Best YouTube Shorts titles: how to write them, with examples

By Easy Clip Hooks · October 20, 2026

On TikTok, the caption is a supporting act. On YouTube Shorts, the title matters more: it appears in search results, on your channel page, in the Shorts shelf on the home feed, and when people share your video. A good title helps the right viewers find your Short and gives them a reason to tap. This guide covers what makes a strong Shorts title and how to write one quickly.

How Shorts titles are different

• They're searchable. YouTube is also a search engine. Words people would actually type, like "sourdough", "kitten" or "beginner", help your Short show up for them.
• They live longer. A Short can keep getting found through search and your channel long after its first day, so a clear title keeps working.
• They're seen without the video. In many places a viewer sees only your thumbnail frame and title. The title has to make sense on its own.

YouTube allows up to 100 characters, but shorter usually reads better. Aim for a title that fits comfortably on a phone screen, roughly 40 to 70 characters, with the most important words near the start so they aren't cut off.

What makes a strong Shorts title

1. Clear subject. Say what the video is about in plain words. "Foster kitten discovers she can run" beats "OMG 😂😂".
2. A reason to tap. Add a twist, a result, or a question: "…and immediately trips over her own paws."
3. Honest. The video should deliver what the title promises. Misleading titles might earn a click, but viewers who feel tricked swipe away quickly.
4. Natural keywords. Use the words your audience would search, once, naturally. Don't stuff the title with repeated terms.
5. Readable. Sentence case or title case, minimal emoji, no walls of hashtags in the title.

Title formulas you can adapt

Fill these in with what genuinely happens in your video:

• Subject + surprising result: "Foster kitten finds her legs and starts a tail war"
• How to + outcome: "How to get crispy roast potatoes every time"
• Number + promise: "3 camera settings I change before every shoot"
• Before → after: "Broken pallet to coffee table in one weekend"
• Question: "Why do cats sprint at 3am?"
• First time: "My dog sees snow for the first time"
• Mistake to avoid: "The beginner mistake that ruins your sourdough"
• POV: "POV: your toddler discovers the echo in the hallway"

Before and after examples

• Before: "Cute cat video 😻 #shorts" → After: "Three-week-old kitten's first zoomies end in a hoodie nap"
• Before: "Cooking" → After: "10-minute garlic chilli pasta for lazy nights"
• Before: "Day 30" → After: "30 days of daily drawing: day 1 vs day 30"
• Before: "Insane!!!" → After: "We almost skipped this mountain viewpoint"

The title, hook and thumbnail frame should work together

The title is what people read before they tap. The hook is the first line they see and hear once the video starts. They shouldn't be identical: if the title says "Foster kitten discovers she can run", the on-screen hook can add the joke, "She learned she has legs and immediately used them for crime". Together they set up the video and make people curious about what happens.

Choose a cover frame where the subject is clear and something is happening. On mobile you can pick the frame when you upload.

Descriptions and tags for Shorts

Description

Write two to four short lines: what happens, a bit of context, and a question or call to action. Then add #Shorts and a few relevant hashtags. Hashtags in the description can appear above your title, so keep them few and relevant. The first line matters most, because it's what people see before tapping "more".

Tags

Tags are a minor signal on YouTube; the title and description do most of the work. Still, a handful of accurate, comma-separated tags can help with common misspellings and related terms, for example: foster kitten, kitten zoomies, orange tabby, cute cats. Don't add tags that aren't about your video.

Mistakes to avoid

• Only hashtags. "#shorts #viral #fyp" tells nobody what the video is about.
• Keyword stuffing. Repeating the same term reads as spam and doesn't help viewers.
• All caps or emoji walls. Hard to read and easy to scroll past.
• Promising something the video doesn't show. It costs you trust and watch time.
• Burying the subject. Put the key words at the start, where they won't be truncated.

Test and learn

Use YouTube Studio to compare your Shorts. Look at how often they're shown, how many viewers choose to watch rather than swipe away, and how long they stay. When a title style works well for your audience, reuse the pattern with new videos. Change one thing at a time so you can tell what made the difference.

Write Shorts titles faster

For every clip, Easy Clip Hooks writes a YouTube hook, a title under 100 characters, a short description with #Shorts and relevant hashtags, and comma-separated tags, all based on what actually happens in your video, with one-tap copy buttons. You can use them as they are or as a starting point for your own.

Checklist

• Clear subject in the first few words
• A twist, result or question that earns the tap
• Roughly 40 to 70 characters, never over 100
• Natural keywords, no stuffing
• Description: 2–4 lines, #Shorts, a few relevant hashtags
• Honest: the video delivers what the title promises