Blog Bloat: TAGS #1

Is your blog feeling a little... bloated?

I have a multi-post series planned about blogging and the blogosphere in general. Because I'm like a total expert. Or not. Look out Kathie Lee! Moms are going to blog. So, maybe I can help... a little. Not like we took a college class in blogging or online networking. But since I'm kinda a web geek, certifiably these days, I have done a little homework about it.

I write this blog with some hesitancy. Why? Because everyone who reads it will assume I'm talking about their blog. I'm not. I'm speaking very generally about the blogosphere as a whole. And the "you" in this blog, well... okay, it does mean YOU.

Let's talk about content. One of the most misused blog features is tags. What are tags anyway? I'm so glad you asked! Tags are those handy little ditties that you fill in when you post a blog (at the very bottom right on Blogger). They are often called "labels" or "keywords" or "tags" depending on where your blog is hosted. But that's just semantics.

Tags are meant to work like signs on a highway. They let people know where they're going and when to exit. And if you use them incorrectly they just lead to traffic jams or worse - people start ignoring the signs all together. So, you! Yes, this actually means YOU... How are you using your tags?

There are generally two types of bad tagging. First is the over-zealous tagger. Her label list is SOOOOO long and has contents like:
my friend Sarah (1)
Valentine's Day Parade (1)
our Christmas Pics (2)
science (4)
bird watching (2)
day at the zoo (1)
my BFF Joe (1)
went shopping (3)
rainbow (1)

Yikes. Time to condense. Try: Friends, Holidays, Nature, school. Succinct! Succinct is nice. If you find your labels list having lots of (1) OR (2)... it's time to condense. If you have more than say 20 or 25... time to condense.

The other type of bad tagging is the lazy tagger. She doesn't tag at all. Or, she has so few tags and they are so broad you can't decipher the topics from them at all.
Life (68)
Home (40)
everything else (103)

In this case, it's time to narrow down your subject matter a little bit. Generally, no one is Googling "life" as a topic and they're surely not Googling "everything else". I am a lazy tagger (among other things). If I could get away with just NICU, homeschool, boys, web stuff... I would. But then, you might never come back. And then, well... I'd be writing to nobody. (Except you, Mom. Hi, Mom. *waves*)

Think of packing your house. If your blog was a house, and each blog had to be boxed up and put in the right room, how would you box it up? What would you write with that big, fat Sharpie on the box? "Home"?
In this case, think descriptive! You don't need succinct. You need beautiful-imagery-with-words, concrete subject matter, solid understandable topics. Try: crafts, recipes, remodeling, family, friends, etc.

Sooo... what will this do for you?

For one, people will be able to navigate your space. They are more likely to click through to other pages and more likely to come back. Having your subject matter clearly spelled out allows blog readers to customize what they read in your little neck of the woods. And let's face it, not everything we write is appealing to everyone (except what I write, of course! You do read it ALL, right??). For example, I tend to get 3 pretty broad types of visitors... I get a lot of preemie and NICU parents. I get homeschoolers. Last (but never least) I get people interested in web design, blogging, online networking (ie, geeks like me!). But the web geek doesn't really want to pull out her tissues and read about the NICU. The NICU mom doesn't have time to think about homeschooling. The homeschooling mom is so stinkin' busy she really just needs the curriculum posts. So, with a few simple clicks... people can head their merry way and find the content they are looking for.

So, why'dja come here anyway? Did you google blog tags? Are you guilty of blog bloat? What kind of tagger are you?

More on blogging later. Come back soon. Go fix your tags. And if you do spruce up your tags, let me know - I'll come check out your handy work!

ps - I spelled the word "blog" wrong in this post 5 times. At least I know you didn't come here looking for spelling tips. ;) Thank you Blogger for spell check.