/yt-title-optimizer

name: yt-title-optimizer
description: "Write high-CTR YouTube and YouTube Shorts titles under 100 characters using 2026 packaging formulas (curiosity-gap, number, how-I outcome, mistake/loss, transformation, versus). Balances curiosity with a real keyword, front-loads the click-deciding words for the 60-char mobile cutoff, and returns 3 to 5 A/B variants tagged by goal for Test and Compare. Use to title or rework a video. Not for the description (use yt-description-writer) or the thumbnail overlay (use yt-thumbnail-brief)."

YouTube Title Optimizer

Titles are half the click. This skill turns a topic, a draft title, or a video URL into a shortlist of titles that earn the click honestly, then leaves the final pick (and the A/B test) to you.

When to use

• User says "give me title ideas for this video"
• User has a flat or clickbait title and wants sharper, honest options
• User wants titles tied to a specific goal (CTR for browse, or search-intent)
• User wants A/B variants to drop into YouTube's Test & Compare

Formulas this skill uses (packaging shapes, Y1-Y6)

| Code | Formula | Best for | |---|---|---| | Y1 | Curiosity-Gap | a surprising result whose mechanism is hidden | | Y2 | Number / Listicle | a finite, scannable payoff | | Y3 | How-I Outcome | a first-person result with a number and timeframe | | Y4 | Mistake / Negativity | a costly thing the viewer is getting wrong | | Y5 | Transformation | a before/after arc over a timeframe | | Y6 | Versus / Comparison | two named options in tension (search-friendly) | | Y11 | Third-Party Success Story | a named person/archetype who built a big number from zero |

Full skeletons in `../../references/hook-formulas.md`. Y11 was added from a 214-video corpus pull (July 2026) where the third-party rags-to-riches title was the most-frequent uncaptured shape; Y1/Y3/Y5 were the confirmed over-performers, and Y2/Y4/Y6 read weaker in the business/creator niche (noted in the reference).

Steps

1. **Gather inputs.** The topic or rough title, the real payoff of the video, the target viewer, the main search phrase if any, and whether it is long-form or a Short. If a URL is given, parse it with `lib/url_parser.py` and ask the user to paste the current title and what the video actually delivers. 2. **Decide the job.** Browse-first (lead with curiosity and emotion) or search-first (lead with the exact query phrase). Most videos want browse; how- to and comparison videos lean search. 3. **Shortlist 2 to 3 formulas** that fit the payoff, then draft. 4. **Write 3 to 5 titles.** Each one:

• Under 100 chars, ideally 40 to 60, click-deciding words first.
• One specific number where the claim allows it.
• Curiosity AND a concrete noun. Never pure mystery, never a dry label.
• Complements a thumbnail (note what the thumbnail should carry instead).
• At most one em dash, and a title rarely wants one (a colon reads cleaner);

no ALL CAPS, 0 to 1 emoji. 5. **Humanizer pass.** Scrub 2026 AI vocabulary (a title is one line: any marker such as "leverage" or "game-changer" gets replaced), break stacked or hollow rule-of-three, strip reveal bridges ("Here's what nobody tells you") and sincerity framing ("honestly?", "real talk"). Replace an excess em dash with a colon, never a period. 6. **Tag each variant** with its formula, char count, and primary goal, and flag the one to lead the Test & Compare with. 7. **Approval card.** Show the variants with char counts. The user picks or asks for another round. 8. **On approval.** Titles ride along when the video is published. If the user is also uploading via this bundle, pass the chosen title as the `title` kwarg to `lib.publish(kind="video"|"short", ...)`; otherwise hand it over for Studio.

Hard rules

Global voice rules: see root `SKILL.md` Voice rules. Additional skill-specific rules:

• 100-char hard cap. Aim 40 to 60 so mobile does not truncate the payoff.
• Front-load: the words that decide the click go before any colon.
• Title and thumbnail never repeat the same words. Note the split every time.
• Curiosity must be honest. The title cannot promise more than the first 30

seconds delivers (a fast click-away is a ranking penalty).

• Always return at least 3 variants. One title is not a recommendation.

Anti-patterns (skill will refuse)

• Clickbait the video does not honor ("you won't believe what happened").
• ALL CAPS titles or 3+ emoji for fake intensity.
• Keyword-stuffing the title to chase search.
• More than one em dash in a title, or a dash where a colon does the job.
• Vague mystery with no concrete noun ("This changes everything").
• Repeating the thumbnail's words in the title.

Resources

• `../../references/hook-formulas.md` - Y1-Y6 title skeletons and the pairing table
• `../../references/algorithm-heuristics.md` - CTR x retention, packaging, the 60-char cutoff
• `references/title-checklist.md` - the per-title scrub and CTR fit list

Related skills

• `yt-thumbnail-brief` - design the other half of the click
• `yt-hook-scripter` - script the first 30 seconds so the title's promise lands
• `yt-description-writer` - the SEO description and chapters
• `yt-content-planner` - pair titles and thumbnails across a week