Tags and Categories | How to Make the Best Use of Your Blog for Online Searches and Easy Organization
When I tagged and used categories on Style Unveiled, I followed this rule of thumb: tags were always wedding professionals and categories were 'the subject' << or: category ;) such as bouquets, wedding cakes, real weddings, etc ... I did this because if I wanted to highlight a specific wedding vendor, I'd simply find their tag and then I could easily showcase all their featured work on Style Unveiled with one easy link ... and if I was talking about wedding cakes and wanted to share ALL the wedding cakes I had featured ... you got it!! one easy link!.
On this blog, I am still fine tuning how I plan to use them ... but I think what I have come up with is that tags are the big umbrella topic and categories are the sub topics under the umbrella ... so for this post the tag is search engine optimization and the category is 'tagging and categories' << let's just call it a work in progress ;)
How Can I Benefit from Tags and Categories Where my Company Blog is Concerned?
I love the idea of using my Style Unveiled recipe even for wedding pros and here's why: you want to tag and categorize according to what BRIDES are searching for online. Brides will most likely search any wedding vendor they are considering hiring ... let's use Studio EMP as an example ... if you've worked with Studio EMP (a destination wedding photography company and Southern California wedding photography company) and have their images of your work showcased on your blog and you 'tag' that blog post with Studio EMP << each time a bride searches for Studio EMP the robots will crawl on your blog because you have that tag ... and soon enough you might just end up in searches for Studio EMP, a local wedding photography company, and brides will find YOU << another wedding vendor they might just have interest in hiring ;) See what I did there?
Isn't that a trick though??
Great question!!! I think it's only a trick if the information is untrue ... for instance: if you know Jose Villa is searched a ton, so you tag up your entire blog with Jose Villa Wedding as the tag, but you aren't featuring his work in your post << that is a trick and VERY naughty!! BUT if you have a blog post filled with Jose Villa wedding pretties and you are talking about how awesome it was to work with the master of light himself and you tag it so you can organize it on your blog << not a trick. In fact, Jose Villa will be so happy you care about his work so much that you went through the trouble of giving him his very own tag! You see: it helps him out too!!
Keep it honest and Google will grant you points ... LIE and they will take you down!!
So, going back to the Studio EMP example and why it's not a trick if your blog comes up in Studio EMP searches: if they do find your blog post on your site filled with images by Joel, they are still finding what they wanted ... it's just Joel's images of YOUR work :) WIN WIN! BE SURE: if you are using another wedding professional in a tag that showcases their work please link their website in your blog post << ALWAYS!! Credit, credit, credit and spread the love around!
Categorizing to get local searches
Are you a Seattle wedding vendor? ALWAYS categorize each and every post that has to do with Seattle weddings with localized categories. A few ideas:
Seattle Photography (as long as it's true)
Seattle Planning
Seattle Coordination (as long as it's true)
Seattle Venues (as long as it's true)
Basically, without looking like you are spamming, you want to include categories that you think clients in your area would be searching while planning their wedding.
Using Broad Umbrella Categories
It won't hurt you to use broad search topics on your blog with tags or categories << but keep in mind it probably won't get you any organic searches ... for instance, if you use the category: wedding cakes when you showcase weddings cakes ... this can help organize and LINK within your blog posts and create more interest, but if you are hoping to find yourself on page 1 of Google when people search 'wedding cakes' online << you will have to pay a SEO company BIG BUCKS over many many months or years to make that happen ;) BUT: tag and categorize your posts with these search tags and then when you discuss wedding cakes in your posts << link wedding cakes to your category/tag link that focuses on wedding cakes.
Here is an example of how to do this using my social media tips and advice tag << just did it ;) lol ... if you click on that link I just shared it will bring up my entire collection on this blog of social media tips! This is the kind of thing that can REALLY help your blog be successful ... and don't forget! You can use these tags and category links within the rest of your website too! Don't be shy with linking up your site with lots of great SEO and clickable yummies :)
As I admitted in the beginning of the post: I have been doing this for 8 years and I am still figuring out the best way to utilize tags and categories ... there is really no RIGHT way to do it as long as you stay consistent with it. It may be helpful to keep a printout of the tags and categories you have created on your desk or pinned to the wall near your computer so you can easily reference and stay organized.
XO~ Heather
