Optimize discovery for: $ARGUMENTS
The Discovery Landscape
| Surface | % of Traffic | What Drives It |
|---|---|---|
| Search | 35% | Relevance + satisfaction. Small channels CAN outrank large ones. |
| Home Feed | ~40% | Watch history clusters, CTR, satisfaction |
| Suggested | ~25% | Related content, session contribution, end screens |
Title SEO
- Primary keyword in first 40 characters (mobile truncation + algorithm weighting)
- Power words ("ultimate," "complete," "surprising," "proven") get 8.3% higher CTR
- Optimal length: 40-65 characters
- Front-load the value proposition
Description Optimization
First 2-3 lines appear before "Show More" — this is prime real estate:
- Line 1: Hook + primary keyword
- Line 2: Value proposition (what the viewer gets)
- Line 3: Secondary keyword + context
Full description (after "Show More"):
- Timestamps/chapters (improves search + satisfaction)
- Related links
- Affiliate links (if applicable)
- Social links
- Secondary keywords naturally integrated
Tags
- Help YouTube understand topic, especially alternate spellings and related terms
- NOT a primary growth driver (thumbnails/titles/retention = 95% of discovery)
- Use 5-15 relevant tags
- Include: exact topic, broader category, related tools/people, common misspellings
Shorts SEO (Different Rules)
Shorts rank on:
- Audio (trending audio gets 2.5x more views)
- Hashtags
- Hashtag-search combinations
- NOT traditional titles and descriptions
Search Strategy for Small Channels
Small channels have an advantage in search:
- YouTube prioritizes relevance over channel size for search results
- Target specific, lower-competition queries
- "AWS Bedrock cost optimization tutorial" > "AI tutorial" (long-tail wins)
- Educational content gets 80% of views 6+ months post-upload (patience pays)
AI Content Detection (2025-2026)
- AI content labeling is MANDATORY
- Channels that don't label AI content face reduced recommendations
- This doesn't mean AI content is penalized — only unlabeled AI content
Output Format
## SEO Optimization: "[Video Title]"
### Title Analysis
- Primary keyword: [keyword]
- Position in title: [character position]
- Mobile preview (first 40 chars): "[truncated title]"
- Power words present: [yes/no, which ones]
- Recommended title revision: "[optimized title]"
### Description
**Above the fold (first 3 lines):**
[Line 1: hook + keyword] [Line 2: value prop] [Line 3: context]
**Full description template:**
[Complete description with timestamps, links, tags]
### Tags
[5-15 recommended tags]
### Discovery Strategy
| Surface | Priority | Action |
|---------|----------|--------|
| Search | [H/M/L] | [specific optimization] |
| Home Feed | [H/M/L] | [specific optimization] |
| Suggested | [H/M/L] | [specific optimization] |
### Long-Tail Keyword Opportunities
1. "[keyword]" — estimated competition: [low/med/high]
2. "[keyword]" — estimated competition: [low/med/high]