While a good description isn’t a replacement for making a good video, title, or thumbnail, it can surely help your video perform. This article will go over what to put in your description to help your videos get seen by more people. There are two main spots for your description: the first ~150 characters, and everything after that (or after “Show More”).
This is the part of the description that can be seen without having to click “Show More." This very first thing you should add is a short sentence or two explaining what your video is about. Make sure you have your main keywords in this sentence (keywords are just things users type into the search bar). Then, have a CTA (call to action) for your most important link, such as a product, a link to subscribe to your channel, a newsletter, etc.
Descriptions can have up to 5000 characters. You don’t have to use them all, but you should definitely be utilizing this high limit. First, add about 2-3 paragraphs explaining why your video is important and the value it brings. For example, let's say you have a video where you explain how to make lemonade. In this part of the description, you could explain why being able to make lemonade is a good thing. Next, add chapters or timestamps to each topic in your video; this helps videos perform better and also helps users easily find the topic they are most interested in. After this, add some questions encouraging users to comment (i.e., “Comment what was your favorite part of the video”). Next, add any other links you might have, such as links to other social media, affiliate or product links, or links to other previous videos. Finally, at the bottom of the description, add some tags.
Tags can give a small boost to video performance; however, since the boost is small, you shouldn’t overthink them. Don’t lie or add too many tags; this can actually hurt your video performance. Like your title, put your most important keywords in these tags. Add about 3-5 tags; if you want, you could even use a tag generator.
Don’t repeat the same keyword too much. Use emojis to make descriptions more enjoyable to read. Make sure your tags are specific; otherwise, your video will be pushed to people not interested in your videos. Add about 3 hashtags (which are different from tags; hashtags have the “#” at the beginning) to your video so it can be grouped together with other videos on the hashtags.
In the first ~150 characters, have a sentence or two explaining your video; make sure you add your important keywords and a CTA here. After the first ~150 characters, add about 2-3 paragraphs explaining your video's value, add chapters/timestamps, and add any links to things such as other social media, previous videos, or affiliate products. Write specific tags (make sure not to spam them or lie). Use emojis to improve viewer experience while reading your description, then finally add about 3 hashtags. Writing a good description can help your videos, but your thumbnail is one of the first things viewers see about your video, so making sure you have a quality one is critical. If you want to make quality thumbnails quickly, check our thumbnail editor out.