Improving Site Architecture with Tagging

There have been marvelous developments on the web to enhance search capability beyond the limitations of major search engines.  Social media tagging and bookmarking have introduced the human element, providing a richness and depth that mechanical “spiders” cannot equal.

Tagging

Tagging is a means of quickly finding and sharing content. Unlike automated search keywords, tags are assigned by individuals as relevant to their own work or the content of others. They are an organizational tool that, along with social bookmarking sites, can be used for individual or collective use.

Tagging a Blog or Website

Adding tags to your posts or website content allows you to categorize the content for quick and easy retrieval. For example, a post may be tagged with football and Steelers. Each of those tags lead to an index page that lists all posts with content associated with the tag.

The website or blog often includes a list of tags used on the site that users can search for to lead to all content associated with the individual tags for the content they are interested in. When a website allows users to tag items, the collection of tags is known as a folksonomy.

 User Tagging Your Content

Social bookmarking sites such as del.icio.us allow users to assign their own tags to create collections of URL bookmarks and share those lists with others. The tags allow users to employ their own meaningful labels to content to organize and display their collections.

Adding bookmarking links like “add to del.iciou.us” make it easy for your readers to tag your pages. Suggest relevant tags to your users and tag your own pages to the site first so your page automatically appears when the tag is entered.

Utilizing tagging on your website or blog makes it easier for users to find relevant content to increase your site’s value. Using the tags through bookmarking sites can drive valuable traffic and backlinks to your site.