First impressions are everything. YouTube titles are one of the first things your potential viewers see aside from the thumbnail. The words chosen for a title must be eye-catching and leave a potential viewer wanting more. You want your title to be heavily trafficked so it leads in the results on the landing page. Through this article, we cover how to write a successful YouTube title. 

YouTube as a platform

YouTube is one of the most used search engines on the internet. Statistics presented by Rocketium Academy show that people’s preferred choice of entertainment online is video. People spend more than 500 million hours on YouTube daily according to Business Insider

It is safe to say that YouTube is a great platform to be noticed. Although it’s a great place to get noticed, it is easy to get lost in the billions of videos uploaded to YouTube. Writing a great YouTube title is essential, as it leads viewers to click on your videos.

Viewer thought process

Creators need to think of their audience when it comes to any aspect of their YouTube presence. When writing a title, you want to think of what your viewer is asking themselves. When the viewer is searching out a video, they want to know it’s going to be worth their time. Viewers want to know they made the right decision and their questions or ideas will be addressed. You must ask yourself if you would click on your video when it’s put up to the competitors. 

YouTube SEO 

Understanding the SEO of YouTube is essential when creating your title. Arguably the most important aspect of YouTube SEO is the title. Using research keywords in the title is important to rank for those words. Using keywords throughout your entire video post only strengthens the potential for success. 

Keywords are necessary for users to click on your video but, holding your audience’s attention is another way to rank higher. The longer you keep your audience watching, the better for ranking. Longer watch times provide more potential for ad revenue and engagement with likes, comments and shares. Videos with high engagement on YouTube rank higher than videos with millions of views with low engagement. Make sure your video is intriguing from start to finish. 

Search suggestions

Testing out titles simply using the search engine on YouTube is an easy and convenient way to decide on a title. You can see similarities and differences in the suggestion to use to your advantage. 

Source: YouTube results for “film camera”

In this image above you see that when “film camera” is searched, there is a selection of possible avenues. There are a couple of suggestions for an introduction to film cameras like, “for beginners” and “basics”. Then there are suggestions for the specific sound a film camera shutter makes. Using these suggestions to implement into your title gives you a strong footing in what people are searching for. 

Title length 

The length of your title needs to be precise. 70 characters is a great length to keep in mind when creating a title. Within these 70 characters, you must consider spaces as well. You can have a title of up to 100 characters, but if it is too long a title can be cut short in the search results. 

Not seeing the entirety of a title is not appealing to the eye and might be overlooked. Be straight to the point but leave the viewer wanting more. 

Be descriptive

Tell your audience what to expect with your title. Be as precise as possible to ensure the length is not too long. If you are uploading a vlog, make sure to include the word “vlog.” This goes for any specific style video such as a tour, haul, Q&A and tutorial, etc. 

If you have a main focus like a product, place or story, be sure to state it in the title. For example, if your telling a story of beginning your business, then you may use a title like “Storytime | How I started my business.” This title is straight to the point and is informative to the viewer on what they can expect. 

Things to consider

There are some other aspects to think about when creating titles. Using numbers in the titles helps create a break in words as well as save space. Using numbers instead of writing out a word for it is more efficient. Also, think about using capitalization and/or unique fonts to set your video apart. You can use capitalization to emphasize a word to bring attention to it over the rest. 

Using attention-grabbing words can also be beneficial for viewers to discover your channel. Applying words that create interest to describe your subject is favorable. Some examples of these words are shocking, new, ultimate, giveaway, biggest and the list goes on and on.

Implementing trending words also helps boost your video reach. For example, the word “greenwashing” is a term that is circulating on YouTube among eco-driven creators. By using this term, people know they expect that the term will be explained or addressed. 

Taking time to plan your title for a video on YouTube is necessary to find success. Be sure to make the most of a handful of words so that you rank higher in search results.