What are tags?

Tags are a way of categorizing. They're used for blogs, pictures, social bookmarking, articles, and more. Instead of the traditional categories, tags allow you to create categories "on the fly". They're then grouped together in a tag cloud, with the most popular tags in a larger font.

Using tags for the most exposure.

Tags give you a lot of freedom and they're easy to use. Choosing the right tags can sometimes be a little more difficult. If somebody is looking for specific information on, say, blogging tips, they might look under the tag, "blog". But you tagged your blog, "blogging tips" and your blog won't be found.

A good strategy when it comes to tagging is to first see what tags people are currently using to help choose the ones to place.

Let's say I want to find some tags for my blog about blogging tips. I can check out the tag cloud here on Blogger Party and see that "blog" is getting a lot of tags and use that. I can also use "blogging," and "weblog," since they've already been tagged, too.

I can start some of my own, though, and include "blogging tips" there.

Keep it simple.

Using your own tags to categorize your blog entries.

You can also use tags as a way to categorize your blog entries, though. Let's say you write primarily about 3 different subjects: movies, books, and personal thoughts. You can give these original tags that nobody else would likely use, essentially giving them their very own page.

More tagging tips.

Using simple, one to two word tags are best. If you create an complicated tag, it's less likely to be found.

When tagging a person's name, a title, or a TV show, though, use the full name or most popular name. "American Idol" and "Orson Scott Card" are good examples of this.

Be consistent. For the same type of topics, use the same tags.

Happy tagging!

Brenda Boggs is an Internet guru, in marketing, Search Engine Optimization, and new technologies. She successfully runs two revenue sharing websites, http://www.bloggerparty.com and http://www.reviewparty.com, where members actually make money just by participating.