YouTube Hashtag Optimization: How to Use Hashtags for More Views

Use the right hashtags in the right places to unlock discoverability on YouTube search and browse

Are Your YouTube Hashtags Actually Working for You?

YouTube hashtags are clickable metadata labels placed in your video description that group your content into topic-based discovery feeds, giving viewers and the algorithm an explicit signal about what your video covers. When used correctly, hashtags add a measurable discoverability layer on top of your title, description, and tags — helping your videos surface in hashtag search results and related browse feeds that your other metadata alone cannot reach. Despite this, the majority of creators either skip hashtags entirely or treat them as an afterthought, pasting in a random list of popular terms with no strategy behind the selection. The result is a missed opportunity — or worse, a penalty. YouTube's own guidelines state that videos with more than 15 hashtags will have all hashtags on that video ignored by the platform, meaning over-hashtagging actively hurts rather than helps. Hashtags operate as a separate discovery channel from traditional YouTube SEO elements like titles and tags. Where tags help YouTube understand your video behind the scenes, hashtags create visible, clickable pathways that both the algorithm and real viewers can follow. Understanding this distinction — and building a deliberate hashtag framework around it — is the specific metadata skill that this guide covers within the broader world of YouTube SEO and metadata optimization. By the time you finish reading, you'll know exactly how many hashtags to use, where to place them, which types to prioritize, and how to approach hashtag strategy differently for long-form videos versus Shorts.

How Do YouTube Hashtags Affect Your Search Rankings?

YouTube hashtags function as one of several ranking signals the platform uses to determine where your content appears in search results and topic-based feeds. When a viewer searches for a hashtag directly on YouTube — for example, clicking #financetips — YouTube generates a dedicated results page populated exclusively by videos that have used that hashtag. This is a discovery channel that keyword-only optimization cannot access, because it surfaces content based on the hashtag label rather than matching text in the title or description. Research by Backlinko found a correlation between videos ranking in the top position of YouTube search results and a higher proportion of those videos using hashtags, indicating that strategic hashtag use contributes to overall SEO performance rather than functioning in isolation. The mechanism works in two directions: hashtags help YouTube's algorithm categorize your content more accurately, and they simultaneously create clickable entry points that funnel viewers into your video from the hashtag feed. The key constraint creators must internalize is the 15-hashtag ceiling. YouTube's system will ignore all hashtags on any video that exceeds this limit, effectively penalizing over-use. Most SEO practitioners recommend staying within 3 to 8 highly relevant hashtags per video — a range that signals topical focus without triggering the platform's spam filters. Relevance matters as much as quantity; adding hashtags unrelated to your actual content violates YouTube's policies and can result in reduced visibility or content removal.

What Is the Right Hashtag Mix for Maximum Discoverability?

YouTube Creator Academy guidance emphasizes that hashtag relevance and specificity should always take priority over volume. The most effective hashtag strategy for a single video combines three distinct hashtag tiers that serve different discovery purposes simultaneously. The first tier is a branded hashtag unique to your channel — for example, #YourChannelName. This hashtag, once consistently applied across all your videos, builds a channel-specific feed that dedicated viewers and new visitors can browse. Over time, it functions as a content library viewers can explore from a single click. The second tier is a broad niche hashtag that describes your general content category, such as #PersonalFinance or #GamingTips. These hashtags have high competition but place your video in large, active feeds with significant viewer traffic. The third tier is a specific topic hashtag that precisely matches what the video covers — something like #BudgetingForBeginners or #FPSGameplayTips. These niche-specific hashtags have lower competition, meaning your video has a stronger chance of appearing at or near the top of that hashtag's results page. A 2024 analysis of YouTube metadata patterns showed that videos using this three-tier structure — branded plus broad plus specific — outperformed videos using only generic high-volume hashtags in terms of hashtag-driven traffic, because the specific hashtag tier captures viewers with higher intent who are actively searching for that exact topic. For Shorts specifically, applying at least one sharp topic hashtag is even more critical, as the Shorts recommendation feed uses topic signals heavily to decide which content to surface to non-subscribers discovering your channel for the first time.

Do YouTube Shorts Need a Different Hashtag Approach?

YouTube Shorts operates on a distinct recommendation architecture from long-form video, and hashtag strategy needs to reflect that difference. The Shorts feed is primarily driven by viewer behavior signals — watch percentage, likes, and shares — but topic-level hashtags play a more direct role in initial content distribution because the algorithm uses them to decide which audience segments to test your Short with first. For Shorts, keeping your hashtag count even leaner than long-form content is advisable — two to three hashtags is widely considered the optimal range. One should be a topic-specific hashtag that precisely describes the Short's content, and one should be the generic #Shorts hashtag, which signals to YouTube's classification system that the content is short-form and should be entered into the Shorts distribution queue. Adding #Shorts is not mandatory in the same way it once was as YouTube now auto-detects vertical short-form videos, but many creators continue to include it as an explicit classification signal. The critical difference with Shorts hashtag strategy is avoiding broad, high-competition hashtags that place your content in an enormous feed where it gets buried immediately. Because Shorts receive rapid initial distribution testing to small audience samples, a specific hashtag that surfaces your Short to a targeted, interested audience produces far better early engagement signals than a broad hashtag where your Short competes against millions of videos. Strong early engagement signals feed directly back into the Shorts recommendation engine, expanding your distribution to progressively larger audiences.

Hashtags Are the Metadata Layer Most Creators Leave on the Table

YouTube hashtags are not a silver bullet for growth, but they are a free, underutilized discovery layer that requires only a few minutes of strategic thought per video. The rules are straightforward: stay under 15 hashtags, prioritize your first three choices since they appear above the title, and build a three-tier mix of branded, niche, and specific-topic hashtags for every upload. For Shorts, keep it even tighter — two to three highly targeted hashtags give the algorithm the clearest signal about who should see your content first. Hashtag strategy fits into the broader metadata system covered in our pillar guide to YouTube SEO and metadata optimization. When your hashtags, title, description, and tags all point toward the same topic with consistent keyword signals, you give YouTube's algorithm everything it needs to confidently recommend your content to the right viewers — and that compound clarity is what separates channels that grow systematically from those that stay stuck.