Once you go through all the trouble to create, cast and produce a YouTube video you want to ensure that it ranks well and gets plenty of views. Honestly, most people creating YouTube videos have a purpose and its usually a monetary purpose. This gives a little more incentive to properly optimize and title the videos. You don’t want the titles to be cut off and you want them to be appealing enough to get the click because you really did create an awesome video. Unfortunately, many people put so much time into creating their videos and getting them posted, they forget to optimize them in a way that ensures their visibility. One of the most important things to consider is the title of the video.

Title Weight

Most people don’t realize how much weight YouTube video titles actually have when it comes to their views. Of course, the thumbnails are important, but the title really sets the audience’s expectations. It gives visitors their first real clue as to what they can expect to see in the video. Visitors use these few little words to make a split-second decision of whether or not they will click on your video or keep searching.

More importantly, a good title utilizes naturally flowing long tail keywords. They can’t be too long tail, but enough to narrow down the focus and allow your video to be found. Without keywords in the title, your video will only exist to be happened upon by chance, which is highly unlikely. It is absolutely imperative that keywords are included in the title. Not only will they help visitors find your video, but they will also help with the rankings. This, in turn, helps more people find your video. It’s a big feeding frenzy.

Title Length

Most people, and articles for that matter, will tell you that a YouTube video title can have one hundred characters. This is true to a point. YouTube titles have such a huge impact on optimization, it is an art which should be mastered if you want to be successful. Video titles will also be truncated for various reasons, so you want them to be to the point. A Google search only displays 50 characters of a video’s title, while a YouTube search itself only display 55 characters. You should skip unnecessary words and replace those you can with symbols such as the & sign. Although 100 characters are allowed in a YouTube title, it is best to try to keep it within 60. Use primary keywords to get your point across and grab people’s attention. You want to hook them in as few words as possible.

Many people try to center titles around current events to bring more traffic. This is actually a rather successful strategy. However, many times it will be necessary to edit the title at a later date. Editing the title and description is a great way to improve your YouTube videos’ ranking. A title can be easily edited by using the Video Manager tool. YouTube tracks each video’s watch time to see if people are staying to watch. If people are finding your video but not watching it, YouTube may determine that your title is irrelevant and penalize your video in the rankings.

The title is one of the most important parts of your YouTube video, so spend some time on it. Keep it relevant and captivating. Try to utilize primary keywords and action words within a 60-character limit. If you created an awesome video and it isn’t getting the views that it should, use the Video Manager tools to edit your title. It just may be the necessary change to help your video climb the rankings.