YouTube
YouTube Tag Planning
Where tags fit among the metadata that actually moves the needle on YouTube.
4 min read
Tags are a minor signal
Title, thumbnail and the first two lines of the description do the heavy lifting on YouTube. Tags are a small supporting signal, most useful for disambiguation — telling the platform which 'python' or which 'mercury' your video is about.
Plan them last, after the title and description are settled.
Start with the exact title
Your first tag should be the exact video title. It is the single most accurate description of the video that exists, and it costs nothing to include.
Add a channel tag to everything
A consistent channel tag on every upload makes your own catalogue easier to manage and groups your videos together. Choose one and never vary the spelling.
Do not stuff
Adding tags for topics the video does not cover misleads viewers and wastes the field. Describe what the video is, not what you wish it were about.