WordPress tags for SEO? Do they actually help?

We are currently developing a website for an organisation that has hundreds of posts, each with multiple tags. They asked us whether tags still matter for SEO, whether it’s possible to use too many of them, and how tags should actually be used on a site of this size.

It’s a good question, and one that comes up a lot on larger content-heavy websites.

What WordPress Tags Are Designed to Do

WordPress tags were created to label specific topics within a post. While categories define the main sections of a website, tags are meant to highlight individual subjects that appear across multiple pieces of content.

On a magazine-style website, this allows articles from different sections to be grouped together under shared topics. For example, a single topic such as renewable energy might appear in news articles, opinion pieces, and long-form features. Tags make that connection possible.

How Tags Behave from an SEO Point of View

Every tag added in WordPress automatically creates its own archive page and URL. Unless configured otherwise, these pages can be indexed by search engines.

This means tags are not just labels in the admin area. They create real pages on the site, each of which search engines evaluate like any other page.

If a tag archive contains a strong collection of related content, it can act as a useful topic page. If it contains only one or two posts, it becomes a thin page with little value.

When Tags Are Useful on Large Websites

Tags can be valuable on larger magazine or publisher websites when they are used deliberately.

They work best when:

• Tags represent real topics that appear across multiple articles
• Each tag is reused consistently
• Tag archive pages contain a meaningful number of posts
• Important tags are treated as topic hubs rather than afterthoughts

In these cases, tag pages can help both users and search engines understand how content is connected across the site.

The Problem with Too Many Tags

The most common issue we see on large websites is uncontrolled tag growth.

This usually happens when:

• Tags are added freely without guidelines
• Multiple tags describe the same topic in slightly different ways
• New tags are created for every post
• Tags are used only once or twice

Over time, this results in hundreds of tag archive pages with very little content. From an SEO perspective, this can dilute the overall quality of the site and create internal competition between pages covering similar topics.

Do Tags Improve Rankings?

Tags do not automatically improve search rankings. They only provide value when the pages they create are useful and substantial.

Search engines favour:

• Clear site structure
• Strong category pages
• Well-organised topic pages with depth

Tags that create thin or duplicated archive pages do not support this and may be ignored entirely.

How Tags Should Be Used on a Magazine Website

For large content-driven sites, tags should be treated as a managed system rather than a free-form feature.

A sensible approach usually includes:

• Defining a limited set of approved tags
• Reusing tags consistently across content
• Avoiding synonyms and duplicate variations
• Only creating tags that will be used multiple times
• Deciding which tag pages should be indexable and which should not

In many cases, the most important tags function almost like secondary categories, while lower-value tags are restricted or disabled entirely.

Categories vs Tags in Practice

A simple distinction helps avoid confusion:

• Categories organise the site’s main sections
• Tags connect content by topic across those sections

If a tag does not meaningfully connect multiple pieces of content, it generally does not need to exist.

What We Typically Recommend

On large magazine-style websites, tags can be useful, but only when they are controlled and purposeful.

Rather than asking whether tags should be used at all, the better question is how many are needed, which ones matter, and how they fit into the wider structure of the site. Without that structure, tags quickly become a liability rather than an asset.

This is why, on large projects, we review existing tags carefully and often consolidate or remove large numbers of them before launching a redesigned site.