Fatal Mistakes on YouTube: How to Prevent Your Channel from Being Banned
Imagine ten years of hard work, hundreds of thousands of subscribers, and a thriving business vanishing into thin air in an instant. Not because you are a bad person or because you intended to do harm, but simply because you made a few small, innocent-looking mistakes that nobody ever told you about. I’ve been navigating the virtual halls of YouTube for ten years, generated millions of dollars in revenue, and lead a community of 11,000 creators. I’ve seen it all: the meteoric rise and the drastic fall.
Many believe the YouTube algorithm is a friendly companion, but the truth is that 500 hours of video are uploaded to the platform every single minute. It is impossible to review this with human eyes, which is why YouTube relies on ruthless automated systems. These systems often shoot first and ask questions later. If you don’t want your channel to fall victim to machine-led severity, stick with me, because I’m about to reveal the eight critical points where most creators fail.
The Sub-for-Sub Trap and Hashtag Chaos
When you’re just starting out, getting those first hundred subscribers feels like moving a mountain. That’s when the temptation kicks in: “Subscribe to me, and I’ll subscribe back!” While this seems like harmless community support, in YouTube’s eyes, it is coordinated manipulation. If subscriber numbers spike but watch time and engagement don’t follow, the algorithm immediately becomes suspicious and penalizes you.
The situation is similar with hashtags. Many think the “more is better” principle applies, but official policies state that if you use more than 60 hashtags, YouTube ignores all of them and may even remove the video from search results. Personally, I barely use hashtags, but if you want to, stick to 3 to 6 highly relevant terms.
Copying vs. Inspiration: The Copyright Labyrinth
Many misunderstand the concept of modeling successful videos. Studying what works in your niche and drawing inspiration from it is perfectly fine. But literally copying someone else’s script or just swapping the narrator under someone else’s video is copyright infringement. YouTube’s Content ID system is incredibly sophisticated and is filtering out stolen content faster and faster. Always add your own unique perspective, use your own voiceover, and never copy word for word.
Security Above All: Hackers Don’t Discriminate
As your channel grows, you become a bigger target. One of the biggest mistakes you can make is using the same email address for managing your channel that you display publicly for business inquiries. A clever phishing email, a file disguised as a “sponsor” containing malicious software, and you can say goodbye to your access. I’ve been hacked this way myself: a fake SpaceX livestream was started on my channel to scam people out of cryptocurrency. I only have luck and a quick Twitter exchange with Team YouTube to thank for getting my account back. Never download files from strangers and use a separate email address for registration!
The “Make Money Online” Trap and Tag Stuffing
YouTube periodically tightens rules in certain categories. Recently, they began aggressively restricting “make money online” type videos, likely due to regulatory pressure. If you operate in this niche, be extremely cautious with promises in titles and thumbnails. Additionally, avoid “tag stuffing”: don’t pack your description with keywords just to game the algorithm. Write your description for humans, not for machines!
YouTube isn’t against you, but it plays by the rules.
