How to Title YouTube Shorts

A great YouTube Shorts title is your first, and often only, chance to stop a viewer from endlessly scrolling. It’s the hook that has to land in less than a second. This guide breaks down exactly how to write titles that capture attention, communicate value, and help the YouTube algorithm put your Shorts in front of the right audience.

Why Your YouTube Shorts Title Is So Important

Unlike traditional, long-form YouTube videos where viewers often arrive from search, the YouTube Shorts feed is a fast-paced environment built on discovery and instantaneous judgment. Viewers swipe through dozens of videos per minute, and your title's job is twofold:

• Stop the Scroll: In the fraction of a second you’re given, the title must spark enough curiosity or promise enough value to make someone pause their thumb-flicking marathon.
• Provide Context: Once paused, the title tells the viewer what they're about to see, setting their expectations and priming them for the experience.

Think of it this way: your video is the product, but your title is the packaging. If the packaging is boring, generic, or confusing, people won’t even bother to see what’s inside, no matter how amazing it is.

The Anatomy of an Unskippable YouTube Shorts Title

Effective titles aren’t written by accident, they follow proven formulas that appeal to human psychology. Here are the core building blocks for creating titles that work.

Keep It Short and Punchy

Technically, YouTube allows up to 100 characters for a title. Realistically, on a mobile phone screen within the Shorts feed, only the first 25-40 characters are reliably visible before getting cut off. This means you need to front-load the most important information.

Get straight to the point. No warm-ups, no filler words. Your goal is maximum impact with minimal characters.

• Instead of: "Check out this incredible organization hack I learned that will change the way you see your messy desk"
• Try: "This 30-second trick organized my entire desk."

Spark Curiosity, Not Confusion

The best Shorts titles create an "information gap" in the viewer's mind - they hint at something interesting without giving it all away, making the viewer want to watch to find the answer. The key is to be intriguing, not vague.

• Bad (Vague): "A beautiful moment"
• Good (Curiosity): "My camera captured something impossible."

You can spark curiosity by:

• Asking a Question: "Is this AI tool better than a graphic designer?"
• Making a Bold Statement: "You're making iced coffee all wrong."
• Hinting at a Story: "The gift I got my boss on my last day…"

Use Keywords - Yes, Even for Shorts

While discovering Shorts feels more random than searching for long-form content, the YouTube algorithm is still a search engine at its core. It reads your title to understand what your video is about and who might want to see it.

A solid title blends persuasive, emotional language with 1-2 relevant keywords. Think about what a person interested in your topic might search for.

• Without Keyword: "My new favorite recipe"
• With Keyword: "The easiest cottage cheese toast recipe"

Including keywords not only helps with discovery in the Shorts feed but also gives your video a chance to appear in regular YouTube search results, extending its lifespan and bringing in views for months or even years.

Leverage the Power of Numbers and Lists

Our brains are naturally drawn to numbers and lists. They signal a structured piece of content that will be easy to digest and provide clear, quantifiable value. When you see a number, you know exactly what is being promised.

• "Cool Gadgets I Bought" (Okay)
• "5 Mind-Blowing Tech Gadgets Under $50" (Much Better)

Use numbers to frame your content, whether you're sharing tips, steps, reasons, or product reviews. It instantly makes your title more specific and compelling.

Add Visual Hooks with Brackets & Emojis

In a sea of black-and-white text, a simple visual element can make your title pop. Brackets and emojis serve as visual stop signs that break up the text monotony and communicate emotion or category at a glance.

Use brackets to specify the content type or highlight a key takeaway:

• How I Gained 10K Followers in 30 Days [SECRET REVEALED]
• We Tried the Viral Butter Board Trend [Did It Work?]

Use emojis to add personality and visual flair. A single emoji can convey tone instantly.

• This one hack saves me so much money 🤯
• My biggest gym fail ever 😭

A word of caution: Don't overdo it. One or two choice emojis or a single bracketed phrase are effective. A title stuffed with them can look spammy and unprofessional.

5 Winning Title Formulas to Steal

Need some inspiration? Here are a few plug-and-play formulas you can adapt to just about any niche. Each one leverages the principles we've discussed.

Formula 1: The "How-To" Title

This is a classic for a reason: it promises a solution to a problem or teaches a new skill. It positions your content as valuable and educational.

• Structure: How to [Achieve Desired Outcome] in [Short Timeframe/Easy Way]
• Examples:
  • "How to edit a video in 60 seconds."
  • "How to make perfect ramen eggs every time."
  • "How to style one pair of jeans 3 different ways."

Formula 2: The "Problem/Agitation" Title

This title identifies a common pain point and promises a path to relief. By stating a problem your audience experiences, you instantly connect with them on an emotional level.

• Structure: [Problem You Have]? Try this [Solution].
• Examples:
  • "Hate cleaning ovens? You need this simple fix."
  • "Photos always turn out blurry? Change this one setting."
  • "WFH making you unproductive? Setting up this system helped."

Formula 3: The "Transformation / Before vs. After" Title

These titles are incredibly popular because they promise a dramatic and visually satisfying payoff. They create anticipation for the final result.

• Structure: Turning my [Bad Thing] into my [Amazing Thing].
• Examples:
  • "My sad balcony became my favorite spot."
  • "I took this IKEA shelf and did this…" [DIY Project]
  • "Watch this boring clip become a cinematic shot."

Formula 4: The "Unexpected-Result" Title

Fueled by pure curiosity, these titles tease a surprising outcome or an extraordinary claim. The only way for the viewer to satisfy their curiosity is to watch the video.

• Structure: I tried [Unusual Action] and this happened...
• Examples:
  • "I wore a $10 outfit to a luxury event."
  • "I ONLY ate potatoes for a week…" 🤯
  • "Asking my CEO for a massive raise on camera."

Formula 5: The "Negative Hook" Title

Sometimes, telling people what not to do can be more powerful than telling them what to do. Loss aversion is a strong psychological trigger, and these titles tap into our desire to avoid common pitfalls.

• Structure: Do This, Not That for [Specific Activity] / Stop Doing [Common Mistake] Now
• Examples:
  • "3 mistakes you’re making with your plants."
  • "Don’t book a hotel until you see this."
  • "Why your resume is getting ignored."

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Just as important as knowing what to do is knowing what not to do. Avoid these common title-writing blunders:

• Clickbait without Payoff: A title like "My dog started TALKING!" must deliver. If you don't keep your title’s promise, viewers will feel cheated, drop off immediately (tanking your watch time), and lose trust in your channel.
• Boring Title, Awesome Video: A title like "Gardening Update #5" gives the viewer no reason to care. Instead, try "The biggest tomato I've ever grown!"
• Title is an Afterthought: Plan your title *before or during* your edit. Thinking about your title earlier helps you clarify the most interesting part of your video and ensures your content aligns with your hook.
• Stuffing with Hashtags: While including `#Shorts` is a good practice, place it at the *end*, or even better, in your description. Your valuable title real estate should go to words that entice the viewer, not hashtags.

Final Thoughts

Your YouTube Shorts title is a small package with a massive job to do. By keeping it short, sparking curiosity, including strategic keywords, and writing with a human-first approach, you give every video the best possible chance to catch on and find its audience.

This process of title optimization and content planning becomes much easier with a solid system. Internally, we struggled juggling a diverse content schedule across YouTube Shorts, Reels, and TikTok. That’s why we built Postbase from the ground up for today's social, video-first world. Having a single visual calendar to plan and see all of our upcoming posts lets us focus on creating great content and engaging titles rather than drowning in spreadsheets.