diff --git a/plugin/impl.go b/plugin/impl.go
index f920ef4..98ee0c8 100644
--- a/plugin/impl.go
+++ b/plugin/impl.go
@@ -183,11 +183,22 @@ func (p *Plugin) Validate() error {
 			p.settings.Build.Ref,
 			p.settings.Build.Branch,
 		) {
-			tag, err := DefaultTagSuffix(
-				p.settings.Build.Ref,
-				p.settings.Build.TagsDefaultName,
-				p.settings.Build.TagsSuffix,
-			)
+			var tag []string
+			var err error
+
+			if p.settings.Build.TagsSuffix != "" {
+				tag, err = DefaultTagSuffix(
+					p.settings.Build.Ref,
+					p.settings.Build.TagsDefaultName,
+					p.settings.Build.TagsSuffix,
+				)
+			} else {
+				tag, err = DefaultTagSuffix(
+					p.settings.Build.Ref,
+					p.settings.Build.TagsSuffix,
+					"",
+				)
+			}
 			if err != nil {
 				logrus.Printf("cannot build docker image for %s, invalid semantic version", p.settings.Build.Ref)
 				return err