17 Tips for Writing Effective YouTube Descriptions [Free Tool]

A superb YouTube description can spike your viewers’s curiosity and end in longer watch instances, higher view counts, and even new subscribers. Plus, it may assist with YouTube Website positioning, permitting YouTube’s algorithm to grasp your content material and counsel it to new customers, additional boosting your YouTube stats.

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

• 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 clarify why they need to subscribe to your channel.
• YouTube video descriptions. The textual content under every video. It helps viewers discover your video content material and convinces them to look at it. It may additionally embody hyperlinks and any further info related to your video.

Free YouTube description generator

Craft fascinating and fascinating descriptions in just some clicks with Hootsuite’s free AI-powered YouTube description generator.

Simply fill out a couple of fast questions and let the magic occur.

Please observe: This instrument might show inaccurate or offensive materials that doesn’t symbolize Hootsuite’s views. You’re solely chargeable 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 selection 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. (High tip: this is applicable to your channel’s title, too. In the event you’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 likely be a much less helpful key phrase than YouTube video descriptions.

2. Do key phrase analysis

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

Google Developments, for instance, will enable you perceive if a key phrase you’re contemplating is trending. You may also use the instrument to determine which key phrases have a better search quantity.

Supply: Google Developments

3. Use searchable key phrases

Increasingly more individuals discover YouTube movies by Google searches moderately than by 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 particular key phrase has to indicate up in Google search outcomes, merely… Google it. In the event you discover YouTube movies on the high of the search outcomes web page, you’re heading in the right direction!

4. Know use key phrases

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

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

Repeat every key phrase two to a few 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 threat being penalized for key phrase stuffing.

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

Your main key phrases ought to seem not 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 should utilize YouTube Analytics to see where your traffic is coming from.

Supply: YouTube Creator Academy

This instrument will enable you concentrate on the key phrases that get you essentially the most visitors.

7. Discover out what else your viewers is watching

As of 2021, extra YouTube traffic comes from showing as a steered 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 steered.

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

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

8. Supply 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 not less than considered one of these questions in easy phrases (bonus if you are able to do each).

Supply: Hootsuite Labs

9. Embrace vital info 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 underneath your video (above the “SHOW MORE” button).

Meaning it’s a very powerful half for reaching potential viewers and enhancing your click-through charges (CTR).

Use this area to offer viewers with a compelling cause to look at your video.

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

10. Keep away from clickbait

In the event you misrepresent your movies, viewers will cease watching them partway by. This damages your search rankings—in addition to your repute.

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

11. Embrace a name to motion

Now you’ve acquired 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 straightforward to learn, pressing, and present an apparent profit to the viewer. They will enhance engagement, subscriptions, and extra.

Supply: Hootsuite Labs

12. Write like a human

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

Actually, YouTube penalizes descriptions which can be simply lists of Website positioning-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. Actually, 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 steered movies part.

14. Manage 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 may enhance watch instances, pushing up your video’s rating.

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

15. Know put hyperlinks in YouTube descriptions

Related hyperlinks in your descriptions are a good 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:// at first 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 at first.

16. Save time with default descriptions

Utilizing YouTube’s default description settings saves time when you will have info you need to add to all of your video descriptions, equivalent to social media hyperlinks.

This function mechanically provides key channel info to each video you add.

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

Learn how to set up default descriptions.

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17. Check descriptions on a number of units

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

Supply: eMarketer

Make certain your YouTube descriptions get their message throughout no matter display screen measurement.

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

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

YouTube description concepts

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

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 it is best 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 have interaction 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 numerous hyperlinks to further info 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 bundle of absolutely customizable YouTube description templates that comply with all the finest practices described on this article.

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