Whether you‘re optimizing search visibility or simply organizing site content, mastering WordPress tags is a must. Yet many overlook proper tagging technique, costing valuable traffic and on-site engagement.
In this ultimate guide, seasoned WordPress experts unveil the intricacies of WordPress tags based on decades of combined industry experience. You‘ll learn what tags are, why they matter, plus best practices for harnessing tags to enhance user experience.
Let‘s dive in!
What Are WordPress Tags? A Detailed Explanation
WordPress tags provide an additional taxonomy layer that enables granular, non-hierarchical content labeling at the post level. Put simply, tags allow assigning multiple keywords or short phrases to relate pieces of content across categories.
For example, a post entitled "Wrigley Field Renovations" could logically be categorized under "Baseball", yet also tagged with:
- Chicago Cubs
- MLB
- Wrigley Field
- Stadiums
This illustrates the defining difference between categories and tags:
| Categories | Tags |
|---|---|
|
|
Think categories for main site organization, tags for flexibility in making topic connections posts otherwise buried within fixed content silos.
Now that we‘ve clarified the tag definition, let‘s explore why tags matter.
The Value of WordPress Tags
Tags strengthen your content in several impactful ways:
1. Improved On-Site Navigation
Tags create archive pages displaying all posts related to that tag, effectively becoming mini site maps guiding visitors to related content.
2. Added Context for Social Sharing
Many social sharing plugins allow pulling custom tweet text from post tags. This provides helpful context beyond the post title alone.
3. SEO Optimization of Topic Pages
Crafting tag archives centered around keyword-rich topics allows optimizing these for valuable long-tail searches.
4. Visitor Behavior Insights
Analyzing popular tag performance provides intelligence on readership interests to inform content planning.
Now that you grasp the immense value of tag integration when done properly, let‘s explore best practices for seamless execution:
How to Add WordPress Tags with Proper Technique
Adding tags efficiently starts directly within the post editor. When authoring or editing posts, locate the "Tags" module inside the right sidebar:
To leverage existing tags, begin typing the tag name until suggestions appear. Select the appropriate tag to assign to your post.
Creating new tags follows an identical process. Simply type a new tag name and press enter to instantly add it as an available option going forward.
When naming tags, summarize topics covered using 1-4 word phrases Catchy names can help surface content, for instance "Cubs2022Rebuild" rather than a vague "Baseball".
Now let‘s transition from writing posts to global site administration for advanced tag management.
Centralized Tag Control Through the WordPress Dashboard
While adding tags when authoring posts proves most efficient, WordPress also provides centralized tag control under Posts > Tags:
From this administrative hub, you can:
- Bulk add new tags
- Globally edit or delete existing tags
- Modify tag display settings
- Convert categories into tags if needed
Bulk edits made from the dashboard apply across all posts site-wide. So this becomes your content control center for large-scale tag changes.
Now let‘s turn to elevating impact through proper strategic tagging techniques.
Advanced Tagging – Best Practices for WordPress Tags
Like any WordPress feature, results come down mastering best practices:
Keep Tag Names Consistent
Standardize on capitalization, spacing and punctuation across tags. This enhances scannability for visitors clicking related content.
Assign Relevant, Specific Tags to Each Post
Avoid irrelevant, vague or overly broad tags failing to describe subjects covered. Be ruthlessly selective per post.
Limit Posts to 5-7 Tags Max
Concentrate tags around essential topics rather than loosely related concepts. Too many dilutes relevance.
Actively Monitor Tag Performance
Analyze tag usage metrics to identify reader preferences and fine-tune your content strategy accordingly.
Adhering to disciplined, focused tagging creates a powerful navigational framework for showcasing content depth.
Speaking of showcasing, let‘s explore various techniques for surfacing tags to site visitors.
How to Visually Display WordPress Tags on Your Site
WordPress themes dictate default tag appearance and placement. However, plugins and customization provide display control regardless of your theme limitations.
Here are popular options for prominently featuring tags across your site:
Tag Cloud Widgets
The Tag Cloud widget visually depicts your tag usage frequency. The most leveraged tags appear larger, serving as clickable content shortcuts.
To add, visit Appearance > Widgets and insert a Tag Cloud into your desired sidebar. Adjust font sizes, colors and additional settings as needed.
Show Tags Below Blog Posts
Showcase tags in the reader‘s sightline by displaying below article titles and content summaries:
Code modification is required here if your theme doesn‘t output tags already.
Manually create a tags menu containing specific tags you want to promote. Link each to their respective archive pages or configure custom tag page templates.
This quickly steers visitors to niche topics without excessive clicking through categories and subcategories.
Now that we‘ve covered the tagging fundamentals from why they matter to practical implementation techniques, let‘s finish with squeezing maximum impact out of tags courtesy of premium plugins.
Advanced WordPress Tag Management with Premium Plugins
The free WordPress core handles tags more than adequately. However, third-party plugins take things to the next level.
Based on hands-on testing, these solutions lead the pack:
| Plugin | Key Features |
|---|---|
|
Simple Tags
|
|
|
SEOPress PRO
|
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For those seeking total tag supremacy through unlimited customizations and scalability, commercial plugins deliver. They‘re overkill for many, but power users gain considerable enhancements.
So in closing, WordPress tags remain incorrectly dismissed by many site owners not grasping their full potential. Yet as discussed within this guide, proper strategic tagging strikes immense benefits. Specifically:
- Helps visitors easily discover related niche content
- Enhances social sharing relevancy
- Allows optimizing topic pages for long tail SERPs
- Provides intelligence to sharpen content strategy
We firmly consider expertise wielding WordPress tags as a mandatory skill within any seasoned content publisher‘s toolbox. Hopefully the insights presented here provide a primer for tapping that immense upside to bolster your own content assets.
Over to you – please share any lingering questions in applying advanced tagging techniques across your sites!
