YouTube Description Template: What to Write and Copy-Paste Examples

What a YouTube description is for

The description does two jobs. For search, it tells YouTube what your video is about: YouTube says it estimates relevance by looking at how well a video's title, tags, description and content match a search. For viewers, it's where they look for the link you mentioned, the chapter they want to skip to, or how to contact you. A description that does both well is usually short, specific and organized.

The structure that works

1. Hook (first one or two lines). Say what the viewer will get, in plain words that match how people search. This is the part that shows under the video and often in search results.
2. The main link or call to action. If there's one thing you want people to click — the free download, the product, your newsletter — put it right after the hook.
3. A short summary. Two to four sentences about what the video covers. Write for people; the relevant words will come naturally.
4. Chapters. Timestamps starting at 0:00 turn into chapters on the progress bar. See how to add chapters for the rules.
5. Resources and links mentioned in the video, with a clear disclosure if any are affiliate or sponsored links.
6. About the channel. One or two lines on what you publish and how often, with a subscribe link.
7. Contact and social links, such as a business email.
8. Two or three hashtags at the end.

Template 1: tutorial or how-to video

[One sentence: what the viewer will be able to do after watching.] [One sentence: who it's for or what makes this method different.]

▶ [Free resource / template mentioned in the video]: [link]

In this video I show you [topic], step by step: [point 1], [point 2] and [point 3]. [One sentence about the result or a common mistake it avoids.]

CHAPTERS
0:00 [What you'll learn]
0:45 [Step 1]
2:30 [Step 2]
5:10 [Step 3]
8:20 [Common mistakes]

RESOURCES
[Tool or article 1]: [link]
[Tool or article 2]: [link]

ABOUT THIS CHANNEL
New [topic] tutorials every [day of the week]. Subscribe: https://www.youtube.com/@[yourhandle]?sub_confirmation=1

Business inquiries: [email]

#[topic] #[subtopic]

Template 2: product review or comparison

[Product] review after [time period] of real use: [the honest one-line verdict].

Check the current price: [link] *
[Alternative product]: [link] *

* Some of these links are affiliate links: if you buy through them, I may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. [If sponsored: This video is sponsored by [brand]; all opinions are my own.]

What I cover: build quality, [feature 1], [feature 2], battery / performance, and who should (and shouldn't) buy it.

CHAPTERS
0:00 Verdict in 30 seconds
0:30 What's in the box
1:40 [Feature 1]
4:15 [Feature 2]
7:00 Problems I found
9:20 Who should buy it

MY GEAR: [link]
More reviews: [playlist link]

#[product] #[category]review

Template 3: podcast or interview

[Guest name], [who they are], explains [main topic or the most surprising idea from the episode].

Listen on [podcast app]: [link]
[Guest]'s website / book: [link]

In this episode: [question 1], [question 2] and [question 3].

CHAPTERS
0:00 Introduction
2:10 [Topic 1]
14:30 [Topic 2]
31:05 [Topic 3]
48:40 [Guest]'s advice for [audience]

Subscribe for a new episode every [day]: https://www.youtube.com/@[yourhandle]?sub_confirmation=1

#[podcastname] #[topic]

Adding ?sub_confirmation=1 to your channel URL opens a subscribe prompt when someone clicks the link.

Writing the first two lines

• Lead with the benefit or the answer, not "Hey guys, welcome back".
• Use the words your viewers would search — the same phrase as your title or a close variation, written as a natural sentence.
• Don't repeat the title word for word. Add something: who it's for, the result, or what's different.
• Put your most important link right after, not at the bottom of a long block of text.

Hashtags in the description

Hashtags make your video discoverable on hashtag pages. According to YouTube, up to three of the hashtags in your description — the ones it considers most engaging — can appear next to your video title, and if a video has more than 60 hashtags, YouTube ignores all of them. In practice, two or three relevant hashtags at the end of the description are plenty.

Sponsorships and affiliate links

• Tell YouTube. If your video includes paid promotion — sponsorships, product placement or endorsements — YouTube requires you to select the paid promotion option in the video's details.
• Tell viewers, clearly. In the U.S., the FTC expects disclosures of brand relationships to be clear and hard to miss. Put the disclosure near the affiliate links, not hidden at the very bottom, and mention sponsorships in the video itself too.

Mistakes to avoid

• Keyword lists. A block of comma-separated keywords doesn't help viewers and reads like spam. Write sentences instead.
• Misleading descriptions. YouTube's spam policy covers misleading titles, thumbnails and descriptions — describe what's actually in the video.
• Burying the main link under paragraphs of text or dozens of other links.
• Copy-pasting the same description on every video. Reuse the channel info and links, but write the top part for each video.
• Broken chapters — the first timestamp must be 0:00. Check them with the chapters generator.

Save time with a default description

In YouTube Studio, the upload defaults settings let you set a description that's filled in automatically on every new upload. Put your channel info, subscribe link, contact email and standard links there, then write the hook, summary and chapters for each video on top.

Frequently asked questions