How To Use Tags?

1. 86

   andyozposted 13 years ago

   I have been here for three weeks now and realised that I don't really understand how the tags work.  I understand the purpose of them, highlighting key words and all that, but don't get which tags I should be using.  Because of this I tend to go crazy on my tags and add loads. 
   
   So my latest hub is called 'Waterslide extreme game app for iPhone & iPad - tips, hints, cheats, high scores'.  Now I went crazy and added tags such as: waterslide extreme tips, waterslide extreme hints, waterslide extreme iphone, etc....
   
   Do I need to write waterslide extreme ..... for every tag.  Or will I do just as well by writing waterslide extremem once, then just adding other one word tags such as tips, hints, cheats etc...
   
   I hope I have explained that well enough.  Anyway, can anyone shed any light on this, as I feel like I am overtagging at the moment.

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   1. 92

      Susana Sposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      As well as specific tags like the ones frogdropping has listed, I also use a selection of broader tags. This is because the broader tag pages tend to have higher pagerank and you can also get a link to your profile if you use a particular tag a lot. See this tag page as an example.
      
      So for your hub I would add tags like technology, iphone apps, ipad apps, games, gaming, apps, gaming apps, game apps. 
      
      As for the number of tags - you can add up to the number before the warning appears. When the warning comes up you have too many! The amount of tags you are allowed depends on the word count of the the hub - the more words the more tags allowed, up to a maximum of 40. I just checked one of my longer hubs which is 1850 words and it has 39 tags on it - no problem.
      
      There's a great hub on how to use tags you might want to read - it really helped me: http://hubpages.com/hub/Hubpages-Traffic-Use-of-Tags

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2. 76

   frogdroppingposted 13 years ago

   No - you find some other related tags, which are what people type into Google when they're searching for something.
   
   Example:
   
   waterslide game
   waterslide extreme online
   waterslide extreme game
   waterside games online
   waterslide extreme for iphone
   waterslide extreme for ipad
   waterslide extreme hints
   
   The above are just examples, I made them up. You find the ones that are best suited to your hub and add them as tags. Basically whatever's related, about 20 or so I reckon

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   1. 86

      andyozposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      So basically you are saying I have been doing it the right way?  I have been adding about 20 tags per hub, and most of them contain quite a few words.  Is there such a thing as over tagging?  What's to stop someone adding say 100 tags?  Would this effect the hub or where it ranks on google?

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      1. 0

         Website Examinerposted 13 years agoin reply to this

         You should use no more than a dozen tags for a relatively short hub. Anything above would be excessive, and could lead the hub to be flagged and unpublished by moderators.

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         1. 63

            Mishaposted 13 years agoin reply to this

            Source, please?

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            1. 0

               Website Examinerposted 13 years agoin reply to this

               The source is Maddie Ruud, HP Staff:
               
               http://hubpages.com/forum/post/1152504

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               1. 63

                  Mishaposted 13 years agoin reply to this

                  Umm, Maddie said "a dozen or so", you said "You should use no more than a dozen". Do you see the difference?

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                  1. 0

                     Website Examinerposted 13 years agoin reply to this

                     I see the subtle difference. Maddie Ruud said she wouldn't use more than a dozen or so. I think a dozen is prudent and easy to practice and remember, but in the future I will quote her instead.

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                     1. 86

                        andyozposted 13 years agoin reply to this

                        Maddie actually said that for longer hubs (1500 words) upto 40 tags could be relevant.  So as long as you are not adding tags that have no relation to your hub, maybe there is no real set limit.

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                        1. 68

                           lrohnerposted 13 years agoin reply to this

                           Maddie also said that "she wouldn't use..." which is very, very different than, "Use more than X and your hub will be flagged..."
                           
                           There is a limit. I don't know what it is, but it exists. If you cross the line, your hub will be flagged. No harm nor foul. Just remove some of the tags and you'll be all set if that happens.

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                           1. 86

                              andyozposted 13 years agoin reply to this

                              Well thanks for all the comments.  A few have helped, a few have confused me more, but I think I understand now, seems I had it right in the first place.  So nothing lost.  Cheers everyone.

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3. 69

   shimmering Dawnposted 13 years ago

   I have learnt quite a bit about tas from this thread and the reference that WE has given thank you everyone!

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