Writing good YouTube titles is a tricky task. Just when you think you have the right one, you wonder, 

Will the title resonate with viewers and make them click?

How to Title YouTube Videos for More Views

Good news incoming: You don’t have to struggle with YouTube video titles anymore. Instead of rewriting to no end, focus on what makes a good headline:

Imagine going out to dinner with one of your YouTube viewers. Chances are, the two of you will talk about what you have in common during the meal. You might be nervous at first, but you’ll eventually hit a groove where you’re 

If you both love dogs, for example, you might use words like:

Writing video titles is no different. The headline starts a conversation between you and viewers, and relatable dialogue is best.

“This Talking Pitbull Is Smarter Than You Can Imagine!” 

If you're familiar with pit bulls, you know how vocal they are. It’s almost as if they can speak! When the creator adds “talking pitbull” to the title, it’s a nod to people who adore the vocal nature of pitties.

2. Stay Under the YouTube Title Character Limit

Make sure you're using the right YouTube video title length before settling on a headline. It’s easy to fall in love with the words you’ve written, only to realize you have too many!

On YouTube, you have a title limit of 100 characters. But even that’s too long. The best titles are around 

 and display fully on most devices. Anything longer will show up as a truncated title.

It’s true: Sensational headlines attract viewers out of sheer curiosity. Even if something looks too good to be true, viewers will investigate just to be sure.

On its support page, YouTube states that it doesn’t condone “misleading metadata or thumbnails, [such as] using the title, thumbnail, [or] description to trick users” into watching a video.

One example could be a video titled “Buying a Mansion for $1 Million.” If the creator drives around to look at expensive homes with no intention of buying, renting, or even discussing that journey, it’s clickbait.

4. Use the Right Keywords for YouTube Search

 on YouTube. If people aren’t searching for the kind of videos you make, getting views as a new creator is tough.

create a YouTube video title with solid keywords

. Start by studying your niche to see which phrases competitors use in their videos. Then use 

The goal is to find terms with high search volume plus low to medium  competition.

7 Ways to Discover the Best YouTube Keywords for Your Channel

Adding numbers to headlines is an old marketing rule that still works today. According to an 

, people pay special attention to numbers.

“Among our discoveries was that numerals often stop the wandering eye and attract fixations, even when they're embedded within a mass of words that users otherwise ignore,” writes Jakob Nielsen, computer interaction researcher.

people love numbers because they’re associated with facts

. So if you want people to click your titles, don’t skimp on the numerals.

decide to make purchases with their subconscious mind

? Choosing to watch a YouTube video doesn’t cost money, but it’s still a subconscious 

explore what viewers feel subconsciously as they browse YouTube

. What emotions arise when they think of specific topics?

Once you know this, it’s easier to write titles that stick. You’ll know which emotive words to use, such as “lucrative” for finance geeks or “blissful” for hopeless romantics.

Here's how to tap into three emotions that make people click videos: curiosity, fear, and desire.

7. Create Harmony Between the Title and Thumbnail

When people create YouTube video titles, the thumbnail is typically an afterthought. But that’s a costly mistake. 

No title exists in a vacuum because the headline appears beside the preview image on YouTube. So it’s wise to consider how the two combine to attract viewers. 

If the title doesn’t build upon what the thumbnail shows, it's not accurate or strong enough. Do your best to create real harmony, like the thumbnails we paired with these titles.

8. Add Hashtags in Your YouTube Video Title

You want hashtags in your titles because they help viewers find content similar to what they’re already watching. If your title has a hashtag like #growyourchannel, your content could show up on the 

We accomplished this feat on the vidIQ channel. Below, notice we added #growyourchannel to a video titled “YouTube Settings You Need to Know to Grow Your Channel.”

Four years later, that video is still featured on the #growyourchannel hashtag page.

Here’s how to add hashtags in a YouTube video title:

Type the # symbol in your title or description, then start typing the best terms for your topic. YouTube will suggest some popular hashtags; all you have to do is choose the best one for your video.

9. Get Inspiration from Other YouTube Videos

Did you know that seasoned creators don't always brainstorm their video titles? Many of them look at channels in their niche and pull inspiration from videos that went viral!

It takes time to research those channels, so we'll save you a bit of trouble here. We recently interviewed title expert Jake Thomas, who studies trends within the YouTube video space. According to him, 

these emotion-driven titles are working for creators

Viewers get curious when they see these titles, and that motivates them to click on the video!

Similar to the tip above, this piece of advice is about using 

 of the shortcuts available to you. And AI — artificial intelligence — goes a long way in aiding the creative process on YouTube. So, why not use it to write captivating titles? 

If that sounds like productive, check our 

 for every video description you provide. Plus, the ideas are optimized for viewer engagement!

vidIQ ai title generator with the prompt "buttery biscuits grandma style"

YouTube video titles generated by vidIQ's AI Title generator 

11. Write Wholesome Video Titles for YouTube

 when you’re naming YouTube videos. Steer clear of profanity, hate speech, and misinformation that's harmful in the real world.

YouTube Shorts are vertical videos of 60 seconds or less. They're typically shot on a mobile phone, and viewers usually discover them through the Shorts player. This is a section of the YouTube app that's designed for 

 and yes, title do matter there! The rules for writing them are just a tad different.

How to Write the Best Titles for YouTube Shorts



Here are the best practices for titling Shorts:

 Give viewers a snapshot of what to expect.

 Pose a question, or use intriguing adjectives. The goal is to make them stop scrolling and start watching.

 Shorts do appear in YouTube search, so use the right keywords to get more views in that area.

 You have 40 characters to work with before YouTube truncates the rest of your title when viewing Shorts in the app).

Writing Good YouTube Titles Takes Practice

It won't happen overnight, but with regular practice, you can write titles so alluring that people 

 to click.

Part of that skill set comes with mastering the basics. Once you've done that, you're ready to move to the next step: 

creating thumbnails that make viewers stop in their tracks

Do you need help writing YouTube video titles? Here are 11 ways to give your videos the perfect name and captivate viewers.

11 Ways to Write Exciting YouTube Titles for Your Videos

The YouTube Studio is your backstage pass to 

 happening on your channel. It's where you upload videos, brand your homepage, and set up ways to make some serious cash. 

Curious about how your latest video is performing? There are video analytics to help you out. Ready to apply for monetization? A dedicated page shows you which milestones to reach and how to start earning from your videos. Frankly, there's a tool, page, or panel for everything! 

l, you'll want to get familiar with the YouTube Studio.

Creators use the YouTube Studio to manage their channels and track video performance. It's a designated space to upload videos, edit content, create playlists, write back to commenters, and even apply for YouTube monetization. 

Plus, there are tons of dashboards showing your channel's overall views, 

, subscribers, and revenue. Best of all, the YouTube Studio is free!

1. To open the YouTube creator studio, log in to your channel and click your profile icon. Select 

If you've never used the YouTube Studio before, it's easy to feel overwhelmed considering how huge the platform is. Here, we'll cover the basics of navigating the site and uploading videos — because creating content is all you should have to worry about!

1. Go to the YouTube homepage, then click the 

3. Follow the prompts on the next screen to add a video title, description, thumbnail, tags, and more.

Label your video as 'made for kids' (or not).

Set your video as public, private, or unlisted.

Not quite ready to publish your video content? The good news is you can edit videos in the YouTube Studio and give them a nice, finishing touch. Here's how!

 tab within the studio's navigation bar. It's on the left side of the screen.

2. Hover over the video you want to edit, then click the pencil icon.

Now you're ready to edit! You can do some easy "sprucing up" with the YouTube Studio editor, such as:

Adding free music from the YouTube Audio Library

video editing options for youtube video editor

As you work, use the video timeline to select scenes that need editing.

 you need to find in the creator studio is accessible from the navigation bar? Whether you're looking for monetization data, video analytics, or something else, this section will help you find it. Open the studio, look to your immediate left, and start exploring!

The channel dashboard gives a broad overview of how you're doing on YouTube. It shows recent activity in the past month or so, so you'll get to see:

Subscribers, views, watch time, and revenue in the last month

YouTube also puts creator news on this dashboard, so it's a great place to learn about new tools and features!

The YouTube Studio has a content manager where you can edit everything you've posted so far. It's organized into six distinct tabs:

Select any of the tabs, and you'll see the content you've uploaded within that category. 

From there, you can change the visibility of your content (to public, private, or unlisted), edit video details (title, description, tags, etc.), schedule publish dates, reply to comments, and turn on monetization for your videos.

Want to see how your videos are performing? There's an entire section dedicated to YouTube Studio analytics, such as audience demographics,  click-through rates, traffic sources, and more. You can also view your real-time subscriber count.

YouTube Channel Analytics: The 6 Most Important Video Metrics

But the first thing you'll notice is a huge dashboard showing the basics: views, watch time, subscribers, and estimated revenue for your channel in the last 28 days. Below that is an interactive graph showing how each metric "trended" over the last month. And of course, you can change the time period to get the full picture.

. The next screen lets you filter the graph for 

 time period. Frankly, this is where the real magic happens!

see more button under youtube analytics dashboard

Lastly, there are tons of navigation tabs to take you where you need to go. They will guide you to content, audience, revenue, and research data, the latter showing content gaps and popular search terms on your channel.

Near the bottom is a list of popular content you made in the last month, which is nice to see at a glance.

top youtube content for channel analytics

Like the name suggests, this area focuses on the comment section of your YouTube channel. Here, you can:

Subtitles allow viewers to "read along" as they listen to the audio from your video. They also help viewers with some degree of hearing loss enjoy your content on YouTube.

 translate those captions into their other languages, such as French, German, and Arabic.

channel subtitles for a list of youtube videos

Copyright is a big deal on YouTube. You'll visit this section 

to make sure you haven't "stolen" content from other creators and to keep your channel in good standing. On the flip side, you can browse a list of YouTube videos that contain portions of your own content, which 

YouTube helps you manage all of this. There are tabs for viewing video removal requests, messages you've sent to creators surrounding copyright, and much more. So, this is the best place to 

handle YouTube copyright claims and strikes

A list of channels with copyright matches on YouTube

This guide is for every creator who needs an introduction to the YouTube Studio and its most crucial menus.

The Beginner's Guide to the YouTube Studio

An important question pops up on the road to more views and subscribers:

The truth is that, sometimes, you have to look outside the platform. The best trending topics for YouTube are all over the internet, and the more places you look, the more trends you'll find!

Here are six reliable places to begin your search.

Remember how we said the best trends happen outside of YouTube? Well, Google Trends will help you discover those moments. This tool shows the popularity of 

 topic on the internet over an extended period of time.

Here’s how to use Google Trends for YouTube purposes.

Trending now tab on Google Trends website

2. Select a country, then browse the first two tabs on the screen: daily search trends and real-time search trends.

 option shows what’s been trending in the last few days, and the 

 option shows searches that are trending right now. Both results should give you a general idea of what’s popular online.

1. On the Google Trends homepage, type something into the search bar — preferably a topic related to your channel. As an example, we’ll use “pumpkin spice latte.”

Google Trends Search for pumpkin spice latte

2. Choose a region, time period, category, and then select 

Analyze the graph to see how popular your topic is. In this example, “pumpkin spice latte” is picking up steam as fall approaches.

Google trends graph for a search term shows increasing popularity

Want to go even deeper? Scroll down and view the 

 panel. You’ll find even more topics related to your original search that could spark great video ideas.

If you're wondering how to see trending topics on YouTube, look no further than the explore section. Below that, there's a 

 showing the most popular videos on YouTube right now.

This page will show you the top trending videos on YouTube by category: music, movies, gaming, and more. It’s not as detailed as Google Trends, but it’s a great place to see what’s happening within different niches.

As a busy content creator, sometimes you just need to know what people are searching for on YouTube. vidIQ has a new tool that can help you out with that, and it's called 

. It shows you which YouTube searches are rising in popularity so you can take advantage of them!

Top rising keywords today, this week, or this month, by language.

Monthly search volume and competition score for keywords.

The growth percentage of a keyword's search volume.

A filter for searching keywords by YouTube niche.

An overall keyword score (higher is better).

For example, the search term "Colorado vs. Oregon" (referring to U.S. football) rose in popularity by 

 today! The keyword score is 61, which means it has high search volume and not much competition! You'd have a decent shot at getting more YouTube views.

A list of global risking keywords on YouTube. Colorado vs Oregon is circled

By far, this is the best way to see YouTube search trends on the rise. 

TikTok is where trends are born. If you want to know what’s trending right now (or will eventually trend on YouTube), it makes sense to open TikTok.

But “watching videos” is only the first step. If you want to get up to speed much faster, explore trending videos and hashtags in the TikTok Creative Center.

 tab. From there, you can view trending hashtags, songs, videos, and creators who also end up on YouTube!

5. Get Daily Video Ideas (with Performance Predictions)

If you’re looking for video ideas that fit your channel, 

 when you sign up for a free vidIQ account.

 old ideas. We use artificial intelligence to suggest video ideas that match your content! 

: low, medium, high, or very high views. With that type of data, you can choose in-demand topics for your channel. You can even see top-ranked videos for a particular subject.

Here’s how to get Daily Ideas for your YouTube channel:

 to send them to the dismissed collection.

4. Click the list icon in the top right corner to see more video ideas at once. Select any idea to see top-ranked videos for the topic!

People go to X (formerly Twitter) to see what’s happening now – as in 

. That makes it the perfect place to find trending topics for your videos.

If you haven’t already, join X and follow some topics that relate to your YouTube channel.

For any topics you follow, you'll begin to see tweets related to those subjects in your feed. That makes it easier to see trends that would make great YouTube videos.

Now that you know how to find trends on YouTube, learn how to test those ideas before using them on your channel.

YouTube trends don't just happen inside of YouTube. If you want to find viral topics that grow your channel, it's time to look outside of the platform.

6 Places to Find Trending YouTube Topics for Your Videos

Any creator who knows about the YouTube algorithm has one goal, and that's getting their videos recommended to more people! They want YouTube to (finally) notice their content, identify the subject matter, and suggest it to thousands of like-minded viewers.

Your best plan of action, especially as a small creator, is to understand how YouTube recommends videos. You'll want to figure out why the algorithm promotes some content and, well...basically ignores others. Armed with this knowledge, you can answer the biggest question of all.

"Why is YouTube not suggesting my videos?"

If you're a new creator, think of your channel like a car and the YouTube algorithm like premium gasoline. Your videos are ready to be seen, but sadly, they can't reach viewers by themselves. Something has to "propel" them across YouTube. In this scenario, the energy you're looking for — or the gasoline you need — comes from the YouTube recommendation system.

But, like any car, you have to ignite the gas to start the engine. On YouTube, this kind of momentum occurs when you receive some initial views on a new video. So, as you enter a viewers' watch history, YouTube can begin to understand who your videos are for and make better recommendations. Cristos, VP of engineering at YouTube, says as much 

"The most important thing is trying to figure out which viewers would be interested in these videos. And that's something that's especially hard for new videos because we just don't have as much information about them," Cristos says.

So, don't be shy about promoting your videos

, even if you have no audience to speak of. Share them in relevant online communities, get those initial views, and train the algorithm on who your channel is for.

Promote Your YouTube Channel: 17 Tips for Small Creators

Another way to get YouTube to recommend your videos is by describing them accurately. So, think carefully about the 

 you write for your YouTube videos. That may seem like a small detail, but it helps the algorithm understand your videos and suggest them to the right viewers.

A YouTube video search result showing title and description

In fact, Todd Beaupre, head of discovery at YouTube, says that if a channel has no viewers, 

the algorithm relies on video titles and descriptions

. So, don't panic if your content has zero views. The algorithm can use and analyze metadata to place your video on a YouTube search page.

That leads to more clicks, more data for the algorithm to process, and eventually, more recommendations for your channel! Just remember to use 

 so you have a better chance of standing out.

Increasing your watch time on YouTube is the number one way to get your videos recommended. This ranking (and recommendation) signal tells the algorithm what viewers like to watch. And most of the time, 

YouTube uses watch time to make personalized suggestions

Simply put, you want viewers watching your videos for as long as possible.

5 Ways to Increase YouTube Watch Time on Any Video

Having high watch times and low drop-off rates signals to YouTube that your content is engaging, valuable, and worth recommending. So use strong, attention-grabbing hooks in the first 30 seconds to capture interest. Pace your video with frequent segmenting so the scenes fly by!

But more than that, always deliver on the promise or expectation that your title and thumbnail created.

A satisfied viewer is a happy viewer, and the algorithm knows this. So, to get your video recommended on YouTube, you need lots of engagement from your audience. After all, YouTube is looking at likes, dislikes, share rates, and survey responses when deciding which videos to suggest.

It never hurts to ask viewers to "like" and "share" your videos with a sincere call-to-action. But beyond that, how do you make satisfying content that people naturally engage with?

You want people to view your content as life-changing, sensational, inspiring, and other feel-good descriptors. That way, they will feel moved to give you a like or share your video.

mastering the art of YouTube storytelling

. Making viewers laugh or cry is an underrated way to create a suggested video on YouTube!

Other Ways to Get Your YouTube Videos Recommended

The tips above will help you appear on viewers' home pages and next to videos they're already watching. But there's more you can do to kick start the algorithm and grow your channel:

Make timely videos so YouTube can suggest yours when a hot topic is exploding.

Focus on audience retention (especially in the first 30 seconds) to boost your watch time.

Now that you understand YouTube's algorithm for suggested videos, here are 10 things every small YouTube channel can improve!

A phone showing the youtube logo next to the youtube homepage on a desktop computer

How does the YouTube algorithm work — specifically, the recommendation engine that promotes videos to billions of viewers? Keep reading to find out and grow your channel!

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