Meta keywords on top 1M homepages by platform
| Platform | Has meta keywords | Empty tag (share of homepages with it) | Homepages |
|---|---|---|---|
| WordPress | 7.0% | 10.8% | 113,593 |
| Shopify | 3.8% | 2.5% | 47,127 |
| Webflow | 5.9% | 11.7% | 2,589 |
| Wix | 18.9% | 0.0% | 899 |
| Squarespace | 0.6% | n/a (3 sites) | 513 |
| Other or custom | 34.8% | 13.4% | 618,129 |
| All homepages | 28.8% | 13.2% | 782,850 |
Source: PageSpeed Matters, Sept 2026. Empty tag is the share of homepages with the tag whose content is blank.
Summary
The meta keywords tag was once a way to tell search engines what a page was about. It was abused so heavily that Google stopped using it for ranking, and said so publicly in 2009. Yet the tag is still easy to find in page source.
We counted how many of the web's most visited homepages still carry it. Of 782,850 homepages in the top 1M sites by Chrome traffic, 225,157 (28.8%) have a meta keywords tag. Sites on popular platforms rarely carry it, while custom-built sites and the very biggest sites keep it most often.
What we measured
We used the HTTP Archive crawl from September 2026, on mobile, and looked at the meta tags on homepages in the top 1M sites by Chrome traffic. A homepage counts if it has a meta element named exactly "keywords". We call the tag empty when its content attribute is blank.
Popularity tiers come from Chrome UX Report rank buckets. Platform is the site platform detected on each homepage: Shopify, Wix, Squarespace, Webflow or WordPress, with everything else grouped as other or custom.
This is a point-in-time count from one crawl, so it shows how many sites carry the tag today, not whether that number is rising or falling. It covers homepages only, and inner pages may differ.
More than a quarter of top homepages still use the tag
28.8% of 782,850 top-1M homepages (225,157) carry a meta keywords tag. For a tag Google has ignored for ranking since 2009, that is a large share of the most visited sites on the web.
A good part of it does nothing even on its own terms. 13.2% of the homepages with the tag (29,833) leave it empty, so the tag is there but says nothing. Empty tags like these are most likely left behind by an old template or plugin setting rather than added on purpose.
28.8%
Share of 782,850 top-1M homepages that still carry a meta keywords tag.
Platform sites rarely carry meta keywords
Platform makes a big difference. 7.0% of 113,593 WordPress homepages, 3.8% of 47,127 Shopify homepages, 5.9% of 2,589 Webflow homepages and 0.6% of 513 Squarespace homepages carry the tag. On other or custom stacks it is 34.8% of 618,129 homepages.
The likely reason is defaults. Popular platforms generally do not add the tag by default, so it usually appears only when a theme, plugin or site owner puts it there. Custom sites keep whatever their original templates included, and some likely date from when the tag was still standard.
Wix is the exception among site builders, with 18.9% of 899 Wix homepages still carrying a meta keywords tag. None of those Wix tags were empty (0.0% in the table), which suggests owners are filling in a keywords field rather than inheriting a blank one. The Wix sample is small, so treat this as a rough figure.
Bigger sites keep the tag more often
The most visited sites are the most likely to carry the tag. 34.6% of 754 Top 1K homepages and 34.3% of 6,746 Top 10K homepages use meta keywords, against 31.7% in the Top 100K and 28.4% in the Top 1M tier.
Large sites tend to run on custom stacks with long histories, and old head templates often survive several redesigns. Some also use the tag for internal site search or other tools, which is a reason to check before removing it.
What this means for your site
A meta keywords tag will not help you rank in Google, and an empty one does nothing at all. It is low priority, but worth cleaning up when you next touch your templates.
- View your homepage source and search for name="keywords" to see whether you have the tag.
- If it is empty, remove it from the template or turn off the setting that outputs it.
- If it is filled in, check whether any internal tool, such as site search, reads it before you remove it.
- Spend the effort on tags Google does use instead: a clear title tag, a useful meta description and a correct canonical.
- It can also show competitors the keywords you are targeting, which is one more reason to drop it.
Sources
- HTTP Archive crawl, September 2026, mobile, top 1M sites by Chrome traffic
- Google Search Central, meta tags and attributes that Google supports: https://developers.google.com/search/docs/crawling-indexing/special-tags
Frequently asked questions
Does Google use the meta keywords tag?
No. Google has ignored the meta keywords tag for ranking since 2009, so filling it in does not help a page rank.
What percentage of websites still use meta keywords?
28.8% of 782,850 homepages in the top 1M sites by Chrome traffic (225,157) still carry a meta keywords tag, and 13.2% of those leave it empty.
Which platforms still use meta keywords?
Custom and other stacks use it most, at 34.8% of homepages. Wix is the highest site builder at 18.9%, against 7.0% on WordPress, 3.8% on Shopify and 0.6% on Squarespace.
Should I remove the meta keywords tag?
It is safe to remove for Google, and an empty tag does nothing. Check first that no internal tool, such as site search, reads it.
Old tags like meta keywords are a sign of templates nobody has reviewed in years, and a template cleanup is often where bigger technical fixes turn up. Need help with this? See our technical SEO services.