1. What Counts as Video Metadata?
Metadata is information associated with a video that helps describe and organize it. For creators, important packaging elements include the title, description, thumbnail, category, language settings, and tags.
Different pieces of information serve different purposes, and they should not all be treated as equally important for discovery.
2. Titles, Thumbnails and Descriptions
YouTube identifies the title, thumbnail, and description as important pieces of metadata for helping viewers decide what to watch.
These elements should accurately represent the content and work together to establish the video's subject and value.
3. The Limited Role of Tags
YouTube currently states that tags can be useful when content is commonly misspelled. Otherwise, tags play a minimal role in video discovery.
Creators should therefore avoid spending excessive time generating hundreds of loosely related tags.
Relevant terms, common misspellings, abbreviations, and closely related identifying information are more sensible uses of the field.
4. Avoid Keyword Stuffing
Adding large blocks of unrelated keywords to descriptions can make content harder to read and may create policy problems.
Write descriptions for humans first. Use relevant terms naturally where they genuinely describe the video.
5. A Practical Metadata Workflow
Start by identifying the video's central topic and intended audience.
Write a clear title that accurately represents the content.
Create a useful description that explains what viewers will learn or experience.
Design a thumbnail that supports the title.
Use tags selectively for relevant terms and common spelling variations.