Hashtags vs. tags on YouTube
Hashtags and tags do different jobs. Hashtags are visible, clickable links you add to your title or description (like #shorts or #gaming) that group your video with others on the same topic and give viewers a browsable entry point. Tags are hidden keywords in YouTube Studio that give the algorithm extra context.
You want both. TagYeti's generator produces a set of suggested hashtags and a full library of SEO tags in a single search, so you can optimize your title, description and tags together.
How many hashtags should you use?
YouTube recommends keeping it focused — the first three hashtags in your description appear above your video title, and adding more than 15 causes YouTube to ignore all of them. Three to five highly relevant hashtags is the sweet spot for most videos.
Best practices for YouTube hashtags
- Lead with your most specific, relevant hashtag — not just #viral.
- Mix one broad hashtag (your niche) with two or three specific ones.
- Add #shorts to Shorts so they're grouped in the Shorts experience.
- Keep hashtags genuinely related to the video — irrelevant tags violate YouTube's policies.