Beginning Blogging: Categories and Tags

A couple of weeks  ago we looked at how to encourage more readers to your blog, after all it is really nice to think that you are writing for an audience. Today we are going to look at another part of this which is also a way of organising your posts on your blog.

CATEGORIES:

When you are adding a new post you will notice down the right hand side a box titled categories. This is a way of grouping your posts together under main headings. Think chapters in a book. If you read a book about food you will expect to find chapters entitled, starters, main meals, salads, deserts etc. If you were doing this on a blog each of the chapters may well be one of your categories.

If you wish to add categories then you can click on the +category underneath the category box. You can sub divide your categories further by selecting an existing tag to be its ‘parent’. e.g under deserts you could have sub categories of hot and cold.

For more detailed info on altering categories then go to: here.

TAGS:

Tags, along with categories help people to find your blog. If you like the categories are the branches on your tree and the tags are the leaves. They give you a bit more information about your post. When you are ADDING A NEW POST the tags box is under the categories box down the right hand side.

As you type in content you will see that some suggested tags come up. You may or may not choose them – it is up to you. You can also add any of your own by typing them in the box.

You do have to choose your tags carefully – they need to be relevant. If you mention something in passing then it is probably not relevant to use it. It has to be part of the main content – I always think: ” What I would type into Google in order to find this blog post.”  It is the categories and tags that WordPress uses to place it in the Reader, thus helping people to find you.

A few tips to make the most out of tags:

• If you include more than 15 tags and categories (total) on a post, it won’t appear on the topic pages — that’s our way of helping ensure relevance.
• If your blog is private, your posts won’t show up in the Reader, so check Settings >> Privacy in your dashboard to confirm your settings.
• If you regularly post material that is offensive, not safe for work, or not suitable for minors, we might flag your site as mature, and mature blogs aren’t included on topic pages. (You can contact support if you think your blog may have been accidentally flagged.)
• If you’re misusing the tag feature, your blog may not appear in the Reader. Misuse includes tagging your content with misleading or irrelevant tags; and posting affiliate links, marketing material, and unoriginal content.

Taken from Learn.Wordpress where you can also find out a bit more information about tags. You will also find information on how to set up a tag cloud in your side bar and also a little exercise to ensure that you are choosing tags wisely and effectively.

I am now off to check that I have my categories neatly organised in the best way 🙂 As always let me know if you want to know anything else.

Happy Blogging 🙂