Do Meta Keywords still matter for good search engine rankings? The answer is YES. Even though Google does not use meta keywords - they do use them indirectly. The benefit from using meta keywords is indirect. Though Google does not use meta keywords to increase or decide the rank of your website, Google does use the keywords for a different purpose.

Google highlights meta keywords, keywords in your title, and keywords in your meta description and provides searchers with visual cues about how your website relates to their search query.

These visual cues are bold keywords that will motivate the users to click on your website. This is called a click-through. Increased click-throughs prove to Google and other search engines how relevant your website is for that search query. The more relevant your site is on a given topic - the more likely the search engines will reward the site with higher rankings.

Get the specifics of how to push your site to the top of Google's rankings with an SEO Checklist