How to Search for Videos on Tumblr

Because Tumblr contains a treasure trove of audio, image and video posts, you can use it to search for interesting multimedia content. In October 2013, Tumblr enhanced its search feature giving you the ability to find targeted information more efficiently. One enhancement -- the new filtering option -- can help you find specific types of posts quickly. Learn to use the filter and discover Tumblr videos much faster than you could with the old search.

Tumblr Search Basics

To search for content, type what you're looking for in the search box at the top of your Dashboard's page and press "Enter." Tumblr finds posts related to your query and displays a list of search results in a grid. You can also enter one or more tags to narrow down your searches. A tag -- which begins with a pound sign -- is a keyword that a Tumblr member adds to a post to categorize it. If you want to find posts about puppies and children, type "#puppies #children" (without the quotes here and in subsequent commands) in the search box and press "Enter" to view your results.

Search for Videos

People may post video content on Tumblr in different ways. Some might create video posts that only contain a video, while others might create text posts that contain the word "video." For instance, someone could create a post that had a link to a video in it and typed "See this video" in the post. If you search for "#video," you'll get back posts that people have tagged as videos along with posts that contain the word "video." A lot of the posts you see in the results list may not be videos. For example, a poster could have simply typed, "I love videos" in a text post.

Filter the Results

If you want to see only videos in your search results, you must find the Search Settings control. At the top of the search results list click the small icon in the list's upper right corner; the icon looks like a down arrow. The Search Settings dialog box opens and displays a few settings you can adjust. Click the button shaped like a video camera to filter the results to show only videos.

Other Search Options

You don't have to enter the "#video" tag in your search query because you can always use a filter to only show videos. However, you'll find videos faster if you use the "#video" tag since many Tumblr members give that tag to videos they post. If you'd like to filter explicit posts from your search results, click the "Hide Explicit Content" button in the Search Settings dialog box. The Search Settings dialog has other types of filter buttons, such as Audio Posts Only. Click one of those buttons to limit search results to the category you clicked.