Ever felt like the related posts on your WordPress site are…well, not all that related? You’ve installed Related Posts by Taxonomy, hoping to boost engagement and keep visitors clicking, but the default settings just aren’t cutting it. You need something more specific, more tailored to your audience. What if you could fine-tune exactly how posts are related, going beyond the basics and creating truly relevant connections? This article will show you how to unlock the full potential of this tool by leveraging the power of AI to customize it to your exact needs.

What is Related Posts by Taxonomy?

Related Posts by Taxonomy is a WordPress plugin designed to display related posts on your website based on shared taxonomy terms, like categories and tags. Instead of relying on simple keyword matching, it intelligently links content based on the terms you’ve already used to organize your site. This helps ensure that the related posts are genuinely relevant to the reader, increasing engagement and time spent on your site.

It comes packed with features like thumbnail support, shortcodes for flexible placement, and a widget for easy sidebar integration. With a rating of 4.8/5 stars from 76 reviews and over 10,000 active installations, it’s a popular choice for website owners looking to improve their internal linking strategy. This tool uses your existing taxonomy data to generate related posts, offering a step up from more basic related posts plugins. For more information about the plugin, visit the official plugin page on WordPress.org.

Why Customize it?

While the default settings of the plugin can be a great starting point, they often fall short of delivering truly personalized related post experiences. Every website is unique, with its own specific content structure, audience, and goals. Relying solely on the plugin’s out-of-the-box configuration can result in related posts that are either too broad or miss the mark entirely.

Customization allows you to fine-tune exactly how “relatedness” is defined. You can prioritize certain taxonomies over others, exclude specific posts or categories, and even integrate the system with other plugins or services you’re already using. The benefits are significant: increased user engagement, lower bounce rates, and improved overall website performance. Think about it: a cooking blog might want to prioritize recipe categories when displaying related posts, while a news site might focus on tags related to current events.

Let’s say you run a travel blog. Out of the box, the related posts might simply show other posts tagged with “Europe.” But with customization, you could prioritize posts tagged with the same country and the same type of travel (e.g., “Italy” and “budget travel”). This delivers a far more relevant and engaging experience for your readers, encouraging them to explore more of your content. Customizing it is worth it when you want to move beyond basic functionality and create a truly tailored user experience that aligns with your specific website goals.

Common Customization Scenarios

Extending Core Functionality

Sometimes, the core features of a plugin, while useful, don’t quite cover every use case. You might find yourself needing extra functionalities that aren’t available by default. This is where customization steps in. By extending the core, you can add features that cater to your specific requirements, making the plugin more aligned with your workflow.

Through customization, you could add new filtering options to the related posts. For instance, you might want to exclude posts older than a certain date, or only show related posts from the same author. Consider a website that publishes both articles and podcasts. You could customize the tool to prioritize related posts of the same type, ensuring that readers are directed to similar content formats.

Imagine a digital marketing agency. They use the plugin to suggest related blog posts to their clients. By default, all posts with similar tags show up. However, they want to exclude case studies from showing up as related posts for general blog articles. With AI assistance, they can easily add a filter to exclude posts from the ‘case-study’ category, leading to more relevant suggestions. AI streamlines the process of adding these extensions, making complex modifications accessible even without extensive coding knowledge.

Integrating with Third-Party Services

WordPress thrives on its ecosystem of plugins and services. However, sometimes getting different tools to work together seamlessly requires some effort. Customization allows you to bridge the gap and integrate this tool with other services you’re using, unlocking new possibilities and streamlining your workflows.

With the system customized, you can enhance the plugin’s capabilities by connecting it with email marketing platforms, social media tools, or even e-commerce solutions. Think about a scenario where you want to automatically share related posts on social media whenever a new article is published. Or, integrate with an e-commerce plugin to show related products alongside related blog posts.

A book review website wants to integrate this tool with their Goodreads account. They want to display the average rating of each related book directly within the related posts section. Using AI, they can generate the code necessary to fetch the Goodreads rating for each book and display it alongside the title. This enriched display enhances the user experience and provides more valuable information at a glance. AI minimizes the complexity, enabling seamless integration without the need for extensive coding expertise.

Creating Custom Workflows

Every business operates with its unique workflows and processes. The default functionality of a plugin may not always fit perfectly into your existing systems. Customization allows you to tailor the tool to align with your specific workflows, improving efficiency and productivity.

You can create custom workflows that automate tasks, streamline content creation, and improve collaboration within your team. For example, you could set up a workflow where related posts are automatically suggested for review before publication, ensuring that they are relevant and accurate. A marketing agency could use a customized version of the system to automatically generate internal link suggestions for new blog posts, saving time and improving SEO.

Consider a large online magazine with multiple editors. They want to implement a workflow where suggested related posts are automatically sent to the relevant editor for approval before being published. They can use AI to create a custom notification system that triggers an email to the appropriate editor whenever new related posts are suggested. This ensures quality control and maintains consistency across the site. AI makes it easier to implement and manage these complex workflows, automating tasks and improving efficiency.

Building Admin Interface Enhancements

The WordPress admin interface, while functional, can sometimes feel clunky or overwhelming, especially when managing multiple plugins. Customization can enhance the admin interface, making it easier to manage this tool and other aspects of your website.

You can streamline the admin experience by adding custom dashboards, creating more intuitive settings panels, or even integrating the plugin with other admin tools you use. Imagine a customized dashboard that provides a quick overview of related posts performance, or a settings panel that allows you to easily adjust the algorithm used to determine relatedness. A photographer who often adds galleries to blog posts could customize the plugin settings to automatically prioritize related posts that also contain galleries, making it easier for visitors to view all related content of interest.

A non-profit organization wants to simplify the process of managing related posts for their volunteers. They can use AI to create a simplified settings panel that hides advanced options and only displays the most essential settings. This makes it easier for volunteers to manage related posts without being overwhelmed by technical details. AI enables the creation of user-friendly interfaces, making the plugin more accessible to users of all skill levels.

Adding API Endpoints

For developers and advanced users, APIs (Application Programming Interfaces) are essential for connecting different systems and automating tasks. Customization allows you to add API endpoints to the plugin, opening up new possibilities for integration and automation.

With API endpoints, you can programmatically access and manipulate the plugin’s data and functionality. This enables you to integrate it with custom applications, automate tasks, and create entirely new workflows. Think about a scenario where you want to build a mobile app that displays related posts from your WordPress site. Or, use the API to automatically update related posts based on changes to your content.

An educational platform wants to integrate this tool with their learning management system (LMS). They want to automatically suggest related blog posts based on the course a student is currently taking. By adding API endpoints, they can allow the LMS to request a list of related posts based on the course ID. AI helps generate the necessary code for creating these endpoints, facilitating seamless integration between WordPress and external systems.