diff --git a/instana/instrumentation/asynqp.py b/instana/instrumentation/asynqp.py
index 851edbb6..c78f22ab 100644
--- a/instana/instrumentation/asynqp.py
+++ b/instana/instrumentation/asynqp.py
@@ -31,7 +31,9 @@ def publish_with_instana(wrapped, instance, argv, kwargs):
                 scope.span.set_tag("sort", "publish")
                 scope.span.set_tag("address", host + ":" + str(port) )
 
-                if len(argv) > 1 and argv[1] is not None:
+                if 'routing_key' in kwargs:
+                    scope.span.set_tag("key", kwargs['routing_key'])
+                elif len(argv) > 1 and argv[1] is not None:
                     scope.span.set_tag("key", argv[1])
 
                 rv = wrapped(*argv, **kwargs)
diff --git a/tests/test_asynqp.py b/tests/test_asynqp.py
index 1569d607..e920898f 100644
--- a/tests/test_asynqp.py
+++ b/tests/test_asynqp.py
@@ -61,7 +61,6 @@ async def fetch(self, session, url, headers=None):
         except aiohttp.web_exceptions.HTTPException:
             pass
 
-
     def test_publish(self):
         @asyncio.coroutine
         def test():
@@ -100,6 +99,44 @@ def test():
         self.assertTrue(type(rabbitmq_span.stack) is list)
         self.assertGreater(len(rabbitmq_span.stack), 0)
 
+    def test_publish_alternative(self):
+        @asyncio.coroutine
+        def test():
+            with async_tracer.start_active_span('test'):
+                msg = asynqp.Message({'hello': 'world'}, content_type='application/json')
+                self.exchange.publish(msg, routing_key='routing.key')
+
+        self.loop.run_until_complete(test())
+
+        spans = self.recorder.queued_spans()
+        self.assertEqual(2, len(spans))
+
+        rabbitmq_span = spans[0]
+        test_span = spans[1]
+
+        self.assertIsNone(async_tracer.active_span)
+
+        # Same traceId
+        self.assertEqual(test_span.t, rabbitmq_span.t)
+
+        # Parent relationships
+        self.assertEqual(rabbitmq_span.p, test_span.s)
+
+        # Error logging
+        self.assertFalse(test_span.error)
+        self.assertIsNone(test_span.ec)
+        self.assertFalse(rabbitmq_span.error)
+        self.assertIsNone(rabbitmq_span.ec)
+
+        # Rabbitmq
+        self.assertEqual('test.exchange', rabbitmq_span.data.rabbitmq.exchange)
+        self.assertEqual('publish', rabbitmq_span.data.rabbitmq.sort)
+        self.assertIsNotNone(rabbitmq_span.data.rabbitmq.address)
+        self.assertEqual('routing.key', rabbitmq_span.data.rabbitmq.key)
+        self.assertIsNotNone(rabbitmq_span.stack)
+        self.assertTrue(type(rabbitmq_span.stack) is list)
+        self.assertGreater(len(rabbitmq_span.stack), 0)
+
     def test_many_publishes(self):
         @asyncio.coroutine
         def test():