How Many Hashtags Should I Use on YouTube? 

Hashtags on YouTube are more than just popular tags. They play a key role in helping your videos get discovered by the right viewers. When used smartly, hashtags categorize your content and make it easier for people interested in your topic to find your videos.

However, adding too many hashtags doesn’t guarantee better results. Knowing YouTube’s hashtag rules and how to use them effectively is essential for maximizing your reach without risking penalties. 

This article will guide you on the ideal number of hashtags to use, why less can be more, and how to best apply hashtags for both regular videos and YouTube Shorts.

Understanding YouTube Hashtags Policy 

YouTube’s hashtag policy is designed to prevent spam and ensure that hashtags genuinely help users discover relevant content. You can add hashtags to your video titles and descriptions, but strict limits exist.

YouTube allows you to add a maximum of 15 hashtags in one video. Using more than the designated number in a single video will cause YouTube to ignore all of them, rendering them ineffective. Additionally, excessive or irrelevant hashtags may be seen as spam, violating YouTube’s community guidelines and potentially leading to your video’s removal.

Moreover, avoid using misleading, violent, explicit, or hateful hashtags, which can result in content removal or penalties.

How Many Hashtags Should I Use on YouTube?

Even though 15 hashtags are allowed per video, adding the maximum number to optimize your content and increase the channel’s reach is unnecessary. For optimal results, use 3-5 highly relevant hashtags per video. 

These hashtags should be relevant to your video. Using a few yet precise hashtags boosts both visibility and subscriber growth, as your content reaches genuinely interested people, leading to more engagement and sustainable channel growth.

Effectiveness of Using Fewer Hashtags

Here’s why you should use fewer hashtags in your videos:

• Maintain Relevance: Limiting hashtags to 3 to 5 per video helps keep your content focused and relevant.
• Algorithm Clarity: Using a small number of focused hashtags helps YouTube’s algorithm accurately categorize your content, increasing the likelihood of your video appearing in relevant search results and recommendations.
• Audience Engagement: Fewer, more relevant hashtags attract viewers who are genuinely interested in your content, leading to higher engagement rates and more meaningful interactions.
• Content Focus: Limiting your hashtags to only the most relevant terms keeps your video’s message clear and prevents your description from appearing cluttered or spammy.

Sticking to a limited number of hashtags also ensures compliance with the YouTube hashtag policy. Hence, you can boost the visibility and engagement of your content without any fear of getting the video removed from the channel. 

How Many Hashtags Should I Use on YouTube Shorts?

Shorts are designed to be quick and engaging, so hashtags play a crucial role in helping your content reach the right audience. For YouTube Shorts, it’s best to use between 1 and 5 relevant hashtags. This effectively connects your video with a targeted audience while maintaining a precise and focused presentation.

Overloading your Shorts with too many hashtags can reduce their effectiveness and may confuse the algorithm. Therefore, similar to long videos, you must focus on selecting hashtags directly related to your content and niche to maximize discoverability.

Why Not Use Maximum Allowed Hashtags?

Although it might seem like a good idea to use all 15 hashtags allowed, doing so often causes problems:

• Hashtags Ignored: If you include more than 15 hashtags in your video, YouTube will delete all of them, which means none will contribute to your video’s discoverability.
• Spam: Using too many hashtags can make your content look cluttered and promotional, discouraging viewers from engaging or trusting your channel’s authenticity.
• Diluted Focus: Overloading your video with hashtags makes it difficult for YouTube’s algorithm to determine the main topic, reducing the chances of your video being recommended to the right audience.
• Viewer Confusion: A description crowded with hashtags can distract or confuse viewers, leading to lower watch time and decreased overall engagement with your content.
• Lower Rankings: When you use too many hashtags, the competition for views increases, making the video hard to find. It may cause the ranking of your content to fall. 

Conclusion

Hashtags are valuable tools to increase the reach and visibility of your YouTube videos and Shorts. Using 3 to 5 relevant hashtags for regular videos and YouTube Shorts helps you connect with the right audience without violating YouTube’s rules. 

Resist the urge to add too many hashtags because quality and relevance always outperform quantity. Use hashtags thoughtfully, monitor their impact, and adjust your approach to keep your content engaging and easy to find.

FAQs

1. Is it necessary to put hashtags in a YouTube video?

No, but using hashtags in your videos increases your content’s discoverability by helping the YouTube algorithm categorize them and reach a relevant audience. It also helps the audience understand your videos better and enhances engagement. 

2. What is the maximum number of hashtags I can put in a YouTube video?

According to the official YouTube policy, the maximum number of hashtags you can use in your videos is 15. Using more than that will cause YouTube to remove all of them. 

3. Do more hashtags help gain more viewers?

Not always. Rather than the quantity, YouTube focuses on the quality. Using more hashtags will only confuse the algorithm, causing your video to drop in ranking. Rather, use fewer and relevant hashtags to gain viewers. 

4. Where do hashtags appear in a YouTube video?

Hashtags show up above the video title and in the video description, where viewers can click them to find related content. Also, remember that only the first three appear above the video title among all the hashtags added in the description.

5. Can I use more than 15 hashtags in my video?

No. If you use over 15 hashtags, YouTube will ignore them, so it’s best to stay within the limit.