Step 2 Fix Categories and Tags in WordPress

Task Library

Rebuild WordPress taxonomy so categories mirror the SEO Tree branches and tags carry cross-cutting attributes, making the site's structure legible to readers, Google, and agents querying the REST API.

Category: SEO & Content Architecture

Use this when Step 1's inventory is complete and the taxonomy is a mess – overlapping categories, one-off tags, posts filed nowhere meaningful.

Inputs

  • The Step 1 content inventory with each page's SEO Tree role
  • WordPress admin access (Posts → Categories / Tags)
  • The site's SEO Tree map (branches list)

Steps

  1. Export the current category and tag lists with post counts.
  2. Rebuild categories to mirror the SEO Tree: one category per branch – categories ARE the branches. Definitive articles belong in the Definitive Articles category.
  3. Reassign every post to the category matching its tree role from the Step 1 inventory.
  4. Use tags only for cross-cutting attributes, never hierarchy: Content Factory stage tags (Stage: Produce | Process | Post | Promote) and Topic: tags – so agents can pull, e.g., category=definitive-articles&tag=stage-process from the REST API.
  5. Delete or merge empty, duplicate, and one-off taxonomy terms.
  6. Spot-check the category archive pages – each should read like a coherent branch of the tree, not a junk drawer.

Definition of done (QA checklist)

  • Categories map 1:1 to SEO Tree branches; definitive articles in the Definitive Articles category
  • Every post assigned to its correct branch category
  • Stage and Topic tags applied; tags carry attributes, not hierarchy
  • Zero empty, duplicate, or one-off taxonomy terms remain
  • A REST API query by category + tag returns the expected post set; linked back to /internal-linking

Example(s)

  • The /internal-linking definitive article documents this taxonomy pass as run on blitzmetrics.com – categories as branches is its Step 2.
  • Example needed – run the Meta-Article Prompt (/meta-article-prompt-template) after the next taxonomy rebuild.

File in the zip: skills/seo-content-architecture/step-2-fix-categories-and-tags-in-wordpress.md. Download the Task Library zip.

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