SEO meta keywords were an HTML meta tag where webmasters listed relevant keywords for their page, intended to help search engines understand content topics. However, due to widespread abuse and keyword stuffing, Google stopped using meta keywords as a ranking factor in 2009, and most other major search engines followed suit. Today, meta keywords are essentially obsolete for SEO purposes and add no value to your rankings. Some obscure search engines might still reference them, but the effort to maintain them provides no meaningful benefit. Instead, focus your optimisation efforts on title tags, meta descriptions, header tags, and actual page content elements that genuinely impact rankings and user experience. If you encounter old SEO advice recommending meta keywords, it's outdated information.