What Are YouTube Tags and How Can You Find Great Tags For Your Videos?

What is YouTube Tag and How to Find Great Tags For Your Videos?

Richard Bennett

Oct 26, 2023• Proven solutions

There are a huge number of videos uploaded to YouTube every day, and that is why it is so important to make sure your videos are sorted properly by the site using YouTube tags. If you don’t, potential viewers will miss out on the chance to discover and enjoy your videos.

Instead of forcing yourself through a painful brainstorming session, it can be easier to identify the best tags using these techniques that experienced content managers use to populate their tag lists.

In this article, I will show you how to find great tags for your YouTube videos as well as some answers to the frequently asked questions about YouTube Tags.

Use YouTube’s Auto-Suggest Tool
Try YouTube Tag Generators
Study Your YouTube Rivals’ Tags

Part 1: How to Find YouTube Tags [3 Effective Ways]

1. Use YouTube’s Auto-Suggest Tool to Get Tags

YouTube’s search engine can be your best ally on the quest for great tags. This tool was created to aid users who are looking for content on the platform, and content creators can benefit from it as well. By typing the general topic of your video, or a few words vaguely related to your video, into the search bar on YouTube you can see suggestions that reflect what viewers are searching for and take some of those suggestions into consideration for your tags. With every new phrase (and even every additional character you type), new options will appear. By playing around with this tool you will gain valuable insight into the searching habits of YouTube viewers.

This method may not be too precise, but the idea is to quickly gather information and perhaps get some inspiration for more creative or complex tags. Most of the suggestions will be logical, but there can be a few unexpected combinations you’d never think of. Be very careful when translating the findings to your own situation, since the fact that some terms are popular doesn’t mean they are relevant for your video. Another problem is that slightly altered terminology can significantly change the effectiveness of the tag, so you should ideally use the suggested phrases in the exact form as you found them or not at all. If you do make adjustments, you should test the new tag through the same auto-complete tool and see how it fares.

2. Try YouTube Tag Generators

If you’d like to dig a little deeper, there are multiple dedicated tools that can assist you in picking the most suitable YouTube tags for every video you upload. Let’s examine a few of them in greater detail:

#1. Keyword Tool

A very simple and reliable web-based tag generator that provides you with 750 frequently searched keywords that would be suitable for your video. The keyword list is based on YouTube’s search tool in a way similar to what we described in the previous chapter. However, since the analysis is automated with the Keyword Tool, you can get a huge list in just a few seconds. This generator is especially useful when you are looking for long-tail keywords that attract niche audiences.

#2. Rapid Tags

This tool is a bit more sophisticated and includes some analytic features on top of tag generating capacities, allowing you to manage your channel more effectively. It’s completely automated, so you won’t have to do any heavy lifting on your own. Just type the URL of your video into the appropriate field and let Rapid Tags do the rest. You can easily switch between the Generator, Analyzer, Ranker, and Tracker tools, so you can acquire a complete picture of the suitability of each tag and a better understanding of the projected performance of your video.

Want more tools to generate YouTube tags? Check our picks of the best YouTube video tag generators .

#3. BetterWaytoWeb

While this free-to-use tool has a very simple interface and won’t require any background knowledge to use, it still provides valuable information. It can suggest suitable tags for your new video based on the main keyword you provide, speeding up your research considerably. It can also analyze the tags placed on an existing YouTube video, which is important for deducing how other authors working in the same category are optimizing their content.

3. Study Your YouTube Rivals’ Tags

YouTube content authors can learn a lot by analyzing their top competitors. No matter what your videos are about, there are probably countless other creators that want to attract the same audiences as you. Only a tiny percentage of them will manage to gain significant viewership, and those are the ones you should be researching in detail.

If you are able to locate the most successful videos with content similar to yours you are already halfway to your goal, but one obstacle still remains. You can’t even see your competitor’s tags them when you click on their videos on YouTube. This type of information is not displayed, but some specialized solutions are able to reveal it upon request. Here is one YouTube certified analytic tool capable of doing that:

1. VidIQ

Currently used to manage more than 30,000 YouTube channels, this powerful video marketing suite can also help with tag selection. It can enlarge your tag library by a factor of 10, and provide you with a direct comparison with your chief competitors. In addition to increasing your views, this app can help you monitor your visibility on social networks, and track detailed statistics that describe the performance of your video. In other words, this is a comprehensive package that will help you manage your channel in a professional way.

What’s your YouTube tag strategy?

Part 2: YouTube Tag FAQs

1. What is YouTube Tag?

YouTube tag is a keyword that you added to help Google and YouTube understand your video context, which is an important ranking factor in YouTube searching. Basically, the better you tag your video, the more views you can get. But you should keep in mind that adding excessive tags to your video description is against YouTube policy.

2. How Many Tags Should You Use on YouTube?

Though there is no restriction about the numbers of the YouTube tags, you should keep the total characters of all tags within 400 characters. In most cases, 5-8 tags are appreciated for a YouTube video. It is recommended to add as many relevant tags as you can, such as brand-specific tags, YouTube auto-suggest tags, or tags created with some tag generator.

3. Do Tags on YouTube Get More Views?

The short answer is Yes. Since Google is encouraging people to use tags to help them understand your video content, then it can recommend the videos to relevant users accordingly. With tags, YouTube can categorize your videos and make them discoverable easier. For example, when you search tag #FilmoraSchoolStory in YouTube, you can see all the videos with the tag in the search result. allowing viewers to find your content more easily.

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Richard Bennett

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

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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?