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Heroes of Might and Magic 3Titles Descriptions and Tags
A YouTube title can be 100 characters, a description 5,000 and the tags 500 in total, and none may contain < or >. Over 60 hashtags and YouTube ignores them all. Misleading titles, ALL CAPS and stuffed tags can cost a channel its monetization.
YouTube allows a title of up to 100 characters and a description of up to 5,000, and the tags of a video may total 500 characters, counting the commas between them; titles and descriptions cannot contain the < and > characters. Within those limits, what YouTube rewards is accuracy: titles, descriptions and tags that say what the video is, without exaggeration, because misleading metadata breaks the spam policy and keeps channels out of the YouTube Partner Program. Tags matter much less than they once did; YouTube Help says they mostly help with words people often misspell.
Quick facts
| Title | 100 characters |
| Description | 5,000 characters |
| Tags | 500 characters in total, commas included |
| Invalid characters | < and > in titles and descriptions |
| Hashtags | More than 60 and all are ignored; up to 3 show above the title |
| Links in a description | Clickable; George Vanous counted 40 at most |
Sources: Add video details and hashtags, YouTube Help; Videos resource, YouTube Data API.
How long can a YouTube title be?
A hundred characters, including spaces and emoji (YouTube Help). The full title shows on the watch page, but search results, Home and suggested videos often cut it shorter, so the words that matter go first. Shorts titles have the same 100-character limit (YouTube Help). Titles can be tested against each other with Thumbnail Test and Compare.
ALL CAPS and misleading titles
YouTube's policies do not name ALL CAPS, but in practice they have blocked monetization. George Vanous, who runs the Freedom! network, kept YouTube Support's May 8, 2019 answer to a channel: a video "must have good metadata", and without changes the team would not approve the channel. Another channel was approved for the YPP in April 2019 once it changed every title to normal capitalization. YouTube's notes to networks list "unnecessary capitalization" among the problems reviewers flag, and in August 2018 Todd Beaupré, a YouTube product manager for discovery, said on the Creator Insider channel that viewers find ALL CAPS titles off-putting, so such videos tend to be recommended less (Tubefilter).
The rule underneath is the spam policy, which forbids maliciously misleading titles, thumbnails and descriptions used to trick viewers (YouTube Help). In YPP reviews, YouTube has cited channels for "misleading descriptions, tags, or titles designed to increase views", George's records show. His advice, from a 9.5-million-subscriber channel's case: titles state facts, not claims, avoiding "best", "ever", "change your life", or "how to" on a video that teaches nothing. YouTube does not tell a channel which title broke the rule, so a channel turned down for metadata has to review all of them before reapplying (YPP Suspension Appeals).
Descriptions
A description holds 5,000 characters. YouTube shows the first lines above the fold, so they should say what the video is about. In one review George recorded, YouTube advised a 1.29-million-subscriber channel to stop repeating a long channel introduction in every description (it belongs in the trailer, the About section or a pinned comment), to use the first three lines to describe the video rather than for links, and to keep fewer links. Descriptions also carry Chapters (timestamps starting at 0:00) and hashtags.
Hashtags: up to three from the description appear above the title. Hashtags have no spaces (#twowords). If a video has more than 60 hashtags, YouTube ignores every one of them, and unrelated or excessive hashtags can get a video removed from search or taken down. Older advice, including George's earlier notes, gives 15 as the limit; Help says 60 as of Nov 6, 2026.
Links in descriptions
Links in a description are clickable. George Vanous found that YouTube stops at 40 and said so in "40 is the limit for links in YouTube descriptions!"; YouTube Help gives no number, so treat it as his finding. He also found that punctuation typed straight after a link, such as an exclamation mark, can be swallowed into the address and break it ("Get more views - Avoid exclamation marks!"), so leave a space after every link. Links must not lead to sites that break the Community Guidelines, which can bring a strike (Links in Descriptions).
Tags
Tags are keywords that viewers do not see on the page. YouTube Help says they help when a video's subject is often misspelled and otherwise "play a minimal role" in discovery (YouTube Help). The total is 500 characters. The YouTube Data API documents how it is counted: commas between tags count, and a tag containing a space is counted as if wrapped in quotation marks, so "Foo Baz" uses nine characters (YouTube Data API). George measured the same in YouTube Studio's counter, where "a b" counts as 5. Tags stuffed with unrelated keywords break YouTube's metadata rules. Anyone can read a video's tags in its page source: see See a Video's Hidden Tags.
Frequently asked questions
What is the YouTube title character limit? A YouTube title can be up to 100 characters long, and it cannot contain the < or > characters.
How long can a YouTube description be? A YouTube description can be up to 5,000 characters. Only the first lines show before "more", so the important part goes first.
What is the YouTube tag limit? YouTube allows 500 characters of tags per video. Commas count, and each tag with a space counts two extra characters, as if it were in quotation marks.
Do YouTube tags still matter? Barely. YouTube Help says tags mainly help when a video's subject is commonly misspelled and otherwise play a minimal role in discovery.
How many hashtags can I use on YouTube? YouTube ignores all hashtags on a video that has more than 60, and shows up to three of them above the title. Fewer, relevant hashtags work best.
How many links can I put in a YouTube description? YouTube Help sets no number, but George Vanous of the Freedom! network found that 40 is the most links a YouTube description takes.
Sources
- Add video details, YouTube Help, read Nov 6, 2026
- Use hashtags for YouTube search, YouTube Help, read Nov 6, 2026
- Spam, deceptive practices, and scams policies, YouTube Help, read Nov 6, 2026
- Create a YouTube Short, YouTube Help, read Nov 6, 2026
- Videos resource, YouTube Data API, read Nov 6, 2026
- A/B testing on YouTube, YouTube Creators, Dec 8, 2025 (video)
- YouTube Exec Says Using All Caps Titles Causes Videos To Perform Worse, Tubefilter, Aug 30, 2018
- 40 is the limit for links in YouTube descriptions!, Freedom!, Oct 1, 2020 (video)
- Get more views - Avoid exclamation marks!, Freedom!, Jan 1, 2016 (video)
Moments
A/B testing on YouTube
YouTube Creators
Related
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Channel PermissionsYouTube channel permissions let an owner give other Google Accounts the Manager, Editor, Editor (limited), Subtitle editor, Viewer or Viewer (limited) role in YouTube Studio under Settings > Permissions, without sharing a password. Transferring a channel to a new primary owner needs a Brand Account and a 7-day wait.
- Creator AwardsYouTube Creator Awards are the Play Buttons YouTube sends channels that pass a review at 100,000 subscribers (Silver), 1 million (Gold), 10 million (Diamond) and 100 million (Red Diamond). Subscribers alone are not enough: the channel must be active, original and free of recent strikes.
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Custom ThumbnailsYouTube recommends custom thumbnails of 3840 x 2160 for videos (2160 x 3840 for Shorts), at least 640 pixels wide, in JPG or PNG, up to 50 MB on a computer or 2 MB on a phone. Uploading one needs a verified account; Shorts thumbnails are set only in YouTube Studio on a computer.
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Feature AccessYouTube unlocks channel features in three tiers: standard features for everyone, intermediate features after phone verification, and advanced features after phone verification plus channel history or an ID or video check. All three are checked in YouTube Studio under Settings > Channel > Feature eligibility.
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HandlesA YouTube handle is a channel's unique @name, 3 to 30 characters long. Change it in YouTube Studio under Customization > Profile > Handle, or at youtube.com/handle, up to twice in 14 days.
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HypeHype is a YouTube button that lets viewers push a video they love up a weekly leaderboard during its first 7 days. Each viewer gets 3 free hypes a week, smaller channels earn more points per hype, and it is open to Partner Program channels with 500 to 500,000 subscribers.
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Live StreamingTo live stream on YouTube a channel must be verified, have no live streaming restrictions in the past 90 days and belong to someone at least 16; streaming from a phone also needs 50 subscribers. The first time can take up to 24 hours to switch on; then go live from a webcam, a phone or an encoder like OBS.
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PremieresA YouTube Premiere plays a prerecorded video as a live event: a public watch page with a countdown, live chat and a set start time, after which the video stays on the channel as a normal upload. Set it in YouTube Studio with "Set as instant Premiere" or Schedule > "Set as Premiere".
See also
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YouTube Partner ProgramThe YouTube Partner Program (YPP) is how creators earn from YouTube. Ads need 1,000 subscribers plus 4,000 public watch hours in 12 months or 10 million Shorts views in 90 days; fan funding and Shopping open earlier, at 500 subscribers. New applicants need 8,000 hours or 20 million Shorts views from Feb 1, 2027.
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Thumbnail Test and CompareYouTube's Test and compare (A/B testing) shows up to three thumbnails, titles, or pairs of both to viewers of one video and picks the winner by watch time share, in a few days to two weeks. It runs in YouTube Studio on a computer and needs advanced features.
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YPP Suspension AppealsTo appeal a YouTube Partner Program suspension or rejection, upload an unlisted video under 5 minutes that explains how your channel follows the monetization policies, then submit its link from YouTube Studio's Earn page within 21 days. YouTube decides within 14 days; if it refuses, you can reapply after 90 days.
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ChaptersYouTube chapters split a video into titled sections on the progress bar. Creators add them by typing timestamps in the description, starting at 0:00, with at least three chapters of at least 10 seconds each, or let YouTube make automatic chapters.
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Links in DescriptionsYouTube allows links in video descriptions and comments, but links to porn, malware, phishing, pirated content, regulated goods such as online casinos, or other content that breaks its rules can bring a warning, a strike or removal. Links in long video descriptions are clickable; in Shorts descriptions they have not been since Aug 31, 2023.
- See a Video's Hidden TagsYouTube hides a video's tags from viewers, but on a computer anyone can read them in the page source: open view-source: before the watch address and search for name="keywords".