Can't get my clips to the "Pending Review" stage

Usually I have to at a minimum put in the keywords (not Title or Description yet) and hit "Submit/Execute" and that at least gets the clip to "Pending Review". Then I go back and put in the titles and descriptions. Not lately. Clips I've keyworded and submitted still say "Needs Edits". Is this some sort of holiday glitch?

OK, the "glitch' is that on one clip I didn't have enough keywords (I had 4, not the five minimum) and instead of just not submitting that one the entire list of clips, all others with enough keywords, none of it went to "Pending Review". And it took attempting this 8 times before P5 gave me the warning about the one clip with not enough keywords.

Hey singletrack500m572,

Thanks for writing in. In order to get your files online in the best way possible, it's incredibly vital to have metadata fully filled in before you submit your items for review. The title, description, and keywords are the most important information that our algorithm uses to find your items, with title being the heaviest-weighted of the three.

You can always refer to our Contributor Portal (https://contributor.pond5.com/getting-started/preparing-your-files/) for the best information about tagging, but here's the relevant section:

Preparing Keywords
Keywords are words that are used as identifiers or labels for your media files. You can add up to 50 keywords to describe each uploaded file. The better you keyword your files with useful information, the easier it is for buyers to find and purchase them. The minimum is 5 keywords, but you’ll reach the best performance with 10-20 descriptive keywords.

Don’t use “spam” keywords hoping for better search results, as irrelevant tags will damage your clip performance. Trying to game the system by filling your keywords or clip titles with popular search terms unrelated to your media will actually cause your files to sink in the search ranking.

Please email us at support@pond5.com if you have any more questions.

Cheers!

Thanks for your reply. It's all I can do to get the keywording done first. I found that I can at least get to "Pending Review" with that out of the way. I know the importance of titles and descriptions but I get to those the next day, I just need to get my clips in the queue for review. That takes about a week, at least.

I can't imagine coming up with 10-20 relevant keywords for every clip. Most of the keywords suggested before I put in my own would seem to bring up almost every clip on P5, not specifically mine. I try to pare down my keyword total to only what applies specifically to my clip, which at times is only 5. I'm new at this here at P5 and have this question:

What carries the most weight when someone searches for a clip they're looking for: my Title, my Description or my Keywords? Which of these has the most potential to bring up my specific clips for their review? Thanks for your time.

Hey singletrack500m572,

Thanks for following up. I can't stress enough that your files should be fully tagged before you submit them for review. Your clips will have a hard time showing up in searches if the metadata is limited.

Keywording can be the most challenging part of this, but it is still important that you use all relevant keywords, even if you think it will return "almost every clip on P5." For instance, if you have a shot of a waterfall, you should still use the keyword "water" even though there are millions of other clips that will show up. If it's relevant to your media, use it! If you have trouble coming up with keywords, please email us at support@pond5.com, or ask the other artists for help here in the forums. Many of them have been tagging for years, and could help you out tremendously!

Title is the most important metadata for SEO and carries the most weight. You can check out the Contributor Portal for tagging tips, but here's the relevant section:

Preparing Titles

Good titles are an incredibly effective means of gaining traffic to your content, and thus, a great way of increasing your sales. In order to get the most of your titles and to have your items approved, follow these tips:

Use descriptive titles. Giving your content engaging, unique, descriptive titles greatly improves the likelihood of it being seen. For example, the title “African Oystercatcher Bird Feeding in Estuary, Eats Worm, 4K” identifies the precise species of animal, the activity that it’s engaged in, where the footage was shot, and the quality of the footage. This is much more enticing, interesting, and unique than a video simply titled “Bird in the Water,” which would get far less traffic.
Each item should have a unique title. We understand that this can be difficult with a lot of items showing the same content, but slight variances and using synonyms will allow more content to stand out in the search results.

Be precise. Keep it readable, concise, and to the point.

Stick to the ideal length. This is 40-60 characters (maximum is 80 characters).

Use English language titles. Follow this rule unless you’re referring to particular places or objects with names that are more likely to be searched for in their native language.

Editorial video/photo titles need an editorial caption. The format for this is: CITY, COUNTRY – MONTH/DAY/YEAR: Factual description of the image content.

Things to avoid:

Do not use any number codes in your titles. You can keep track of your items in the My Uploads area under the “Tech Data” tab, so numbering clips for personal reference are not necessary. (Example of incorrect titles: Pink Flamingo 001, Pink Flamingo 002, etc.)

Do not use file extensions. These include .mov or .jpg and should not be a part of your titles.

Do not repeat one word several times. This does not help your items in the search results; in fact, it does the opposite.
Spelling mistakes. We are not spellchecking your title, description, and keywords (yet), so please make sure your spelling is correct. A simple, free spellchecking tool like Grammarly can work wonders.

Good luck, and happy tagging! Please don't hesitate to reach out if you need anything!