Site Tags, Bounce Rate and SEO

[eluviis]

I've used tags before, but not on my latest site. However, I'm considering the use of them on a new blog section I'm building for it.

Generally, the reason I don't like them is because they are extra URLs and for me that can easily dilute the content of a site. While they might be useful for site navigation and to help reduce bounce rate, I don't feel they are good for SEO.

However…

Let's say I decide to use tags to help improve navigation and to help reduce bounce rate by giving the user something to click on close to the content they are reading. Theoretically, if I go to the Genesis SEO settings and tell Genesis/WP to tell the search engines no-index to tag pages… Would that in effect reduce the effect of dilution of having the multiple URLs that tags create?

I suppose that by doing this  I can benefit from tags without diluting the content SEO-wise with unoptimized URLs.

Am I right in my assumptions?

[Bill Murray]

Yes. Tags (especially via a tag cloud) help your visitors to discover other content. If they discover other content, your bounce rate will go down, and over time your rank on a SERP will likely go up. Just don't overuse tags, because too many can make a site slow, and be sure to have a plan to use them in a way that complements rather than duplicates how you use categories.

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[eluviis]

^^^ Oooh, excellent. Thanks for the advice. I use very few categories and they are generally branded... Like, Show and Shine, Editors Corner, Tech Pint, etc. Only the url is slightly keyword targeted. Given the way I use categories and the fact they I only have 4-5 of them, I think I can make great use of tags for more general terms.

Additionally, I have created a custom post type and custom taxonomy that allows the use of the same standard WP post tags the standard blog posts are using. This, can be a way to help tie those 2 sections together to have users easily jump between them.

This is looking good.

[RonnyMac]

There's no reason not to implement all those 'diminishing returns' features: keywords, tags, link density, etc. Just remember that about 95-percent of all search engine traffic, presumably from higher rankings, comes because of links back to your site and not the cosmetic SEO efforts. That's what makes Genesis so good. All the 'diminishing returns' extras you'll ever need are there and easy to implement as you create content, but it's those valued links back to the site that result in higher rankings and more referral traffic from search engines.

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ronnymac
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