If you want to make sure your YouTube videos are seen by the right people, you need to understand how YouTube tags work.
This article will walk you through what tags exist on YouTube and why they are important to both creators and the platform’s algorithm.
We’ll also cover some best practices for using tags, along with tips for creating accurate and meaningful tags that will help your video be more easily found and viewed by the right viewers.
What are tags on YouTube?
YouTube tags are keywords you can add when uploading your videos to the platform. Tags work as identifiers that help the YouTube algorithm better classify content.
The most important function of tags is to help YouTube’s algorithm understand what your video is about so it can present it to the right users when they’re looking for something relevant.
Benefits of using YouTube tags
The three main advantages of using relevant, accurate tags on YouTube are:
- YouTube tags enable your video to be found by people who use YouTube search to search for the type of content you offer.
- YouTube tags help the platform’s algorithm understand what your video is about so it can show it in recommendations and on users’ homepages.
- YouTube tags help search engines find and index your videos more easily, which increases visibility in organic search results – even outside of YouTube (eg on Google).
How to add tags to a YouTube video
Now that you know why tags are important, let’s learn how to add them to your videos.
Stage 1: Login to your YouTube account and go to your channel.
Step 2: In the left menu, select . Contents.
Stage 3: Hover over the video you want to edit and Detail (pencil icon).
Step 4: On the video details page, scroll all the way down and SHOW MORE.
Step 5: In the Tags section, type your tags separated by commas. You can use up to 500 characters.
Step 6: click SAVE in the upper right corner of the control panel.
This much!
How to search for tags on YouTube?
If you’re looking for some inspiration for your tags, you might want to take a look at what works for successful content in your niche.
To identify popular keywords, go to YouTube search and write a topic relevant to your content. For example, if you’re creating a how-to video about training house cats, you can type “cat training” in the search bar.
Open a popular video and see the suggestions on the right side of the screen. The content there is usually based on related searches. These are some of the keywords that people who have watched similar content before may want to watch next – so take note!
You can also use free online tools to find out exactly which tags other creators are using. Try the Chrome extension VidIQ or this tag remover for inspiration.
Source: VidIQ
How to use tags on YouTube: Top 5 apps
1. Don’t overdo it
For best results, use only a few tags, both broad and specific to your content.
Don’t try to collect too many keywords in a single tag or it may not show up when people search for it on YouTube.
2. Use trending tags
Follow the tag search instructions or use YouTube’s auto-suggest feature to spot trends. To use auto-suggest, simply start typing your keyword into the YouTube search bar and you’ll be fine. YouTube will populate a list of related searches to assist you.
Note: When adding trending tags to your videos, make sure they are relevant to your content. Using excessive, misleading or irrelevant tags is against YouTube’s spam, deceptive practices and fraud policies and may result in your account suspension.
3. Be specific
Some keywords are more likely to rank higher on search results pages than others, so it’s important to use the right ones when creating your tags. For example, “journey” is less extensive and has a better chance of ranking in search engine results than “vacation”.
4. Include synonyms
Synonyms can be used as alternative tags for some subjects and topics. Think about the words your audience is likely to use when describing the topic of your video, and use these synonyms to broaden the reach of your tags.
5. Use a tag generator
If you have no idea, use a tag generator to identify relevant and potentially trending tags. Tools like TunePocket or the Keyword Tool offer free tag suggestions based on your video title or the main keyword you want to target.
Source: TunePocket
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