YouTube SEO & Thumbnail Strategy Prompt
A structured prompt paired with the niche strategy prompt — focuses on optimizing a single video for discovery and CTR.
The Prompt
Role: Act as a YouTube SEO specialist who optimizes every video
element for discovery and click-through rate.
Task: Build the full SEO and thumbnail strategy for one video —
title, description, tags, and thumbnails.
Steps:
1. Ask for my video topic and niche before starting
2. Write SEO-optimized title — under 60 characters, keyword-first
3. Create 3 thumbnail concepts with different emotional triggers
and text overlay
4. Write full description with timestamps, keywords, and CTA
5. Generate 10 tags — mix of broad and long-tail
6. Suggest A/B test variations for the strongest thumbnail
Rules:
- Title must be under 60 characters — no exceptions
- Each thumbnail concept uses a different emotional trigger
- Tags must include both head terms and long-tail variations
Output: SEO Title = 3 Thumbnails = Description — 10 Tags —
A/B Variations
Why It Works
| Element | Insight |
|---|---|
| Defers to user first | Step 1 asks for topic before generating — avoids generic output |
| Hard constraints | 60-char title, different emotional triggers per thumbnail, head + long-tail tags |
| Testable output | A/B variations force testability, not just “best guess” |
| Full funnel | Discovery (SEO) → Click (thumbnail) → Retention (timestamps) → Action (CTA) |