A great YouTube description can spike your viewers’s curiosity and end in longer watch instances, higher view counts, and even new subscribers. Plus, it may well assist with YouTube Search engine optimization, permitting YouTube’s algorithm to know your content material and counsel it to new customers, additional boosting your YouTube stats.

Writing these descriptions is a crucial a part of your overall YouTube strategy. However how do you craft descriptions that work? Listed here are a few of our favourite recommendations on easy methods to fill in that YouTube description field.

What is a description on YouTube?

There are two types of descriptions that every marketer needs to know:

• YouTube channel descriptions. The textual content in your channel’s About web page. It helps viewers perceive what to anticipate out of your model and can be utilized to elucidate why they need to subscribe to your channel.
• YouTube video descriptions. The textual content beneath every video. It helps viewers discover your video content material and convinces them to observe it. It might additionally embody hyperlinks and any further data related to your video.

Free YouTube description generator

Craft charming and fascinating descriptions in only a few clicks with Hootsuite’s free AI-powered YouTube description generator.

Simply fill out just a few fast questions and let the magic occur.

Please observe: This instrument could show inaccurate or offensive materials that doesn’t signify Hootsuite’s views. You’re solely accountable for use of any content material generated utilizing this instrument, together with its compliance with relevant legal guidelines and third get together rights.

17 suggestions for writing YouTube descriptions

1. Be particular

Your alternative of key phrases is vital for each YouTube channel and video descriptions.

The key phrases in your descriptions will assist YouTube’s algorithm perceive, categorize, and floor your content material. The extra particular the key phrases are, the higher. (Prime tip: this is applicable to your channel’s title, too. For those who’re on the lookout for concepts YouTube usernames, check out our free, ai-powered YouTube name generator.)

For instance, for a video about writing descriptions for YouTube movies, web video textual content will probably be a much less helpful key phrase than YouTube video descriptions.

2. Do key phrase analysis

Undecided what key phrases to make use of? Instruments like Google Advertisements’ Keyword Planner and Google Trends will help you get began.

Google Tendencies, for instance, will show you how to perceive if a key phrase you’re contemplating is trending. You too can use the instrument to resolve which key phrases have a better search quantity.

Supply: Google Tendencies

3. Use searchable key phrases

Increasingly folks discover YouTube movies by way of Google searches slightly than by way of YouTube itself.

Mix key phrases based mostly on YouTube and Google search developments to maximise your video’s discoverability.

To see how a lot potential a selected key phrase has to point out up in Google search outcomes, merely… Google it. For those who discover YouTube movies on the high of the search outcomes web page, you’re heading in the right direction!

4. Know easy methods to use key phrases

When you’ve recognized your key phrases, it pays to know easy methods to embody them in your descriptions’ textual content.

Goal to use two or three associated key phrases in every channel and video description. For movies, the principle key phrase must also seem within the title.

Repeat every key phrase two to 3 instances within the description to make them stand out to YouTube’s algorithm.

However keep away from repeating the key phrases too typically, otherwise you danger being penalized for key phrase stuffing.

5. Know the place to make use of your key phrases

Your major key phrases ought to seem no less than as soon as within the first three sentences of your description (or above the fold, a.okay.a. the “SHOW MORE” button).

YouTube’s algorithm — and viewers — pay essentially the most consideration to this a part of the outline, so don’t wait till the top to say what your video or channel is about.

6. Observe which key phrases give you the results you want

When you’ve began writing keyword-driven YouTube descriptions, you need to use YouTube Analytics to see where your traffic is coming from.

Supply: YouTube Creator Academy

This instrument will show you how to give attention to the key phrases that get you essentially the most site visitors.

7. Discover out what else your viewers is watching

As of 2021, extra YouTube traffic comes from showing as a prompt video than from the search bar.

Your video’s description is a part of how YouTube’s algorithm figures out what it’s about. Because of this the outline performs an important position in figuring out the place your video will get prompt.

Reap the benefits of this by utilizing YouTube analytics to seek out out what different movies your viewers is watching.

You may then use comparable language in your descriptions to bolster these connections and seem as a prompt video extra typically.

8. Provide worth

All the time embody an apparent worth proposition in your descriptions. Why ought to somebody subscribe to your channel? How will your video profit them?

Attempt to reply no less than certainly one of these questions in easy phrases (bonus if you are able to do each).

Supply: Hootsuite Labs

9. Embrace vital data above the fold for higher CTR

The primary 100 to 150 characters of your video description is the half that can seem in search outcomes and proper below your video (above the “SHOW MORE” button).

Meaning it’s an important half for reaching potential viewers and bettering your click-through charges (CTR).

Use this area to offer viewers with a compelling purpose to observe your video.

Within the instance beneath, the primary description states precisely what query the video is responding to. The second wastes vital area on generalities.

10. Keep away from clickbait

For those who misrepresent your movies, viewers will cease watching them partway by way of. This damages your search rankings—in addition to your popularity.

Keep away from clickbait video titles and irrelevant key phrases. They may show you how to rank at first, however YouTube’s search algorithm will catch on ultimately.

11. Embrace a name to motion

Now you’ve bought the viewer’s consideration, use it!

Add a call-to-action in each your video and channel description. Encourage viewers to love, remark, subscribe, or learn extra.

The best calls to action are simple to learn, pressing, and present an apparent profit to the viewer. They’ll improve engagement, subscriptions, and extra.

Supply: Hootsuite Labs

12. Write like a human

Bear in mind, you’re not simply writing for YouTube’s algorithm. You’re writing for human beings too.

In reality, YouTube penalizes descriptions which can be simply lists of Search engine optimization-optimized key phrases.

Use language that your viewers will perceive and relate to. An authentic brand voice will encourage the person engagement that will get your movies seen.

13. Don’t stress about video tags

Tags assist direct viewers to movies about hard-to-spell content material. However they’re additionally one place you don’t want to fret about when planning your key phrases.

According to YouTube, tags play a “minimal” position in discovery. In reality, extreme tagging can run afoul of YouTube’s spam detection.

Don’t ignore tags utterly, although. They do assist the YouTube algorithm place your video within the prompt movies part.

14. Set up your video with timestamps

People and algorithms each love movies with timestamps.

Timestamps act as a desk of contents, permitting customers to navigate your content material and skip to totally different components of the video hassle-free.

Supply: Hip Hop Heads

Timestamps make movies extra user-friendly for human viewers. This could improve watch instances, pushing up your video’s rating.

They’re additionally listed for Google’s cellular searches. Use key phrases to explain your timestamps and benefit from this new solution to get your video surfaced in Google.

15. Know easy methods to put hyperlinks in YouTube descriptions

Related hyperlinks in your descriptions are an effective way to leverage a YouTube view into continued engagement.

For each channel and video descriptions, you may add hyperlinks to your social media presence or on-line retailer.

In your video descriptions, linking to your channel and associated movies helps viewers discover your content material.

Don’t overlook to incorporate the http:// or https:// originally of the tackle. In any other case, the hyperlink received’t work.

It’s often finest to place your hyperlinks on the finish of your description. There are extra vital issues to place originally.

16. Save time with default descriptions

Utilizing YouTube’s default description settings saves time when you could have data you wish to add to all of your video descriptions, similar to social media hyperlinks.

This characteristic routinely provides key channel data to each video you add.

Simply don’t overlook to fill out the remainder of the outline. A novel description is vital on your movies’ discoverability.

Learn how to set up default descriptions.

17. Take a look at descriptions on a number of gadgets

YouTube may not be the video streaming service we most affiliate with TV units. Nonetheless, latest YouTube viewership statistics present that 34.4% of video views have been on a TV, up from 27% in 2019.

Supply: eMarketer

Ensure that your YouTube descriptions get their message throughout no matter display screen dimension.

Preview your movies on the watch web page and within the search outcomes, utilizing as many gadgets and browsers as doable. Do any of your key phrases get lower off?

Do the identical together with your channel description, and also you’re set.

YouTube description concepts

Generally you want somewhat inspiration on your YouTube video and channel descriptions. These examples present what our suggestions appear like in observe.

Execs DIY

The channel description for Execs DIY hits all the details. It tells you what worth the channel brings you within the first paragraph.

It additionally tells you why you need to belief it as a supply of recommendation. That is vital in case your experience in a selected topic is part of your worth proposition.

Supply: Pros DIY

EDHRECast

There are many calls to motion and hyperlinks on this video description from the EDHRECast, inspiring viewers to interact with the creators.

Supply: EDHRECast

World Biking Community

The World Biking Community’s channel description makes use of its banner as one other area to incorporate a name to motion, in case anybody misses it within the description.

Supply: Global Cycling Network

Anatolian Rock Venture

The Anatolian Rock venture front-loads its video description with the musicians and bands associated to the artist within the title.

It additionally consists of musical metadata for elevated discoverability.

Supply: Anatolian Rock Project

Deep Marine Scenes

Deep Marine Scenes consists of quite a lot of hyperlinks to further data of their video description, however they ensure to incorporate their keyword-driven copy within the opening paragraph.

Supply: Deep Marine Scenes

YouTube description templates

We’ve created a package deal of totally customizable YouTube description templates that comply with the entire finest practices described on this article.

Once you download the templates, create a copy, and follow the instructions to make them your own and work seamlessly with your video content.

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