If there is one thing I see a lot in my work as a blog writer, it is incorrect use of categories and tags. The problems stem primarily from two things: duplication and excessive quantities. I will look at both issues below but will start by defining categories and tags and providing examples of how to use them.
What Are Blog Categories and Tags?
Categories and tags indicate the topics covered in a blog post. Typically, the content management system (CMS) you use for writing your blog posts provides the basic architecture for creating categories and tags; it is up to you to decide what they are.
The category defines the main topic, while the tags indicate any sub-topics discussed in the post.
When writing a post, you assign both a category and one or more tags. The CMS creates links to an index or archive page that lists all of the posts flagged with each category or tag.
You can decide where to display categories and tags. They often appear in the header of a blog post or at the bottom. Some sites display tags in a sidebar.
When a site visitor clicks a category or tag link, they are taken to the appropriate archive page where they can access all of the related posts, as can search engines that follow the same links.
For an example, you can look at the bottom of this post to see the category and tag I’ve assigned to it. They include the same word but capture different things. The category of Writing distinguishes from the other subjects I cover, like editing and small business marketing. The tag of Blog Writing zeroes in on the specific act of writing blog posts. I use tags for specificity within a larger, related category.
Why Use Categories and Tags?
Categories and tags help organize content, kind of like a library classification system. As an example, think of cookbooks.
In a library, there is a large section for cookbooks. In a blog, this would be the category.
On library shelves, the cookbook category is organized by sub-categories: vegetarian, Indian, baking, Chinese, salads, Mexican, desserts, and so on. In a blog, the various types of cooking would be the tags.
A blog post should have only one category indicating the broad topic. It can, however, have multiple tags. For example, a post about samosas could be tagged as both vegetarian and Indian.
Beyond organizing content, categories and tags also provide pathways to the full scope of content on your site, showcasing the breadth of your expertise and authority on the various subjects you cover.
How Do You Decide on Categories and Tags?
Settling on a category and tag structure can be challenging, so here are some basic guidelines to follow.
For categories, think in broad terms.
You only want one category per post so they can’t be too narrow in focus. For example, on my site I have categories for writing, editing, and small business marketing. Those are big topics but I leave the specificity for the tags. For this post, I have a category of “Writing” and a tag of “Blog Writing.”
For tags, be specific but not granular.
By that I mean, do not create a tag for every little thing you talk about. You’ll quickly have dozens of tags which renders them almost useless, plus you’ll end up with tag archive pages that contain only one or two posts.
When creating tags, be sure that you will use them on a regular basis as you build a body of work on the associated subject. Using this post as an example again, I would not create a tag for “Blog Categories” because I know it will have limited use. I could, however, create a tag for “Blog Structure” because that is something I might talk about more in posts about using headings, creating white space, using photos to break up text, and so on.
Do not overlap categories and tags.
Remember that the category is the broad topic and the tag is the sub-topic within it–Cookbook/Vegetarian or Cookbook/Indian. If you had both a Cooking category and a Cooking tag, that would be redundant and fairly confusing for site visitors.
Do not duplicate tags with plural forms or synonyms.
Tags help define sub-topics and narrow the focus for site visitors. If you had tags for Indian cooking, Indian dishes, and Indian meals, where would people look for your post about samosas? Similarly, if I had tags for blog, blogs, blog posts, and blogging, where would people look for posts on blog writing?
I understand the temptation to capture all possibilities, but it can make things messy and hard for site visitors and search engines to parse. Settle on a single form and use it consistently across all related posts.
The bottom line: Less is more. You do not need a category and tag for every point of discussion. Keep categories and tags simple and singular.
Photo of library shelves by Susan Q Yin on Unsplash.