Motion Array allows up to 20 tags per submission and tells contributors to use only the ones that genuinely represent the asset. Its reviewers report unrelated or repetitive tags as a rejection reason, so the field is moderated rather than merely counted. Specific, objective, non-duplicated terms are what survive that review.
Why the tag field is reviewed here and not everywhere
On most microstock libraries, keywords are a search input. You can fill the field badly and the consequence is poor discoverability rather than a refused file. Motion Array treats metadata as part of the submission being judged: its curators list descriptions copied from other items, descriptions missing required detail, incorrect dropdown information, and tags that are unrelated or repetitive among the issues they report on template submissions. The rules also state plainly that repeated issues lead to rejection.
That changes the calculation. Padding a keyword set to the limit is a mild inefficiency at an open agency and a review risk here, because a reviewer reading twenty tags can see which five of them have nothing to do with the asset in front of them.
The tag rules in the agency's own terms
Motion Array's published guidance for tags runs to ten points. Stripped of the encouragement, they amount to seven operating rules.
- Describe the asset, not the feeling. Cover style, genre, motion, technical detail, mood, texture and the tool it was built in. These are the axes a buyer searches along.
- Prefer the specific word over the category word. Motion Array's own example is that meadow, field, woods or forest each beat nature, because they tell the search engine which of those things you actually have.
- Stay objective. Unique, modern, cool, amazing and incredible are named as words to avoid. They describe your opinion of the asset, which nobody searches for.
- Drop the platform-level nouns. Creative, style, motion, design, graphics, video and animation are called out as generic tags that pull in irrelevant traffic. On a motion graphics marketplace, tagging a template animation is close to tagging it with the name of the website.
- Vary tags between submissions. The guidance is to choose tags that complement each specific asset rather than reusing one set, which lines up with the reviewers reporting repetitive metadata as a problem.
- Include the synonyms a buyer might use instead of your word, and watch what is trending in the video community. Motion Array's example is that short suits a vertical template, because of how short-form video is described.
- Quality over quantity, up to the cap of 20. The limit is a ceiling, not a target, and the instruction is to select only the tags that best represent the template. Capitals and spelling errors are both flagged as things to check.
The tenth point is the one almost nobody acts on: watch how your tags perform and replace the underperformers on your next submission. That only works if you have a record of which terms you used where, which is the same record the field-by-field reference in our guide to Motion Array metadata requirements assumes you are keeping.
Order a Motion Array tag set
Drag a sample tag set into priority order using Motion Array's own guidance: specific over generic, objective over subjective, and no platform-level nouns like motion, design or animation.
Titles and descriptions have hard limits
The tag field gets the attention, but the fields with actual numeric caps are the title and the description, and those caps differ by category. For graphics submissions the title is capped at 40 characters with each word capitalised, and the description at 25 words. Those 25 words are not free-form: the description has to carry the asset count plus bullet points covering whether the work is for digital or print, the colour space, the format sizes and aspect ratios, the resolution, and whether a plugin was used. Templates add the page or screen count and the number of placeholders.
Twenty-five words with six mandatory elements is a tight brief, and it is the reason descriptions here read like specifications rather than sales copy. If your pipeline writes longer descriptive text for other agencies, it will be cut at the boundary rather than rejected, which is the quiet version of the problem we covered in keywords truncated on upload.
Audio has its own wording rules. Titles are expected to be unique and artistic rather than generic, and reviewers may ask for a change. Sound effect titles should be descriptive while avoiding the words sfx, effect and pack. Descriptions stay concise with up to three items per category and must list the included versions, with an explicit instruction against keyword stuffing. Tags are expected to be single words with no obvious filler.
A tag set before and after the rules
The same drone forest clip tagged twice: once with platform-level nouns and opinion words, then rewritten to the specific, objective terms Motion Array's tag guidance asks for.
The character set rule catches non-English keyworders
Motion Array allows standard Western characters only, and the rule covers filenames as well as the content of a submission. Non-Western alphabets, accented characters and special symbols are all refused. For music and sound effect filenames the restriction goes further, barring spaces and punctuation such as apostrophes, commas, full stops and exclamation marks alongside non-English characters. If you keyword in your own language first and translate afterwards, or your export preset carries an accented project name into the filename, the whole batch trips the same rule. The cross-agency version of this is in accented characters and non-English keywords.
How this differs from microstock keywording
If your habits come from photo microstock, three of them need unlearning here. A cap of 20 is far below what the large photo libraries allow, so the padding strategy of filling every slot with loosely related terms does not transfer. Tags are reviewed rather than only indexed, which means a weak set is a submission risk and not just a visibility cost. And the vocabulary is different: a motion asset is searched on movement, software, duration format and build style, none of which appear in a photo keyword set. The broader reasoning behind the first point is in why agencies flag keyword stuffing.
A workable process
Write the specific nouns first: what is in the asset, where it was shot or built, and what moves. Add the technical and format terms a buyer would filter on, such as the software, the orientation and the duration class. Add two or three synonyms for your main noun. Then stop, even if you are short of 20, and read the set back as a reviewer would, asking whether every term is defensible against the asset in front of you. Finally check the title and description against the numeric caps for your category, and confirm nothing in the filename falls outside the Western character set.
The tenth tip, replacing underperforming tags on the next submission, is the only part of this that compounds. Doing it deliberately rather than by feel is the subject of testing title and keyword variations.
Holding one keyword set against several marketplaces at once is where this stops being a manual job, because a 20-tag ceiling and a Western-only character set are specific to this destination while the file is probably going to several. Rastock AI writes metadata per marketplace, enforces banned and mandatory terms before delivery, and sends files over FTP or SFTP to 10+ agencies with per-file status. The features page covers the policy checks and the pricing page lists the plans, with a 14-day free trial and no card required.
Frequently asked questions
How many tags can a Motion Array submission have?
Up to 20, and the published guidance treats that as a ceiling rather than a target. The instruction is to select only the tags that genuinely represent the asset, because reviewers report unrelated or repetitive tags as a problem. Filling all 20 slots with loosely related terms is a review risk here, not just a dilution of your search relevance.
Which tags does Motion Array tell contributors to avoid?
Two groups. Generic platform-level nouns such as creative, style, motion, design, graphics, video and animation, because they attract irrelevant traffic. And subjective words such as unique, modern, cool, amazing and incredible, because the guidance asks for objective terms. Capitals and spelling mistakes are also named as things to check before submitting.
Can I reuse the same tag set across similar assets?
The guidance says to use different tags for each submission, choosing ones that complement that specific asset. Reviewers separately report repetitive metadata and descriptions copied from other items as issues, so a reused set works against you on both counts. Keep the core nouns that genuinely apply and change the terms that describe the individual asset.
How long can a Motion Array title and description be?
For graphics submissions the title is capped at 40 characters with each word capitalised, and the description at 25 words. Those words have to include the asset count plus bullet points covering digital or print use, colour space, format sizes and aspect ratios, resolution and any plugin used, with templates adding page or screen count and placeholder count.
Can I use accented characters in Motion Array keywords?
No. Only standard Western characters are permitted, and the rule covers filenames as well as submission content, so non-Western alphabets, accented characters and special symbols are all refused. Audio filenames are stricter again, excluding spaces and punctuation such as apostrophes, commas, full stops and exclamation marks.
Are tags the same for audio submissions?
The principle is the same but the format is tighter. Audio tags are expected to be single words, searchable, and free of obvious filler such as the word effect on a sound effect. Descriptions stay concise with up to three items per category and must list the included versions, and there is an explicit instruction against keyword stuffing.