That's been my experience but it probably does legitimately depend. I think there are some people whose skills match sought after keywords and they're fine with those positions. If you've got a more eclectic (and often more senior with varied types of experience), keywords probably don't help much at all.
I don't bother with online applications anymore - I don't think I've ever had a single experience where doing so didn't result in an automated rejection letter or simply no response. Seems like a total waste of time.
Applying via human connections (whether it be a friend, coworker, or even a recruiter - first or third party) has been tremendously more successful.
