It is best to keep your blog labels simple and not over use them. The function of the labels system is to connect related posts together and serve as navigation for your interested readers and as a form of organization for you. You can accomplish this delicate balance of both and I will share that with you in a moment but first let me tell you what not to do with your labels.
- Don’t use labels that have no meaning to your readers. Though you get all warm and cozy inside when you see the label, “boopsie,” which is used to describe your sweetheart, no one else in blog world will feel the same way. If we don’t feel the same way then we won’t click on that link. If your goal is for no one else to ever read those posts then naming them “boopsie” is a swell idea!
- Don’t use your labels as an easy search tool for yourself. By using labels like, “Easter 09″ and “Florida Cruise” as a label you are greatly limiting its use and taking up valuable space on your blog. Obviously, the only posts that will fit into those labels are posts about their namesakes which is likely to only be – one. While I understand that you want to be able to find those posts fairly easily when you look for them it is always best to simply use the search feature that is available on the “edit post” tab. You would serve your readers well by labeling those posts with something more appealing and something that would house more than just one post. “Holidays” and “Our Travels” would be more suitable labels. A good rule of thumb is that if you can’t fit at least 5 posts under that label then you should consider another name.
In my opinion, 15-30 different labels are sufficient depending on the amount of blogging and the variety of the topics you post about. If you only do devotions then you may consider a creative labeling system like using the fruits of the spirit. Or if you blog bible studies then maybe you could use different authors of the bible or time periods as the labels. If you review books then your labels might consists of the genres of the books and so on.
The bottom line is that if your goal is to use your blog to minister to others on any level then you must make it easy to navigate. That way after I read your amazing post on “what not to wear to church” then I can click on the “Church Mouse Fashion” label and find more riddling antidotes for my curious fashion inspired mind.
All blog platforms offer labels or categories and you are able to change them in bulk which means if you have never used your labeling system then you can also name them in bulk. Just do a quick search for common terms you would have used for any given topic and once they all come up you can label them accordingly. Remember: Many labels are much better than no labels any day.
If you need to change your more than one of your post’s labels in Blogger simply follow these instructions:
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Log into your Blogger account.
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From your dashboard, click on “posts.”
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Check off the box in front of each of the posts you want to add the label to.
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Click on the drop down box at the top of the page and choose the label you want to apply to the posts.
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Done!
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Great post! I've been thinking a lot about labels lately. Oh man, how lame did that just reveal me to be? Moving on…I recently added labels and I've been wondering if I'm not specific enough. I have labels like "Devotionals", "This and That", "Poetry", as well as a few for series type things. At first I thought this was great since I have a search box, and figured that anyone looking for specifics could use that. Now I'm wondering if I'm making the readers work for their dose of encouragement. Being a ministry site, I'd love to get it right. I'd love your thoughts on being too broad in labeling. Thanks so much!
I've been blogging for only a few months, and I've been changing my list of labels–eliminating a few, adding a few. Thanks for the tip on changing the labels on existing posts!
Thank you, Amy. I'm cleaning things up!
Awesome Post Amy..
I've been trying to figure "Labels" out and what their purpose is. So glad you thought to post this one. It is right on time for me. And thank you for the no how at the end. Now, I "know how" to get to them and set them right!!
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Loving this…
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Great post and great tips!
I only wish I could do math like you, Amy! For math this year, in addition to Singapore workbooks, we are going to play lots of fun games..thanks to Nancy Bjorkman from Heppner's Legacy. We're sharing an American History through Art with another homeschooling family. We're going to do a lot more experiments with Science this year. We're also going to take advatage of spelling practice with SpellingCity.com. Basically, we're just planning to have a whole lot more fun this year.
I love that you posted about this! I just redid my labels and I was amazed at how easy it was. I everyone who visits my blog is too.
Can you write a post about how to make sense of your blog stats? I have blog stats, now what?
LOL