It was nice and sunny here in southern Spain. I can't say I miss the Oregon winters!
Since the last Q&A was all about titles, I wrote this one all about the keywords. These are some of the questions and topics I give feedback on most frequently over on my keywording best practices course: How to Write Killer Keywords for your Stock Footage.
In this post, I'll be covering these Qs:
- What's the ideal number of keywords?
- What verb tense should I use?
- Include both verbs AND adjectives?
- Write compound or single-word keywords?
- What is "keyword spamming"?
Let's dive in!
IDEAL NUMBER OF KEYWORDS: Should I write 49 keywords for every single clip?
Each keyword should be accurate and precise. Your clip should represent that keyword without any additional explanations.
I often use 49 keywords for complex clips with multiple models, detailed and interesting locations, multiple action changes, and/or strong conceptual messages.
When I give feedback on metadata over on my Skillshare course, I look for is any potentially misleading keywords—if a buyer searches for a specific keyword you used, finds your clip, and your clip doesn't match up with what they expected to see, that is a misleading keyword. It can end up hurting your clip's long-term performance if you include keywords for very loosely associated concepts or keywords for elements that are technically there but aren't prominent.
If you’re collaborating with someone on BlackBox who is upset that you didn’t add 49 keywords, I recommend you find a friendly way to share some resources on best practices with them. Pointing to official recommendations from the agencies can help de-escalate any situation where someone feels like their opinions are being challenged.
VERB CONJUGATIONS: What verb tense should I use?
In the title, you can do whatever you want.In the keywording section, Adobe asks us to write verbs in base form/infinitive/stem.
EX. "run" instead of "running, runs, ran".
Shutterstock says their search engine doesn't care which conjugation we pick and notes that we should just pick one version and avoid duplicates. It's fine to write, "run" and it's fine to write, "running", however, it's unnecessary to write both and the duplicate will be deleted.
So if we stick with that base form, "run", then both agencies are happy.
VERBS & ADJECTIVES: Should I include both the base form verb AND the adjective?
I’ve personally been adding both the verb and the adjective - "sleep, sleepy"During the Adobe Keywording Webinar in September, their indexing specialist indicated that the repetition wasn't necessary. She said you CAN include the redundancies and you won't be penalized, but if you include "run" in your keywords, the system should also pull results for keyword searches like, "running", "runner", etc. I assume the same would apply for examples like "sleep" and "sleepy".
In the future, I might recommend only including, "run" or "sleep" to cover all the bases, but until I see instructions from all the major agencies to follow this policy, I'll continue to include variations like "sleepy" and "runner" as well!
COMPOUND KEYWORDS: When should I use single-word keywords and when should I use compound keywords/phrase tags?
Compound keywords are especially useful for phrasal verbs and common phrases where the meaning of the phrase would change if you separated the words.EX. "high school, high, school"
In this case, I would write, "high school, school" in my keywords, but not "high". When separated, "school" is still accurate, but "high" could now be potentially misleading. By keeping "high school" as a compound keyword, you remove the ambiguity of "high" on its own.
Adobe gives an example of another scenario where you could use both the single-word AND the compound keyword: "arctic, fox, arctic fox". Shutterstock also has some examples of where this is an acceptable practice and will not be penalized as keyword spamming.
KEYWORD SPAMMING - What is "keyword spamming"?
Keyword spamming is defined as using irrelevant keywords or repeating the same keywords and phrases over and over in an attempt to rank higher for that keyword.EX. "mountain, river, mountain river, river in mountain, white mountain, snowy mountain, snow mountain, mountain snow, snow river, snowy river, river mountain"
EX. Tagging "cat" in a clip with only a horse.
For more examples of Spamming, check out these two articles from Shutterstock:
• How is Keyword Spamming Defined?
• Title and Keyword Guidelines, Policies and Best Practices
I hope these Q&As were helpful to you!!
If you haven't had a chance to check out my keywording course yet, How to Write Killer Keywords for your Stock Footage, you can check it out on Udemy!
I'll teach you all the best practices you need to know to write professional titles and keywords for Shutterstock, Adobe, and Pond5. As a bonus, you'll get my second course with my personal brainstorming methods included for FREE!
As always, if you have any questions or suggestions, feel free to leave me a comment below.
I hope you're enjoying the holidays and looking forward to the new year,
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