You’ve probably noticed that here at Factor we talk with people a lot about their taxonomies. Once we establish that we’re not talking about stuffed insects or animal heads, questions still remain. Questions such as, what do our taxonomies have to do with our business? We think it’s always helpful to go back and answer those questions, so here’s a quick refresher.
Many organizations treat taxonomies like, well, taxidermy: create it, label it, then… put it in a locked glass case. But your taxonomies are a core part of how your business organizes knowledge, powers search, automates content workflows, and feeds AI systems. Like any living system, your taxonomies need governance, care, updates, and sometimes, a full rethink.
So if nobody knows what taxonomies your organization has, or a taxonomy hasn’t been touched in years, or if teams are complaining that they “can’t find anything,” it might be time for a refresh.
Where Should You Start?
Before you dive into spreadsheets or software tools, it’s important to step back and ask the right questions. By doing so, you’ll figure out not just what needs fixing, but how to future-proof your taxonomies for real business impact.
1. What Do We Have Right Now? (And Is It Working?)
Before you can fix anything, you need a clear picture of your current taxonomy landscape. That means taking inventory. Ask yourself and your team:
- What taxonomies are we managing, and how many are there?
- Where are they stored? (A purpose-built taxonomy tool? A thicket of rogue spreadsheets? In a box somewhere with fishing lures?)
- What are they used for? (Search, tagging, navigation, personalization?)
- And most importantly, Are they working for the people who use them?
This is more than a technical checklist. You need to understand how real users (both staff and customers) interact with taxonomies. Do content teams, or even customers, complain about confusing labels or tags? Are some taxonomies never used? Are multiple taxonomies used to define the same thing? A combination of auditing your systems and talking to stakeholders will uncover where things are breaking down.
2. Are We Covering the Right Content and Domains?
Just because a taxonomy exists doesn’t mean it’s doing its job. Start by looking at usage patterns:
- Which content isn’t getting tagged?
- Which taxonomies (or tags) are seldom or never used?
- Are there critical gaps or overlaps between taxonomies?
Ask: “Are we mixing different domains into one tangled taxonomy? Would it make more sense to “facet” — breaking a taxonomy into smaller, purpose-driven components?”
This part requires interviewing users, reviewing workflows, and running “what-if” modeling scenarios. This is the detective work that separates a surface-level refresh from a strategic redesign.
3. Are Our Systems On the Same Wavelength?
Enterprise taxonomies don’t live in isolation, but rather, are distributed among tools like CMSs, DAMs, CRMs, etc. That’s why you need to map which taxonomies are used in which systems:
- Where is the “system of record” or “source of truth” for a taxonomy?
- How is that data shared with other platforms — automatically or manually?
- Are there APIs in place, or is someone copying and pasting between systems?
Be honest: Are you relying on “heroic effort” from individuals to keep things in sync? Automation and integration matter. If your taxonomies aren’t well-integrated in your digital ecosystem, they can’t deliver consistent value.
4. Who’s Actually Running This and How?
Taxonomy governance often falls through the cracks until something breaks. You must ask the tough questions:
- Who owns the taxonomy? Is it one person, a team, or… no one?
- What’s the process for making updates? A ticketing system? An email chain?
- How often do changes happen?
- Are these processes documented and resourced?
Taxonomy governance should be treated like product management. You need roles, workflows, reviews, and clear lines of responsibility. If you’re scaling or preparing for more advanced use cases like AI, you’ll need real, dependable structure in place.
5. Where Do We Want to Go — And Can Our Taxonomies Get Us There?
A taxonomy refresh should aim to fix what’s broken and align your semantic infrastructure with your future. Think about what’s coming down the road for your org:
- Plans for a knowledge graph?
- Agentic AI?
- Building a semantic layer across tools?
Your taxonomies need to support those ambitions. That may mean introducing new structures like ontologies or linked data. Or improving the quality of metadata feeding your models. Either way, you need a clear map from your current state to your future state.
Starting with a simple table or visual diagram mapping “what we have” to “what we need” can begin to clarify next steps and align teams around priorities.
Final Thoughts
Refreshing your taxonomy ecosystem is a strategic opportunity to improve how your organization uses and understands information.
To start strong:
- Document what you have
- Talk to real users
- Map your systems and integrations
- Formalize ownership and processes
- Align taxonomy strategy with business goals
Your taxonomies can be a hidden powerhouse if you treat them like one. Don’t just patch holes. Build a semantic infrastructure that grows alongside your enterprise.
If you’re looking for help getting started, get in touch with us for a data strategy consultation. Happy butterfly catching!
