Squarespace Categories and Tags: What You Need to Know
If you use Squarespace to host your business’s blog (which you totally should, BTW…) you should also be taking advantage of Squarespace categories and tags.
Not only do they help organize your website for your own reference, but they also make it SO much easier for visitors and Google to navigate your site - which is one of the most crucial aspects to a blog’s success!
What are categories and tags?
If you have never heard of categories or tags, that is completely okay - I’m going to teach you everything you need to know in order to make use of these awesome tools on your business website!
First, you should know that categories and tags are, essentially, two ways you can sort, group, and flag your blog posts by their theme, topic, author, etc…
Categories allow you to flag blog posts by theme while tags allow you to mark blog posts with any information you deem relevant. This info could include whether a certain post is part of a series, published by a guest author, containing certain keywords, etc…
You should only have 1-2 categories per post, and a maximum of 15 tags per post, including more can look spammy).
These categories and tags can then be used to organize your content into menus (including sidebars!) on your homepage and blog page, and into summary blocks on any page of your choosing. This not only improves the aesthetics of your website, but the accessibility, as well.
I wouldn’t recommend using the tags to mark posts as “old,” “irrelevant,” or other tags of the sort. If you don’t like a certain blog post anymore, it’s best to just remove it from your blog altogether. But make sure you check your analytics to see how popular it is. If it’s getting a lot of views from social media and Google, it’s best to keep it.
Example categories and tags
Health coach:
Fitness
Nutrition
Mindset
Tags inside a “fitness” category blog post: fitness for new moms, fitness routine, dumbbell exercise, workout at home
Photographer:
Families
Engagements
Weddings
Tags inside a “weddings” category blog post: new england wedding, Boston wedding photography, first look, [insert venue name here]
You can see how the categories are very specific and distinct, whereas the tags describe the actual items mentioned in a blog post.
Why are categories and tags important for blogging?
Categories and tags are essential to blogging because they make for an easier user experience on your website. When you use categories and tags effectively, visitors can easily view your content by its theme, its topic, or any of its features, instead of sifting through all of your content to find the posts they are most interested in.
For example, if someone comes to your website looking specifically for content on growing a business, marking relevant posts with this tag and placing it under this category allows them to view all the posts fitting this theme at once, without all the background noise.
And, spoiler alert: people shouldn’t have to work to find the content on your website that pertains to them - you should make it easily accessible so they feel compelled to stay.
Squarespace categories and tags not only help human visitors index and understand your website, but Google, as well.
Categorizing and tagging posts allows Google to understand how your posts are classified, improving your SEO. (Which, as you probably know, is music to my ears!)
How to add categories and tags to blog posts
I get it - the idea of categorizing and reformatting your entire blog is intimidating. But, because it will provide so much value to your website, I encourage you to set aside time to make it happen!
And, I want to make it as easy as possible for you, which is why I’ve provided a step-by-step guide to adding categories and tags to your blog posts here.
Click Pages
Go to Blog
Find your blog post and click Settings
Click on Options
Choose the Tags or Categories tab
Choose an existing option or add a new one in
To remove categories or tags, simply click on the x icon
How to showcase categories and tags publicly to visitors
Inside Squarespace, you can control whether or not site visitors can see the categories or tags. You can change this under the Site Styles in 7.0 and in the page section styles on 7.1 (read more here).
I would recommend adding your category somewhere on your blog. Here are some common places:
On your blog post graphic (first image below)
On the blog page above your blog post title (first image below)
At the top of an individual blog post (second image below)
It’s not imperative that tags are public, however Google can still read them. I’ve seen a couple of mine show up in the Google search results.
How to use categories and tags to design your website
There are TONS of ways to implement Squarespace categories and tags on your website, but I’m going to cover my five favorites here.
1. Organize your blog page (and make it more aesthetically pleasing!)
You can add a category menu at the top of your blog page, allowing visitors to click on the topics they are most interested in (and toggle back and forth between categories of interest.) This makes your blog page less cluttered, eliminating the need for users to scroll through pages and pages of content to find what they’re looking for.
2. Showcase featured or recent blogs on your homepage.
By tagging certain blog posts as “featured,” you can make them show up in a summary block (sort of like a little feature gallery) on your homepage. This can direct visitors on your website right to new or especially relevant content, adding value to their experience.
3. Showcase featured blogs at the top of your blog page.
Using the same methods in number two, you can add a summary block to the top of your blog page featuring posts that serve as good starting points when delving into your content.
4. AND, using the same methods in numbers two and three, you can add a summary block to the bottom of your blog posts featuring other blog posts that are similar.
(Psst...this is a great way to retain visitors!) If they made it all the way to the bottom of your blog post, you can rest assured that they are interested in that blog’s theme or topic - meaning supplying them with more just like it is the perfect next move.
5. Add categories to your blog’s sidebar.
You can also add your categories to a sidebar on your blog, making it easy for users to navigate between categories regardless of where they are on the page.
How to link categories and tags to text and images
There’s a couple different ways to link your categories and tags...
Text + button links
Text links are easier because Squarespace makes this process super simple:
Add the button or text
In the link options, go to “page”
Type in blog (or the name of your blog)
You’ll see category and tag filters appear
Use the dropdown options to choose which category or tag you want to use
Click save - you’re all set!
Images
For images, you need to copy the full URL. Here is the format:
Category: https://yourdomain.com/blog?category=[insert-category-here]
Tag: https://yourdomain.com/blog?tag=[insert-tag-here]
Remember to add dashes between words as shown above. When you add your category/tag names, be sure to remove the brackets [ ] as they are not needed.
As you can see, the possibilities are kind of endless when it comes to incorporating categories and tags into your Squarespace website - and, if you aren’t already making use of them, you should make time to do so soon!
After all, publishing great content is only half the battle - making sure that content is expertly organized and easily accessible is what will ensure your posts are seen, enjoyed, and shared.
Ready to get out of the abyss of Google and get seen by ideal clients on page 1? I help coaches, creatives, and other service providers explode their visibility and reach for free in Google. Ready to get seen by people that need their services most?
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