The Art of Blog Tags

is based on the understanding your blog serves multiple communities.

I was surprised to learn through my research that there is very little written on the art of category tagging for blogs. My hope is this discussion will be both helpful, and also generate new discussions that we can all benefit from.

The Science of Tagging

Most of us understand the science of using category tags – to get indexed by Google. For more on this, see How To Be Where People are Looking.

I would like to include Technorati in this discussion, as indexing blogs is what they do. However, from someone who has been trying to 'claim' his blog on Technorati for over a year, their process remains a mystery. My suggestion is to focus on the sure thing, which is Google.

The art of using tags is really to be found by human beings who want to do business with you. This goes beyond the game you are playing with Google. That said, once Google helps someone find your blog, your tags need to help them navigate your blog, and validate it.

The Art of Tagging

Your goal with all of your readers is to be a credible and reliable source. You want to be the 'go-to' guy or gal for your particular topic. This means your work has to be easily findable.

I prefer the service Google provides, for obvious reasons. Lijit is another one that works well. Both are best sourced through your particular blogging platform.

In my mind, the three communities you should primarily be tagging for are your subscribers, new readers, and yourself. You will need to select tags that are appropriate for each group, and provide a search tool that works well for your blog.

Your Subscribers

Regular readers of your blog are your fans. They know you; they know your style; and they know your material. You need to provide tags that help them find earlier posts that they may want to re-read for their own benefit, and better yet, share with their friends through the social media networks.

Your subscribers will remember characters in your stories, places, and other unique details. Be sure to tag them so they are properly indexed. When selecting these tags, familiar words are the best tags.

New Readers

New readers are checking you out. They want to know if you can be the trusted source they are looking for. The scope and depth of your work will be most valuable. They will check your blog out at multiple levels to get a sense for your strengths. Don't disappoint them.

When tagging for this group, general words are the best tags for demonstrating your understanding and capacity for your topic. Coincidentally, these are the same tags that Google will use to bring them to you in the first place.

Yourself

If you are a serious blogger, nobody reads your blog more than you do. You need tags that allow you to quickly link back to a more through treatment of a topic that is relevant to the current post. Your blog is an incubator for ideas, and it is a marketing tool. The right tags will enable your to find information that you can use for articles and other marketing materials.

When tagging for yourself, tag the words that were the inspiration for the post.

For example, this post started out as: "How to Add a Google Search to Your Blog." After determining how much it varies from Typepad, the platform I favor, to WordPress, Blogger, and others, I decided to help you be more effective with that search once you have it set up. If you happen to use Typepad, here's the link to setting up a Google search for your Typepad blog.

Please share your ideas on this topic by leaving a comment below. You'll be helping all of us to learn more.

And just in case Technorati is listening, I have gone back to Technorati.com to once again claim my blog by helping them find it on this Web where if you so much as sneeze, you will be found.