Using Labels to Sort Your Blog Posts Can Increase Readership

Why does your blog need labels? The nature of a blog is dynamic, with new posts quickly pushing previous content off the current page where it won't be seen. Readers usually skim the page they're reading, or even just the latest post, and few are likely to take the time to scroll through previous pages to see what else you've written. Posts you made last month or last year might be of interest to them, but they'll never know unless you point them in the right direction.

Labels are a simple fix that provide a direct map to content on specific topics, so if you've grabbed a reader with your best meatloaf recipe, show them where to find similar posts of other family favorites.

Labeling your posts is most important if yours is a general blog and not on a niche topic. If you write a money-saving tip each Tuesday, it will likely be off the page after you've made a few more blog posts. Why not give it bit more exposure?

If you add a label to the post that identifies it in a category (perhaps Tuesday Tips or Tipster Tuesday), the person that reads your post on that day can click on the label and bring up all of the previous posts on that topic that you've labeled properly. If your blog also contains posts about what your cat did that day, not everyone is going to want to weed through that to see if you've written any more good tips in past blog posts. Labeling each post appropriately organizes them and makes it easier for a reader to find what interests them.

If you have a niche blog - that is, if your blog is on a more specific topic - labels are still necessary. I maintain a blog about crochet and share what I'm working on day to day, and have also posted a few free crochet patterns that I've created. Each of those posts is labeled with the words Free Crochet Patterns, which allows my readers to find them with one simple click of the mouse rather than having to sort through dozens of other posts with photos of my latest projects.

If you're a foodie you probably share recipes with your readers. Label the posts so that someone looking for a healthy breakfast idea doesn't have to wade through posts full of holiday desserts, or the vegan isn't turned off by photos of rump roasts and rib-eye. Low-carb, low-fat, quick and easy dinners are other helpful labels that come to mind for a food related blog, but make the labels specific to what works for your blog.

Labels can be displayed on your blog by a list of words in plain text, or a tag cloud, with labels most often used appearing in larger font. Advantages and disadvantages to both will be shared in a future article.

Most blogging sites archive your posts by date, categorizing them by month. If you're searching for a particular post and know when it was written, the archive may be of some use to you, but it's not likely to be very helpful to your readers. Labeling your posts will make them easier for you to find as well, making archived posts by date unnecessary. I can think of no reason to keep a list of archived posts by month to clutter up a blog and always delete them from my blog's default template.

Source:
Blogger.com
Personal Experience