How to write YouTube titles

A title does two jobs. It tells the right viewer what they'll get, and it makes them want it more than the other videos next to it. In search it also helps YouTube match the video to what people type.

The title and the thumbnail work as a pair. The thumbnail grabs the eye, the title closes the deal. They shouldn't repeat each other. Each should add something.

1. 1

   Name the viewer

   Who is this for? A beginner, a parent, someone on a budget, someone who's tried and failed?

2. 2

   Name the payoff

   What will they get, learn, see or feel by the end?

3. 3

   Make it specific

   Add a number, a result, a time frame, a price or a place.

4. 4

   Add a reason to click now

   Curiosity, stakes, a surprise or a contrast, as long as the video delivers it.

5. 5

   Cut it down

   Remove every word that doesn't add meaning. Move the key words to the front.

These formats come up again and again in outlier videos. Use them as starting points, not templates to fill in.

• Result plus time frame

  Example

  I learned to draw in 30 days

• How to plus specific outcome

  Example

  How to cook rice perfectly every time

• Comparison

  Example

  Cheap vs expensive running shoes

• Ranking

  Example

  Every budget phone ranked from worst to best

• Mistake or warning

  Example

  Stop doing this when you edit videos

• Challenge

  Example

  Living on $10 a day in London

• Question with a surprise

  Example

  Why do planes fly so high?

• Beginner framing

  Example

  Photography basics nobody explains

YouTube allows up to 100 characters, but most places show far fewer, especially on phones. Keep the words that carry the promise in the first 40 to 50 characters, so the title still works if it's cut.

Shorter isn't always better. A clear 60-character title beats a vague 30-character one. Aim for clear first, short second.

Videos get found in two main ways, and they need slightly different titles.

• Search titles match the words people type. "How to change a bike tyre" beats a clever pun, because that's what people search.
• Browse titles compete on the home page and Up next, where nobody is searching. They need curiosity, stakes or emotion to stand out.
• The best of both starts with the search phrase and adds a hook: "How to change a bike tyre in 2 minutes (no tools)".

Read more in our YouTube SEO guide.

Curiosity makes people click. Clickbait makes them leave. The difference is whether the video pays off the promise.

If viewers feel tricked, they leave early, and YouTube's satisfaction surveys pick that up. Over time that means fewer impressions for your next videos, not more.

A useful test: could you show the title to someone who just finished the video, and would they nod? If not, rewrite it.

• Is the promise clear in the first few words?
• Would the viewer you're making it for know it's for them?
• Is there a specific detail: a number, result, time or place?
• Does it add something the thumbnail doesn't already say?
• Does the video deliver it, and early?
• Is it free of all caps, emoji clutter and filler words like "amazing" or "insane"?

Titles aren't final. If a video has strong retention but a click-through rate well below your usual, a new title can wake it up. Change one thing at a time and give it several days before you judge.

YouTube Studio's Test & compare feature lets you test thumbnails, and YouTube has started testing titles with some creators. It picks the winner by watch time share, which rewards titles that bring the right viewers, not just more clicks.