How to See Tags on YouTube Videos? Step By Step Guide

YouTube video tags are keywords added to a video’s metadata that help users find relevant content in YouTube search results. If your company has a YouTube channel, you may be wondering – can you see the tags on YouTube videos? Both your own videos and other channels’ popular videos?

Understanding which keywords competing videos rank highly for can provide useful inspiration for optimizing tags on your own content. The right video tags allow viewers to easily discover your content and help your videos surface higher in YouTube and Google search results.

In this comprehensive guide on how to see tags on YouTube videos, you’ll learn:

• What are YouTube video tags and why they matter for search rankings
• How to view the tags you’ve applied to your own uploaded videos
• Techniques for uncovering tags on trending YouTube videos from influencers or competitors
• Best practices for adding high-quality tags optimized for search

Optimizing your video metadata with descriptive, keyword-rich tags is a super important but not well-understood piece of ranking well and getting your content discovered on YouTube. Read on to unlock the secrets of YouTube video tags!

What are YouTube Video Tags and Why They Matter for Search Rankings

YouTube video tags are words or phrases added to a video’s metadata that describe what the content is about. They serve an important function similar to hashtags on social media platforms like Twitter and Instagram. Video tags provide critical context that allows YouTube’s search algorithm to correctly categorize and match videos to relevant user search queries.

In essence, optimal video tags help users find your content when they search for related topics on YouTube. This discoverability directly impacts search rankings and traffic potential.

Some key reasons why good YouTube tags matter for better search rankings include:

• Clarity for the Algorithm: Tags give clarity to YouTube regarding your actual video topic so it can connect the right searchers. Without tags or other metadata, YouTube’s algorithm would have limited data points to understand context. Tags reduce ambiguity.
• Optimized Discoverability: The right tags matched to viewer search intent allows your content to surface in search results. Optimized tags equal visibility to bring in viewers actively looking for what you offer.
• Ranking Signal for Search: YouTube has access to top-secret quality signals driving its search algorithm, but experts recognize tags as one such search signal. Strong keyword-focused tags may contribute to higher rankings in results.

Given how tags enhance algorithm understanding and viewer matching, they clearly impact search visibility. For any marketer serious about YouTube SEO and maximizing viewership of their video content, tag optimization should be a priority.

How to See Tags on YouTube Videos?

Seeing the tag optimization behind a popular or competing YouTube video can provide useful inspiration for your own channel’s tags. While you have full visibility into tags on your own uploaded videos in YouTube Studio, uncovering tags on other channels’ videos requires using certain workarounds:

See YouTube Tags with Web Browser

1. Navigate to the Video’s Watch Page: Initiate your journey by accessing the video’s dedicated watch page.
2. Unleash the Page’s Source Code: Right-click anywhere on the web page and select “View Page Source” from the context menu.
3. Embark on a Keyword Quest: Engage your keyboard prowess by pressing CTRL + F to activate the search function.
4. Discover the Hidden Tags: Type “keywords” in the search bar and witness the revealing tags seamlessly appear before your eyes.

Using YouTube Tags Generator – TunePocket

One handy free online tool for revealing the tags on most public YouTube videos is TunePocket’s YouTube Tags Generator. TunePocket is designed to help YouTube creators with better video SEO, including analyzing the metadata behind trending and viral videos.

To use TunePocket to view tags on a YouTube video:

1. Go to the TunePocket website and scroll down to the “Search bar” box.
2. Paste the link to the YouTube video you want to analyze into the input field.
3. Click captcha I am Not A Robot
4. Click the “Get Tags” button.
5. The tool will fetch and display the video’s title, description, and tags used in the metadata.

Seeing the tags used on popular videos in your niche provides useful inspiration for brainstorming relevant keywords to optimize your own uploads with.

Search Likely Keyword Options

1. Select a popular YouTube video you want to analyze.

For example, a makeup tutorial titled “Beginner Eye Makeup Tips | Easy Everyday Eye Look”.

2. Based on the video title and content, brainstorm likely keywords and phrases viewers would search to find such content.

For our example video, terms like:

• beginner eye makeup
• easy eye makeup tutorial
• everyday eye makeup look
• daytime eye makeup
• eye makeup for beginners

3. Go to YouTube and manually search for each of your predicted keyword options one at a time.

Type a term like “easy eye makeup tutorial” into YouTube’s search bar and hit enter to run the search.

4. Scan the top 5-10 search results for that term to see if the YouTube video you originally selected appears ranking well for that searched term.

If the makeup tutorial does appear near the top, it likely has that given search phrase added as a tag in its metadata to rank for searches using those words.

5. Iterate through your list of predicted tags, running searches for each phrase and noting if your target video tends to rank within the results. Any search terms for which that video surfaces near the top have a strong chance of being included as actual tags by the video creator to optimize for those searches.

This manual keyword guessing and search analysis approach takes more effort but can provide hints into the types of tags and search optimization used on any public YouTube video to rank well. The top-ranking search phrases you identify are likely similar or identical to the actual tags applied in that video’s metadata.

Use VidIQ to See Tags on YouTube Videos

One of the most popular browser extensions used by YouTube creators to uncover approximate tags is VidIQ. VidIQ integrates directly with YouTube to provide enhanced video analytics and metadata tools.

Here is how to leverage VidIQ to reveal estimated tags:

1. Install the VidIQ extension for Chrome or Firefox.
2. Log in VidIQ with your google account
3. Navigate to any YouTube video page and the VidIQ panel will display alongside it.
4. Click the “Tags” tab in the VidIQ sidebar to view detected tags.

While VidIQ cannot expose the exact proprietary tags added, its algorithms derive intelligent guesses at high-probability tags based on analysis of ranking, metadata signals, and viewer search behavior.

The tags displayed likely closely match or overlap with the creator’s actual tag optimization. You see volume metrics for each tag too so you know which had the biggest impact.

Best Practices for Adding High-Quality Tags Optimized for Search

The key principle for optimizing YouTube video tags is relevance. Include descriptive keywords and phrases that accurately convey what your content covers. Tags give critical clues to YouTube regarding the topic of your video.

While you can include up to 500 characters of tags, most experts recommend keeping it simple with just 5-10 highly relevant tags per video. Avoid excessive keyword stuffing. Focus on quality over quantity.

Some best practices include:

• Use Primary Topic Keywords: Identify 1-2 primary keywords that summarize the core topic or purpose of your video content. Work these keywords naturally into your title and description.
• Research Competitor Tags: Review tags used by top competing YouTube channels creating similar content. Reusing relevant tags is fair game and helps YouTube makeconnections.
• Expand Reach: Consider including misspellings, synonyms, and other variants of your primary tags to broaden potential search reach and rankings.
• Refresh Tags: Revisit your video metadata every 3-6 months to update outdated tags or add new relevant keywords that have gained popularity.

The right tags provide critical information to improve search visibility. But avoid excessive stuffing. Keep it simple with 5-10 well-chosen keywords that accurately reflect your video in a natural way. Quality tags drive more quality traffic over the long haul.

Conclusion

Understanding how to optimize tags when uploading YouTube videos is super important for improving search rankings and visibility. But analyzing the tags behind already successful and viral videos can provide useful inspiration. Now you know the main methods for investigating the metadata and tags used on other YouTube channels’ top content.

Techniques range from leveraging browser extensions like VidIQ or TubeBuddy to peek at estimated tags, to manually searching likely keywords, to even digging into page source code. While minor guesswork is involved without direct tag access, these approaches can reveal the terms and phrases likely targeted to rank well.

Armed with smarter insight into the optimal “how to see tags on YouTube videos” SEO strategies used by competitors, you can refine keyword research for your niche. Incorporate relevant search trends and high-potential tags into your next video upload’s metadata on your way to going viral.

And be sure to check out TubeLoop as a handy tool for repeating and looping your polished videos, once launched and optimized using your refreshed high-quality tags for maximum visibility!

Eric Mason

I am Eric Mason, the founder of TubeLoop.io and I have extensive experience with digital marketing and media. I have employed my expertise to launch a multitude of successful online businesses, ranging across a variety of industries. I also enjoy tackling startups, taking calculated risks and taking advantage of opportunities – I believe these attributes act as catalysts for success within any industry. I look forward to continuing my journey toward success with TubeLoop.io makes it possible for people to watch youtube videos over and over again, it is something I am passionate about and I’m excited to see what the future holds.