WordPress’s essential features include categories and tags. The ideal approach to use them to organize and optimize your articles requires a little more knowledge than you may imagine.
The Short Answer. No Direct SEO Boost From Tags
No is the simplest response to this question. WordPress tags don’t provide any meaningful SEO benefits, and overusing them can clutter your page, reduce user experience, and potentially negatively affect the SEO of your entire website.
One of the most widespread misconceptions is that WordPress tags can improve your SEO. They don’t have much of an impact on your search rankings.
Why Tags Don’t Help SEO Much
WordPress tags don’t help in SEO, despite some users using excessive numbers of tags for all of their posts on the advice of fictitious SEO experts. They are merely there to organize the website’s content.
WordPress automatically creates the tag’s archive page when you create a tag. Having too many tags results in more archive pages on your website, which Google views as having low-quality content or thin pages. This might lower your SEO rating.
What are WordPress Tags?
Picture tags as labels to group related posts. Run a food blog? Tag posts with “BBQ recipes” or “vegan dishes” so visitors can click and find all content on that topic. It’s a simple way to connect ideas without overcomplicating your site.
Categories handle broader topics and let you create subcategories, like putting “Italian Recipes” under “Dinner Ideas.” Tags are more specific and don’t have that layered setup. Use categories for your site’s main themes and tags for smaller topics.
| Feature | Tags | Categories |
|---|---|---|
| Purpose | Group specific, related content for easy navigation. | Organize broad topics to structure your site. |
| Structure | Non-hierarchical, no sub-levels. | Hierarchical, supports subcategories. |
| SEO Impact | Limited; too many tags create thin archive pages. | Stronger; clear structure helps search engines. |
| Example | “BBQ recipes,” “vegan dishes” | “Dinner Ideas,” “Italian Recipes” |
Got a handle on the difference? Or read our Category vs Tag article. Let’s talk about using tags right.
How to Use Tags the Right Way
You want visitors to browse your WordPress site with ease, and tags can help, even if they don’t directly lift your SEO. A 2024 Moz report shows user experience factors, like clear navigation, account for about 15% of SEO performance. Use tags well, and you keep people on your site longer, which Google rewards. Here’s how to make tags work for you, with steps tailored to your site’s needs.
- Pick tags based on what your audience searches for. Run a food blog? Use Google Trends or other keyword tool to find terms like “vegan recipes” or “quick dinners” that match reader searches. For an e-commerce site, choose tags like “summer dresses” or “men’s sneakers” that align with product queries. Focus on terms people actually use, not guesses. This ensures your tags guide visitors to relevant content.
- Separate tags from categories to avoid confusion. Categories handle broad topics, like “Dinner Ideas” for a blog or “Women’s Clothing” for a store. Tags cover specific topics, like “Taco Recipes” or “Blue Sneakers.” Use the same term for both, and you create duplicate pages that Google might penalize. For example, a post about chicken tacos should have the category “Mexican Food” and the tag “Taco Recipes.” This keeps your site clear for users and search engines.
- Cap tags at 5-10 per site. Too many tags create archive pages with just one or two posts, which Google sees as low-value content. A 2025 SEOptimer study found that sites with streamlined navigation boosted user retention by 12%. On a photography site, instead of tags like “sunset,” “sunrise,” and “dawn,” use one tag, like “Sunset Photography.” Fewer tags mean a cleaner, more user-friendly site.
- Standardize tag names for a polished look. Choose “Salad” or “Salads” and stick with it across all posts. Mixing “Vegan Recipe” and “Vegan Recipes” makes navigation messy. For an e-commerce site, always use “Running Shoes,” not “Runners” or “Sneakers” for the same items. Use SEOPress’s bulk editing tool to check and fix inconsistent tags in minutes. Consistency saves time and keeps visitors happy.
- Stop search engines from indexing tag archive pages. These pages often have thin content, which can hurt your SEO if Google crawls them. Use Yoast SEO or SEOPress to add a “noindex” setting to tag archives. For instance, a “Quick Desserts” tag page with one post should be noindexed to avoid penalties. Set this up in your plugin’s dashboard in under 5 minutes. This protects your site’s SEO strength.
- Fix common tag problems to keep your site sharp. Found tag pages with no posts? Delete them to avoid thin content flags. Seeing visitors leave tag pages quickly? Audit tags monthly with SEOPress to rename or remove ones that don’t add value. For a travel blog, a tag like “Beach Getaways” with no posts wastes Google’s crawl budget—cut it. Not sure if a topic needs a tag or category? Use the decision tree below to decide.
- Penalize tag misuse. Over-tagging creates low-value archive pages that Google might flag, potentially lowering your rankings. A 2023 Yoast case study showed a blog that noindexed tag archives gained a 28% ranking boost by reducing thin content. Set up noindex settings to avoid this trap.
What’s your next step for organizing tags? Visit my website for more tips on keeping your site clean and effective. What tag-related issues are you facing on your WordPress site?
Read this next article to decide whether to use a tag or category for your WordPress content.
Conclusion
WordPress tags help organize your site’s content and let readers know what it’s about, but you shouldn’t use too many of them because doing so might lead to a poor user experience and lower SEO rankings.
However, using tags wisely will improve the reader experience and protect your site from detrimental SEO effects.
