What a title has to do
A title has to make one specific person think “that’s for me” and “I want to know”. It works together with the thumbnail: the thumbnail grabs the eye, the title tells them what they get.
Good titles are specific (a number, a result, a situation), about the viewer (their problem, not your journey) and honest (the video delivers exactly what the title promises).
8 title formulas
- Specific number: “7 Budget Meals I Make Every Week”
- Outcome: “How I Got My First 1,000 Subscribers in 4 Months”
- Mistake to avoid: “5 Filming Mistakes That Make Phone Videos Look Cheap”
- Curiosity gap: “Why Nobody Talks About This Saving Trick”
- Contrarian: “Stop Posting Every Day (Do This Instead)”
- Comparison: “Cheap vs Expensive Microphone: Can You Hear the Difference?”
- Challenge / time: “I Tried Waking Up at 5 AM for 30 Days”
- Beginner promise: “Video Editing for Complete Beginners (Free App)”
Write at least five options for every video, then pick. Our free YouTube title generator gives you ten angles at once, which makes the choice much easier.
Length and keywords
YouTube allows up to 100 characters, but feeds and search often cut titles after roughly 50 to 70 characters, and phones show even less. Put the important words first.
Use the words people actually search: “how to edit videos on iPhone” beats “my editing workflow”. A good test is to type your topic in YouTube search and read the suggestions that drop down; that is how real people phrase it.
TipDon’t repeat the thumbnail text in the title. Let them complement each other: the thumbnail shows the result, the title adds the context.
Curiosity vs clickbait
Curiosity is fine; deception is not. If the title promises something the video doesn’t show, viewers leave early, and YouTube notices that people who click don’t stay. That hurts the video more than a plainer title would.
Avoid ALL CAPS sentences, “SHOCKING” and a row of emojis. One emphasised word is enough.
Improving titles after posting
Check the click-through rate in YouTube Studio after a day or two. If impressions are high but few people click, try a new title (and thumbnail). YouTube also lets you test several thumbnails on the same video; the same thinking applies to titles.
Frequently asked questions
How long should a YouTube title be?
Aim for under about 60 characters so the whole title shows in most places, with the key words at the start. The hard limit is 100.
Should I put keywords in the title?
Yes, in natural language. Use the words people type in search, but write for a human first.
Can I change a title after publishing?
Yes. Changing a weak title on a video that gets impressions but few clicks is one of the easiest ways to give it a second chance.