Tags are one of the easiest YouTube SEO wins — but most creators either skip them entirely or guess at random keywords. This guide covers exactly how to add tags, how many to use, and how to write a tag set that actually helps your video get found.

How to add YouTube tags (step by step)

1. Go to YouTube Studio and open the video you want to tag (or start a new upload)
2. Click Details in the left sidebar (it may already be open during an upload)
3. Scroll down and click More options to expand the section
4. Find the Tags field — it shows a greyed-out placeholder that says “Add tag”
5. Type or paste your tags. Press Enter or comma after each one to add it as a separate tag
6. Watch the character counter in the bottom-right corner of the tags field — you have 500 characters total
7. Click Save in the top right

You can add or edit tags on already-published videos at any time. Changes take effect immediately — there’s no re-processing delay.

How to add YouTube tags on mobile

1. Open the YouTube Studio app on iOS or Android
2. Tap Content at the bottom, then tap the video
3. Tap the pencil / edit icon
4. Scroll down to find the Tags section
5. Tap to add tags — type each one and press the checkmark or return
6. Tap Save

How many YouTube tags should you use?

YouTube gives you 500 characters across all tags — use as much of it as you can with relevant tags. A well-tagged video typically has 12–20 tags.

The 500-character limit fills up faster than you expect — especially with longer phrase tags. TagCraft generates the full mix automatically and counts the characters for you.

Do YouTube tags help you get more views?

Yes — but indirectly. Tags don’t directly trigger a recommendation or push your video to the top of search. What they do is help YouTube place your video in the right context, which affects:

• Related videos. When YouTube shows “Up next” or “Recommended” videos, it partly uses tags to match videos on similar topics. Better tags = better placement alongside relevant content.
• Search discovery. Long-tail tags can match specific search queries that don’t appear word-for-word in your title, giving you extra surface area in search results.
• Algorithm confidence. For new channels, tags give YouTube extra signals about what the video covers — reducing the chance of it being miscategorised and shown to the wrong audience.

The biggest impact is usually for:

• New or small channels — where you don’t have established topical authority yet
• Ambiguous topics — where your subject could mean multiple things (tags disambiguate)
• Niche content — where search volume is low but intent is high

YouTube tag best practices

• Match tags to your content. Only use tags that genuinely describe what the video covers. YouTube can penalise misleading tags — and it doesn’t work anyway since mismatched tags send the video to the wrong audience.
• Put your most important tag first. Some evidence suggests the first tag carries slightly more weight. Lead with your primary keyword.
• Don’t repeat the same word in every tag. “dog training”, “dog training tips”, “dog training for beginners” — this is fine. “dog training”, “dog training dog”, “dog dog training” — this is tag stuffing and wastes your 500-character budget.
• Include the year sparingly. Adding “2026” to a tag or two can help with freshness signals — but don’t use it in every tag.
• Think about how people search. Use the phrases people actually type, not industry jargon. “how to lose weight fast” outperforms “adipose reduction strategies”.

How to tag YouTube Shorts

Shorts support tags the same way as regular videos — same 500-character limit, same Tags field in YouTube Studio. The best approach for Shorts is slightly different:

• Include “shorts” and “youtube shorts” as explicit tags
• Focus on broad category tags and trending topic tags rather than long tutorial-style phrases
• Keep individual tags shorter — Shorts move fast, and concise topic tags tend to perform better than detailed phrase tags

The fastest way to write YouTube tags

Writing a good tag set from scratch takes 5–10 minutes. A free AI tag generator does it in seconds. TagCraft generates a complete, 500-character-optimised YouTube tag set from your video title and description:

• Paste your title and description → press Generate
• Get a comma-separated tag set — broad, long-tail, and within the character limit
• Copy and paste straight into YouTube Studio

It uses a built-in Llama 3.2 AI model that runs entirely on your computer — no internet needed after the first setup, no subscription, no data sent anywhere. Free for Mac, Windows, and Linux.