What are Wordpress post tags, and how to use them?
Labels are one of the WordPress taxonomies built into the CMS by default. In addition to categories, users can add one or more labels to their articles.
While a category can cover a fairly broad subject (e.g.: sports), a WordPress tag usually refers to a specific topic of smaller scope (e.g.: Football, Lionel Messi). Tags are equivalent to keywords, related to the topics covered in a specific publication.
Tags are a popular and frequently used WordPress taxonomy. They provide an easy way for website administrators to organize and sort their content by topics.
They also help visitors find topics of interest. When they click on a label, they are redirected to an archive page containing all the messages with it.
Using a widget allows you to display your labels on a sidebar of your web pages. This allows visitors to the site to use them to sort the content they view.
Wordpress labels and categories work in slightly different ways. Labels help identify all items tagged with a specific word, while categories include more general sections of a site.
In other words, tags are similar to the back index of a book that assigns words describing the exact details of a post. The categories, for their part, are like the table of contents. They divide the content of the site into general topics.
Another difference is that in WordPress if you do not choose a category for an article, it is classified by default as “not categorized”. If you decide not to attach any labels, WordPress does not add any.
Therefore, tags are optional, unlike categories. They are also unlimited in the number you can add. A single item can have hundreds of labels.
WordPress labels can be beneficial in terms of usability. However, you must make sure that your use of labels does not negatively affect the referencing of your site. By default, each one creates a separate archive page, containing all items using this label.
This process is practical for humans, but has disadvantages. This creates duplicate content pages, considered low quality for search engine robots.
In other words, your main blog archive page and the archives of each tag list your articles. To avoid being penalized, use the noindex meta tag to ask search engines to avoid indexing your tag archives.
While a category can cover a fairly broad subject (e.g.: sports), a WordPress tag usually refers to a specific topic of smaller scope (e.g.: Football, Lionel Messi). Tags are equivalent to keywords, related to the topics covered in a specific publication.
Tags are a popular and frequently used WordPress taxonomy. They provide an easy way for website administrators to organize and sort their content by topics.
They also help visitors find topics of interest. When they click on a label, they are redirected to an archive page containing all the messages with it.
Using a widget allows you to display your labels on a sidebar of your web pages. This allows visitors to the site to use them to sort the content they view.
Labels vs. Wordpress Categories
Wordpress labels and categories work in slightly different ways. Labels help identify all items tagged with a specific word, while categories include more general sections of a site.
In other words, tags are similar to the back index of a book that assigns words describing the exact details of a post. The categories, for their part, are like the table of contents. They divide the content of the site into general topics.
Another difference is that in WordPress if you do not choose a category for an article, it is classified by default as “not categorized”. If you decide not to attach any labels, WordPress does not add any.
Therefore, tags are optional, unlike categories. They are also unlimited in the number you can add. A single item can have hundreds of labels.
WordPress Keywords and SEO
WordPress labels can be beneficial in terms of usability. However, you must make sure that your use of labels does not negatively affect the referencing of your site. By default, each one creates a separate archive page, containing all items using this label.
This process is practical for humans, but has disadvantages. This creates duplicate content pages, considered low quality for search engine robots.
In other words, your main blog archive page and the archives of each tag list your articles. To avoid being penalized, use the noindex meta tag to ask search engines to avoid indexing your tag archives.
Updated on: 17/05/2023
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