[FAQ]

I’m trying to figure out the best place to put my hashtags for my videos to get the best SEO benefit. I see some people putting one or two directly in the video title, while others put a block of them at the end of the description.

What is the official best practice for this in 2025? Does YouTube’s algorithm treat them differently depending on where they are placed?

[Jeff Bullas]

That is a great question that gets into the finer points of YouTube SEO.

Quick Answer: The standard best practice is to place a small, curated list of your most relevant hashtags in the video description. Only place a hashtag in the title for very specific, high-priority trends.

YouTube uses hashtags to help categorise your video, but there is a clear strategy for placement to get the best results without harming your click-through rate. Here is a breakdown of how to approach it.

First, the video description is the primary and safest place for your main list of hashtags. YouTube officially recommends placing them here. You should add a small block of three to five highly relevant hashtags, usually towards the end of your video description text.

Second, regarding the video title, you can place one or two highly important hashtags directly in it. When you do this, those hashtags become prominent, clickable links above your video title on the watch page. This can be an effective tactic for tying your video to a very specific and timely trend or a branded series.

Third, you must understand the trade-off of using hashtags in your title. While it can boost visibility for that specific hashtag, it takes up valuable space in your title, which is your single most important piece of SEO real estate. A compelling, keyword-rich title is often more powerful for attracting clicks from search and browse than a title cluttered with hashtags.

And fourth, you must not overdo it. YouTube’s official policy states that if you use more than 15 hashtags in total across your title, description, and the dedicated tags section, their system will ignore all of them for that video. It is always better to use a small, highly relevant set than to stuff the field with irrelevant tags.

In summary, the professional best practice is to place your main three to five hashtags in the description. Only consider using a hashtag in the title if it is for a very important, specific trend, and you are willing to sacrifice that valuable title space.

Cheers,

Jeff

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