How To Use Hashtags on YouTube

Hashtags have been used on social media platforms for almost two decades. Youtube, the video social media platform started using hashtags in 2016 and more widely invested in hashtags in 2018. YouTube is also considered a search engine, and widely referred to as the second largest search engine behind Google. Taking all of this into consideration, being on YouTube and sharing videos is a good way to get your content out online. So much so that creators repurpose various content across multiple channels like posting a YouTube video on Instagram to reach more viewers. Linktree, the online tool for YouTubers and creators to earn money on YouTube and promote their accounts, dives deeper into YouTube hashtags and even provides their own free YouTube hashtag generator and YouTube name generator to help creators.

What Is A YouTube Hashtag?

A hashtag on YouTube is a string of characters following the pound sign (#) also known as the hash symbol. The string of characters is clickable. It acts as a vessel to organize content also utilizing that same string. This is one way YouTube categories videos together to make it easier for people browsing YouTube to find more videos. The clickability of hashtags acts as another search functionality for YouTube users to find videos along with the YouTube search bar and suggestions.

YouTube hashtags are different from YouTube video tags. YouTube video tags are keywords that are entered into YouTube Studio which are separated by commas. YouTube Studio is also where you go to change your YouTube channel name.

How Do Hashtags Work On YouTube?

YouTube hashtags not only help organize your video into a category of videos who also used that hashtag, the hashtags also provide context to the YouTube algorithm. Along with a plethora of signals such as video titles and transcripts, YouTube hashtags provide context which helps YouTube better understand what your video is about. That context helps YouTube figure out when to suggest your video in feeds and the YouTube search results, which over time can help you get more subscribers on YouTube. Comments count as engagement too, so once you turn on comments on YouTube, you might even notice a highlighted comment on YouTube in your own comment section.

Which Hashtags To Use In A YouTube Video?

Knowing which hashtags to use in a YouTube video can be hard and not always obvious. One thing to keep in mind is the context hashtags provide. That means staying on topic of your video when using hashtags and writing in a way people would naturally talk or search for content like your video can help.

Another way to find popular hashtags in YouTube is by typing the pound sign (#) otherwise known as the hash symbol into the YouTube search bar followed by your video's main topic. The YouTube search bar will display a list of popular hashtags related to that word which is a hint at what is being used within YouTube. For example, if your YouTube video is about grilling and barbecue you could go to the YouTube search bar, typing in #bbq and see popular related hashtags being used such as #bbqchicken or #bbqribs. These are autocomplete suggestions that hint people are using and interested in those hashtags and topics.

Where To Put Hashtags in YouTube?

To use hashtags in YouTube, you would place them in your videos text description section. YouTube can display up to three hashtags above the video title. If you use more hashtags they would be displayed in the video description field. If you're wondering how many hashtags to use in a YouTube video, there is no specific number. However, keeping in mind that YouTube can display up to 3 hashtags about video titles suggest using at least 3 and maybe even at least 7 since hashtags can then be shown in the description section. Naturally using hashtags is preferred without spamming too many hashtags like 70 in a video description.

Browse starter hashtags by category

These curated sets are available without an AI request and can help you get started. Use them as prompts, then choose only the tags that honestly describe your video.