4 Best Practices To Write Great YouTube Video Titles

A title introduces your video to viewers. A title has two basic functions: to boost your video’s search rankings and compel click-throughs. Therefore, write a title that serves both functions effectively.

Below are four best practices to write great YouTube video titles:

1. Write a search-friendly title

Titles have tremendous SEO value. They help viewers find your video in search results. Therefore, write titles with keywords that audience are likely to use when searching for your video.

Tips:

  • Include keywords that describe your video.
  • Research and incorporate highly searched keywords in your video title.
  • Front load your title with keywords.
  • Determine the popularity of potential keywords using Google Trends.
  • Identify popular search titles in the YouTube search bar. Type in a keyword and notice what words auto populate after it. Consider including the keyword if it is relevant for your video.

2. Include a hook to attract attention

Titles must be compelling enough to enhance click-throughs. Write attention grabbing titles to attract audience attention.

Tips:

  • Include a catchy hook to attract viewers’ attention.
  • Write a title that evokes curiosity.
  • Questions, lists, descriptive adjectives are effective to generate click-throughs.
  • Tell the viewers what your video has to offer. Write a short, yet descriptive video title.

3. Keep your title short

Write a catchy and concise title. If the title is long, text can cut off depending on where it appears on YouTube. 

Tips:

  • Restrict the length of your title to 60 characters so that vital information is not cut off.
  • Provide the most important information at the beginning of your title.
  • Include least important information such as episode numbers towards the end of the title.

4. Measure the effectiveness of your title

Use YouTube Analytics to test the effectiveness of your title. You can always make edits if you notice the title is not effective.

Tips:

  • Check a video’s audience retention graph. Look at the initial 10-15 seconds of the graph for audience drop-off. A sudden dip in the first few seconds could suggest that your video didn’t meet the expectations set by your title.
  • Check YouTube search report under Traffic sources to identify keywords that are driving traffic to your video. Use the same keyword in your title, to boost search results.

Titles are great to enhance your video’s discoverability. They play an instrumental role in getting viewers to watch your videos. Follow the above strategies to write the best titles for your videos.

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Manasa Boggaram is a writer and has a strong passion for music, positive news and constructive journalism. When she is not researching story ideas or writing blog posts, she spends her time reading books, discovering new music and eating lots of street food.

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