WordPress blog categories explained

Marbles
Organise Your Categories & Tags

I was looking at a blog this morning and noticed the piece I was reading was an Uncategorized post.

That mean’t that it had no index label to describe it. I suspected that all of the posts on this site were in this group. The clue was in the big list on the sidebar under related posts. In fact all of these were all unrelated articles in one big category, it was quite overwhelming.

 

 

 

The category system is one of those tools in WordPress that often gets overlooked; more so now that the platform is used to build websites, this is unfortunate as the feature is part of the database system used to build the software.

Having set up some sites recently using WordPress, this setup or structure can get neglected and not even mentioned in the setup documentation for the site theme.

WordPress was always a content management system before a website platform; Category labels must be defined as part of the site development and will be relevant to your content.

A blog about triathlon might have the following

Triathlon
Running
Interval Training
Swimming
Cycling

Each of these headings may have a subheading about the primary subject. For example, Running might have Interval Training

When writing, each post is assigned a category. It is this process that makes the blog accessible and searchable, and it is also a key tool for making the site relevant to the reader and a basis for good search engine optimization. (SEO)

The next stage is tags, these are effectively keywords and can be used to join categories together. With the good structure and well-placed tags, a site with a lot of posts can offer a good visitor experience. The reader can find other content of interest and move around the site with ease.

When setting up your categories think about the different subjects you will write about and how to group them. If you have been blogging for some time, it is good practice to review your categories and tags.

To see your current category structure go to posts tab on the dashboard and categories should appear, click that tab to see the structure. See the video below for a demonstration. Also for more information about categories and tags check out the article at the bottom of the post from Matt Zak.

On a personal note, a few years back the blog on this site had a messy structure until it was pointed out. Once I had set up my categories, I had a problem with Uncategorized. These were some posts that did not fit my new categories, so I changed it to “Ramblings” as these postings and were outside of my normal subject, but still valid for the blog. It is
not good practice to have a lot of these; maybe I need to revisit my structure.

The key point is we are writing for our visitors. We need to make the user experience more readable, easier to find related material that will keep them interested and sharing our content.

Matt Zak article

WordPress Categories vs Tags: How Do I Use Them on My Blog?

A great testimonial is a golden nugget.

Thumbs upI would be the first person that will tell you a good testimonial is a highly valuable on your website or other promotional materials.  The reason for this is that a testimonial says more about you or your product than you can ever say.

It is called social proof, and it brings both validation and credibility to the product or business.

Here are a few everyday examples.

1)Take a look at some of the insurance mail pieces that pop through your letterbox, there will always be a picture
of someone saying how easy the claim process was.

2) Look at Amazon or Ebay, when offered a choice between similar product and price it is the feedback or reviews that swing the decision.

3) If you are a business user on Linkedin, notice how it prompts you to endorse your contacts.

We know all of this is important. So why is it so difficult to ask your customers for a testimonial. Also, when you ask why is it so difficult to get something that is worth using in your publicity?

First, it is a bit embarrassing to ask, it’s like asking for a compliment, and I was told by my parents that it was not polite.

From the other side on the receiving end of the question and being asked to give a testimonial, most people ( myself included ) do not know what to say. Or find it had to frame the words well.

Paul is a really great guy, very friendly.   Fred Smith  (while nice to know that Fred thinks I am great it does not say much.)

The key point, receiving a good testimonial is about timing. The customer needs to be in the right frame of mind,  the best time to ask is when the experience is fresh. But for practical reasons it is not always the best time to ask.  So how do we get a supply of strong testimonials and endorsement?

The best solution is to use a survey and structure it in such a way that customer is giving an opinion.  You can use this material to create all the testimonials that best serve your cause.

To find out more see the testimonial took kit

[tweetthis]A great testimonial is like a golden nugget.[/tweetthis]

 

The power of thinking & feeling to get what you want

Thinking and feeling. A few weeks back ( July 2015) I saw a TV programme called Dead Man Walking on BBC2 Scotland, for me, it was about thinking and feeling.

David Smith thinking & Feeling
David Smith BBC Programme

It was the story of gold medal-winning Paralympian David Smith and his journey with cancer. David has faced many struggles in his life, born with club feet he went on to become a professional karate champion, athlete, bobsleigh brakeman, rower and now a cyclist.

He had beaten spine cancer before, but the disease had returned, we got to follow his treatment and subsequent return to fitness, a battle for his life and career.

It occurs to me that we see athletes like beings at the pinnacle of dedication to their bodies and performance. It is hard to see the parallel between the athlete and his sport to the entrepreneur and his business. However, the programme was an insight into a world; that is more similar than you might think.

Taking aside the pain and physical differences, the key similarity is belief and the power of thought because nothing gets done without it. David’s key challenge was laying in bed following the operation and knowing that he would be able to move his body again. It was all about getting his head right. At each stage of his recovery, he got his head in the right place, and his body followed.

Getting the head right

As a marketing coach, this is not something that I talk about much, and yet it does come up. Both in client meetings and in my experience of just doing the work for myself. We have all heard the quote:

” If you think you can you can,
and if you think you can’t you’re right.”

That is thinking & feeling in action. We know this then why do so many of us use negative self-talk in conversation. I have noted in myself the use of negative sarcasm when commenting on the positive. “ It may be sunny now, but you watch out it will rain later.” Not that my thinking can affect the weather, but it does reflect the sensitivity of my well-being to an external event. I have come to see this as a defence; it is like we are building in defeat so we can feel better when the outcome we would like does not happen.

Athletes do not  to use negative words about themselves

We would not expect an athlete to use negative words about themselves or their performance. The sports world has known the power of the mind for 50 years. It has only just started to make an appearance in everyday life. Mindfulness CBT, NLP, EFT and meditation are all techniques that use thinking & feeling and can be used to get control of the head. To my mind, these techniques are half the story

I have worked with my head and thoughts for many years, my thinking and it can be a creative monster. It can tell me all sorts of bad stories that do not make me feel good about myself. I have discovered, given that I do not live in a war zone, that the reality is rarely that bad. I know from experience that everything works better if I believe it will.

The point is as an entrepreneur we have to put ourselves on the line, and that takes confidence, and it has to come from somewhere. Public speaking at the front of a room of men in dark suits required me to take a few deep breaths. In my experience, I did not die, and they liked me.

thinking & feeling

Understand those thoughts and feeling are connected, they work in both directions. Negative thoughts lead to negative feelings, and the opposite is also true. Good thoughts lead to good feelings.

Test this for yourself, observe your own thoughts, and the feelings attached, try to remember a happy experience from your childhood.

Do it now.

Did you notice the connection, it may not have worked just now, but do try this out for yourself.

The missing piece and going to the next level.Thinking & Feeling

Thinking good thoughts and having positive feelings is only half the story, what has worked for me is removing the fear of failure. I have heard various people speak to this; some say fail quickly and move on. Others say there is no failure just feedback.

Just as success brings the rush of endorphin, failure, when we have invested so much, can be a crushing blow. Using the above ideas you can dust yourself down and move on, the point is unless failure means the end of your life, there will always be something that follows, you will always move on

The practice of non-attachment

I use non-attachment, I have learned that the reality of something not going as I wanted, means I live on to try something else. It often brings new fresh opportunity. I will not pretend that I have no attachments because I do, my family, friends some possessions. I have just found a way of holding the outcome and accepting whatever it is.

Achieving a place of non- attachment can be deep work and difficult to explain in words; it is hard to describe, but it is a skill I urge you to cultivate as with it comes to the freedom of action and life without fear.

Going back to David’s situation he was very attached and driven by his outcomes and he was facing a life or death situation. He is an inspiration, within six months of his neck operation to remove the tumour on his spine he cycled Mont Ventoux, three times in one day.

Sitting at the top at the end of this amazing ride. He reflected that most people with his cancer would be resting in a chair while he was resting at the top of a mountain.

Tweet: The parallel between the athlete and his sport and the entrepreneur with his business. http://ctt.ec/zicy1+

If you want to get results we have a 90-day program that uses some of the techniques found n this article for more details see here