Do you know that there are certain words that are ignored by search engines like Google, Bing, Yahoo, DuckDuckGo, and the others?
These words are called SEO stop words.
In this article, we’ll list all the SEO stop words that we know search engines ignore.
Contents
Why Search Engines Ignore SEO Stop Words?
Stop words are generally very common words.
Search engines usually ignore these words to save space in their database.
These words are used very frequently in the article text and if search engines will save them in their database, the size of the database will increase and it will affect the query processing time.
Ignoring stop words also helps in speed up the process of crawling and indexing.
Where Should You Avoid Using These Words To Strengthen Your On-Page SEO?
If you’re concerned about your site’s SEO, there are some areas where you should avoid using these words.
As we all know that Google has a set limit to display the number of characters in the search snippet. Google shows the title, URL, and meta description in a search result.
Since Google ignore stop words, we should not use them in the following places
- Page Title
- Page URL
- Page Meta Description
- Image Alt Tag
We know ignoring them completely could be a problem for many but we can limit the use of stop words for better SEO.
Complete List of SEO Stop Words
Below is the complete list of SEO stop words for your knowledge.
A
- able
- about
- above
- abroad
- according
- accordingly
- across
- actually
- adj
- after
- afterwards
- again
- against
- ago
- ahead
- ain’t
- all
- allow
- allows
- almost
- alone
- along
- alongside
- already
- also
- although
- always
- am
- amid
- amidst
- among
- amongst
- an
- and
- another
- any
- anybody
- anyhow
- anyone
- anything
- anyway
- anyways
- anywhere
- apart
- appear
- appreciate
- appropriate
- are
- aren’t
- around
- as
- a’s
- aside
- ask
- asking
- associated
- at
- available
- away
- awfully
B
- back
- backward
- backwards
- be
- became
- because
- become
- becomes
- becoming
- been
- before
- beforehand
- begin
- behind
- being
- believe
- below
- beside
- besides
- best
- better
- between
- beyond
- both
- brief
- but
- by
C
- came
- can
- cannot
- cant
- can’t
- caption
- cause
- causes
- certain
- certainly
- changes
- clearly
- c’mon
- co
- com
- come
- comes
- concerning
- consequently
- consider
- considering
- contain
- containing
- contains
- corresponding
- could
- couldn’t
- course
- c’s
- currently
D
- dare
- daren’t
- definitely
- described
- despite
- did
- didn’t
- different
- directly
- do
- does
- doesn’t
- doing
- done
- don’t
- down
- downwards
- during
E
- each
- edu
- eg
- eight
- eighty
- either
- else
- elsewhere
- end
- ending
- enough
- entirely
- especially
- et
- etc
- even
- ever
- evermore
- every
- everybody
- everyone
- everything
- everywhere
- ex
- exactly
- example
- except
F
- fairly
- far
- farther
- few
- fewer
- fifth
- first
- five
- followed
- following
- follows
- for
- forever
- former
- formerly
- forth
- forward
- found
- four
- from
- further
- furthermore
G
- get
- gets
- getting
- given
- gives
- go
- goes
- going
- gone
- got
- gotten
- greetings
H
- had
- hadn’t
- half
- happens
- hardly
- has
- hasn’t
- have
- haven’t
- having
- he
- he’d
- he’ll
- hello
- help
- hence
- her
- here
- hereafter
- hereby
- herein
- here’s
- hereupon
- hers
- herself
- he’s
- hi
- him
- himself
- his
- hither
- hopefully
- how
- howbeit
- however
- hundred
I
- i’d
- ie
- if
- ignored
- i’ll
- i’m
- immediate
- in
- inasmuch
- inc
- indeed
- indicate
- indicated
- indicates
- inner
- inside
- insofar
- instead
- into
- inward
- is
- isn’t
- it
- it’d
- it’ll
- its
- it’s
- itself
- i’ve
J
- just
K
- keep
- keeps
- kept
- know
- known
- knows
L
- last
- lately
- later
- latter
- latterly
- least
- less
- lest
- let
- let’s
- like
- liked
- likely
- likewise
- little
- look
- looking
- looks
- low
- lower
- ltd
M
- made
- mainly
- make
- makes
- many
- may
- maybe
- mayn’t
- me
- mean
- meantime
- meanwhile
- merely
- might
- mightn’t
- mine
- minus
- miss
- more
- moreover
- most
- mostly
- mr
- mrs
- much
- must
- mustn’t
- my
- myself
N
- name
- namely
- nd
- near
- nearly
- necessary
- need
- needn’t
- needs
- neither
- never
- neverf
- neverless
- nevertheless
- new
- next
- nine
- ninety
- no
- nobody
- non
- none
- nonetheless
- noone
- no-one
- nor
- normally
- not
- nothing
- notwithstanding
- novel
- now
- nowhere
O
- obviously
- of
- off
- often
- oh
- ok
- okay
- old
- on
- once
- one
- ones
- one’s
- only
- onto
- opposite
- or
- other
- others
- otherwise
- ought
- oughtn’t
- our
- ours
- ourselves
- out
- outside
- over
- overall
- own
P
- particular
- particularly
- past
- per
- perhaps
- placed
- please
- plus
- possible
- presumably
- probably
- provided
- provides
Q
- que
- quite
- qv
R
- rather
- rd
- re
- really
- reasonably
- recent
- recently
- regarding
- regardless
- regards
- relatively
- respectively
- right
- round
S
- said
- same
- saw
- say
- saying
- says
- second
- secondly
- see
- seeing
- seem
- seemed
- seeming
- seems
- seen
- self
- selves
- sensible
- sent
- serious
- seriously
- seven
- several
- shall
- shan’t
- she
- she’d
- she’ll
- she’s
- should
- shouldn’t
- since
- six
- so
- some
- somebody
- someday
- somehow
- someone
- something
- sometime
- sometimes
- somewhat
- somewhere
- soon
- sorry
- specified
- specify
- specifying
- still
- sub
- such
- sup
- sure
T
- take
- taken
- taking
- tell
- tends
- th
- than
- thank
- thanks
- thanx
- that
- that’ll
- thats
- that’s
- that’ve
- the
- their
- theirs
- them
- themselves
- then
- thence
- there
- thereafter
- thereby
- there’d
- therefore
- therein
- there’ll
- there’re
- theres
- there’s
- thereupon
- there’ve
- these
- they
- they’d
- they’ll
- they’re
- they’ve
- thing
- things
- think
- third
- thirty
- this
- thorough
- thoroughly
- those
- though
- three
- through
- throughout
- thru
- thus
- till
- to
- together
- too
- took
- toward
- towards
- tried
- tries
- truly
- try
- trying
- t’s
- twice
- two
U
- un
- under
- underneath
- undoing
- unfortunately
- unless
- unlike
- unlikely
- until
- unto
- up
- upon
- upwards
- us
- use
- used
- useful
- uses
- using
- usually
V
- value
- various
- versus
- very
- via
- viz
- vs
W
- want
- wants
- was
- wasn’t
- way
- we
- we’d
- welcome
- well
- we’ll
- went
- were
- we’re
- weren’t
- we’ve
- what
- whatever
- what’ll
- what’s
- what’ve
- when
- whence
- whenever
- where
- whereafter
- whereas
- whereby
- wherein
- where’s
- whereupon
- wherever
- whether
- which
- whichever
- while
- whilst
- whither
- who
- who’d
- whoever
- whole
- who’ll
- whom
- whomever
- who’s
- whose
- why
- will
- willing
- wish
- with
- within
- without
- wonder
- won’t
- would
- wouldn’t
Y
- yes
- yet
- you
- you’d
- you’ll
- your
- you’re
- yours
- yourself
- yourselves
- you’ve
Z
- zero
So this was the complete list of SEO stop words. If you think I have missed any word, feel free to let me know in the comment section below.
I believe that every SEO should know about the stop words. This is very helpful for you in on-page optimization.