YouTube introduces hashtags for video search

YouTube has added a new feature which displays hashtags on videos, which helps users search for and discover videos with similar topics.

The hashtags appear in a blue text above the video title, and users can click on the hashtags to search for other YouTube videos that contain the same hashtag.

This feature is visible on web browsers and on the YouTube Android app. There are currently no hashtags on the iOS app.

Users can search for a hashtag onto the YouTube search bar to manually find videos with the specified topic.

Content creators on YouTube can add hashtags by including them in the video description. However, there are guidelines for the new hashtag feature. One of the guidelines relates to the hashtags themselves, and stresses that hashtags must not contain any hate speech, promote harassment or direct users to misleading content.

Other policies include avoid over-tagging, with 15 or more hashtags in a single video being considered spam.

The first three hashtags that are placed in the description will appear above the video title.

YouTube will punish channels who violate these hashtag policies, with consequences ranging from hashtags being ignored to entire videos being taken down.

The effect hashtags have on SEO

With other social media platforms being known for their hashtags (Twitter and Instagram), it is about time that the second largest search engine in the world utilises the feature. Twitter and Instagram became very successful due to the ease-of-use that hashtags provide, allowing for specific searches which simplify the process of finding content.

Search-engine optimisation is crucial for establishing higher rankings on search engines, and the introduction of hashtags on YouTube will allow content creators to filter their videos more effectively to their target audiences.

If you need help utilising this new feature to improve your YouTube channel’s performance, we can help you implement successful tactics through YouTube SEO.