Tags versus categories for blogs

I have long felt that, while categories play a useful role in organizing information on blogs, tags are just useless noise. I am pleased to see that Matt Cutts, who blogs and works for Google, agrees.

From the words in your actual post, Google and other search engines can tell what it is about. Categories, on the other hand, provide a useful way for someone interested in a particular subject you write about to learn more about it. Someone visiting my blog might only be interested in security, or economics, or photography. Categories let them filter through to just that easily.

They are also a lot less time consuming (though less customizable) than hand-generating an index page or two.

Author: Milan

In the spring of 2005, I graduated from the University of British Columbia with a degree in International Relations and a general focus in the area of environmental politics. In the fall of 2005, I began reading for an M.Phil in IR at Wadham College, Oxford. Outside school, I am very interested in photography, writing, and the outdoors. I am writing this blog to keep in touch with friends and family around the world, provide a more personal view of graduate student life in Oxford, and pass on some lessons I've learned here. View all posts by Milan