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7
Questions
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I have done some research - on Google, etc. - and get some conflicting information.
Does having multiple categories on one post confuse things? How does it work with su
Superbly great :) Why do you ask?
Not as far as I am aware :)
You can assign a post to more than one category.
I have been using multiple categories per post, and as my website grows, I am not happy with the results. I like Phil's idea to have one category per post, and use tags.
My website is getting top-heavy and I need to get it organized as it continues to grow.
I review a number of different products and am trying to figure out drop-downs in my menu - etc.
Categories are designed to be hierarchal, but it's probably best to keep them simple. Each category should only appear once in your hierarchy (of course).
You can apply more than one category to a post but not in the same hierarchy.
I.E. in your example you shouldn't have a juicing post showing under juicing and nutrition.
Where it might work is if you had parent categories of say Health and Nutrition (not a parent and child) then you could perhaps attach both categories to a juicing post.
IF your categories are set up as part of your Permalink structure then changes. when set up, would need to be set up with redirects to avoid confusing search engines.
:-)
Richard
I suppose I should just leave things alone, since I don't understand how to do redirects and am not in the place to be paying Yoast for a Pro version of their plugin.
Well... in answer to your question about: " should you leave "good enough" alone?"... it depends what you mean by "good enough". If you're getting the results you want then leave well alone. If your site has been around for a while and not moving in the direction that you want in terms of results, then it only makes sense to change something... just ask for help if you want someone to take a look.
:-)
Richard
personally i use one post one category - if you need other links to others topics i use tags....
same rules apply - more than one post per category and more than one post per tag...
and it is up to you whether you get your categories and tags indexed - if you do then make sure they are full of posts...
but everyone is different ...
i prefer to see one post only in one place on a site and distrust sites that appear to bloat what they have by adding posts to multiple categories...so you see the same post a few times...
but as you say there is no definitive answer - it is up to you and what your niche will handle...
What are your thoughts of going back and restructuring my whole website with over 100 posts? Restructuring categories would skew the whole thing, I am afraid.
Any thoughts?
with your indexing as long as you have chosen
site url/ post name
then you can change the categories and post within them to your hearts content as this will not affect indexing...
so i would definitely grab all your post titles and set out a spreadsheet and create 5 or 6 categories that are main keywords within your niche - or at least include them or their essense...
and sort out your posts...
then go back to your site and add the categories and add them as menu items - and add the posts to the categories...
i would also sort out 10-20 tags - not the same names as the categories- but semantic words within your niche that your posts use then go through and add the tags - again do it within the spreadsheet to see any you have not used much - leave these for a bit...
then add the tags and go through the posts and add the tags....
it will take some time - but with the spreadsheet you have a plan of what you want t oaccomplish - so can do it bit by bit....
this will help your site navigation along with helping google see more of what your whole site is about along with your visitors...
good luck
you may see a bit of bouncing in google - but anything you do to restructure your content will cause that - but it will return and maybe stronger than before...
remeber to use jaxy tracking to see what effect it has on keywords that you are ranking for...
Thanks Phil! Thanks for your thorough explanation! It is great to have so much help here at WA! I can't wait to get started - long task ahead.
Once I figured them out, I think categories work out well on my website, Carolyn! Time will tell!
Jeff
As my content grows, I find it more important to stay organized. That is what is prompting the category question.
I was and still am writing about Kindle Vella, so when youhit publish in my theme, it allows me to establish the Categorie Kindle Vella so that potential users will not have to search for those posts, since I have 100 posts on my book prmotion website. They will definitely come in handy for you going forward!
Jeff
See more comments
What is your experience with categories and subcategories?
I have done some research - on Google, etc. - and get some conflicting information.
Does having multiple categories on one post confuse things? How does it work with su
I use multiple categories (12) because of my niche and they are vitally important. I use subcategories below those because once again my niche requires them.
I only display the categories in my menu however. As I post I include generally use subcategories since the post is very targeted. If users click the subcategory it will pull up posts from the subcategory and parent category. I use tags to help the search engines identify my site. Mind you, I'm only 3 weeks a novice so my method may not work for everyone, but that's what I've learned during my extensive research off platform also. Just an FYI my niche is Mode Railroading and the hobby encompasses waaay more than the non-hobbyist understands. As a result I do receive comments from site members that it seems too intensive, but to a Model Railroader it makes perfect sense:)
Superbly great :) Why do you ask?
Not as far as I am aware :)
You can assign a post to more than one category.
I have been using multiple categories per post, and as my website grows, I am not happy with the results. I like Phil's idea to have one category per post, and use tags.
My website is getting top-heavy and I need to get it organized as it continues to grow.
I review a number of different products and am trying to figure out drop-downs in my menu - etc.
Categories are designed to be hierarchal, but it's probably best to keep them simple. Each category should only appear once in your hierarchy (of course).
You can apply more than one category to a post but not in the same hierarchy.
I.E. in your example you shouldn't have a juicing post showing under juicing and nutrition.
Where it might work is if you had parent categories of say Health and Nutrition (not a parent and child) then you could perhaps attach both categories to a juicing post.
IF your categories are set up as part of your Permalink structure then changes. when set up, would need to be set up with redirects to avoid confusing search engines.
:-)
Richard
I suppose I should just leave things alone, since I don't understand how to do redirects and am not in the place to be paying Yoast for a Pro version of their plugin.
Well... in answer to your question about: " should you leave "good enough" alone?"... it depends what you mean by "good enough". If you're getting the results you want then leave well alone. If your site has been around for a while and not moving in the direction that you want in terms of results, then it only makes sense to change something... just ask for help if you want someone to take a look.
:-)
Richard
personally i use one post one category - if you need other links to others topics i use tags....
same rules apply - more than one post per category and more than one post per tag...
and it is up to you whether you get your categories and tags indexed - if you do then make sure they are full of posts...
but everyone is different ...
i prefer to see one post only in one place on a site and distrust sites that appear to bloat what they have by adding posts to multiple categories...so you see the same post a few times...
but as you say there is no definitive answer - it is up to you and what your niche will handle...
What are your thoughts of going back and restructuring my whole website with over 100 posts? Restructuring categories would skew the whole thing, I am afraid.
Any thoughts?
with your indexing as long as you have chosen
site url/ post name
then you can change the categories and post within them to your hearts content as this will not affect indexing...
so i would definitely grab all your post titles and set out a spreadsheet and create 5 or 6 categories that are main keywords within your niche - or at least include them or their essense...
and sort out your posts...
then go back to your site and add the categories and add them as menu items - and add the posts to the categories...
i would also sort out 10-20 tags - not the same names as the categories- but semantic words within your niche that your posts use then go through and add the tags - again do it within the spreadsheet to see any you have not used much - leave these for a bit...
then add the tags and go through the posts and add the tags....
it will take some time - but with the spreadsheet you have a plan of what you want t oaccomplish - so can do it bit by bit....
this will help your site navigation along with helping google see more of what your whole site is about along with your visitors...
good luck
you may see a bit of bouncing in google - but anything you do to restructure your content will cause that - but it will return and maybe stronger than before...
remeber to use jaxy tracking to see what effect it has on keywords that you are ranking for...
Thanks Phil! Thanks for your thorough explanation! It is great to have so much help here at WA! I can't wait to get started - long task ahead.
Once I figured them out, I think categories work out well on my website, Carolyn! Time will tell!
Jeff
As my content grows, I find it more important to stay organized. That is what is prompting the category question.
I was and still am writing about Kindle Vella, so when youhit publish in my theme, it allows me to establish the Categorie Kindle Vella so that potential users will not have to search for those posts, since I have 100 posts on my book prmotion website. They will definitely come in handy for you going forward!
Jeff
See more comments
Is anyone else experiencing an abundance of "not currently available" on their web post. I have recently checked several posts so far where the entire posts the products listed
Hey Carolyn,
Must just be the types of products that you are sharing, as I've not had any issues like that... well, not in abundance anyway, as I only checked a few of my Amazon links.
What you could do is link to the page where many different vendors offer the same product, and use THAT page's text link. That is what I have had to do with several health products that are offered on Amazon.
Yes, there are other's products listed on that page too, but as long as the one you are referring to is also there, then that is all that matters.
This way, you're less likely to constantly suffer with broken Amazon links.
That was my workaround.
Hope you find this helpful.
Thanks for your suggestion. I filled out a form on Amazon Central and got this reply.
Any suggestions?
What is the best way to contact them?
Thanks!
Weird, but some of them were "not currently available" on Firefox browser, but on Chrome some of them show "in stock".
On this job, it takes some creativity. You do need to figure how to work around things sometimes.
Thanks a bunch guys!
See more comments
What is happening to amazon's supply?
Is anyone else experiencing an abundance of "not currently available" on their web post. I have recently checked several posts so far where the entire posts the products listed
Hey Carolyn,
Must just be the types of products that you are sharing, as I've not had any issues like that... well, not in abundance anyway, as I only checked a few of my Amazon links.
What you could do is link to the page where many different vendors offer the same product, and use THAT page's text link. That is what I have had to do with several health products that are offered on Amazon.
Yes, there are other's products listed on that page too, but as long as the one you are referring to is also there, then that is all that matters.
This way, you're less likely to constantly suffer with broken Amazon links.
That was my workaround.
Hope you find this helpful.
Thanks for your suggestion. I filled out a form on Amazon Central and got this reply.
Any suggestions?
What is the best way to contact them?
Thanks!
Weird, but some of them were "not currently available" on Firefox browser, but on Chrome some of them show "in stock".
On this job, it takes some creativity. You do need to figure how to work around things sometimes.
Thanks a bunch guys!
See more comments
I have my categories in a widget at the side and would like them at the top with drop-down capabilities.
Is there training on how to do that?
Will I "destroy" my
1. Create a Page with the Wording that you want. On Dashboard Go to Appearance - Menus add a Menu the page you created. Drag the Page over to the Menu
Add your pages in the menu - it will ask where you want the pages placed at the top level or main menu. Check top level. Be sure to add pages by category then save menu. Then visit the website to make sure the pages are in the menu you created.
Will it cause a problem to my existing website to change it from a widget to a top menu? I have 140 articles on my current website.
Good question. Since you're not changing URLs it should not make things worse. By improving visitors' experience it might improve rankings over time.
:-)
Richard
See more comments
I have my categories in a widget at the side and would like them at the top with drop-down capabilities.
Is there training on how to do that?
Will I "destroy" my
1. Create a Page with the Wording that you want. On Dashboard Go to Appearance - Menus add a Menu the page you created. Drag the Page over to the Menu
Add your pages in the menu - it will ask where you want the pages placed at the top level or main menu. Check top level. Be sure to add pages by category then save menu. Then visit the website to make sure the pages are in the menu you created.
Will it cause a problem to my existing website to change it from a widget to a top menu? I have 140 articles on my current website.
Good question. Since you're not changing URLs it should not make things worse. By improving visitors' experience it might improve rankings over time.
:-)
Richard
See more comments
Can you explain ping backs and are they good and/or desirable to have on your website?
A Pingback gives blogs the ability to communicate through an automated system, it's kind of like a remote comment. The trouble is 99% of all trackbacks/pingbacks are usually spam.
It's also one of the easiest ways for spammers to get a link from your website.
You can disable trackbacks and pingbacks by going to Setting then Discussion in your WordPress menu and untick (if it is ticked)
- Allow link notifications from other blogs (pingbacks and trackbacks) on new posts -
Note this will only affect new posts, not posts that have been published.
Hope that helps
Thanks, there is so much to learn in this business! So by un-ticking the box, you will prevent further ping backs in the future. And from what I understand you to say, it sounds like most ping backs are spam - which you want to avoid. Thanks
You can undo in your WordPress, settings > Discussions.
Resource
https://www.wpbeginner.com/beginners-guide/what-why-and-how-tos-of-trackbacks-and-pingbacks-in-wordpress/
See more comments
What are ping backs and do you want them on your website?
Can you explain ping backs and are they good and/or desirable to have on your website?
A Pingback gives blogs the ability to communicate through an automated system, it's kind of like a remote comment. The trouble is 99% of all trackbacks/pingbacks are usually spam.
It's also one of the easiest ways for spammers to get a link from your website.
You can disable trackbacks and pingbacks by going to Setting then Discussion in your WordPress menu and untick (if it is ticked)
- Allow link notifications from other blogs (pingbacks and trackbacks) on new posts -
Note this will only affect new posts, not posts that have been published.
Hope that helps
Thanks, there is so much to learn in this business! So by un-ticking the box, you will prevent further ping backs in the future. And from what I understand you to say, it sounds like most ping backs are spam - which you want to avoid. Thanks
You can undo in your WordPress, settings > Discussions.
Resource
https://www.wpbeginner.com/beginners-guide/what-why-and-how-tos-of-trackbacks-and-pingbacks-in-wordpress/
See more comments
I use multiple categories (12) because of my niche and they are vitally important. I use subcategories below those because once again my niche requires them.
I only display the categories in my menu however. As I post I include generally use subcategories since the post is very targeted. If users click the subcategory it will pull up posts from the subcategory and parent category. I use tags to help the search engines identify my site. Mind you, I'm only 3 weeks a novice so my method may not work for everyone, but that's what I've learned during my extensive research off platform also. Just an FYI my niche is Mode Railroading and the hobby encompasses waaay more than the non-hobbyist understands. As a result I do receive comments from site members that it seems too intensive, but to a Model Railroader it makes perfect sense:)