Increase your video views and drive traffic back to your site with this step-by-step YouTube description template (available in Word, Google Docs and as a PDF). This free template will show you exactly how to write YouTube descriptions that will make your videos show up more often in both search results and suggested videos.

Why Use a YouTube Description Template?

People watch over a billion hours of video on YouTube every day. That makes it an incredible place to get your business in front of more people.

YouTube is also a massive social network. Over 2 billion logged-in users watch videos, subscribe to channels, and leave comments there every month.

Finally, YouTube is the 2nd largest search engine in the world. When people talk about “SEO”, they usually focus on Google. And for good reason: it’s the biggest search engine by a mile. Most other search engines follow its lead. So when you optimize for Google, you’re optimizing for other search engines too.

But YouTube is a HUGE exception to the rule. Video SEO is a whole different ballgame. And when it comes to YouTube SEO, your video description is SUPER important.

Follow this YouTube description template to learn how to write a YouTube video description that will generate more views.

What’s Included

Here’s what’s covered in this YouTube description template:

1. The ideal length: How long to make your YouTube video description, and how to make sure you’ve included your target keyword enough times.
2. How to make your content show up as a suggested video more often: And which part of the description YouTube’s algorithm gives the most weight.
3. How to optimize for CTR: Tips to write search snippets that make people want to click.

How to Use This Template

1. Download the YouTube Description Template on this page
2. Follow the tips below to find keywords for your YouTube description
3. Fill in each part of the step-by-step template to create your video description
4. Paste your description into the description field for your video

How to Find Keywords for Your YouTube Descriptions

It’s REALLY important to use the right keywords in your YouTube video description.

First, it helps make your content show up as a suggested video more often. And second, it’s the best way to make your videos show up in search results.

That’s why video keyword research should be your first step before you write your YouTube description. Here are some tips to help you find great keywords:

• Use YouTube Autocomplete. When you search for something on YouTube, it will suggest different keywords as you type. And it always suggests popular keywords. So go to YouTube and type the general topic your video is about into the search bar. Then, look at what keywords YouTube suggests. Bingo!
• Steal from your competitors. Go to your biggest competitor’s YouTube channel, and click on the “Videos” tab. Then, sort by “Most popular”. Then, just look at the keywords they used in their titles and descriptions. Use those same keywords yourself to get a nice chunk of that traffic.
• You can also see the tags your competitors are using. Just install the TubeBuddy extension for Chrome. Then pop over to a popular video on your topic and boom, you’ll see all the tags they used.
• Your own channel’s YouTube Analytics is a great source of ideas, too. As YouTube themselves say: “You can also look at the Traffic Sources to check which keywords viewers are using to find your video. If an important keyword is missing, consider adding it to your title or description.”
• For lots more info, check out my guide to YouTube SEO, or my video on how to rank #1 in YouTube.