Tags are useful—until they’re not. If your Ghost posts ship with too many tags (5+), your taxonomy can turn into spaghetti: messy tag pages, diluted relevance, and weaker internal linking.

In this guide, you’ll learn why “tag sprawl” hurts, how many tags to use, and the quickest way to find & fix over-tagged posts—using Ghostboard’s SEO and Tags reports as your weekly action list.

Let’s tighten things up. 🏷️✂️

Why “too many tags” hurts (SEO + UX)

1) Diluted topical signals
Tags tell readers and Google what a post is about. When a post carries a pile of tags, the signal gets fuzzy.

Clear, focused internal links help discovery and context; scattered tags do the opposite. Google explicitly uses internal links for discovery and relevance.

Keep your signals tight.

2) Fragmented tag pages
Every tag creates (or contributes to) an indexable archive page in Ghost. When you over-tag, you spawn lots of thin tag pages with only 1–2 posts each. That’s poor UX and a weak signal of topical depth.

Google encourages strong link architecture and clean site structure for crawl and index efficiency.

3) Crawl & index bloat (by analogy)
While tags aren’t faceted filters, the outcome of too many low-value listing pages is similar to faceted-nav bloat: wasted crawl on pages that add little unique value, and slower discovery of the good stuff. (Google warns that sprawling, low-value combinations can waste crawl resources.)

4) No “penalty,” but less value
Google has said duplicate or near-duplicate pages aren’t automatically penalized—but they’re often filtered in favor of more useful versions.

Don’t create archives that add nothing new.

5) Ops friction
At scale, tag bloat even slows you down in Admin. Real-world Ghost users report degraded admin search with thousands of tags—evidence that uncontrolled tags become a maintenance headache.

How many tags per post is “healthy”?

Think in ranges—not rules carved in stone:

• Default: 1–3 primary tags that genuinely describe the post’s topic.
• Upper bound for most posts: stay 5 or less unless there’s a strong editorial reason.
• Magazine-style sites: you might use more, but you still want meaningful clusters, not noise.

This aligns with common Ghost SEO guidance: keep tags focused (often 2–5), avoid synonyms and one-off tags, and build tag pages with depth.

Practical test: If removing a tag wouldn’t change how a reader navigates or how you group content, it’s probably not needed.

What tags do in Ghost (quick refresher)

Ghost’s flexible tags system helps you organize content for readers and in Admin.

You can add them in Post settings, and Ghost outputs linked tag lists in themes (via the {{tags}} helper).

Tag pages are generated automatically, which is why keeping tags intentional matters.

Find over-tagged posts fast with Ghostboard (your fix list) 🔥

Manually scanning post by post is slow. Use this 3-step workflow:

1. Open Ghostboard → SEO report.
   Use it as your SEO housekeeping dashboard to surface on-page issues and jump into problem posts. It’s included on Growth plans and above.
2. Filter for “too many tags” posts (house rule: 5+).
   Work from highest-impact posts first (traffic, conversions).
   Your goal: trim to a focused set that actually powers navigation and discovery. (For broader taxonomy health, pair this with the Ghostboard Tags report to spot over-fragmented or unused tags.)
3. Edit in Ghost → republish.
   Reduce each post to 1–3 primary tags (≤5 when justified). Update and move on.

Bonus: Ghostboard’s long-running guidance on tag hygiene recommends short names, consistent usage, and sensible caps (e.g., avoid double-digit tags per post). Use it to shape your team’s tagging policy.

How to trim tags (without breaking navigation)

Follow this order of operations:

1. Pick the “spine” tag. Choose the one tag that best represents the post’s cluster (e.g., ghost-seo).
2. Keep 1–2 supporting tags that help readers browse adjacent topics (e.g., analytics, workflows).
3. Cut synonyms and near-duplicates. Merge how-to, howtos, tutorials into one canonical tag.
4. Retire vague tags. misc, random, general don’t help users or bots.
5. Prune one-post tags (unless you plan to grow them). Aim for several posts per tag to make tag pages worth visiting.

Editing tags in Ghost (30-second refresher)

1. Open your post in the Ghost editor.
2. Click ⚙️ Post settings (top right).
3. Under Tags, add/remove tags and Save.

Smart tagging strategy (so you rank and readers explore)

Use tags as topic hubs, not keyword buckets:

• Make tag pages valuable. Each tag should lead to a useful archive (multiple strong posts), not a dead end.
• Front-load internal links. Link to related posts within the same tag cluster—internal links help Google discover and understand your content.
• Document your canon. Maintain an “approved tags” list to prevent synonyms and drift.
• Audit quarterly. Use Ghostboard’s Tags report to identify unused or fragmented tags to merge or retire.

Weekly 20-minute cleanup routine

1. Ghostboard → SEO report. Open your to-fix queue (include an internal rule to flag posts with 5+ tags).
2. Ghostboard → Tags report. Spot “zombie” tags (unused or ultra-low usage). Decide what to merge, grow, or retire.
3. Pick 5–10 posts with traffic or conversion value.
4. Trim tags to a focused set (1–3 primaries; ≤5 overall).
5. Add 2–3 contextual internal links to related posts in the same cluster. Google values well-structured link architecture.
6. Republish & log. Track changes so your team learns what works.

Small, consistent edits → compounding wins. 📈

FAQ

Is there an official Google limit on tags?
No. Google doesn’t set a tag count. What matters is useful navigation and a clean link architecture so crawlers and readers understand your site.

Is there a “penalty” for lots of tag pages?
Not by itself. But thin duplicative archives often get filtered and waste crawl. Focus on fewer, stronger tag hubs.

What tag count should we standardize on?
Adopt a house rule: 1–3 primary tags, and review anything over 5 before publishing. Many Ghost-focused SEO guides recommend 2–5 as a healthy range.

Where do I find over-tagged posts?

• In Ghostboard → SEO report (use it as your taxonomy “to-fix” queue).
• For site-wide hygiene and pruning decisions, open Ghostboard → Tags report.

Final takeaway

Tags should guide, not confuse. When posts carry too many tags, you weaken topical signals, fragment archives, and make discovery harder.

Keep a tight taxonomy—1–3 primary tags (≤5 when justified), build strong tag hubs, and make it a habit to review over-tagged posts in Ghostboard’s SEO report (plus the Tags report for cleanup).

That’s a low-effort structure with high leverage for your Ghost blog. 🙌

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