Categories are like chapters of a book; you can think of categories as the table of contents in a book, and tags as the index at the back of the book. Tags serve to describe your post in more detail and explode the topic into a million bits.
If you add new categories this means you will need to go back through old posts and assign them to these new categories. For example if you have a personal blog where you write about your life as a kid. Your categories can be something like: Friends, Family, School, Rambling, and Books. Now when you write a post about something that happened at school, you will add it in the School category. You can add tags like math, writing, physical education, assemblies, etc...
If you are planning on using categories you really need sit down, think carefully about what topics you will blog about and assign categories that reflect this. Each post goes into one category. Categories are not for you, they are for your reader.
You are better off with 5 generic categories that have fresh content rather than 30 top categories with topics which are not updated. If you can’t write five blog post titles/ideas on a topic, then you don’t have a category. Categories with only one post tells the reader you don’t know much about that topic.
If you do not categorize your post, then it will be categorized under the “uncategorized” category. People often rename the uncategorized category to something like Other, Rambling, Miscellaneous, etc...
Categories can have unique names and be wordy; you want them sufficiently descriptive so your reader understands the type of subject matter they will find when they click on the link.
A tag is usually only a word or two and reflects the keywords or points of your blog post, keywords that your readers will understand.
Avoid duplication. Try not to use names for tags that are the same as the names of your categories. It’s redundant, and it can confuse your readers.
Your Turn
What do you think? How do you use Category and Tag? Share your experience and insights in the comments box below.
If you add new categories this means you will need to go back through old posts and assign them to these new categories. For example if you have a personal blog where you write about your life as a kid. Your categories can be something like: Friends, Family, School, Rambling, and Books. Now when you write a post about something that happened at school, you will add it in the School category. You can add tags like math, writing, physical education, assemblies, etc...
If you are planning on using categories you really need sit down, think carefully about what topics you will blog about and assign categories that reflect this. Each post goes into one category. Categories are not for you, they are for your reader.
You are better off with 5 generic categories that have fresh content rather than 30 top categories with topics which are not updated. If you can’t write five blog post titles/ideas on a topic, then you don’t have a category. Categories with only one post tells the reader you don’t know much about that topic.
If you do not categorize your post, then it will be categorized under the “uncategorized” category. People often rename the uncategorized category to something like Other, Rambling, Miscellaneous, etc...
Categories can have unique names and be wordy; you want them sufficiently descriptive so your reader understands the type of subject matter they will find when they click on the link.
A tag is usually only a word or two and reflects the keywords or points of your blog post, keywords that your readers will understand.
Avoid duplication. Try not to use names for tags that are the same as the names of your categories. It’s redundant, and it can confuse your readers.
Your Turn
What do you think? How do you use Category and Tag? Share your experience and insights in the comments box below.
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