Before there were tags, WordPress.com (and other blog hosing sites) only allowed categories to be used.
Categories allowed for a broad grouping of post topics, but when you wanted to describe a post in more specific terms, more categories were required. That lead to very long category lists inside the blog and very long lists in categories widgets making it harder to find what you needed a backlog of general categories stacked into posts.
Someone realized how silly this was and now have tags as well.
Tags are similar to categories, but instead of a list of words to choose from, you write them in a list (separated by commas) in the tags module of your post editing screen. They are free form words and allow you describe your post in more detail and help people narrow search results to get to relevant information faster.
For example, a post titled “Last Night At El Tapatio” might be filed under the “Dinner” category, but could have tags such as, “taco, margarita, salsa, Mariachi.” This will help people looking for information on where to get good tacos for dinner find something more specific than all of the dinner places in an area. Get it?
Since it may be a bit confusing upon first glance (especially to new bloggers), here are some common questions and answers that may help you out:
Q: With regards to capital letters, is “Tag” the same as “tag?”
A: Yes. Capital letters do not change a tag. “Blogging” is the same as “blogging.”
Q: Is there a limit to the number of tags I can have?
A: No. You may associate as many tags with your posts as you like.
Q: Is there any advantage to using tags or categories, or both?
A: Tags will allow you to be more specific and narrow searches, so they are recommended. It cannot hurt to do both!
Q: Do I have to use tags?
A: The use of tags is entirely optional (although each post must be attached to at least one category) but they will help filter searches.
It is recommended you limit your number of categories to no more than 10. For real estate experts, good categories include “Buyers,” “Sellers,” “Community,” etc. Your tags can include identifiers that fall under these categories, like “first-time buyers,” “short sales,” or “schools.”
Categories and tags are both useful in helping your readers find posts of interest. You can think of categories as being utilitarian and tags as a more creative way of indexing your blog.
Ron Dillon
Director of Online Education
ron.dillon@rwnc.net
