Blogs are all about posts. Posts can have categories and tags assigned to them; static Pages can’t. Every post ought to be assigned to relevant broad Categories and should have very specific Tags. Each Category and Tag is a one or two word key word descriptor of the content in your post. Categories and Tags provide a means for your posts to be sorted and made available to visitors to your on site (clouds, widget displays, lists), and also make them available to those who have yet to visit.
Potential readers use search engines and when posts are properly constructed and relevant Categories and Tags are accurately assigned to them, they are indexed by search engines and appear in the SERPS (search engine results pages). That means they can be readily located by targeted readers who click through to the posts in question.
Why You Should Tag Your Posts
Search engines detect and use key word descriptor tags when indexing your pages and each tag has a unique descriptive key word term permalink that distributes your pages over the search engines. Use of accurate Categories and Tags helps potential readers doing key word searches locate relevant content in search results, and increases the odds your content will be found by new readers.
Categories and Tags: An Analogy
Tags and Categories are keyword terms used to describe index, locate and retrieve information. Search engines “see” tags and categories as being the same thing and treat them the same way. However when I am asked about assigning Categories and Tags to a post I invoke an analogy.
Categories are like the chapter titles on a Table of Contents of a book. Tags are like the index terms that are found in the back pages of a book. Both are based on key word descriptions that naturally occur in any written language.
Whenever you get confused about categories and tags imagine they are in a library looking for a book on a specific topic. Then, I ask yourself this: Which key words would I use to find book on that topic in a library catalog?
If you change the word “book” to “blog” you will know how to find a blog on any specific topic by typing keywords into a search engine and getting back the results. If you change the word “blog” to “post” and imagine which descriptive key word terms a potential reader might use to look for a post like yours that may help you assign categories and tags more effectively.
Using Categories and Tags Effectively
Select the most relevant keywords that you think other people would type into a search engine and find your blog with. Think in terms of from “broad” (Categories) and “narrow” (Tags). Know also that “less is more”. The aim is to use the least number of relevant key word descriptor terms as possible to accurately describe the contents of any post, and more than a combined total 10 categories and tags on any post is moving towards spamdexing.
Example: Suppose I have a marine mammals of the world blog and I publish my monthly podcasts in posts. The broad Categories would be key word descriptors like “Marine Mammals,” Monthly Podcasts” and the names of the oceans (Atlantic, Pacific, Arctic, Indian, Southern).
The descriptive key word Tags would differentiate individual posts according to their specific subject matter. One might be tagged “dolphins” another may be tagged “sea lions”, etc. The Tags may also reflect the specific geographical area and/or other unique specific subject matter in the podcast posts.
Blog Post title: The Effects of Polar Bear Predation on Seal Populations in Bering Strait.
Categories: Arctic Ocean, Marine Mammals, Monthly Podcasts
Tags: Bering Strait, feeding, predation, polar bears, seals, population
WordPress.com Global Tag Pages
The WordPress.com global tagging pages send traffic to our blogs. How much it delivers to any given blog varies from blog to blog. When one moves to self hosting a WordPress. org blog they and their blog are no longer part of the WordPress.com community. That means their posts no longer appear under the categories and tags found on the WordPress.com global tagging pages.
Tips from wordpress.com support documentation
If you cannot find a newly published post in the wordpress.com global tag listings for the tag and categories you used, there are several possible explanations.
Semantic Tagging
Google’s Matt Cutts | How to Get Better Visibility on Google
Related posts found in this blog:
Content: How to tag and categorize it
WordPress Blogging Tips: Categories and Tags
WordPress.com don’t be a spamdexer
Rogue|Hero
March 11, 2010
Hi timethief!
This is a more understandable way of distinguishing categories from tags. I now know how to use these features on my blog.
Just a question: You see, I also use categories as tags in my posts. Is that sensible? Or am I just wasting time and effort in doing so? I try to keep 10 or less tags for every post, but if I include the categories, I go over the limit.
Your enlightenment would be very much appreciated.
Thanks very much!
Cheers!
Rogue|Hero
timethief
March 11, 2010
I’m happy to hear my analogy worked for you. If you use a any terms as both a Category and a Tag you are off-track. Limit the use of any term to either one or the other but don’t use the same term for both. Each post must belong to at least one category, but does not need to have any tags. See also > http://en.support.wordpress.com/posts/category-management/#converting-categories-to-tags
Rogue|Hero
March 11, 2010
Oh, I see.
Looks like I have a lot of cleaning up to do on my blog. Thanks very much for your enlightenment.
Cheers!
Rogue|Hero
Thomas Stazyk
March 11, 2010
Thanks very much for clearing this up. I never fully understood the terms or how they operated before. This is a big help.
timethief
March 11, 2010
@Thomas
I’m so glad it clarified things for you. Thanks for letting me know. I appreciate it. :)
Christopher
March 11, 2010
Thanks again Timethief!!! Question: the Google guy mentions Google search results title tags. I don’t have any in Google search results, just the name of my blog. How does one ensure a title tag? Thanks…
timethief
March 11, 2010
We cannot use SEO plugins on free hosted wordpress.com blogs. Please read this post and you will find your answer http://onecoolsitebloggingtips.com/2009/08/04/basic-seo-elements-for-bloggers/
writerdood
March 12, 2010
Print Your Blog Day:
http://writerdood.wordpress.com/2010/03/12/print-your-blog-day-friday-march-12/
I think you should use this article.
Leave it laying around a public library or a starbucks or something.
It’s good info!
I used to do search engine optimization for web pages back in the late 90s right before the .com bust. It was all about meta tags and word counts. And, of course, submitting to search engines. It’s all changed, and yet it’s still the same. The algorithms in use have gotten smarter, and cross linking is now taken into account, but keywords and tags still make a difference. I think they always will. Their weight, on the other hand, will vary depending on the cataloging process.
timethief
March 17, 2010
I was late to the party so to speak. Thankfully our library walls and stalls are spam free and there is no Starbucks where I live – in paradise. :)
writerdood
March 18, 2010
Quick, alert the media. Someplace doesn’t have a Starbucks. Don’t worry, they’ll be buying some property near you soon!
timethief
March 18, 2010
No they won’t. Our community is too small for them to be interested in locating a franchise here. We also have our own local coffee shops who make equally as good coffees if not better (free trade coffee). In addition if they did buy property they would have to get it through a rezoning application – fat chance!
alex
March 17, 2010
As a (very) new blogger with a thirst to know and understand more, I really appreciate the clarity and comprehensiveness of the information you provide. I used to think I was a bit smart before I started digging into the ‘how to’ of blogging – there is so much more jargon and correct practice involved than I anticipated! Your site has come up through a couple of my info searches today (tags, keywords, SEO….); this is all such direct, useful stuff. And thank you for your approachable and personable style. Your site is gem and a breath of online fresh air. So thanks!
timethief
March 17, 2010
Hi Alex,
I’m strictly into “white hat” SEO. I don’t overdo anything and I never recommended any “gray” practices. I try to keep my posts on topic and clear enough for beginners to understand and act on so I’m happy to hear your feedback. Use what’s here and you can’t go wrong http://onecoolsitebloggingtips.com/2009/08/04/basic-seo-elements-for-bloggers/
Y’all come back now ‘y’hear? :)
aashish
March 21, 2010
hello time thief, …
Trent Aitken-Smith
March 31, 2010
Thanks for a great article. I had no tags before I read this and when I started using them (and not that many to begin with) I got traffic to my blog the next day. Now I find that people often surf onto my blog via tags and categories. Excellent information, well explained.
Don Murphy
April 4, 2010
What is the best method to create interest and drive traffic to a new blog. Should you post more than once a day?