Should I be using broad hashtags on Youtube Shorts?

samiejg · May 12, 2025

I've been getting a lot of mixed information regarding the use of broad hashtags on my gaming channel. I've been watching some "YT guru" videos and some of them are suggesting that broad hashtags are required to get any decent amount of views (or possibly go viral), while others are suggesting that you should NOT use broad hashtags because they will show your shorts to people who are likely uninterested in your posts—which causes more swipes and lower retention—or others that have mentioned that the hashtags don't matter at all.

Would you guys have any clarity for me here?

Just for context:
-I've been uploading gaming clips once per day (for the last month) and getting 600-2500 views each, and 15-30 likes each (and very little dislikes)
-47% swiped (average for the channel)
-Most of the older videos have died off only getting between 0 - 5 views (per 48 hours) although a small handful of older videos seem to be getting as high as 50 views(per 48 hours)
- I believe they are very high quality (and entertaining) videos in my niche

I’m guessing these sharp drops in numbers aren’t normal and might be tied to my 49% swipe ratio — though I’ve never really given any thought into "hooks". Perhaps (from now on) I'll have to try focusing on that... hopefully without ruining my content / storytelling But it would be nice to clarify all this confusion with the broad hashtags.

sacale · May 13, 2025

You could try and see what hapoens

mathunwitting · May 13, 2025

samiejg said:
I've been getting a lot of mixed information regarding the use of broad hashtags on my gaming channel. I've been watching some "YT guru" videos and some of them are suggesting that broad hashtags are required to get any decent amount of views (or possibly go viral), while others are suggesting that you should NOT use broad hashtags because they will show your shorts to people who are likely uninterested in your posts—which causes more swipes and lower retention—or others that have mentioned that the hashtags don't matter at all.

Would you guys have any clarity for me here?

Just for context:
-I've been uploading gaming clips once per day (for the last month) and getting 600-2500 views each, and 15-30 likes each (and very little dislikes)
-47% swiped (average for the channel)
-Most of the older videos have died off only getting between 0 - 5 views (per 48 hours) although a small handful of older videos seem to be getting as high as 50 views(per 48 hours)
- I believe they are very high quality (and entertaining) videos in my niche

I’m guessing these sharp drops in numbers aren’t normal and might be tied to my 49% swipe ratio — though I’ve never really given any thought into "hooks". Perhaps (from now on) I'll have to try focusing on that... hopefully without ruining my content / storytelling But it would be nice to clarify all this confusion with the broad hashtags.

From what I’ve seen, hashtags can help with discoverability, but they’re not the magic key. Broad ones might get you more reach, but yeah, they can also bring in the wrong audience. I think your instincts are right—improving your hook and retention might make a bigger difference than just tweaking hashtags. Sounds like you're on the right track already though.

samiejg · May 13, 2025

mathunwitting said:
From what I’ve seen, hashtags can help with discoverability, but they’re not the magic key. Broad ones might get you more reach, but yeah, they can also bring in the wrong audience. I think your instincts are right—improving your hook and retention might make a bigger difference than just tweaking hashtags. Sounds like you're on the right track already though.

Thanks mister! So far I've already noticed some good results (higher typical performance) with my most recent video by adding that text hook at the start.

If you don't mind me asking/clarifying one last thing: would you suggest NOT to use that broad ones? Or does it not make a big deal? Or perhaps does it depend more on the video itself and how enticing it might be to a broad audience?

I can understand if it depends on the video considering a lot the videos may only be interesting to people who actually play the game, but there are other videos which "might" catch the eye of others who don't even know the game. Although then I worry again about the harm it might do.

Should I be using broad hashtags on Youtube Shorts?

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