How to Add Tags to YouTube Videos — Step-by-Step with a Free Generator

To add tags to a YouTube video, go to YouTube Studio, open the video, click "Details," scroll to the "Tags" field, and type or paste your tags separated by commas or pressing Enter after each one. The harder part — figuring out which tags to actually use — is where most creators get stuck. The free YouTube Tags Generator solves that: pick your category and add 1-3 specific keywords about your video, and you'll get 30-50 relevant tags pulled from YouTube's own autocomplete data. Here's the full process from start to finish.

Where to Find the Tags Field in YouTube Studio

A lot of first-time creators can't find the tags field because it's not visible by default during upload. Here's exactly where it lives:

On upload: After you choose your video file, YouTube takes you through setup steps. On the "Details" page, scroll past the title, description, and thumbnail fields. You'll see a section called "More options" — click it to expand. The Tags field is inside this expanded section. It's collapsed by default, which is why people miss it.

After upload: Go to YouTube Studio (studio.youtube.com), click "Content" in the left sidebar, find your video, and click the pencil edit icon. This opens the Details page for that video. Same location — scroll down to "More options" and expand it to reach the Tags field.

On mobile (YouTube Studio app): Tap your video, then "Edit" (pencil icon), then scroll to "More details." Tags appears near the bottom. The mobile editor is a bit clunky for tag entry — easier to generate tags on desktop and paste the list in.

One thing to note: tags you add are not the same as hashtags. Hashtags go in the video description or title and appear above your video title on mobile. Tags go in the Studio Tags field and are hidden from viewers. Both matter. See the YouTube Tags vs Hashtags guide for the full breakdown of when to use each.

Step 1 — Generate Your Tags Before Uploading

The best workflow is to generate your tags before you open Studio — so you can paste a ready list rather than typing tags one at a time into the field.

Here's how to use the free Tags Generator:

1. Open the YouTube Tags Generator in a new tab.
2. Select the category that best matches your video. Be specific — if your video is a cooking tutorial, don't choose "Other." If it's a home workout, pick "Fitness and Workout" not "Sports."
3. In the "Custom keywords" field, add 1-3 keywords specific to your video. These should be exact phrases a viewer might search. For a video about sourdough bread for beginners, write: sourdough bread, beginner baking, artisan bread. One to three keywords — the tool builds from these seeds.
4. If your video is a Short, check the "Include Shorts-style tags" box.
5. Hit Generate. You'll see 30-50 tag chips appear.
6. Deselect any chips that don't match your specific video. Better to have 15 accurate tags than 45 semi-relevant ones.
7. Copy the final list. The live counter shows your total character count — keep it under 500.

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Step 2 — Add Your Tags in YouTube Studio

Now paste your generated tags into Studio:

1. In YouTube Studio, open your video's Details page (either during upload or after via the Content tab).
2. Expand "More options" to reveal the Tags field.
3. Click inside the Tags field and paste your copied tag list. YouTube will automatically parse comma-separated tags into individual chips.
4. Review the chips — YouTube shows each tag as a pill in the field. If any look wrong (merged or split incorrectly), delete and retype them manually.
5. Save your changes.

One thing worth knowing: YouTube Studio shows a character counter in the Tags field. If you've already generated and counted your tags with the free tool, these numbers should match. If you're somehow over 500 in Studio, delete the longest or most generic tags first.

For an existing video that's already published, you can edit tags at any time — it won't reset your video's performance or create any penalties. Updating tags on a video that's already getting traction is actually recommended: as trends shift, your tag set should reflect current search behavior.

What Tags to Put First (Tag Order Matters)

YouTube reportedly gives slightly higher weight to the first few tags in the list — the logic being that your first tags signal your primary topic most strongly. In practice, the gap isn't enormous, but when two tags are equally relevant, put the more specific and important one first.

A good tag order for most videos:

1. Most specific, exact-match tag first — the phrase a viewer would type searching for your exact video. For a video about compound shoulder exercises with dumbbells: "dumbbell shoulder exercises."
2. Secondary specific tags — related variants. "shoulder workout dumbbells," "home shoulder workout," "overhead press form."
3. Broader category tags — "shoulder workout," "upper body workout," "home workout."
4. General audience/intent tags — "workout for beginners," "fitness tips," "gym at home."

When you copy from the Tags Generator, the chips are already in rough relevance order based on autocomplete prominence. But you can reorder them manually in Studio by dragging the chips if you want to put a specific phrase first.

For the complete strategy on character budgets, what to avoid, and how to think about long-tail tags, see the YouTube Tags Best Practices 2026 guide.

Updating Tags on Existing Videos

Tags on published videos are fully editable and there's no downside to updating them. In fact, if you published videos without tags (or with generic tags), going back and updating them is one of the easiest optimizations you can make today.

The best candidates for a tag update:

• Videos published more than 6 months ago with thin or no tag sets
• Videos that are ranking on page 2-3 for their target keyword — better tags can push them to page 1
• Evergreen content that has drifted in search behavior (terms people use change over time)
• Seasonal content you plan to republish — update both the tags and the publish date

To audit your existing tags: go to YouTube Studio, click the "Analytics" tab for any video, then look at the "Reach" tab and the "Traffic source: YouTube search" breakdown. If your video is appearing for searches that don't quite match your content, that's a signal your tags might be pulling in the wrong audience.

For competitive benchmarking — seeing what tags successful creators use on similar videos — the competitor research guide walks through the process step by step.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I add tags to a YouTube video after it's been published?

Yes. You can edit tags on any published video at any time through YouTube Studio. Go to Content, click the pencil icon on the video, expand "More options," and update the Tags field. Save changes. There's no penalty for editing tags on published videos — it can actually help a video that's underperforming.

How many tags should I add to a YouTube video?

YouTube allows up to 500 total characters across all your tags. That typically equals 15-30 tags depending on tag length. Prioritize quality over quantity — 15 accurate, specific tags outperform 50 generic ones. Always keep an eye on the character counter; tags that push you over 500 may be ignored entirely.

Do I need to add hashtags AND tags to every YouTube video?

They serve different purposes. Tags (in YouTube Studio) help the algorithm understand your topic. Hashtags (in the description or title) are visible to viewers and show up above your video title on mobile. You should add both, but limit hashtags to 3-5 per video — too many and YouTube stops showing any of them.

What happens if I go over the 500 character tag limit?

YouTube will either silently drop the tags that push you over the limit or, in some cases, ignore all your tags. The exact behavior isn't publicly documented, but staying under 500 is the safe play. The YouTube Tags Generator shows a live character counter so you can see exactly where you stand before copying.