How to write a YouTube title with this tool
- 1
Describe the video, not just the topic
Say what the viewer gets: the result, the number, the surprise. “I tested 5 budget mics and the cheapest won” gives far better titles than “microphone review”.
- 2
Pick a language and generate
You get ten titles in different styles: how-to, list, contrast, story. Titles can be written in 15 languages.
- 3
Shortlist two, then check them against your thumbnail
Read each title next to your thumbnail. Keep the one that adds information the image does not already show, and click More for a fresh batch if none fit.
What makes a good YouTube title
A title has one job: tell the right viewer what they will get and give them a reason to click now rather than later. The best titles are specific. “How I Grew My Etsy Shop” is vague; “How I Got My First 100 Etsy Sales Without Ads” tells the viewer exactly what is inside and who it is for.
YouTube allows up to 100 characters, but long titles get cut off in most views, especially on phones and in suggested videos. Keep the words that carry the meaning in roughly the first 60-70 characters. If the end of the title is chopped, the viewer should still understand the video.
Write for a person scrolling, not for a spreadsheet. A title stuffed with keywords reads like spam and gets skipped. One clear promise, in plain words, almost always beats a clever pun that needs explaining.
Write the title and thumbnail together
Viewers see the thumbnail and title as one unit, and they decide in a second. Treat them as two halves of the same message. The thumbnail carries the image and the emotion; the title carries the context the image cannot show.
The most common mistake is repeating the same words in both places. If the thumbnail says “I QUIT”, a title of “I Quit” wastes the space. “Why I Left a $90K Job to Bake Bread (6 Months Later)” adds the story. Keep thumbnail text to a few words and let the title do the explaining.
YouTube title formulas you can reuse
- How-to: “How to [get result] (Even If [common obstacle])”, e.g. “How to Film Yourself at Home (Even If You Hate Being on Camera)”.
- List: “[Number] [Things] That [Result]”, e.g. “7 Camera Settings That Instantly Fix Blurry Videos”. Odd, specific numbers read as more considered than round ones.
- Mistake: “Stop [Doing Common Thing]: Do This Instead”, or “The [Topic] Mistake Almost Every Beginner Makes”.
- Contrast: “[Cheap Option] vs [Expensive Option]: Is It Worth It?” or “I Tried [A] and [B] for 30 Days”.
- Story: “I [Did Something Unusual]. Here’s What Happened”, which works when the video really follows a before and after.
- Challenge: “Can You [Do Hard Thing] in [Short Time]?” or “I Only [Constraint] for a Week”.
Curiosity without clickbait, and titles people search for
Curiosity works when the title makes a clear promise and holds back one detail: “The Cheapest Mic I Tested Beat the $200 One” tells you the topic and makes you want the name. Clickbait promises something the video does not deliver. Viewers who feel tricked leave early and are less likely to click your next video, so the extra clicks rarely pay off.
For tutorials and reviews, many viewers arrive from search. Put the phrase they would type near the start (“iPhone video settings”, “sourdough starter”) and then add the hook. For entertainment and vlogs, where people browse rather than search, the story or the stakes matter more than the exact keyword.
You do not have to guess forever. YouTube Studio’s “Test & compare” feature, on desktop for long-form videos once advanced features are enabled, lets you test up to three titles and thumbnails on the same video. You can also edit a title after publishing if a video is getting views but few clicks.
Made by CreatorsCompanion
CreatorsCompanion is an AI content repurposing app for creators. It turns one idea, link or video into drafts for Instagram Reels and TikTok, LinkedIn, X, YouTube, email newsletters and Instagram carousels, in your own voice and language, each built on one of 15 named content structures.
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