Do You Have a Philosophy for Tagging?

[Ed Rooney]

Perhaps this is not the best time to bring this up, what with all the angry tagging debates and the uncertain state of our new AIM. But in for a penny; in for a pound.

 

I'm a minimalist, the Philip Glass of Alamy tagging. I tried recently to get up to the suggested 50 tags on an image. Didn't even come close. 

[Phil Robinson]

I've tried being a completist and a minimalist. I am now trying to be a justtherightnumberist.

Some images need very few, some require lots.

If you think a customer using THAT search term would want to see THAT image, include it.

 

I have reached the magical 50 mark on a few images - mostly images including several famous people at a particular event doing various things that people might want a pic of.

I struggle with a studio shot of a banana.

[Jill Morgan]

I have about 10% of my images that hit the 50 tag limit, but I haven't gone over all my legacy images completely yet.

 

Generally I add what I can think of, then I will do an AoA search for a full year using the main tag of an image to see what was searched for over the past year.  Sometimes I am surprised at just how many variations I find. I will add any that pertain to my image.  It's amazing how many that for some reason didn't cross my brain yet were obvious searches. AoA is your friend.

 

Jill

[ReeRay]

With Jill (above). Also Check AoA and then check placement upon search engine update and modify if necessary.

 

Ignore optimising.

[Allan Bell]

Perhaps this is not the best time to bring this up, what with all the angry tagging debates and the uncertain state of our new AIM. But in for a penny; in for a pound.

 

I'm a minimalist, the Philip Glass of Alamy tagging. I tried recently to get up to the suggested 50 tags on an image. Didn't even come close. 

 

 

Surely Ed where you are it must be: "In for a cent; in for a dollar."?

 

Tagging? I just put in what I can see and is needed. Not trying to hit tagging targets.

 

Allan

[John Mitchell]

I've always been in the minimalist camp, but I find myself adding more keywords / tags than I used to, mainly because it now seems to be in vogue. I've yet to come even close to 50 tags for one image, though.

 

I'd still like to know more about what Alamy has in mind with the new "discoverability" thing. Do they know something we don't?

[Ed Rooney]

I've always been in the minimalist camp, but I find myself adding more keywords / tags than I used to, mainly because it now seems to be in vogue. I've yet to come even close to 50 tags for one image, though.

 

I'd still like to know more about what Alamy has in mind with the new "discoverability" thing. Do they know something we don't?

 

 

As long as it doesn't effect my rank, and it hasn't, I'm not going to ponder the mystery of 'discoverability.' And I too find myself revisiting images and adding a few tags from time to time. 

[Betty LaRue]

I do add plurals, and words like perch,perching,perched. Flower,flowers,bloom,blooms,flora,plant,plants. Then location, Oklahoma City,Oklahoma,US,USA,U.S.,U.S.A.,United States,North America. Then outdoors,day,daytime,nobody,blue sky. None of it is spamming, just me trying to cover what a search word or phrase might be.

 

By the time I do that with other relative tags, more than half of my images are in the green. Maybe not optimized, but in the green. But I do not add anything that would bring a false result. Although sometimes a tag can be plucked from a phrase wrongly. I've shot in a local park called Will Roger's botanical gardens, or Will Roger's park. I use those as a phrase, but anyone searching for Will Rogers (the man) might view my images.

 

I can't help that. Not if I want the location to be correct.

[Matt Limb]

Does it matter?

 

Looking at recent sales I will not get excited in the future about getting a 100% Green or even Optimised

[John Richmond]

I rarely have more than 12 - 15 tags and every one of my now 3945 images on sale are in the orange poor discoverability bracket.  When I look at my views for the major part of my portfolio (plants and insects) 70%+ are for either a Latin name or truncated Latin/varietal name of a plant - both of which feature in both my caption and tags/supertags.  Sales are pretty good given my portfolio size and relative newness to Alamy and stock in general.  97 last year, 30 so far this year.  Zooms have never been higher.  For a fairly specialist portfolio I don't think there is any need for more than minimalist tagging providing the descriptions are also comprehensive.

[Number Six]

I have made no changes to my minimalist keywording/tagging philosophy since the intro of the new AIM. Still getting plenty of views and zooms and, if anything, my number have sales might even have improved.

 

So, "if it ain't broke, don't fix it".

[Ed Rooney]

I've tried being a completist and a minimalist. I am now trying to be a justtherightnumberist.

Some images need very few, some require lots.

If you think a customer using THAT search term would want to see THAT image, include it.

 

I have reached the magical 50 mark on a few images - mostly images including several famous people at a particular event doing various things that people might want a pic of.

I struggle with a studio shot of a banana.

 

 

Very logical, Phil. I too aim to be a justtherightnumerist . . . I do not aim at having fewer tags, that is I'm not trying to do that. That's not the point. I ask myself the question: if my image popped up in a buyer's search on this particular term could it produce a sale? If the answer is 'I don't think so' I leave it out. If the answer is 'maybe' I include it. 

[wiskerke]

My current philosophy is: do nothing.

Do a search for Sydney Australia, and look at the tags of the images on page 1. Most do not have the tag Sydney.

 

Now I am not going to remove Sydney from all of my images from Sydney.

Or if you follow the reasoning behind it: all my tags for all my images.

 

Because if something flips another switch, I could be doing it all over again.

Like others I have noticed very weird search results and weird zooms.

And in my case a drop in zooms and sales since the tinkering began.

Let's hope that clients find it refreshing to find totally different images on page 1.

Or that all of this is just a Sunday glitch.

 

wim

[Phil Robinson]

 

I've tried being a completist and a minimalist. I am now trying to be a justtherightnumberist.

Some images need very few, some require lots.

If you think a customer using THAT search term would want to see THAT image, include it.

 

I have reached the magical 50 mark on a few images - mostly images including several famous people at a particular event doing various things that people might want a pic of.

I struggle with a studio shot of a banana.

 

 

Very logical, Phil. I too aim to be a justtherightnumerist . . . I do not aim at having fewer tags, that is I'm not trying to do that. That's not the point. I ask myself the question: if my image popped up in a buyer's search on this particular term could it produce a sale? If the answer is 'I don't think so' I leave it out. If the answer is 'maybe' I include it. 

 

Exactly. 'Discoverability' is not the right aim. 'Clickability' would be a good measure, if that were possible.

Getting your images seen by people who don't want to see them is counter-productive.

At least, it used to be - who knows how the search engine / Alamy Rank relationship works now?

[Ed Rooney]

My current philosophy is: do nothing.

Do a search for Sydney Australia, and look at the tags of the images on page 1. Most do not have the tag Sydney.

 

Now I am not going to remove Sydney from all of my images from Sydney.

Or if you follow the reasoning behind it: all my tags for all my images.

 

Because if something flips another switch, I could be doing it all over again.

Like others I have noticed very weird search results and weird zooms.

And in my case a drop in zooms and sales since the tinkering began.

Let's hope that clients find it refreshing to find totally different images on page 1.

Or that all of this is just a Sunday glitch.

 

wim

 

 

Ah, "do nothing," more my step-by-step for everyday life than a real philosophy. But words of wisdom, as always, wim. 

 

And more good thinking from you, Phil. 

 

If I go in and make changes on tags and captions, the only things I might remove are duplicates. I do add some obvious things I mistakenly left out. We've had 4 months of this mysterious new AIM and things have gotten better for me in that time without making major adjustments. The only big change I've made is making all my tabletop food image RF. They did sell that well as RM and they are not selling any better as RF. 

[Jill Morgan]

 

 

I've tried being a completist and a minimalist. I am now trying to be a justtherightnumberist.

Some images need very few, some require lots.

If you think a customer using THAT search term would want to see THAT image, include it.

 

I have reached the magical 50 mark on a few images - mostly images including several famous people at a particular event doing various things that people might want a pic of.

I struggle with a studio shot of a banana.

 

 

Very logical, Phil. I too aim to be a justtherightnumerist . . . I do not aim at having fewer tags, that is I'm not trying to do that. That's not the point. I ask myself the question: if my image popped up in a buyer's search on this particular term could it produce a sale? If the answer is 'I don't think so' I leave it out. If the answer is 'maybe' I include it. 

 

Exactly. 'Discoverability' is not the right aim. 'Clickability' would be a good measure, if that were possible.

Getting your images seen by people who don't want to see them is counter-productive.

At least, it used to be - who knows how the search engine / Alamy Rank relationship works now?

 

 

I don't think anyone here is going for discoverability.   Just because you have 50 tags doesn't mean most are spammy. Certain subjects, such as flowers etc would be hard to come up with 50 tags and you shouldn't.  But I do add any searches I have found in Alamy that relate to my image. Sometimes that brings me up to 50 sometimes not.  So just because someone has 50 tags does not mean they are sjpamming to get the green bar, sometimes the 50 tags are all relevant.

 

Jill

[Ed Rooney]

I agree, Jill. Others with other subjects can apply 50 or more tags. I can't get close.

 

I've not accused anyone of spamming, nor have I used the word "spamming." Basically I'm trying to see if someone has a better, more effective approach than mine. 

[Betty LaRue]

As I said, I don't spam. But what I do is try to cover my subject with single tags and phrases. I've been doing that long before the new AIM, so why change it now?

If my method gets me in the green, so be it. And it feels a bit pleasing, I won't lie. But that is NOT my goal. Relevant tags and phrases are.

Betty

[Jill Morgan]

I agree, Jill. Others with other subjects can apply 50 or more tags. I can't get close.

 

I've not accused anyone of spamming, nor have I used the word "spamming." Basically I'm trying to see if someone has a better, more effective approach than mine. 

 

Do some searching on AoA and look for searches relating to your image.  Amazing what you find and you say to yourself "Why didn't I think of that, it's so relevant?"

 

Jill

[Jill Morgan]

 

 

I agree, Jill. Others with other subjects can apply 50 or more tags. I can't get close.

 

I've not accused anyone of spamming, nor have I used the word "spamming." Basically I'm trying to see if someone has a better, more effective approach than mine.

 

Do some searching on AoA and look for searches relating to your image.  Amazing what you find and you say to yourself "Why didn't I think of that, it's so relevant?"

 

Jill

Tell me about it. :-) Since I discovered such a "magical" word which can be applied for maybe 75% of my images...... my sales have grown by 1/3. All thanks to doing some serious research in AoA.

 

Cheers,

Philippe

 

 

AoA is such a mine full of information that is so useful.  I don't have time to always search through the AoA daily results, but often if going to a dog show, I will download the spreadsheets for certain time periods and when sitting bored in my booth, go over them.  Always best to make good use of dead time.

 

Jill

[Ed Rooney]

I do use AoA, but I suspect I'm not very good with it. I shall make an effort to improve.