How to properly use labels as categories on Blogger

Blogger has made categorising posts pretty simple, however it’s something that is often overlooked or misused.

Categorising your posts helps organise your blog letting your readers find what they are looking for.

On Blogger, categories are called labels. Whenever you create a post, in the post editor on the right, you have the option of adding labels to that post.

How to properly use labels as categories on Blogger

Existing labels will appear below the label box so you can quickly add them.

On your blog, labels appear in the post meta in the post header or post footer area, this is usually below your post title or under your content. They are linked to a search label page in Blogger.

If you click on one of these categorized links, you will be directed to a search page on your blog that shows all the posts with that particular label attached.

How to find the URL for your labels

If you labeled your post “beauty”, then the URL will look like this – http://your-blog-name.blogspot.com/search/label/beauty.

Notice that the labels are both written in lowercase, labels are case-sensitive so it’s important they match.

How to properly use labels as categories on Blogger

How to use labels correctly on Blogger

The common misconception is that labels/categories/tags have SEO value – that adding keywords to the labels will help their blog get noticed.

As mentioned in my SEO myths post, labels don’t really have an SEO impact. They are a way to organise your content and help readers find posts.

Because of this it’s important to really think about the labels you use. For example, before I started this blog I thought up six main topics I’d be covering and set them up as categories, this separates my content to help readers find posts.

How to use labels in navigation

It’s a really good idea to add labels to your navigation menu as your topics or categories.

You can click on one of your post labels at the bottom of your published post and then copy the link or if you know how your label is spelled you can manually type it out using this format http://your-blog-name.blogspot.com/search/label/yourlabel or http://your-blog-name.blogspot.com/search/label/your%20label if spaces are used (eg “your label” instead of “yourlabel”).

Remember that the label in the URL needs to be spelled exactly the same way as you have typed it into the labels section of you post and is case sensitive.

You can use the pages gadget in Layout to create a navigation bar, using an external link to add your labels. I also have a load of tutorial on custom navigation menus here.

37 Comments

Wow mee too! Agreeing with the earlier posts. Well I always hoped that they had some sort of SEO value but had a feeling that it wasn’t ‘working’.

Thank you I will also be reading that post.

I’ve actually just started using Blogger (4year WordPress user here), and I’m finding it incredibly difficult to use LOL. Is there a “category” section like WordPress has that I can store posts in? As “labels” seem more like “tags” to me.

Thank you very much Elaine for this useful information… I did have a question though… Do these labels put on posts on blogger help when it comes to readers searching using these labels on google search? I mean would your blog pop up in the search results if it has a label a reader used in the google search box?

Thanks

Hello, I realized it is a trend (or may be bloggers’ve been doing this for a long time) that having the post label in the post header. I am trying to do that same too but I can’t remove the “labels:” in front of my labels. I think only showing the label (like you have BLOGGING TIPS instead of Lablels: BLOGGING TIPS). Can you show us how to remove the “labels:”? Thank you so much!!!!

Hi Elaine,

This post is just what I’ve been looking for it has helped a lot! I was just wondering whether there is any way of getting rid of the box that says ” Showing posts with label *whatever label*. Show all posts.”?

Thanks 🙂

Is there anything you don’t have a tutorial on!! Your blog is absolutely wonderful!!
Thank you 🙂

Hi, I’ve been using blogger labels for a while now but something I really want to do with one of my labels is have a little explanation of what the label means. I have this thing on my blog called “verbal spill” where I occasionally do a one-take blog post or poem that is slightly rambley but usually is just what I’m thinking, but I want to explain that to my readers when they click on the label. So under where it says “posts with label VERBAL SPILL” I want a short explanation, do you think that’s possible?
If not is there someway I could create a blog post about what it is and then make that the top post of the label? Thank you

I was wondering if there was a way to clear your previously used labels list as I have recently moved back to blogger from WordPress and it is full of labels from a fair amount of time of misusing them and seems to have ALOT of them!?

Thanks 🙂

No really no, Blogger look after that automatically. I wish there was an easier way! Instead of doing it post by post though, it might be easier to select a label from the dropdown (beside publish button) the post tab on Blogger, then select all posts with that label and remove the label. Once they aren’t used they’ll disappear from the list.

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Hello! I love your blog and find myself coming here time and again for your helpful tutorials. Unfortunately, I’m having a lot of trouble understanding this one.

I’m redesigning a third-party template to suit my needs and it uses the PageList for navigation. So I don’t know where I’m supposed to put the label URL? The Pagelist doesn’t have that option. I’m considering replacing the PageList with a custom navigation as shown in the tutorial here on xomisse.

Also, are you saying that if you put one label’s URL in the navigation, then all of the other posts with that particular label will automatically show up on the search results for that label? Or do you have to insert each post’s URL manually under that label’s name in the navigation? I’m so sorry, but I’m completely confused.

P.S. Please excuse how my blog looks…I’m still tinkering with the design!

Thank you 🙂

Hi Melissa, thank you so much! You can add an external link within the Pages gadget, there you can paste the label URL and enter a title. Yes, if you click on a label in the navigation or in the post footer, you’ll be shown an archive with all posts that have that label. Labels group posts in a specific category together, to help your readers find related posts within that “topic”. Hope this helps!

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