On most blog systems, tags & categories are a critical feature to help organize articles better. 


A proper tag & category structure is helpful in the following ways: 

  • Groups & organizes articles concisely. 
  • Helps identify the topic of each article. 
  • Helps your viewers find more relevant articles easily. 
  • Helps Google™ categorize articles better, and potentially increase search engine traffic. 


The differences between Tags & Categories

It's important to distinguish what to use as a category or tag properly. Misuse of these can result in a very messy website, convoluted grouping of articles which can decrease the performance of your blog significantly. 


Categories Are Major Topics - you only need 3~6 at most!

Think of categories as sections of a restaurant menu. Appetizer, Main Course, Dessert, Wine, or Cocktails is what you want to see.


A reasonable list of categories on a Real Estate agent/brokerage blog would look like this: 

  • Market Updates
  • Listings Showcase
  • Home Improvement & Decor
  • Community Updates
  • Team & Agent Updates


Categorizing each and every city/subarea is, for the most part, not recommended except for very special circumstances. That's what tags are for - coming up next!


Example of confusing, poor categories (that will eventually land you with too many categories): 

  • Real Estate News
  • Real Estate Updates
  • Market Updates
  • Vancouver Market Trends
  • New Listing
  • Open Houses
  • Just Sold
  • Statistics & Reports
  • New Homes
  • Interior Design & Decore
  • Home Improvement


Tags are for all subject/topics that the article is related to - each is a singular topic!


Think of tags like the ingredients or glossary in the back of a recipe book. You can search all recipes that include "broccoli" or "pork belly" quickly at a glance from the back. 


Any blog can end up with dozens, if not hundreds, of tags over time. For each article, about 10~20 is suitable. 


Reasonable list of tags for an article titled "Vancouver Westside Condo/Townhome Sales Report in February 2022": 

  • Attached Homes
  • Condos
  • Townhomes
  • Detached Homes
  • Houses
  • Kitsilano
  • Real Estate
  • Vancouver West
  • Vancouver
  • YVR
  • British Columbia


Note that each tag is a SINGULAR concept, not a mix up. Tags such as "Vancouver Westside" and "Condos" are completely separate tags, not combined. 

Each tag should be an isolated concept, and use multiple tags to make multiple topic/subject references.


Example of poor tags that you should NOT use:

  • Vancouver real estate news
  • Condo sales in Burnaby
  • Detached House Sales in March