Hashtags versus tags - conflicting advice

[Eoin_Mac]

I've read a lot on this forum about tags and hashtags but there seems to be conflicting advice and opinions on how to use them. As they are different, I'll break this post into two sections.

TAGS
YouTube says this on the help page (my bold type): "Tags can be useful if the content of your video is commonly misspelled. Otherwise, tags play a minimal role in your video's discovery."

It adds: "Adding excessive tags to your video description is against our policies on spam, deceptive practices and scams."

HASHTAGS
YouTube says: "Hashtags in the title and description will be hyperlinked. If there are no hashtags in the title, the first three hashtags in the description will show above the video title."

Then it warns: "Don't add too many tags in a single video. The more tags that you add to a video, the less relevant they become for viewers who are searching. If a video has more than 15 hashtags, we'll ignore all hashtags on that video. Over-tagging may result in the removal of your video from your uploads or from search."

QUESTIONS
This leads me to ask a few questions:

• As only three hashtags make it to the top of the video, is there any reason to add more than that number?
• Have tags been deprecated in YouTube and what is excessive?
• Some folk here suggest minimal tagging, while others suggest using as much as you can squeeze in. What's the general view?
• If I change my video title for better SEO, will I be penalised in the YouTube algorithim?
• Similarly, will I be penalised if I add or edit tags and/or hashtags?

This is a little longer than I expected my first actual post to be, but I hope they address an issue where confusion seems to abound, especially for a relatively-new creator. I look forward to your feedback.

 

[Crown]

I'm not sure about hashtags because I hardly use them.

But as for the tags. Let me explain what they mean by:
__________
The following types of content are not allowed on YouTube. This isn't a complete list.:
- "Placing excessive tags in the video description ('tag stuffing') rather than placing them as tags upon upload. "
______

In the past (circa 2014), many creators used to put long lists of keywords (tags) separated by commas actually in the DESCRIPTION of the video as well as in the "tags" field. So literally, you'd see a brief text description of the video in the description field followed by:

keyword,keyword,keyword,keyword,keyword,keyword,keyword,keyword,keyword,keyword,keyword,keyword,keyword,keyword,keyword,keyword,keyword,keyword

Thousands of channels got banned for it and that was when they started really enforcing that rule. So the rule is no keyword stuffing in the description. In the description, you should write a proper summary of the video in natural-sounding language and NOT a long list of keywords. Of course your description may contain keywords that people are searching for, but put them in proper sentences and make sure they do reflect the content of the video. (Otherwise it's classed as "misleading metadata")

Put your list of keywords in the TAG field only. Again, make sure they are relevant. If your video is about Minecraft, don't put "coronavirus" as a tag. There is a limit on the number of tags. If you've put too many, you'll get an error message anyway so don't worry about the "excessive" thing when you're using the tag field for tags.

• If I change my video title for better SEO, will I be penalised in the YouTube algorithim?
• Similarly, will I be penalised if I add or edit tags and/or hashtags?

The advice I have always received (from various sources including a partner manager who works for Youtube) is don't touch metadata from existing videos. It's not against the rules to do so but you run the risk of getting fewer views after doing so. You might move up the search results for a couple of searches but also move down the search results for many more searches. Likewise, you risk "breaking the chain" with suggested videos on your/other channels. In other words, you might do more harm than good.

If you think you haven't been doing metadata very well up to now, just make sure you do it well going forward with future videos. A tip I would give you is to research your keywords you want to target for each video and then put the title, description and tags into a text file BEFORE you even upload to YouTube. Make all your tweaks to that text file based on your brainstorming and research and only when you're sure it's what you want is when you upload the video to YT and then copy-paste the metadata from the text file to Youtube. That ensures you get it right first time right off the bat. From that point on, don't make any major changes.

Some folk here suggest minimal tagging, while others suggest using as much as you can squeeze in. What's the general view?

Good question. I would say that nobody really knows for sure. I do a bit of both. I make some videos with only a few tags and others with more. What is important though is that you put the primary keywords that you're really targeting in the video as the first tags in the list. If you're a small channel, I'd recommend targeting longtail keywords. Put that long phrase as your title and as the first 1-2 tags. The other tags will have less weight.

Example, if you make gardening videos and your research tells you that a lot of people are interested in finding out how to grow tomatoes and your research ALSO tells you there aren't too many videos discussing that exact topic, then your title should be "How to grow tomatoes", your description should contain a text summary of the content of the video (without spoilers so people have to actually watch the video) and the first tag would be "how to grow tomatoes". You'd then put secondary and tertiary tags such as "gardening tips", "growing vegetables", "MyChannelName" etc etc.

Make sure each video has a common tag. Example your channel name that is spelt in the exact same way. That will help (but not guarantee) the algorithm to list your videos in the "suggested videos" sidebar where possible.

Have tags been deprecated in YouTube

Tags have never been that important IMHO. Good titles and descriptions are waay more important. Don't neglect the description. It's a big mistake. Make sure each description is different. Don't be lazy and put "Don't forget to like and sub" and nothing else!

hth

 

[Eoin_Mac]

Thanks very much for that. I've only recently realised that I've been doing SEO all wrong. I think my descriptions have always been pretty good and detailed, without any misleading information, but my use of keywords and tags has really let me down.

The advice I have always received (from various sources including a partner manager who works for Youtube) is don't touch metadata from existing videos. It's not against the rules to do so but you run the risk of getting fewer views after doing so. You might move up the search results for a couple of searches but also move down the search results for many more searches. Likewise, you risk "breaking the chain" with suggested videos on your/other channels. In other words, you might do more harm than good.

So it's probably better to leave those already posted as they are? That's a bit depressing, as I can see how a few tweaks to my tags and keywords would have possibly made them much more searchable. Does the term "metadata" include the description as well as the tags?

The problem is that since I learned more about SEO I've gone in and changed tags etc like crazy. I probably should stop that!

My little music videos are relatively short, but take ages to make, as I love to produce something as professional as I can. Until now, after possibly days of editing on a two-minute video, I've just been glad to get it posted. Going forward, I'll do a lot more pre-posting research!

Again, thanks very much for your help.

 

[Crown]

So it's probably better to leave those already posted as they are?

Yes, that'd be my advice and is also the advice that I have been given by others, including from a YT manager. Of course it all depends on how much you have potentially to lose. I mean, if your videos are getting only a tiny amount of views and you're happy taking the risk, then go for it. But if you really don't want to risk losing what you're already getting, I'd say don't touch them and just concentrate on doing better moving forward.

 

[JayZippo]

Generally speaking, have been researching "TAGS" and it is not great. Right now tags are near useless, compared to 5 years ago they were "helpful" in searches and defining your video. In my opinion, do not put much time into tags, and spend it on descriptions and titles and the quality of your video. Just an FYI that tags will do nothing for your SEO. In regards to hashtags, I know some platforms they bomb, while others it is useful. Twitter and Instagram hashtagging is huge. Facebook it is now a frowned upon practice and no one does it anymore. I know Youtube places the first 3 hashtags in my description right below the video, so in some aspect, hashtags are relevent for youtube. I work for a large media and marketing company that has a big social media division and they tell me hashtags are not a make it or break it thing for Youtube.

Straight from Youtube:

Tags are descriptive keywords you can add to your video to help viewers find your content. Your video’s title, thumbnail, and description are more important pieces of metadata for your video’s discovery. These main pieces of information help viewers decide which videos to watch.

Tags can be useful if the content of your video is commonly misspelled. Otherwise, tags play a minimal role in your video's discovery.

Note: Adding excessive tags to your video description is against our policies on spam, deceptive practices, and scams.