Guide to Proper YouTube Video Tagging
When talking about ranking factor in YouTube, it is hard to ignore YouTube tags. Sometimes you will hear them been referred to as video tags. So, what are YouTube tags? These are words or phrases that you can add in your YouTube video. Including them make it easier for YouTube as well as viewers to know what your videos are all about. Besides, they play a significant role in helping your videos rank higher in the search reasults.
Why are these tags important?
- First, adding them make it easier for YouTube to have more information about your videos. For example, YouTube can use them to classify every video you upload.
- They also play a significant role in ranking. So, if you are looking forward to having your videos rank higher in the search results, then make sure to include them.
You have probably seen some studies like this one from Briggsby suggest that YouTube tags aren’t that important, and you are left wondering why you should bother adding them. While they play a minimal role in your video discovery, they are still useful, especially if your video’s content is commonly misspelled. Some further information here why YouTube recommends adding them.
My advice: Don’t spend too much time on them. Instead, spend time on your video’s thumbnail, description, and title, which are more valuable pieces of metadata for your video’s discovery.
Best Practices
Optimizing your video tags can make a big difference in YouTube classifying your videos and ranking them. Now let’s see how you can optimize them in the best way possible. Below, this piece has wrapped up some best practices that will give every Youtuber out there an edge.
Focus on the first few tags (first tag = target keyword)
When it comes to video SEO, YouTube focuses more on the first few tags, with more emphasis on the first tag. This, therefore, creates a need of making sure your primary keyword (the one you want to rank for) is precisely the tag you will include. For example, if you want to rank your video for keyword “Marriage counseling” then make sure to include it as the first tag.
Used a mix of focused and broad tags
Combing, both focused and broad tags is another excellent way that will help YouTube and viewers figure out what your videos are all about. Focused tags may include tags like “how to write a blog,” best baby clothes” or “sell a house fast.” They are more specific and help YouTube figure out your video’s topic.
On the other hand, broad tags give YouTube a vital context of your videos. For example, if your focused tag is “sell a house fast,” your broad tags could be something like:
- How to sell a house fast
- Unload your house quickly
- Sell your property fast for good cash
- Quick house buyer etc.
With that in mind, make sure have these two types of tags in the tag section.
Use YouTube tools to generate tags
If you find it challenging to pick the best keywords to use, it is a good idea to use tools like TagsYouTube
and VidIQ Boost to generate tags. These tools are easy to use and always suggest the best tags to add. For example, if using TagsYouTube, you will only enter your video’s primary keyword, and within a few seconds, a trail of tags you can use pops up. It is that simple to generate tags with tools.
[wpsm_hidelink text=”VidIQ Boost” link=”https://vidiq.com/#_l_1zm”] is a super helpful feature of the paid version of VidIQ.What makes VidIQ Boost unique is that it suggests tags for you within the YouTube video editor.
In other words, you get a list of keyword suggestions inside of your browser:
Tag length
How long should each of the tags be? Two, three, five, or ten words? A shot tag may not have enough information for YouTube. On the other hand, a lengthy tag might give YouTube information overload. So, what is the best approach? According to data from Briggsby, the best tag length for SEO is 2-3 words. See the examples below for more information.
- Sell house fast
- Quick home buyers
- Buy junk houses
In the above three examples, those tags are communicating, making it easier for YouTube to tell what your video is all about. If you decide to use a group of single-word tags like “sell,” “house,” and “fast,” it will be difficult for YouTube to decode. In other words, try as much as possible to use descriptive tags while at the same time paying keen attention to the length of each tag you add.
Stick to 5 – 8 tags
How many tags can you have on youtube? Just like it is not recommended to stuff keywords, it is also terrible to stuff tags. Doing so will confuse YouTube, and this will result in YouTube unable to tell what your content is all about. Besides, even classifying your videos and showing them on the suggested column will also be hurt. Can you imagine been slapped with 50 tags and asked to pick those that best describe a video! Without a doubt, this will be an uphill task, why then give the YouTube algorithm more work? Simply use a few tags (5 – 8) that YouTube will understand with a few seconds.
Advanced Strategies
Below are more ideas on how best you can leverage YouTube tags.
- Read your tags: Consider going through the tags you have a few more times without looking at your title and description. Do you find them appropriate? Do you feel something is not ok? If you find them ok, you have nailed it; otherwise, you have to revisit.
- Add Long Tail Keywords: Adding long-tail variations of your target keywords as a tag is very crucial. So, if you have room, consider adding a few variations. To do this, consider typing that keyword into YouTube and see what other suggestions pop up. Here is an exercise for you, go to YouTube and see what variations keyword “sell a house” suggests.
- Copy Tags from Popular Videos: This is yet another trick. Copying tags from popular videos and using them can help you rank as a suggested video. So, consider searching for similar and popular videos on YouTube and copying some of the tags.
How to add tags to your YouTube videos
I tell you to spend less time on video tags because I also spend less time on them, actually 5 – 10 minutes adding tags to each video. Here is what I do to spend the shortest time possible.
My three-step process
Step 1: Set your primary target keyword as the first tag
You are probably wondering why I do this? I believe YouTube pays the most attention to the first tag but don’t take my word for it. Also, find time to research! Besides, given that YouTube guidance for tags is to “use the phrases and words that make the most sense for your video,” your target keyword is an excellent starting point.
Step two: Add common, relevant keywords from top-ranking videos
It is very simple to do this. Just open 3 – 5 of the most relevant top-ranking videos in new tabs. Normally, these are the first few videos, but not always.
Note that you will need to install TubeBuddy or free vidIQ browser extension or Keywords Everywhere to search for target keywords on YouTube.
Assuming your target keyword is “iPhone apps,” and you have created a video of the top 20 top apps to try to rank for that. When you search for this keyword, the following top-ranking results for that keyword are likely to pop up.
Note that you should see the tags for each video on the Keywords Everywhere overlay on the right. See the screenshot below:
Step three: Add relevant keywords with search volume
To do this, you need to go to Ahrefs’ Keywords Explorer and set the search engine to YouTube. Then paste all the tags from the videos you opened in the previous step, then click search.
Tip! Don’t worry about deduplicating them. Keywords Explorer does this automatically.
You should now see the projected monthly search volume for each keyword, arranged in descending order.
Now scan the list for relevant and descriptive keywords with search volume. Going back to our “iPhone app video,” these might be “must have iPhone apps,” “best iPhone apps,” or “iOS apps.”
Bonus! It is also Ok to include generic tags if you feel your video has the potential to rank for such terms.
Other ways
Add your brand-specific tags
This is very crucial as it helps rank for your own brand in the YouTube search result. If you don’t do this, your videos will appear in Google’s universal search results. In a nutshell, remember to self-reference you video either with your name or your brand name, if possible, in a couple of variations such as “brandname.com,” “brand name,” or “brand name.”
Use YouTube auto-suggest
It is simple to use YouTube auto-suggest. You just need to start typing a few random keywords and see what YouTube suggests (you want to rank for all those words). You also need to take a closer look at all the videos that tend to pop up. That way, you will know which tags to include.
Use YouTube tag generator
For example, you can use Rapidtags.io, Keyword Keg, Keywordtool.io, or VidIQ to generate Youtube tags and get more ideas. So, if struggling to come up with the right tags, don’t hesitate to use tags generators.
Best practices
Don’t go overboard with tags
While YouTube doesn’t specify or limit you to specific tags you can add, it is always a good idea to avoid stuffing keywords. Just stick to relevant tags. However, it is worth noting that YouTube limits you to 500 characters, and it is not mandatory to use them all. According to Briggsby’s study of 100,000 YouTube videos, the sweet spot is around 200–300 characters. In fact, most videos have 5 – 8 tags.
Use Accurate Tags
Remember to include accurate tags. In other words, avoid using misleading tags. A misleading tag can include adding the name of your competitors or celebrities as your tags. Note that any misleading information such as adding competitor names as your tags can result in your video been taken down.
Don’t mislead people
Misleading tags can get you into trouble. It is against YouTube’s spam policy to use such tags. While they don’t give examples, these tags may include your competitors’ names, celebrities’ names, irrelevant keywords, etc.
Just include relevant keywords, and you will be safe!
Don’t overthink
Use common sense. If a tag looks relevant, add it. If it doesn’t, don’t.
Use YouTube tags that 2 -3 words in length
According to Briggsby, the best length for SEO is 2 – 3 words. So, try your best to stick to that length.
Don’t add tags to your video description
According to YouTube, placing tags in your video description is tag stiffing. So just don’t do it!
Conclusion
While it is worth adding relevant and descriptive tags to your videos, it’s not something worth spending a lot of time on. Even YouTube freely admits that video tags are trivial compared to your video’s title, description, and thumbnail. So consider investing more of your time and effort into things that will reward you more.