From Camera Roll to YouTube: The Ultimate Uploading Guide

How To Upload Videos to YouTube [a Step-by-Step Guide]

Richard Bennett

Mar 27, 2024• Proven solutions

Want to learn how to upload videos to YouTube? Millions of people watch YouTube every day. Creating and posting YouTube videos can be a lot of fun, and if you get a lot of views and become popular you can also make money. YouTube videos are a creative way to connect with people all around the world.

These simple steps can assist you in learning how to upload YouTube videos from a desktop computer. You are going to Learn:

Part 1: Basic Rules You Need to Know Before Uploading
Part 2: Steps to Upload Videos to YouTube

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Part 1: Basic Rules You Need to Know Before Uploading

Clicking the ‘upload’ button is easy, but during the upload process, there are things you can do to help your video get views and maintain its quality. You should also keep an eye on the length and file size limits. The more basic things you need to consider carefully when you upload are the title, description, and tags of your video. These are part of what determines if and where your video comes up in people’s search results. There are also slightly more advanced video specs, like your video’s resolution, which will be helpful for you to understand as somebody who will be producing video content frequently. These sorts of specs will affect how long it takes your videos to upload and how much of the quality they maintain.

1. How Long Can my Video Be?

By default, your YouTube videos can only be 15 minutes long. You can post longer videos by going to the upload page and clicking on ‘Increase your Limit’ at the bottom. After you have followed the steps to verify your account you will be able to post videos that are a maximum of 11 hours long.

2. How Big a File Can I Upload?

Your file size was capped at 20GB, initially. If you follow the same steps for posting videos longer than 15 minutes then you can also increase your maximum file size to 128GB.

3. Other Basics

After you click the ‘upload’ button on YouTube you are taken to a page where you choose a category for your video and add a title, description, and tags. These are all important for getting hits so you should put some thought into them.

Title: Keep your title under 70 characters so none of it disappears into a ‘…’. The best titles make people curious or elicit an emotional response. Terms like ‘video’, ‘how-to’, and ‘tutorial’ are often typed into people’s searches so if they apply to your video it can help to put them in the title.

Description: A short synopsis of your video which includes your most important keyword. You have about three lines before your text is hidden by a ‘show more’ tab. If you are including the URL of your channel or other videos then you should make sure they are above the ‘show more’.

Tags: Use a lot of them. These are the keywords and terms people will be searching for when they find your video. YouTube will suggest some after you start adding. A quick way to find good keywords to use is to search for videos similar to yours and check out their tags. A while ago YouTube started hiding video tags by default but you can download a free, YouTube-certified, extension for Google Chrome which will allow you to see them from vidIQ.com.

4. Digging Deeper

To get your viewers to subscribe to your channel you will need to make sure your videos are not losing quality when you upload them. Here are some things to be aware of if you want your videos to look great on YouTube.

Resolution: the number of pixels in your image. For example when a video has a resolution of 1080p that means it has a grid of pixels that is 1920 x 1080. The more pixels you have the sharper your image.

Bitrate: Bitrate is a measurement of how compressed your file is, and the less compressed it is the more information there is per frame. Higher bitrates mean larger file sizes.

Your resolution and bitrate should complement each other. If you have a higher bitrate than is needed for your video’s resolution your file will be unnecessarily large. If your bitrate is too low for your resolution then you will not see the quality you expect.

YouTube has a list of recommended resolutions and bitrates at support.google.com/youtube/answer/1722171.

Aspect Ratio: the dimensions of your video, in terms of width and height. YouTube’s aspect ratio is 16:9, so your videos should also be 16:9. If they are not then you will get black bars on either side of your video after you upload it. The most common way that people end up with the wrong aspect ratio is by creating videos on their smartphones and holding them up and down instead of sideways.

Part 2: Steps to Upload Videos to YouTube

Uploading YouTube Video on Desktop:

1. Sign in to your YouTube account

2. Hit the upload button

3. Select your video type (Public, Private, Unlisted)

4. Manage the upload

5. Choose your thumbnail

In order to upload videos to YouTube, the very first thing you need to do is sign in. The sign-in button is located at the top right corner of the YouTube homepage. If you have multiple accounts registered to one device, you will be asked to choose one to log in to.

Step 2: Hit the upload button

It is a simple step that you will have to follow right after you log in to YouTube. As soon as you enter YouTube, after using your Google account and password for login, you will find the upload button in the top right corner of the screen. Click on this button and it will take you to the dedicated upload page.

Step 3: Select your video type (Public, Private, Unlisted)

Choose your audience. If you wish to make your video available to everyone on YouTube, simply go to the privacy settings and choose the “Public” option from the drop-down menu.

If you do not want your video to be searchable, but still want to be able to easily share a link to it with your friends and family, choose the “Unlisted” option.

Those who wish to keep their video personal can choose the “Private” option from the drop-down menu. You can still share a private video with a limited number of people (as long as they have Google accounts).

The “Scheduled” option is available for choosing a future date and time to make the video available to viewers. Once you have selected your privacy level, simply upload your video from your device storage.

Step 4: Manage the upload

As soon as you have confirmed your video upload, you will find a progress bar on the screen. It will take some time depending on factors such as the resolution of the video and how long it is. In the meanwhile, you can write a title, description and add relevant tags for your video so that YouTube knows what search results to include it in and viewers can find it. Remember that YouTube is the second biggest search engine on the Internet, so take some time to optimize your keywords .

Step 5: Choose your thumbnail

Once your video uploading is complete, it is time to choose a creative thumbnail for your video. The system provides you with three options to choose from automatically, all of which will be screenshots from your video. It is usually better toupload your own custom thumbnail , as thumbnails are a very important factor in attracting viewers. Hit the “Done” button or use the “Publish” button to finalize your upload.

That’s how to upload a video on YouTube! Any questions?

Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett is a writer and a lover of all things video.

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Mastering Tagging: Elevate Your YouTube Content

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Tagging your content online greatly impacts how viewers will react to your post. However, it doesn’t end at adding tags; you need to know more. Be savvy to put the tags strategically depending on your topic’s trending. So, why add a tag to YouTube videos? You want to gain enough clicks, yes, right? And that’s what hashtags do. They are online content features that will push the number of clicks to an unimaginable level.

Your content will gain more views and go viral within a short time. After all, that’s what we purpose for when posting videos. No one wants to put effort into editing videos and posting then don’t get a considerable number of views or clicks. But also, know that the ball is at your court. There are no go-zone areas when it comes to dealing with YouTube tags. Check this article on what to do for more views.

What is a YouTube tag?

A tag is a word used to describe a video or image. It is generally added to video titles and descriptions or used independently. They make YouTubers easily discover other posts with similar tags. YouTube tags are vital as they help the YouTube algorithm fully understand the videos you post. It’s by this that those who are interested in your video get hooked to them.

For tags to work ideally, you need to include your brand-specific tags before adding similar tags. YouTube auto-suggest is another gem in this scenario. Just see what YouTube suggests when you type while searching other similar topics. For great results, place the most important keywords and tags first, as these will act as the face of your video.

How will YouTube tag affect your video performance?

It is YouTube tags that help viewers to find videos they are searching for on YouTube. Besides, this is how it works: An audience will type keywords into YouTube’s search bar. Then videos with the same tag and keywords will appear in the search results. If not correctly done, the YouTube tag could affect your video performance and lead to such outcomes.

1. No adequate audience engagement

Your main focus should be audience engagement. You are trying to drive the attention of many YouTube users as possible. A small mistake, and you lose track. It is wise to know the best approach to use your tags. Improper YouTube tagging will not drive enough audience to your channel. You, therefore, won’t get adequate audience engagement.

2. Your video won’t go viral

Anything selling should strive to reach thousands and probably millions of viewers. Perhaps you have put in several days and months of work on a single video, only for it to be viewed by a few fellows. You will feel like a waste of time when you put so much effort, yet your videos don’t go viral. It means there will be fewer people looking out for your content.

3. Limited chances of your video ranking high

If you don’t do YouTube tagging the right way, then the chances are that your video won’t rank high. Everyone feels better when they get a pat on the back for a well-done job. But what happens if there is no traffic to your video? You probably lose the urge to continue doing more videos. Just play right, so you are not demoralized whenever you post your videos.

Things to consider before you start adding a tag

If used properly, YouTube tags are a great way for your video and business to perform well. You’ll attract the audience and probably get a flux of customers. And the tricks are just at your fingertips. You only need to give the best approach possible to all the steps of your YouTube tagging. Here are some tips to help you out.

1) Use keyword variations

Try to use variations of keywords to increase the chances of your video ranking high. The audience will use several phrases to lead them to the right YouTube video. More so, they’ll even change the order of keywords for best results. It would be best to strive to appear in as many searches as possible. The best option is to use the “YouTube” tag generator to gather as many relevant tags as possible. It will pop you more ideas and let you identify the most important core terms that you can build on.

2) Research competitors

This trick works well for you before you add a tag to a YouTube video. Check out what your competitors are up to and what tags they use. While you check at what competitors do, also mind the trending tags. You don’t want to be left behind in the quick-paced technological advances. But ensure your searches are related to your content. Any misleading tags will plunge you into more drawbacks. Checking out on the latest trends will help you generate more ideas for useful keywords that make your videos rank better.

3) Conduct keyword research

Research is a vital point to start from. By this, you’ll find other keyword possibilities for your video. Don’t just think of keywords out of the blue but ensure that the audience searches what you use. It is better to check out the generic relationship between YouTube tags and your video content. Find keywords that will directly link to what your video is all about. You can also find out what has worked for those in your industry to know the best approach to give.

4) Write a keyword-optimized title and description

Ensure that the texts associated with your video are keyword-optimized. Your audience will majorly rely on the video title and description. The description should emphasize more on what the title is. Consider that first, and then find the kinds of tags that would correlate with both your title and description. Besides, it is the best way for your audience to quickly find your videos as the keywords will directly link them.

5) Don’t go overboard

Even though there are no limits on words for YouTube tags, don’t use so many words; it may turn away your audience. Instead, focus on adding relevant tags but don’t stuff in keywords. Going overboard may automatically take you off the topic and mislead your audience.

How to add a tag to a YouTube video

Adding the right YouTube tag will increase the chances of YouTubers finding and watching your video. Here are the steps how to add a tag to a YouTube video.

Step 1. First, log in to your YouTube account and hit the “Camera” icon. It is located at the top-right corner of your screen.

Step 2. Check the drop-down menu and choose the “Upload Video” option.

Step 3. Select from your videos which one to upload. Then click on the “Edit” tab to add relevant information like keywords, descriptions, etc.

Step 4. Give your video a name and description. Ensure the description correlates to the title of your video.

Step 5. Add relevant tags, separating them with commas. You can use from five to fifteen tags. YouTube may ignore your tags if they are more than 15.

Step 6. Click on the “Save” tab to complete the upload.

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Conclusion

● YouTube tags play a vital role for you and your potential customers. YouTube’s algorithm uses your tags to match them to similar search queries. When properly utilized, tags can bring an over flux of customers to your video. You have to know how to add a tag to a YouTube video for better results. Remember that YouTube tags can also drive away customers if not properly utilized. We have covered the effects and the best approach when settling on YouTube tags.

● Nonetheless, ensure your videos are top-notch before you tag them around. The best video editor – Filmora – works to produce high-end videos. Try it and gain additional traffic to your video.

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What is a YouTube tag?