Let's talk about tags.

Envato Authors AudioJungle
1

Something i have been thinking about for a while now.

We all need to use tags for our tracks right? So how many of you are actually making up original tags, and how many of you copy/paste tags from a succesful author? Or copy/paste your own tags from your own succesful item?

Here is my take on it, i do both btw… the latter will get you in the “also recommended” list of the succesful author beneath their page.
Offcourse thinking of original tags seems more fair and original… but does it get you more traffic and sales?

Also, is it worth to actually use 30 tags… i see some older authors have only used 10-15 tags and have had great succes with their item… as if the less tags you use, the more weight the tags you DO use carry.

Thoughts?

1 Like
2

I think those authors who used a 10-15 tags and had success , like you said this is the old authors . Consider what used to be a lot less competition , and even if you track sold 4-7 times in week then you could get into the top tracks of the week . I think the situation now is different , and we need to come up with a new approach , even with the original tags !

2 Likes
3

I don’t copy tags though sometimes I copy my own tags if the tracks are similar/are intended for similar use. In my opinion, the tags should be original and descriptive and as related and relevant to the item as possible. Using the exact same keyword as hundreds of other items doesn’t make sense to me. But I didn’t know that it would turn up in related items, that could lead to some views and sales I guess.
EDIT: And I don’t see how 15 tags could be better than 30.

4

I do original tags but sometimes pick a few additional words out of successful tracks with similar style/genre etc. I didn’t know that identical tags could get you in the “related” list on a hit track page. However, If more and more people do the 100% copy and paste thing, then that too will become over-saturated and futile to less successful authors trying to get on the path to elite .

5

I guess the objective should be to aim for tags that have at least a reasonable chance of being used by some potential buyers but not so commonplace as be used in 1000s of other tracks. Pretty tricky to pull off in practice I think! And of course it also helps if the track is something the buyer would expect to find using the relevant tags.

6

Tags are frustrating for me. I know in all reality it doesn’t take long to come up with 30 original tags for an item, but I hate doing it so much that I end up either using templates from tagsgenerator, or using tags from my similar items.

I feel like most other people do the same. Take a look at any item and chances are - tags are in alphabetical order. (because tagsgenerator spits them out like that)

I wish we were forced to select only 10-15 tags. This would make me stop and think about things that really describe the track.

Edit: Tags are automatically sorted alphabetically, so I’m incorrect in assuming a mass tag copying conspiracy :smiley:

2 Likes
7

They all are :sunglasses:

They are sorted alphabetically automatically.

4 Likes
8

well that’s embarrassing… :slight_smile:

That reminds me of when I didn’t realize that AJ prices were set by track length. For the longest time I thought reviewers just didn’t really like the tracks that I submitted that were under 2:00. Good times… :smiley:

4 Likes
9

Right now it’s a dilemma: Do what everybody else does and sink into oblivion, or shoot in the dark by trying to be original.

There’s a third possibility, though it’s not readily available and will require a paradigm shift: I believe tag search anayltics should be made available to authors. We should be able to see which tags are being searched, sort them by popularity, etc.

I know that the popular counter argument is that this would lead to a saturation of popular tags, but isn’t this happening already?

Imagine, for a second, that mandolin is the new ukulele. Let’s say Italy is the most popular tourist destination this year, and production companies making videos for travel agencies are looking for tracks with mandolin. They come here searching for mandolin tracks, do not like what they find, and end up buying ukulele tracks just because they fit the general mood. In current circumstances we would see this as even more demand for ukulele tracks. We wouldn’t know unless someone bothered to come and post a request for mandolin tracks here in this forum. But if we had access to tag search data we would see the new trend and perhaps accomodate it.

The above example may be over the top, and not everyone will switch to a new instrument, but consider this also: let’s say there’s a new trend on Youtube, and some of our older or newer tracks are perfectly suitable for that trend but we can not reach potential buyers because we are not aware of that trend yet and have not tagged (or re-tagged) our tracks as such. Having access to search data would again give a heads up and allow us to modify our tags accordingly. If anything, this would result in a diversification of tags, which is good for everyone.

5 Likes
10

A list of popular search terms has been on my wish list for quite some time. However, I would guess it’s a bit easier said than done when you look at the actual implementation though. I’ve seen some sites where they do publish all the searches and it’s actually a bit of a mess most of the time. For example, people use variants of the same words, misspell, use different languages, type in jibberish, search for things unrelated to the site etc. In the end it’s difficult to actually group and rank the most popular words. You don’t just have “inspiration”, you also have “inspiration music”, “inspirations”, “inspirational”, “inspiring corporate”, “inspirational motivational” etc coming up here and there in a giant list. Making sense of it in terms of usable statistics is a work of its own. Also, I think we already know what the 20 or so top search terms already are, so it would only get interesting from about rank 20 and down (after grouping). Not to mention various data misrepresentation issues, like the fact that many users search for a million things without the intent of actually buying anything, while others just go “corporate ragtime” and boom :wink:

Still not saying it can’t be done, but equally useful (and slightly more appealing) would be a staff-made shortlist of 10 or so keywords that seems to be trending or interesting at the moment. In a sense, that’s what’s used to be going on with the “most wanted” competitions, and now with the various blog and email features. Every now and then a small clue about what Envato staff thinks we should be doing instead of rocking the uke. Also, or so I’ve heard, “future bass” is now replacing “dubstep” in the alternative section :slight_smile:

Last but not least, trends are trends long before they hit AJ. You can see things come from a million miles away (YouTube, blogs, news, ads) before people actually starts looking to license relatable AJ music. Also, there is the factor of AudioJungle branding in itself. Really, I wonder if not more people, relatively speaking, search for corporate music specifically on AudioJungle than they would on a competing site. It’s just that they came here for a reason and that’s what they will be searching for. On the other hand, sometimes people just google search stuff and boom, an AJ item page comes up.

Bottom line I guess… here’s a workaround:

https://trends.google.com/trends/home/e/US

Also this:

https://audiojungle.net/search?date=this-month&sort=sales&utf8=✓&view=list

Cheers :sunglasses:

7 Likes
11

quality post mate. Thanks for the info!

12

I have my own list of tags taken from several sources… and all I have to do is just copy the tags I think fits better… but periodically I create new tags. I think AJ should allow put more, like 40 or 50
Just my opinion.
Greetings and good luck with sales!

13

If something’s trending, it will be above this noise floor and below the top 20 you mention. It’ll be easy to sniff out :slight_smile:

Or how 'bout a list of winning keywords? Keywords that actually landed a sale? The system could keep track of a keyword and add it to the list if it results in a sale, pretty much like referrals. That would be some solid information right there.

True, but are we (even supposed to be) aware of each and every one of them? (I’m not talking about musical trends. I’m referring to trends (or micro trends) in videos, in terms of content and form).

2 Likes
14

I’ve had a small bit of success with tracks that used very specific, unpopular tags…Nothing mind-blowing, but the few sales they’ve contributed here and there are certainly appreciated. Therefore, I (often) try to include a few oddball choices in the hope that maybe someone will enter them in the search box.

2 Likes
15

Are you sure that success with your tracks depends from tags (specific or unpopular)?

16

It’s only an assumption, of course, but one based on the extreme specificity of the tags, on tracks that have gone essentially un-purchased otherwise.

17

What if amount of tags will be decreased? To ~8-10
This tag wars create mess when you searching something specific. Everybody using 10-15 most “efficient” words (50%), hoping to catch more of a search results.
And a lot of times, their music not emotional, or warm, and not at all positive :face_with_raised_eyebrow:

So if you have only up to 10 tags, you will have to choose them much more mindfully, and closely to real picture

18

You only get 15 tags on VideoHive items. Not sure why.

19

Probably that was from the very beginning

20

Let’s talk about tags, ba-by
Let’s talk about you and me
Let’s talk about all the good things, and the bad things
That may be

…But seriously, accurate tags are important!

3 Likes