Substack Categories and Tags Explained: How to Describe and Organize Your Publication
What they mean, how to use them, and common misconceptions.
Categories and tags are easy to dismiss as minor settings, something you pick once and never think about again. They’re also easy to overthink, spending way too much time creating minute subdivisions without a clear purpose.
In reality, categories and tags sit somewhere in the middle. They don’t determine whether your writing resonates or whether your publication succeeds. But they do shape how your work is described, grouped, and understood by readers and by Substack itself.
This article is a straightforward explanation of what categories and tags actually are, how to use them without overengineering, and where people tend to misunderstand their role.
Table of Contents
What Are Substack Categories
A Substack category is a broad label that describes your publication as a whole.
When you choose a category, you’re answering a simple question: What is this publication primarily about?
Categories apply at the publication level, not the post level.
They are intentionally broad.
They are usually set once and rarely changed.
Substack has 29 categories. You can choose two categories for your publication, but the second one is typically ignored.
These aren’t meant to capture every nuance of what you do; they’re meant to place your publication in the right general neighborhood.
Categories are not very visible on the platform, and readers rarely interact with them directly, but they influence how Substack organizes publications behind the scenes.
On Leaderboards, where publications are grouped by their first category (unless Substack determines there is a more appropriate category).1
In browsing and discovery contexts, where Substack may organize or curate publications by category.
Beyond that, categories function as internal classification metadata. They help Substack understand what kind of publication you run and how it relates to others on the platform, even when that information isn’t visibly displayed.
In other words, categories help determine where your publication belongs, not how individual posts are presented. They’re meant to be stable and descriptive, not something that changes frequently or responds to each new piece you publish.
What Are Substack Tags?
Substack tags are post-level labels used to describe, group, and organize individual pieces within a publication, without affecting subscriptions or delivery.
Think of Substack tags as the connective tissue of your publication. Tags are lightweight, flexible, and incredibly useful, especially as your archive grows.
Tags are ideal for:
Grouping posts by topic or theme.
Connecting related ideas across sections.
Helping readers explore your thinking over time.
One underrated detail about tags is that each tag creates its own page.
Every time you apply a tag, Substack automatically generates an archive of all posts with that label. Over time, these tag pages become incredibly useful building blocks, especially once your archive grows beyond a few dozen posts. For example, here’s my Growth tag page.
That means tags aren’t just for organization. They’re also for navigation and internal linking, which is crucial for SEO and GEO! Every tag page effectively links related posts together without any manual effort.
Direct readers to a tag page as a curated resource hub.
Group related essays, tutorials, or case studies together.
Tie paid articles into a single page without creating a separate section.
Create an informal “series” without committing to a permanent structural change.
Instead of creating a new section for something like monetization, you might tag every relevant post with monetization and link to that tag whenever you reference related work. This intentionally connects your related content together without forcing readers into another subscription decision. For example, posts from all three of my sections are included in my Growth tag page.
This is where tags really shine: they let you build paths through your content. You’re giving readers ways to go deeper, revisit ideas, and explore everything you’ve written on a topic, whether those posts are free, paid, brand new, or years old.
Used well, tags turn your archive into an asset instead of a backlog.
Categories Vs Tags At a Glance
A simple way to think about the distinction:
Category = what your publication is broadly about.
Tags = what a specific post is about.
Categories are broad and stable. Tags are specific and flexible.
How to Use Categories and Tags Effectively (Without Overthinking It)
Once you understand what they’re for, categories and tags become simple to use effectively. Let’s walk through the best ways to manage them in Substack.
Choosing a Publication Category
Pick the category that best reflects your core focus, not every topic you might touch on.
If your work spans multiple areas, choose the one that most clearly anchors your publication.
If you’re having trouble deciding, look at the other publications in each category's leaderboard and choose the category with the most publications you would want to collaborate with.
Avoid switching categories frequently; it’s more likely to signal spam to Substack than help anything.
Remember that categories are not a big growth lever. Don’t spend too much time on this or worry about getting it exactly perfect.
How to Set Your Publication Category
To set your publication category, navigate to your publication’s dashboard and select “Settings,” “Basics,” and then look for the “Categories” section.
Select the category that best matches your publication from the first dropdown, and then select the second-best category in the second dropdown.
Using Post Tags Thoughtfully
Reuse tags instead of inventing new ones every time.
Use consistent naming (avoid near-duplicates like “art” and “arts”).
Link to tag pages as:
Resource hubs.
Informal series.
Collections of paid posts.
Topic roundups you reference often.
Consistency matters more than completeness. A few well-used tags are more useful than dozens of one-offs.
How to Add Tags to a Post
To add tags to a post, start editing the post, click “Settings” in the bottom-right corner, then scroll down to “Add tags.” Click the down arrow to see all your existing tags or start typing to add a new one.
How to Manage Your Publication’s Tags
To manage your publication’s tags, navigate to your publication’s dashboard and select “Settings,” “Website,” and look for the “Custom tags” section. There, you’ll be able to rename, add, and delete tags, and view the URLs for your tags.
Common Misconceptions About Categories and Tags
Myth: Changing my category will improve growth.
Reality: Categories describe your publication; they don’t fix positioning or demand.
Myth: More tags mean more reach.
Reality: Tags aren’t keywords in the SEO sense. Adding more doesn’t automatically do anything.
Myth: Tags work like SEO keywords.
Reality: They don’t. Their primary job is organization and structure.
Myth: Categories and tags determine success.
Reality: They don’t. They support structure and do not replace good writing, distribution, or reader trust.
Categories and tags aren’t something to overoptimize or obsess over. They’re simple tools meant to describe what you publish and help keep things organized over time.
Choose an appropriate category, use tags consistently, then move on to the work that actually matters: publishing things worth reading and making sure people know about it.
To endless possibilities,
Casandra
P.S. If you’re thinking more intentionally about your publication’s structure, the Substack Creator OS is for you The content calendar makes it easy to map out post tags and connects your publishing schedule directly to growth tactics (like keyword research and promotion) and monetization strategies (like products and sponsorships).
Right now, the Substack Creator OS is free for Really Good Business Ideas Premium subscribers, so sign up today to get your copy!
Great tips on how to use categories and tags well… And I agree with you I think it can be overlooked and I think it makes it easier and more readable for the audience
Thanks. I’ve been using tags a little bit to group my posts, but I think I can do better. Thanks for the tips!