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The Importance of Correctly Categorizing Your Articles
The Importance of Correctly Categorizing Your Articles
Posted by Jennifer M | October 20, 2009 | Comments (1)
Hello Writers –
One of the topics we consistently receive questions on is title categorization—both when searching for available titles and once an article has been claimed. We thought we’d take a minute to address both.
As you know, when you write an article, you have to categorize it with the appropriate categories. What many of you probably don’t know is that each time you categorize a claimed title, you are categorizing it within the destination site’s taxonomy. What is a taxonomy you ask? Essentially, taxonomy is a fancy word for “categories.” It’s not too important for you to know the specifics of it, but, in short, a taxonomy is a classification system, and each of our sites have a different taxonomy—or category system. The taxonomy guides how articles are organized on the destination site.
We have noticed that many articles are incorrectly categorized. Though it may seem like a minute task when completing an article, it’s very important to categorize your articles correctly. As mentioned above, the categories you choose are the exact categories in which your article will appear on the site, so it’s essential to categorize them correctly. When a reader is browsing topics, you want your article to appear. However, if it’s miscategorized, chances are the reader won’t find your article. For example, if a reader is researching the job responsibilities of a nurse on eHow, she would click the Careers & Work category—not Health. If your article was categorized under Health, she wouldn’t find the quality article you have spent time writing and researching.
Many of the errors we noticed could be solved simply by paying closer attention and practicing diligence when categorizing your article. For example, we saw the Answerbag title "Who invented the prom?" in Home & Garden, rather than Life & Society/ Parties & Entertaining/Prom. Likewise, "How many 1979 Chevrolet C10 Pace trucks were made?" was in Hobbies/Collecting/Sports Cards, not Transportation/Autos/Antique & Classic Cars.
Additionally, as you're categorizing your article, think about the intent the title implies. For example, "How many years does it take to be a medical technician?" should be in Business/Professions & Industries/Health Care Professions, since the intent is to find out more about the profession, rather than somewhere in Health & Fitness.
On a similar note, many of you have noted that some of the titles in the Find Assignments queue are miscategorized. Rest assured, we are working on this, but we wanted to remind you to write your articles according to the title, not the category in which you’ve found the title. Titles are assigned a category to help writers easily search for titles. Every so often, an incorrect or ill-defined category may appear with a title. Do not base the meaning of a title or the way you categorize it solely on the category you found in the available titles queue. The category is to help you search for the article, not to specify the details of what the article should contain. Always write and categorize the article to fulfill the goal outlined in the title. For example, if the title “About Blood Glucose” is assigned a category of diabetes in the Find Assignments queue, do not write the article addressing blood glucose for diabetics. The title does not specify diabetics, so the article and categories shouldn’t either.
Happy categorizing!
One of the topics we consistently receive questions on is title categorization—both when searching for available titles and once an article has been claimed. We thought we’d take a minute to address both.
As you know, when you write an article, you have to categorize it with the appropriate categories. What many of you probably don’t know is that each time you categorize a claimed title, you are categorizing it within the destination site’s taxonomy. What is a taxonomy you ask? Essentially, taxonomy is a fancy word for “categories.” It’s not too important for you to know the specifics of it, but, in short, a taxonomy is a classification system, and each of our sites have a different taxonomy—or category system. The taxonomy guides how articles are organized on the destination site.
We have noticed that many articles are incorrectly categorized. Though it may seem like a minute task when completing an article, it’s very important to categorize your articles correctly. As mentioned above, the categories you choose are the exact categories in which your article will appear on the site, so it’s essential to categorize them correctly. When a reader is browsing topics, you want your article to appear. However, if it’s miscategorized, chances are the reader won’t find your article. For example, if a reader is researching the job responsibilities of a nurse on eHow, she would click the Careers & Work category—not Health. If your article was categorized under Health, she wouldn’t find the quality article you have spent time writing and researching.
Many of the errors we noticed could be solved simply by paying closer attention and practicing diligence when categorizing your article. For example, we saw the Answerbag title "Who invented the prom?" in Home & Garden, rather than Life & Society/ Parties & Entertaining/Prom. Likewise, "How many 1979 Chevrolet C10 Pace trucks were made?" was in Hobbies/Collecting/Sports Cards, not Transportation/Autos/Antique & Classic Cars.
Additionally, as you're categorizing your article, think about the intent the title implies. For example, "How many years does it take to be a medical technician?" should be in Business/Professions & Industries/Health Care Professions, since the intent is to find out more about the profession, rather than somewhere in Health & Fitness.
On a similar note, many of you have noted that some of the titles in the Find Assignments queue are miscategorized. Rest assured, we are working on this, but we wanted to remind you to write your articles according to the title, not the category in which you’ve found the title. Titles are assigned a category to help writers easily search for titles. Every so often, an incorrect or ill-defined category may appear with a title. Do not base the meaning of a title or the way you categorize it solely on the category you found in the available titles queue. The category is to help you search for the article, not to specify the details of what the article should contain. Always write and categorize the article to fulfill the goal outlined in the title. For example, if the title “About Blood Glucose” is assigned a category of diabetes in the Find Assignments queue, do not write the article addressing blood glucose for diabetics. The title does not specify diabetics, so the article and categories shouldn’t either.
Happy categorizing!
TimothyP
Oct 21, 10:55 AM
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