Does the Order of Tags Matter on YouTube?
Sep 21, 2020YouTube tags are quite a popular subject among YouTube creators. While tags have been around for a long time, there are still some questions that are hard to find an answer to. One such question is: Does the order of tags matter on YouTube? It's a question that seems like it would be irrelevant, but as we all know, small things can have a big impact on YouTube.
While many small things can have a big impact on YouTube, tag order is not one of them. The order of tags does not matter on YouTube. While there are efficiency benefits to ordering video tags in a certain way, the order of video tags does not have any impact on video search engine optimization (SEO).
There are only so many hours in a day. Due to this, as a YouTube creator, you should try to be as efficient as possible. While the order of YouTube video tags does not matter from an SEO standpoint, ordering tags in a certain way can help you be more efficient. If you'd like to become a more efficient content creator, keep reading!
Does the Order of YouTube Tags Matter
Does the order of YouTube tags matter? Or, can you order your tags however you'd like? The answer, of course, is no. Tag order does not matter on YouTube. While it might have mattered in the past (nobody knows), it does not matter nowadays. So, you have the complete freedom to order your video tags as you please.
Years ago, we didn't know much about how YouTube worked. Many people started guessing how things worked, which led to rumors being created. There are a lot of rumors that were popular years ago that are still popular to this day. You must recognize that many rumors regarding how things work on YouTube are typically from years ago and are false.
One such rumor is the topic of this particular article. Of course, the question addressed in this article is a good one to ask, as are many other questions. However, it's important to recognize that many things which people claim are important for achieving success on YouTube are based on old rumors and are not important.
It's best to consume information about YouTube that is no older than 2 years. YouTube tends not to change every single year, but every 2-3 years there is usually a significant change that is made to the platform. Information from say, 2013, still can be relevant. For more in-depth information, however, newer information is always ideal.
YouTube Tags Character Limit
Something to be aware of is the fact that there is a YouTube tags character limit. The current character limit is 500 characters. This means you may need to be selective when it comes to the tags you use on your videos. Keep in mind, just because the character limit is 500 characters, it doesn't mean you should use all 500 characters.
Many content creators make the mistake of including irrelevant tags in their video metadata to fill the 500-character limit. The problem is, when irrelevant tags are included in the metadata of a video, this lowers the SEO score of the video. A lower SEO score causes a video to rank lower in the YouTube search results, leading to fewer gained views.
Your goal when it comes to tagging your videos should be to use the most relevant tags possible. If this means that you only use 250 out of the 500 characters available to you, so be it. Often, the sweet spot for video tags tends to be between 8 to 12 tags, and this many tags very rarely use up the 500-character tag limit.
So, don't be afraid to be well under the 500-character limit when tagging your videos. Focus on including the most relevant tags possible in the metadata of your videos, as this will improve the SEO score of your videos. There is no set number of tags you should use, but as I mentioned, the sweet spot tends to be between 8 to 12 tags.
How to Order Your YouTube Tags
As someone who has optimized over 1000 individual YouTube videos, I've created some tricks that help make the video optimization process more efficient. One such trick I created has to due to the order of video tags. More specifically, how to know what tags should be deleted when the 500-character limit is reached.
You see, as I was optimizing videos, I was always hitting the character limit for YouTube video tags. This was an issue, as I wanted to make sure I was using the best tags possible. To help with this, I created a trick that makes it easier to know which tags should be deleted from the metadata of a video to get below the character limit.
While the order of video tags doesn't matter from an SEO standpoint, I do recommend ordering your tags a certain way. I recommend you order your tags according to the keyword scores given by TubeBuddy. Place the highest rated keywords first and the lowest rated keywords last. Then, if you reach the character limit, remove the keywords near the end.
This is an easy way to get under the character limit while ensuring you're using the best tags possible. By ordering your tags the way I recommended, you will remove all the guesswork involved with deleting video tags. If you're frequently going over the character limit for YouTube tags, try using the trick I created to get under the limit of 500-characters.
Conclusion
You now know the answer to the question: Does the order of tags matter on YouTube? As I said, while many small things can have a big impact on YouTube, tag order is not one of them. Of course, ordering your tags in a certain manner can help you be more efficient when it comes to dealing with the character limit, but tag order has no impact on video SEO.