If you’re building a new website for your business, or just a blog on the side to channel a passion for a hobby, you’ll soon become acquainted with the phrase ‘topical authority’. It’s a term we use in SEO, that basically represents one of the key pillars of successful content writing – expertise. It’s achieved by writing clear, concise, accurate and detailed content for your users in an easy to navigate and user friendly manner. Not only making it easier for people to explore and learn, but for search engines to crawl, assess and index.
There’s a variety of ways to do this depending on your CMS and framework, however, in this article, we’re going to cover the most common of them all – WordPress. In WordPress, you’re presented with two taxonomies straight out of the box: ‘categories’ and ‘tags’. We call them taxonomies, but they’re basically just groups we assign pages/posts to for relevance based on topics.
This guide will show you how to structure your content taxonomy (categories/tags) in a strategic way. We’ll also cover the purpose of categories vs. tags, best practices for using them, SEO benefits of a proper taxonomy, how to optimise for users, technical considerations, and a step-by-step plan to implement these in WordPress. So let’s get started.
1. Understanding Categories & Tags
Categories and tags are both default WordPress taxonomies used to group and organise content, but they serve different purposes. Categories are used primarily for your main topics, whereas tags are used to group specific sub topics together. Kind of like social media and hash tags. A good way to visualise categories and tags is with cooking. ‘starters’, ‘mains’, and ‘desserts’ are all categories within the cooking niche, whereas ingredients like ‘milk’, ‘chocolate’ and ‘butter’ would be tags used to link specific areas within a category together for relevance.
In terms of SEO, having a well structured category and tag archive system will improve user experience and give context to search engines and their crawlers. The structure allows users and spiders to understand what your site is about, and the connection between posts/pages. When used together, you can cover every facet of a topic to showcase your expertise in an easy to access and simple manner.
2. Best Practices For Structuring Content
A well planned taxonomy makes your site easier to navigate and easier for search engines to index. The best approach is to design your structure deliberately, rather than creating categories and tags ad hoc as you go.
Choosing The Right Categories
Categories should be broad, fundamental topics that all of your content can fall under. Most well optimised websites tend to aim for five to ten core categories. For example, a tech blog might have ‘mobile’, ‘AI’, ‘Web’, and ‘Gaming’ as categories. Each should be able to contain many posts without overlapping too heavily with others.
When choosing categories, plan for the long term. Pick durable names that will not need to change often. Renaming or restructuring categories later can be time consuming and can create redirect issues. If you are starting from scratch, begin with three to five broad categories and expand only if you find a recurring theme that does not fit anywhere else. Avoid creating hyper specific categories that end up with only one or two posts, as this dilutes the structure.
WordPress also supports sub categories. These can be useful if a parent category becomes too large or diverse. For example, under ‘recipes’ you might introduce ‘gluten free’ or ‘vegan’ if you have significant content in those areas. However, do not overuse sub categories. Many large websites function perfectly well with only top level categories, and unnecessary hierarchy can make navigation harder rather than easier.
Choosing The Right Tags
Tags should be descriptive and specific. They work best when they point to particular themes or angles within a post. For example, a travel post under the ‘Europe’ category might use tags like ‘budget travel’, ‘backpacking’, or ‘train journeys’.
Avoid duplicating category names as tags. If you already have a category called ‘travel’, creating a tag called ‘travel’ adds nothing new and confuses both users and search engines. Tags should complement categories, not compete with them. Instead, think of tags as a way of zooming in. Where ‘WordPress tips’ might be a category, tags could include ‘SEO optimisation’ or ‘plugin guide’.
Use a moderate number of tags per post. Although WordPress does not set a limit, adding dozens of tags makes them less useful and creates cluttered tag archives. A practical rule is to aim for five to ten relevant tags that are reused across multiple posts. If a tag does not apply to at least a few articles, it may not be worth having. Tags work best when they group related posts together, creating meaningful archives.
Assigning Categories To Posts
Each post should belong to one clear category. WordPress technically allows multiple categories, but assigning a post to two or more top level categories rarely benefits SEO and can confuse readers. It may also create duplicate content issues, since the same post will appear under multiple category URLs.
A better approach is to assign a post to one parent category, or to a relevant sub category if your structure uses them. If you select a sub category, you do not usually need to select the parent as well, as WordPress automatically associates sub categories with their parent. Assigning both can create redundancy.
If a post seems to fit multiple categories, that may be a sign your categories are too broad or that your taxonomy needs refining. Posts should feel like they naturally belong to one category.
Using Tags Effectively
Tags are primarily for users, not for SEO keywords. They do not function as meta keywords, and adding more tags does not directly increase rankings. Their value lies in connecting related posts and helping readers discover more content.
Keep tag meanings distinct to avoid keyword cannibalisation, where multiple pages compete for the same terms. If you have overlapping tags like blogging and blogging tips that are used on the same posts, consider merging them. Tags should clarify differences between posts, not blur them.
Also, avoid tag spam by not adding tags that are not directly relevant just because they are popular. Tags should reflect the actual content of the post. Misleading tags create a poor user experience and dilute the usefulness of your archives.
3. The SEO Benefits Of A Proper Taxonomy Structure
Categories and tags are not just for organisation, they also have important SEO implications. A well planned taxonomy improves crawlability, strengthens internal linking, and helps you control indexation.
Improved Crawlability & Context
Search engines use taxonomy to understand your site’s structure and the relationships between topics. A category for ‘digital marketing’ containing posts tagged with ‘SEO’, ‘PPC’, and ’email marketing’ signals that these are all part of a broader subject area. This reinforces topical relevance and helps search engines build a clearer picture of your expertise.
Internal Linking & Link Equity Flow
Category and tag archives automatically generate internal links. Posts are linked from their category and tag pages, which spreads link equity across your site. Category pages in particular often act as hubs, and if linked in your navigation menu, they gain authority and help distribute it to the posts they contain. Tags, when managed well, provide additional pathways for users and crawlers to move between related content.
Better Site Structure & Better SEO
A logical taxonomy prevents your site from becoming a disorganised collection of posts. Concentrating related content under clear categories signals to search engines that your site has depth and authority in those areas. This clustering effect is often referred to as content silos, but it is less about isolating content and more about grouping it sensibly.
Prevention Of Duplicate Content Issues
Poor taxonomy management can create duplicate or thin content. For example, if a tag archive contains only one post, it looks nearly identical to that post’s page. Similarly, assigning a post to multiple categories can produce duplicate versions of the same content under different URLs. These issues confuse search engines and dilute rankings.
To avoid this, limit each post to one category, ensure tags group multiple posts, and configure archives to display excerpts rather than full posts.
Avoiding Keyword Cannibalisation
If taxonomy is misused, category pages and posts can end up targeting the same keyword. For example, a category page optimised for ‘travel tips’ might compete with a blog post also targeting ‘travel tips’. To prevent this, categories should aim at broader terms while posts target specific queries. Avoid repeating category names in tags, and ensure each taxonomy level has its own focus.
Enhanced Indexation Control
WordPress indexes all categories and tags by default, but not all of them deserve to be in Google’s index. Categories often contain valuable collections of content and can rank for broad terms, so many SEO practitioners choose to index them. Tags, however, are more prone to producing thin or redundant pages, so they are often set to noindex.
SEO plugins like Yoast and Rank Math allow you to control this. The recommended approach for most sites is to index categories, noindex tags, and add descriptions to category pages so they provide unique value. However, if you have a website with a large amount of content and posts, and your taxonomy structure is well optimised, then indexing tag archives is advised due to the sheer amount of content that can be indexed and internally linked.
Internal Link Anchor Text & Sitemaps
Categories and tags also influence anchor text. Breadcrumbs, which include categories, provide keyword rich links to category pages. Tags listed on posts provide additional anchor text pointing to tag archives. These signals help search engines connect related content.
Most SEO plugins will include categories, and sometimes tags, in your XML sitemap by default, which aids discovery. If you choose to noindex tags, exclude them from the sitemap to avoid wasted crawl budget.
4. Linking Categories & Tags To Parent Pages
Before we continue, it’s probably worth mentioning how to optimise your posts and taxonomies to bolster authority to relevant service pages. Connecting your categories and tags to dedicated parent pages is a great way to strengthen both SEO and user experience. These parent pages act as authoritative overviews of a topic and provide an anchor point for all related content. In practice, this creates a hub and spoke model where the parent page is the hub, and the category or tag archives, plus their associated posts, form the spokes.
For example, imagine you run a digital marketing agency. You might create a pillar page for digital marketing that gives an in depth overview of what you offer. Your ‘SEO’ category archive will naturally list all posts within that category, but linking the category page to your pillar page, and vice versa, ensures search engines and users can clearly see the parent child relationship. The archive helps with browsing, while the pillar consolidates authority and targets the main keyword.
Tags can work in the same way for cross cutting sub topics. If you have a tag like ’email marketing’, you could create a dedicated landing page about email marketing strategy. From there, you link to the tag archive and key posts, while also linking back from the posts to the landing page. This signals that the landing page is the central, authoritative resource, while the tag archive is a useful index.
To make this effective:
- Add introductory content and a link to the parent page at the top of your category or tag archives. This guides users from the archive to the main resource.
- Link back from the parent page to the category or tag archive, creating a two way relationship.
- Use consistent anchor text so search engines understand which page is the authoritative target for the broader keyword.
- Make sure the parent page is featured in your navigation or sitemap so it is treated as a first class section of your site.
By interlinking categories, tags, and pillar pages, you create a semantic structure where search engines see the parent page as the definitive authority and the related posts as supporting detail. This reduces keyword cannibalisation, improves topical authority, and gives users a clearer path through your content.
5. Improving User Experience With Taxonomy Optimisation
Taxonomy is not just about SEO, it is also a major part of how people experience your site. Well chosen categories and tags make navigation intuitive, encourage exploration, and keep visitors engaged. Engagement is a massive page rank factor so the longer users stay on your website, the more a search engine will interpret your website as valuable.
Clear Navigation & Content Discovery
Categories function as obvious pathways. Descriptive, plain language category names tell users exactly what to expect. Tags act as shortcuts, helping readers find related posts on specific themes. For example, a blog post about gardening in spring might sit in the Gardening category but use tags like spring planting and fertiliser tips to help readers explore similar topics.
Intuitive Taxonomy & Better Engagement
When users can easily find more content they like, they stay longer on your site. Categories and tags guide them naturally to related posts, reducing bounce rates and increasing pages per session. Ensure categories and tags are visible on posts. Most themes display them by default, but if yours does not, consider customising it.
Breadcrumbs For Hierarchical Navigation
Breadcrumbs show users where they are and how to move upward. For example, Home > Recipes > Desserts > Chocolate Cake. They provide orientation, quick navigation, and appear in Google search snippets, improving click through rates. Breadcrumbs should always include categories and be enabled through your theme or SEO plugin.
Use Categories In Menus & Site Structure
Highlight major categories in your site’s navigation menu or sidebar. Many sites group categories under a Topics menu. If you have many, display the top few and link to a full list elsewhere. This makes sure important sections of your site are always one click away.
Meaningful URLs & Permalinks
URL structure matters less to users than on page navigation, but consistency is important. Some sites include categories in URLs, for example /recipes/desserts/chocolate cake, while others prefer shorter post name only URLs, for example /chocolate cake. Both approaches work, but including categories makes later reorganisation harder. Whatever you choose, stick with it and avoid broken links.
Prevent Thin Or Empty Pages
From a user perspective, clicking on a tag that only contains one post feels like a dead end. Avoid excessive taxonomies that produce thin or empty archives. Likewise, do not leave posts in ‘uncategorised’. It looks unprofessional and unhelpful. Rename or remove the default category if necessary.
Visual Cues & Consistency
Display categories and tags consistently. For example, categories might appear at the top of posts, or in breadcrumbs, and tags at the bottom. Add category descriptions where supported, as they help users understand the scope of content within an archive.
6. Enhancing Navigation With Filters & Select Boxes
Categories and tags work best when they are easy for users to explore. While menus, breadcrumbs, and archive links provide basic navigation, you can also add dynamic tools like select boxes, dropdowns, or filter controls on your main archive, for example your blog index page, to make browsing more intuitive.
A category or tag select box allows visitors to filter posts without leaving the main archive. For instance, a ‘choose a topic’ dropdown in your blog sidebar could list all your categories. When a user selects SEO, the archive instantly loads only posts from that category. Similarly, a ‘filter by tag’ dropdown could let users explore specific sub topics such as ‘local SEO‘ or ‘content strategy‘.
Other approaches include:
- Tabbed navigation where each tab represents a category, allowing users to switch between sections without reloading the page.
- Checkbox or multi select filters for larger archives, letting visitors filter posts by multiple tags at once.
- Combined filters that allow users to select both a category and a tag, narrowing down results further.
When implementing filters:
- Keep the design simple and accessible. Dropdowns and checkboxes should be mobile friendly and not overwhelm the layout.
- Limit the options to your most important categories or tags if you have many. Too many choices can create friction.
- Consider AJAX powered filtering so results load without refreshing the whole page, improving the browsing experience.
- Always ensure filter controls output crawlable links, for example category or tag archive URLs, so search engines can still access the taxonomy pages.
These features enhance usability by reducing the number of clicks it takes to find relevant content. They are particularly effective on content heavy sites where archives might otherwise feel overwhelming. By turning your taxonomy into interactive navigation, you encourage deeper exploration, keep users engaged, and provide clear pathways through your content.
7. Technical Processes You Should Consider For Taxonomy
Beyond structure and user experience, there are technical elements of taxonomy that affect performance and SEO.
Structured Data For Taxonomy Pages
Structured data gives search engines explicit information. Breadcrumb schema is essential and usually handled automatically by SEO plugins. For category pages, you can also consider ‘ItemList’ schema, which describes a list of posts. While not mandatory, it can reinforce the purpose of archive pages.
Site Performance With Many Terms
Each taxonomy term is stored in the WordPress database. For most sites, this is not an issue, but thousands of tags can slow down admin screens or queries. To keep performance healthy, prune unused tags, avoid giant tag clouds, and paginate large archives. Use caching to speed up archive loading.
URL Structure Settings (Category & Tag Base)
In Settings > Permalinks, you can adjust the base for category and tag URLs. By default, WordPress uses /category/ and /tag/. You can rename these, for example /topics/, or strip them entirely with a plugin. Be cautious, as removing the base can cause conflicts if you have a page or post with the same slug. Decide early and stick with it.
Handling Changes In Taxonomy
Renaming or deleting categories and tags changes their archive URLs. WordPress does not automatically create redirects for these, so you should add 301 redirects manually, using a plugin like Redirection, to preserve SEO value. If you change a post’s category and your permalink includes categories, test that the old URL redirects correctly.
Using An SEO Plugin For Taxonomy
SEO plugins give you control over taxonomy pages. You can set custom dynamic titles and meta descriptions for categories and tag pages, toggle indexation, and manage breadcrumbs. For example, instead of a generic category ‘desserts’, you can write ‘dessert Recipes’ | MySite and provide a compelling description. This improves both rankings and click through rates. Most SEO plugins allow you to input a dynamic tag in the general archive settings, so in meta titles and descriptions, you can write broad sentences with {taxonomy__title} or something along these lines and the pages will automatically fill that text with the category or tags title.
Managing Archive Content
By default, archive pages list posts. To make them more useful, add a short description at the top. This improves SEO by creating unique content and helps users understand what they will find. Use excerpts rather than full posts to avoid duplication.
Pagination & Canonical Tags
Category and tag archives with many posts will paginate. SEO plugins can set canonical tags so that page two and beyond point back to page one, or they can add rel=”prev” and rel=”next” attributes. This avoids duplicate content issues and helps search engines treat the archive as one logical set.
Schema Markup On Posts
Some plugins add schema markup fields like ‘articleSection’, based on category, and keywords, based on tags, to posts. This ties taxonomy into structured data and reinforces your topical organisation to search engines.
To Summarise
Categories and tags form the foundation of WordPress site structure. Categories act as your pillars, the broad themes that define your site. Tags act as cross links, connecting related content in meaningful ways. Together, they improve user navigation, strengthen SEO, and help you build topical authority.
The key is to keep them simple, consistent, and purposeful. Every post should have a clear home, every tag should add value, and every archive page should be useful to both users and search engines. By planning your taxonomy carefully, implementing it with the right tools, and maintaining it over time, you turn structure from an afterthought into a strategic advantage.