How to use the best tags?

1. 62

   SarahLynnBposted 11 years ago

   Is it true that you should only use tags with words that are in your article at least three times? If you use a word only once in your article, should you not use that as a tag? Any suggestions for good tags?

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      cascolyposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      google will also use tags to evaluate your hub
      
      you can also use synonyms for the words in your title or summary

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      1. 85

         Marisa Wrightposted 11 years agoin reply to this

         No they won't, because Google can't see tags on HubPages.  Like many people, you are assuming tags on HP are the same as tags on a blog.  They're not.

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   2. 85

      Marisa Wrightposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Tags on HubPages and tags on blogs are two completely different things. 
      
      Tags on HubPages are invisible to the search engines.  They are used for HubPages' internal navigation only - for instance, they help determine which Hubs show up as "Related" to your Hub.   So you should only use tags that describe what your Hub is about.  If you use tags that aren't truly relevant to your subject, you'll see all kinds of unrelated Hubs popping up.

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2. 57

   Dame Scribeposted 11 years ago

   It's been said that tags don't do anything for traffic not sure why they are there if not that other than maybe to help HP identify appropriate ads for your Hub.

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   1. 62

      SarahLynnBposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Wow, I have never heard that before, thanks for the info. How can you get your articles on the first page of the Google search? I thought that was what tags were used for.

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3. 57

   Dame Scribeposted 11 years ago

   Reaching 1st page is proper use of keywords in your articles some use adwords to find keywords and then use the lesser competitive ones with a respectable # of searches. Now, that number will vary amongst Hubbers too I use keywords but also try to find titles different from others that pulls a lower search # and not the usual xx hundred million results

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   1. 62

      SarahLynnBposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Okay, great! Thank you!

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   2. 77

      Greekgeekposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Damescribe, here's a way you can confirm for yourself what Marisa pointed out: Google can't see Hubpages tags.
      
      1. Copy the URL of one of your featured hubs.
      2. Google the following: cache:urlofhub
      3. Look in the sidebar. The tags have vanished. This is what Google can see from your hub.
      4. Now use View Source in your browser and search for "keywords." You will find there's no META keywords tag.
      
      The reason Hubpages dropped the META keywords tag is that no search engines trust it any more, since it's been abused too often. The only search engine that still checks it is Bing, and they only do that to look for symptoms of a spammer (keyword stuffing being one of the tipoffs that a webpage isn't good quality).
      
      Instead of looking at tags, which not all websites implement, Google and other search engines determine keywords by analyzing the writing in your article, giving special weight to words in the URL, headers, links, image captions, and links pointing from other pages to that page.
      
      So in order to rank for Google keywords, you have to employ the language that your readers use to search for and talk about your topic.
      
      Hubpages tags, as Marisa says, are only in-house. They help determine the ads on the page and what related hubs are displayed below the hub. That's at least marginally useful for SEO, since links to and from related content can help your content rank better for that topic. But those links aren't particularly important, so their SEO value is limited.
      
      So, back to the original post, how best to use Hubpages tags?
      
      I suggest brainstorming tags that will help your hub get grouped with other good hubs on related topics that the same readers might want to browse. That way, your hubs may appear in the "Related Hubs" section of other hubs (and vice versa). Pay attention to what hubs show up in your own "related" section. If they don't fit, fiddle with your tags. Not knowing what tags other people are using, I suggest using medium-specific tags like "tupperware" or "microwave dishes" or maybe "kitchen" but not broad tags like "cooking" or overly-specific tags like "8 inch teflon-coated saucepan" which might be good for Google, but Google can't see it, and no other hubs are liable to share the tag.
      
      But the short story is: don't worry too much about tags. Pick some that fit and forget 'em.

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      1. 62

         SarahLynnBposted 11 years agoin reply to this

         thank you so much, that was very descriptive, and helpful!! Now back to keywords, how many keywords should you use in your article, and how many times should you use the same word?

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         1. 85

            Marisa Wrightposted 11 years agoin reply to this

            Sarah, it sounds as though you need to go and do a course on writing online.  We're all happy to help you but we can't spend our whole life teaching you the basics in baby steps!
            
            I recommend you sign up for the Keyword Academy.    It is a paid course, but if you Google you can usually find a free one-month trial, and that's enough to get a LOT of useful information - answers to all the questions you're asking, and the ones you don't even know you need to ask.  Writing on the internet is a learning curve and takes a bit of study, so you'll get a better result if you do it in a structured way than get it piecemeal on forums.

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            1. 62

               SarahLynnBposted 11 years agoin reply to this

               I am not asking for you to spend your whole life teaching me. My posts are exactly what these forums are for. Those who don't mind helping others will give me great advice  and most have, that is why I am here. Hubpages is different from other blogging networks, and if I am going to write on here, I am going to do it right. Thank you for your recommendation, that was nice of you. However, your comment above was not respected.

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               1. 85

                  Marisa Wrightposted 11 years agoin reply to this

                  I'm not being mean, I just don't want you to wear out your welcome - I've seen it happen too often before in the five years I've been here.
                  
                  You're right, HubPages is not the same as other blogging networks, in fact it's not for blogging at all - it's a place to write content-rich, magazine-style articles.  So there are definitely some differences.  You've just discovered that tags are different, for instance.  However, some things are the same - including the use of keywords.

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      2. 60

         wjack2010posted 11 years agoin reply to this

         Thank you!! Just the information I wanted. Now you should publish that in a Hub.

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