YouTube Hashtags: Where to Put Them, How Many and What Rules Apply
Hashtags on YouTube are keywords preceded by the # symbol that you write in the title or in the description of the video. Each one links to a page with other videos that share that hashtag. Of the ones you put in the description, YouTube shows up to three next to the title, and if a video has more than 60, it ignores them all.
What a hashtag is and what it is for
YouTube's help page on hashtags defines them as keywords preceded by the # symbol, and gives them two uses:
- To associate your content with other videos or playlists that have the same hashtag on YouTube and YouTube Music.
- To let users find related content through searches.
In practice, a hashtag is a link: the ones in the title and the description lead to a results page showing other videos that share that hashtag. That is why it works as a public label for the video's topic, visible to whoever watches it.
They should not be confused with tags, which are something else: descriptive keywords added in a separate field of the video details. We look at this in detail below.
Where to put them: title or description
You can add hashtags to titles and descriptions when you upload a video or record a Short. Here is how:
- Type the # symbol in the title or the description.
- Start typing the keyword or topic you want to associate with the video; YouTube will suggest the most popular hashtags.
- Choose a recommended one or create your own that suits your content.
What changes depending on where you put it is how it looks:
- In the description. Of the hashtags you add in the description, YouTube shows up to three, the ones it considers most appealing, next to the title. The rest are still visible in the description, and the video can still appear in the results for those searches.
- In the title. They are part of the title itself and also link to the hashtag's results page. But they take up space in a title that has a limit of 100 characters and should, above all, say what the video is about.
If you are looking for where to put them in the description, a tidy way is at the end: first the text, the links and the chapters, and then the hashtags. YouTube will decide which ones to show next to the title.
How many hashtags to use
YouTube's help page sets two limits:
- More than 60, none. If a video or a playlist has more than 60 hashtags, YouTube ignores them all.
- Too many counts against you. It asks you not to add too many tags to a video, because the more you add, the less relevant they are to people looking for content. And if you include too many, YouTube may remove that content from your uploads or from search results.
Between those limits, the judgement is yours. A reasonable guideline (this is our advice, not YouTube's): one to three hashtags closely related to the video, and one fixed hashtag for the channel or series so that all its episodes are grouped on the same results page.
For example, a video on a history channel about the first railway line on the Iberian Peninsula could carry #history, #railways and a hashtag for its own series, such as #TrainsOfSpain. No trending hashtags that have nothing to do with the video: they go against the rules, as explained below.
What you cannot do with a hashtag
Like videos, hashtags have to comply with the Community Guidelines. Those that breach them will not be shown below your content, and YouTube may remove them. Its usage policies spell out these rules:
- No spaces. If you want to include two words, join them: #TwoWords or #twowords.
- Nothing misleading. Do not add hashtags that are not directly related to the video. If they are misleading or unrelated to the content, YouTube may remove the video.
- No harassment or hate. Hashtags intended to harass, humiliate, intimidate or threaten a person or a group are not allowed, nor are those that encourage violence or hatred.
- Sexual content and vulgar language. Explicit or sexual hashtags can lead to the video being removed; offensive terms or swear words, to an age restriction or removal.
- Words that are not hashtags. Although hashtags are allowed, it is still prohibited to stuff the description with ordinary descriptive tags or repetitive phrases.
Hashtags, tags, title and description
Each piece of text in the video does a different job:
| Element | Where it goes | What it is for |
|---|---|---|
| Title | Title field, up to 100 characters | Saying what the video is about. |
| Description | Description field, up to 5000 characters | Describing the video in more detail, with links and chapters. |
| Hashtags | Inside the title or the description | Linking to other videos on the same topic; up to three from the description are shown next to the title. |
| Tags | A separate field, under More options or Show more | Helping when people search for your content with misspellings; otherwise they have very little influence on visibility. |
YouTube's page on tags adds a warning along the same lines: do not add too many tags in your video descriptions, because it breaches its policies on spam, deceptive practices and scams. And remember that the title, the thumbnail and the description are the main metadata that influence visibility. How to work on them is in SEO for YouTube videos; where each field sits in the dashboard is in YouTube Studio: what it is and what each section is for.
What the Estudio de Canales does with hashtags
The Estudio de Canales does not put hashtags in the package. What it prepares for publishing is this:
- Title of 100 characters at most and without “<” or “>”.
- Suggested description, made without AI: the title, the chapters if they are valid, third-party assets with their licence and, when the video is marked as synthetic content, the notice that it contains images, voice or video generated with artificial intelligence. It is edited by hand and cannot exceed 5000 bytes.
- Tags, if you write them yourself (the studio does not suggest them): as a list, with a maximum of 500 characters in total.
- Chapters, taken from the script sections and validated against YouTube's rules.
If you want hashtags, write them yourself at the end of the description, in the studio before preparing the package or in YouTube Studio when you upload the video. Since the studio does not publish on its own, the final check of the title, description and hashtags is yours, in YouTube Studio. Everything else worth reviewing before publishing is in the checklist for publishing a video on YouTube.
Sources consulted
Checked on 11 October 2026. We link to the original source so that you can consult the current text.
- Buscar listas de reproducción y vídeos mediante hashtags. Google · Ayuda de YouTube.
- Subir vídeos de YouTube. Google · Ayuda de YouTube.
- Añadir etiquetas a tus vídeos de YouTube. Google · Ayuda de YouTube.
Frequently asked questions
Where do you put hashtags on YouTube?
In the title or the description of the video, writing the # symbol before the word. Of the ones you put in the description, YouTube shows up to three next to the title.
How many hashtags can you put on a YouTube video?
If a video has more than 60 hashtags, YouTube ignores them all, and its help page asks you not to add too many because the more there are, the less relevant they become. In practice, use few, closely related to the video.
Can YouTube hashtags contain spaces?
No, hashtags must not contain spaces. If you want to use two words, join them, for example #TwoWords or #twowords.
Is a hashtag the same as a tag?
No. A hashtag goes inside the title or the description and links to a page with other videos that share it. Tags are added in a separate field and, according to YouTube, are mainly useful if people search for your content with misspellings.
Does the Estudio de Canales add hashtags?
No. It prepares the title, the description and the chapters, and checks the limit on any tags you write; if you want hashtags, you add them yourself to the description, in the studio or in YouTube Studio when you upload the video.