There’s no denying that content has the power to influence people. Today, videos are taking over text content and becoming immensely popular.
YouTube is the most preferred source of videos and reportedly the world watches 1 billion hours of social videos every day.
YouTube tags are one of the best ways to keyword-optimize your YouTube videos.
In this post, we have explained what YouTube tags are, why are they important and some tips to follow.
So, going ahead, exactly what are YouTube tags?
YouTube tags are nothing but words or phrases used in the description that gives YouTube the background of a video. These tags are an important ranking factor in the YouTube search algorithm.
Why are YouTube tags important?
YouTube tags include information like in any other metadata such as your video topic, category, etc. It helps YouTube and Google understand the context of your video and amplify its reach.
A recent study found a small but significant relationship between rankings in YouTube and YouTube tags.
(Source: Backlinko)
How to add tags to your YouTube videos?
Here are some tips and tricks to leverage YouTube tags to their full potential.
Make sure that your first tag is your target keyword that you want to rank for. For instance, say you want your video to rank for the keyword “ English speaking tips”. You will have to make the exact term as your first YouTube tag- “English speaking tips”.
YouTube considers the first few tags, especially the first tag of your video when ranking content in the search results. So, ensure that your first tag includes the exact keyword you want to rank for.
Use some broad keywords as other tags to describe your video. Broad tags help YouTube to understand important context about your video. For example, if your primary keyword is “English speaking tips”, you can use variations in your tags such as “personality development”, “Speak English”. While picking your broad tags and keywords, make sure you don’t stuff videos with dozens of tags. This can do more harm than good. Tags are designed to help YouTube understand what your video is all about. If you give dozens of tags, it might be confused about what your video actually is about.
Use a few specific keywords as other tags to describe the topics covered in your video. For instance, in the “English speaking tips” video, you can add “pronunciation of words” or “improve vocabulary” as specific tags to indicate to YouTube the topics you cover in your videos.
How long should your YouTube tag be?
The ideal length of your tag for YouTube SEO is 2-3 words.
This does not mean that all your tags should be in the same range. You may use 1-2 word tags in your broad tags.
You may also use YouTube tag generators to discover keywords you can tag in your videos. This will also help your videos rank higher in YouTube’s search results.
YouTube Tag Generators
1. TagsYouTube
This is a free tool that generates a list of related tags.
It’s a simple tool and all you need to do is enter your primary keyword in the tool. It will provide you with a list of YouTube tag suggestions.
2. Keyword Keg
You can enter your target YouTube keyword into the tool and it will provide you with details like
Suggested keywords
Keyword power
Trends
Search volume
Competition
Cost-per-click
On-page difficulty
Off-page difficulty
SEO difficulty
CTR scope
Keyword Keg allows you to filter your results by language and country.
3. VidIQ
Like Keyword Keg, VidIQ will display your target keyword’s related keywords, search volume, search score, relate score, etc.
4. VidIQ Boost
VidIQ is the paid version of VidIQ and is super helpful. The biggest advantage of VidIQ Boost is that it suggests tags for you within the YouTube video editor.
5. Keywordtool.io
After you enter your target keywords into the YouTube search bar, Keywordtool.io will provide you with suggested keywords, search volume, their trend over the last 12 months, prepositions, questions, and hashtags.
Avoid misleading users
Using tags to make your users believe the content is something it is not is against YouTube’s spam policy. It may result in your video being removed.
Some examples of misleading tags are;
· Competitor’s names
· Irrelevant keywords
· Celebrities names
Additionally, using excessive tags (tag stuffing) in the video description is also another example of misleading users.
Bottom line: Avoid placing too many tags in your video description and misleading your users.
Wrapping up
Today, it’s all about being at the top in search results. Videos are no exception. Use the above-mentioned tips, tag generators and information to help your videos rank higher and reach maximum people.