As a quiet release, YouTube has now implemented support for hashtag search. When browsing for videos on YouTube, you will be able to search for specific hashtags like “#AskChopy” or “#SuperBowl”. If a hashtag has been used in a video title or description, the corresponding video will appear in search results while browsing.
The hashtags in video descriptions are clickable which allows the creator to promote other videos with the same hashtag, making the discovery of a creator’s work easier on the video platform.
With time, this feature will allow for cool things to happen especially during worldwide events. If a vlogger was to post a video with the #SuperBowl during the event, people around the world would get access to the event through the vlogger’s perspective just by searching for the hashtag. Even though it may not be popular right now, over time it is bound to attract a larger audience. With the search feature however, some guidelines must be followed:
- No spaces. Much like most other social media sites, your hashtags can’t contain spaces.
- Don’t over-tag. Videos with less hashtags will generally rank higher, and videos with more than 15 hashtags won’t be included in hashtag results at all.
- No misleading content. Much like your video’s actual tags, hashtags shouldn’t be misleading.
- No inappropriate content. Hashtagging vulgar words, hate speech, sexual content, or anything else that may violate YouTube’s Community Guidelines also violate the new hashtag use policies.
- No non-hashtag spam. This isn’t new, but it’s important to keep in mind. Spamming a list of keywords or repetitive sentences in an effort to game YouTube’s ranking systems is still against policy.
Being a creator myself, this feature will yield great benefits towards creators’ growth and discovery on YouTube in my opinion. I am looking forward to incorporating the hashtag feature more often in my future uploads for this reason. But I’d like to know how you will utilize the feature? Are you going to be using it primarily as a creator or a consumer? Let me know in the comment section below!
