Are Tags Useless and Bad for SEO

Latsyrc · 08-29-2011, 05:46 PM

Ok, I'm one step away from deleting all of my tags because of this article I found below:

The Reasons I Use Categories Only for My Blogs and Why I Think Tags Are Absolutely Worthless | TentBlogger

I have found that I rank for many keywords due to my tags. But I feel that is shoving aside the pages that need to be ranked first. What do you think of this article?

paulgl · 08-29-2011, 06:10 PM

Tags are really more for internal housekeeping, and have little
to do with SEO. Although I suppose it adds a little to internal
linking, and that may help. It's really for people to find and your
site to file related posts. It's useful for people searching your
site, if your site is a blog.

The article is full of a lot of misinformation as to what a "tag"
actually is and does.

I use them, only because the post looks naked without them.
And like I said, it helps visitors find related posts.

It does not help search engines. I can't see how it would.

You can put anything and everything in a tag. So what?
That does not make the post or article related to it.

Paul

LeviiStar · 08-29-2011, 07:35 PM

To be honest, using tags has actually helped me! I have a number of posts with one or two of the same tags applied and those tag pages have actually started ranking for their corresponding search terms which is pretty neat.

For SEO purposes I don't think much weight is added by displaying tags on a post on your website but in regards to the additional tag pages that are created, they're definitely worth it to me.

A bit of extra traffic never goes astray.

davidrisley · 08-29-2011, 07:36 PM

I think tags are of limited use, personally. Plus, most people overuse them, and turn it into a huge source of clutter for the site.

If you use them in a way which makes sense, it can help internal navigation. But, don't display "tag clouds" (its clutter), and don't use tagging as a replacement for meta keywords. The purpose of tagging is to relate like stuff together, not really SEO.

LeviiStar · 08-29-2011, 07:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by davidrisley

..and don't use tagging as a replacement for meta keywords.

Is doing so really such a bad thing?

36burrows · 08-29-2011, 08:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LeviiStar

Is doing so really such a bad thing?

No, it isn't.

I usually make the tags and the meta keywords the same. This hasn't been showing any negative effect at all.

08-29-2011, 05:46 PM	#1
Latsyrc Residual Income Earner War Room Member Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: Southeast United States Posts: 343 Thanks: 157 Thanked 43 Times in 31 Posts	Are Tags Useless and Bad for SEO Ok, I'm one step away from deleting all of my tags because of this article I found below: The Reasons I Use Categories Only for My Blogs and Why I Think Tags Are Absolutely Worthless \| TentBlogger I have found that I rank for many keywords due to my tags. But I feel that is shoving aside the pages that need to be ranked first. What do you think of this article?
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08-29-2011, 06:10 PM	#2
paulgl Plundering the Web War Room Member Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: , , . Posts: 4,851 Thanks: 804 Thanked 1,200 Times in 887 Posts	Re: Are Tags Useless and Bad for SEO Tags are really more for internal housekeeping, and have little to do with SEO. Although I suppose it adds a little to internal linking, and that may help. It's really for people to find and your site to file related posts. It's useful for people searching your site, if your site is a blog. The article is full of a lot of misinformation as to what a "tag" actually is and does. I use them, only because the post looks naked without them. And like I said, it helps visitors find related posts. It does not help search engines. I can't see how it would. You can put anything and everything in a tag. So what? That does not make the post or article related to it. Paul
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08-29-2011, 07:35 PM	#3
LeviiStar I'm a little teapot. Join Date: Aug 2011 Location: Melbourne, Australia Posts: 10 Thanks: 3 Thanked 2 Times in 2 Posts	Re: Are Tags Useless and Bad for SEO To be honest, using tags has actually helped me! I have a number of posts with one or two of the same tags applied and those tag pages have actually started ranking for their corresponding search terms which is pretty neat. For SEO purposes I don't think much weight is added by displaying tags on a post on your website but in regards to the additional tag pages that are created, they're definitely worth it to me. A bit of extra traffic never goes astray.
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08-29-2011, 07:36 PM	#4
davidrisley Warrior Member War Room Member Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Tampa Bay Posts: 9 Thanks: 0 Thanked 3 Times in 3 Posts	Re: Are Tags Useless and Bad for SEO I think tags are of limited use, personally. Plus, most people overuse them, and turn it into a huge source of clutter for the site. If you use them in a way which makes sense, it can help internal navigation. But, don't display "tag clouds" (its clutter), and don't use tagging as a replacement for meta keywords. The purpose of tagging is to relate like stuff together, not really SEO.
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