A YouTube description template that helps search, Suggested and Google: what goes in the first two lines, how long it should be, where keywords go, and what to leave out.
The description is the part of your metadata YouTube reads most carefully and viewers read least. That makes it the best place to be explicit about what the video is, who it is for, and which searches it should show up in. Here is a structure that has held up across long-form and Shorts.
The first two lines do most of the work
Roughly the first 100 to 150 characters appear in search results and above the fold on the watch page before the Show more link. Put the searchable phrase and the specific promise there, in a natural sentence. Not a keyword list, a sentence. "How to replace a Pacer's rear brake shoes without pulling the axle, using only hand tools" tells both the viewer and the algorithm exactly what this is.
A template that works
- Line 1 to 2: the searchable phrase plus the specific angle, written as a sentence.
- Paragraph 2: two to four sentences summarizing what happens, including related phrases people also search (parts, brands, techniques, locations).
- Chapters: timestamps if the video is over about four minutes. YouTube uses them for key moments in search.
- Links: gear, related videos, playlists, your other platforms.
- Disclosures: affiliate or sponsorship disclosures where required.
- Optional: three to five hashtags at the end. The first three show above the title.
How long should it be?
For long-form, 150 to 300 words is a comfortable range: enough to describe the video and include natural variations of the phrase, short enough that you actually write it. For Shorts, two to four sentences. The limit is 5,000 characters. Nobody needs it.
Mistakes that quietly cost impressions
- Leaving it blank or writing one line. Extremely common on Shorts and on mobile uploads.
- Pasting the same block into every video. YouTube reads the whole thing; identical descriptions give it nothing video-specific.
- Keyword stuffing. A wall of comma-separated terms reads as spam to viewers and adds nothing the tags do not already cover.
- Describing a different video than the one you uploaded. Retention drops, and the video stops getting tested.
Writing this on a phone
The honest reason most descriptions are empty is that writing a paragraph in the YouTube mobile app is miserable. ReeLoop drafts the description from the video's transcript and your niche's live search phrases, follows the structure above, and applies it in one tap. When it cross-posts a Short to Instagram, the same description becomes the Reel caption.