com.au> wrote:

 > On Thu, 29 Apr 2004 22:59:33 -0400, GreyWyvern
 > <SP_bhuisman DeleteThis @greywyvern.com_am> declared in alt.www.webmaster:
 >
  >> On Fri, 30 Apr 2004 12:37:39 +1000, Mark Parnell
  >> <webmaster DeleteThis @clarkecomputers.com.au> wrote:
  >>
   >>> On Fri, 30 Apr 2004 02:31:18 GMT, "Davis Howard"
   >>> <davis.howard DeleteThis @worldnet.att.net> declared in alt.www.webmaster:
   >>>
   >>>> <meta name="keywords" content=""/> or <meta name="keyword"
   >>>> content=""/>
   >>>> ?
   >>>
   >>> Neither. It certainly won't help your search engine rankings, and may
   >>> (probably will) hurt them.
  >>
  >> Google (and most other search engines) might ignore your "keywords" meta
  >> tags,
 >
 > At best that is what they do. Perhaps one or two minor ones still use
 > it, but certainly none of the major search engines do.

Of course. But I wasn't referring to that as their main use for today's
webmaster. A site built with a proper and relevant keywords meta tag can
be indexed by that site's internal search engine.

Google can't control all the sites on the web, which is why they ignore
the keywords meta tag. However, as the manager of one, or a collection
of, domains, you certainly can control meta tag corruption.

Excessively long keywords meta tags might very well be penalized by
Google, yet the above mentioned *legitmate* use of them is veritable proof
that they are safe to use when used properly. It is false logic tinged
with paranoia which says Google will penalize you for an HTML tag used
properly. It would be akin to getting arrested for stopping at a stop
sign just because the last five guys blew by without slowing down.

  >> Google wouldn't penalize you for using a tag which
  >> only *might* be being used maliciously.
 >
 > No one (outside Google) really knows for sure, but lots of studies have
 > been done on it, and some SEO experts believe that Google will penalise
 > sites that use the keywords meta tag. Maybe they do, maybe they don't.
 > Or maybe they do but only if certain conditions are met. Either way it
 > is safer to not use it, because it certainly won't help.

It's probably true that a keywords meta tag 500 characters long will
probably get you in Google's bad-books, I'm not arguing with you about
that. But unless Google is interested in demoting sites who use the
keyword tag properly for their own internal use, there is no way such a
tag, properly used, can harm your SERPs.

- For instance, a search for "homes" brings up <a style='text-decoration: underline;' href="http://www.homes.com" target="_blank">www.homes.com</a> which sports
a HUGE keywords tag. Noe of the words are indexed of course, but the site
is still #1.

- How about a search for "scripts" which brings up <a style='text-decoration: underline;' href="http://www.hotscripts.com" target="_blank">www.hotscripts.com</a> as
#1. This site also has a keywords meta tag, although in this case it's of
reasonable length.

- Finally, how about "computers", a *highly* lucrative search term if ever
there was one. <a style='text-decoration: underline;' href="http://www.apple.com" target="_blank">www.apple.com</a> comes up #1 for this one and, surprise
surprise, they also have a keywords meta tag, albeit one which only
contains the term "Apple Computer".

There is no "taint" on the keywords meta tag with respect to search
engines. And any SEO who tells you otherwise is just spreading FUD. Of
course, paranoia is good for their business.

Grey

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 >> Stay informed about: Keywords or Keyword? 

Toby A Inkster wrote:

 > TechnoHippie wrote:
 >
 >
  >>TechGeekPro wrote:
  >>
   >>><meta name="keywords" content="">
   >>>No forward slash.
  >>
  >>including the slash following a space will meet strict html validation
  >>for the tag. leaving it out will cause it to fail.
 >
 >
 > Huh? I think you meant: include the slash if you're using XHTML, leave it
 > out if you're using HTML.
 >

Thank you, Toby. My "ecks" key is stuck

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 >> Stay informed about: Keywords or Keyword? 

TechnoHippie wrote:

 > My "ecks" key is stuck

Try ><.

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 >> Stay informed about: Keywords or Keyword? 

Hello Webmasters, all of my keywords exceeded 500 characters.....some as
much as 800. However, I suspect Googlebot could not read my keywords
because I used <meta name="keyword" content="my keywords list" />. The meta
tag analyzers online cannot read my keywords. I removed all of them.
Obviously, I have no use for keywords. I'll spend more time optimizing my
description and title tags.

I'm heavily dependent on AT&T and PayPal servers. These servers are down
regularly for maintenance. I think Googlebot's schedule is conflicting with
maintenance.

What is a safe character count for a single keyword phrase?

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===============================
"GreyWyvern" <SP_bhuisman.RemoveThis@greywyvern.com_am> wrote in message
news:opr69u7mktsqnzwn@news.nas.net...
 > On Fri, 30 Apr 2004 13:16:15 +1000, Mark Parnell
 > <webmaster.RemoveThis@clarkecomputers.com.au> wrote:
 >
  > > On Thu, 29 Apr 2004 22:59:33 -0400, GreyWyvern
  > > <SP_bhuisman.RemoveThis@greywyvern.com_am> declared in alt.www.webmaster:
  > >
   > >> On Fri, 30 Apr 2004 12:37:39 +1000, Mark Parnell
   > >> <webmaster.RemoveThis@clarkecomputers.com.au> wrote:
   > >>
   > >>> On Fri, 30 Apr 2004 02:31:18 GMT, "Davis Howard"
   > >>> <davis.howard.RemoveThis@worldnet.att.net> declared in alt.www.webmaster:
   > >>>
   > >>>> <meta name="keywords" content=""/> or <meta name="keyword"
   > >>>> content=""/>
   > >>>> ?
   > >>>
   > >>> Neither. It certainly won't help your search engine rankings, and may
   > >>> (probably will) hurt them.
   > >>
   > >> Google (and most other search engines) might ignore your "keywords"
meta
   > >> tags,
  > >
  > > At best that is what they do. Perhaps one or two minor ones still use
  > > it, but certainly none of the major search engines do.
 >
 > Of course. But I wasn't referring to that as their main use for today's
 > webmaster. A site built with a proper and relevant keywords meta tag can
 > be indexed by that site's internal search engine.
 >
 > Google can't control all the sites on the web, which is why they ignore
 > the keywords meta tag. However, as the manager of one, or a collection
 > of, domains, you certainly can control meta tag corruption.
 >
 > Excessively long keywords meta tags might very well be penalized by
 > Google, yet the above mentioned *legitmate* use of them is veritable proof
 > that they are safe to use when used properly. It is false logic tinged
 > with paranoia which says Google will penalize you for an HTML tag used
 > properly. It would be akin to getting arrested for stopping at a stop
 > sign just because the last five guys blew by without slowing down.
 >
   > >> Google wouldn't penalize you for using a tag which
   > >> only *might* be being used maliciously.
  > >
  > > No one (outside Google) really knows for sure, but lots of studies have
  > > been done on it, and some SEO experts believe that Google will penalise
  > > sites that use the keywords meta tag. Maybe they do, maybe they don't.
  > > Or maybe they do but only if certain conditions are met. Either way it
  > > is safer to not use it, because it certainly won't help.
 >
 > It's probably true that a keywords meta tag 500 characters long will
 > probably get you in Google's bad-books, I'm not arguing with you about
 > that. But unless Google is interested in demoting sites who use the
 > keyword tag properly for their own internal use, there is no way such a
 > tag, properly used, can harm your SERPs.
 >
 > - For instance, a search for "homes" brings up <a style='text-decoration: underline;' href="http://www.homes.com" target="_blank">www.homes.com</a> which sports
 > a HUGE keywords tag. Noe of the words are indexed of course, but the site
 > is still #1.
 >
 > - How about a search for "scripts" which brings up <a style='text-decoration: underline;' href="http://www.hotscripts.com" target="_blank">www.hotscripts.com</a> as
 > #1. This site also has a keywords meta tag, although in this case it's of
 > reasonable length.
 >
 > - Finally, how about "computers", a *highly* lucrative search term if ever
 > there was one. <a style='text-decoration: underline;' href="http://www.apple.com" target="_blank">www.apple.com</a> comes up #1 for this one and, surprise
 > surprise, they also have a keywords meta tag, albeit one which only
 > contains the term "Apple Computer".
 >
 > There is no "taint" on the keywords meta tag with respect to search
 > engines. And any SEO who tells you otherwise is just spreading FUD. Of
 > course, paranoia is good for their business.
 >
 > Grey
 >
 > --
 > The technical axiom that nothing is impossible sinisterly implies the
 > pitfall corollory that nothing is ridiculous.
 > - <a style='text-decoration: underline;' href="http://www.greywyvern.com" target="_blank">http://www.greywyvern.com</a> - Orca Knowledgebase: Completely CSS styleable
 > Knowledgebase/FAQ system<!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
 >> Stay informed about: Keywords or Keyword? 

On Fri, 30 Apr 2004 09:46:24 -0400, GreyWyvern
<SP_bhuisman.DeleteThis@greywyvern.com_am> declared in alt.www.webmaster:

 > But unless Google is interested in demoting sites who use the
 > keyword tag properly for their own internal use, there is no way such a
 > tag, properly used, can harm your SERPs.

Fair enough. You make a good argument. Personally I still think it is
safer not to use it (and certainly not 800 characters as Davis said),
but if you need it for internal use, then you could be right - maybe it
won't harm your rankings. As I said, I have seen a number of people
claim it will.

 > There is no "taint" on the keywords meta tag with respect to search
 > engines. And any SEO who tells you otherwise is just spreading FUD. Of
 > course, paranoia is good for their business.

LOL. Good point.

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 >> Stay informed about: Keywords or Keyword?