So, What Are Post Tags And Why Should I Bother Using Them?

I have had a few people asking what are post tags, and what is the difference between them and keywords?

Firstly a basic definition of a post tag is a word that describes the categories or subjects that the blog post is written about. A post tag is just like an extension of the category, but more specific and more descriptive.

The post tags provide an easy way to group posts together that are related to each other, and to to make it clear to the reader what the post is about. They also make it quicker and easier for web surfers to find your blog posts.

An example would be that you may have a blog in the tennis lessons niche and have written a new post which you have put in the forehand category, and then have used post tags such as grip, swing, and stance. Maybe I could have used a better example, but you get the point.

There is no set criteria to use post tags, and you are free to use them in any fashion that you like though.

Keywords in contrast though are primarily used for search engine purposes, and are the words that you carefully include in your articles to rank highly on Google. These are the words or phrases that your potential customers are typing into the search engines that online marketers do research on.

The confusing part about is that sometimes your post tags and keywords overlap and become both. Quite often your post tags will match up with what people are typing in the search engines anyway.

You can use a tag cloud in the sidebar of your blog to make it easy for people to see what your most popular tags are. When people click on the words inside the tag cloud a page will open showing the posts that have been tagged with the word that you have clicked on.

I have noticed though that tag clouds have become less popular recently and bloggers don't seem to be using them much. However, if you would like to experiment with a tag cloud on your blog you can easily drag the default WordPress tag cloud widget into your sidebar in the Widget Menu.

So now you know what are post tags and the difference between them and keywords.