Taxonomy is the process of classifying related pieces of information into a structure based on specific characteristics. It is often used in marketing to help organise and classify websites and digital assets and to provide more accurate, relevant, and internally consistent navigation.
Taxonomies are created through an iterative process of categorising and coding information, typically in the form of a hierarchical structure known as a keyword tree. It is the process of creating an ontology, which is an organised collection of terms relevant to a particular domain or field of study.
The goal of a taxonomy is to assign codes to information or objects, providing a method to classify and organise the data into well-defined hierarchies. This allows users to find information faster and more accurately, and makes the navigation of websites or digital assets more intuitive and efficient. Taxonomy is also used to improve the accuracy and relevance of search engine results.
Taxonomy is the process of categorising related pieces of information, objects, or concepts into a structured system. Taxonomy can be used to organise and classify information in databases and websites, as well as to improve the accuracy of search engine results.
Taxonomy can be either a top-down or a bottom-up approach. In a top-down approach, a generic top-level concept is established and its categories are broken down into more specific and detailed ones. In a bottom-up approach, the objective is to break down each item into its most basic components and identify meaningful relationships between them.
When creating a taxonomy, it is important to consider the context in which the taxonomy will be applied – for instance, what information is being classified and for what purpose. It is also important to identify the target audience, as different audiences may require different levels of detail and complexity.
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Before beginning a taxonomy project, defining the goals and objectives of the project is essential. Objectives might include increasing visibility and usability of a website or digital asset.
In order to create an effective taxonomy structure, careful thought should be put into the structure, labelling and definitions of the terms and categories. For instance, categories can be broad or specific, and the names of categories should clearly identify the purpose.
Once the category structure has been defined and the labels chosen, specificity must then be applied to ensure that each item is assigned to the correct category. This can be done manually, or through the use of automated categorisation software.
It is important to consider how the taxonomy might need to be changed or updated over time, depending on how it is used. For instance, if a website grows over time, more categories or sub-categories might need to be added.
When browsing existing taxonomies, it is important to take into account the style and terms employed. For example, documents and taxonomies created for legal purposes might use different jargon from a taxonomy designed to aid in marketing research.
When embedding a taxonomy into a website or asset, it is important to consider how easy it is for the user to navigate. Navigation can be improved by providing breadcrumbs or a navigation tree to show the path taken, as well as by providing relevant search functionality, such as keyword search, or alphabetical search.