How To Upload a Video To YouTube and Boost Discoverability

You’ve edited a new video to promote your brand, but there’s a step required before anyone can see it: You need to upload it to your YouTube channel. Making clickable content is a key part of promoting your business, but first you need to make it visible.

Using a few tips and tricks to optimize your content upload could help it rise above the rest. That’s why Shopify YouTube specialist Rebecca Vilsan is here to share her expert advice on how to upload your YouTube video to set yourself up for social media success.

What you need before you upload videos

• A YouTube Brand Account
• High-quality content
• A clickable video title
• Strategic descriptions
• SEO, but don’t hinge on it
• A clear, compelling thumbnail

While there’s no guaranteed formula to upload a YouTube video that will go viral, there are key elements that help set your content up for success:

A YouTube Brand Account

To log into YouTube, you need a Google account. From there, you can create a YouTube account.

For most businesses and serious creators, Rebecca highly recommends clicking on the Brand Account option rather than using a personal creator account. This can be especially useful if you have a team working on your YouTube videos, as Brand Accounts allow multiple members to access the channel without sharing personal login credentials. Brand Accounts are also not tied to a single Google account, which means there’s stronger long-term security.

If you’re a solo creator, though, and never plan on growing a team, a creator account is fine.

High-quality content

Having passion for what you’re creating is the secret ingredient of quality content creation at scale. “If you’re not doing what you genuinely want to do and you’re not passionate about your content, consistency becomes impossible,” Rebecca says. Sure, you might be able to make a great one-off video, but you won’t be able to build an established channel.

You don’t need the latest camera equipment or editing software to create attention-grabbing content either. The essence of your video is what matters most, not the production value. This requires finding your sweet spot of content, which is made up of three elements:

• What your business is good at
• What your audience is interested in
• What you want to do personally

“Where I see most creators fail is having an overlap of just one or two of these elements, but not all three,” Rebecca says.

If you’re not a natural at it from the get-go, focus on practicing and experimenting. Ultimately, the more you create videos to upload to YouTube, the better you’ll refine your style.

A clickable video title

The golden rule of a good title is it delivers exactly what it says it will. Don’t overpromise and underdeliver, and don’t veer off into the weeds, either.

For example, don’t title a video “I Bought a 100-Year-Old Abandoned French Chateau” when it’s a 70-year-old house in good condition. This can lead to “disappointed viewers, shorter watch times, reduced impressions, and ultimately fewer views across your entire channel,” Rebecca says.

Rebecca says to consider these three factors to craft a catchy title:

1. What kind of content you create. Different content types require different approaches: Educational channels need different title strategies than entertainment or lifestyle channels. The former should have titles that spell out what concepts you’ll cover, while the latter can rely more on building curiosity and mystery.
2. Who your audience is. Each niche has its own language, interests, and search behaviors. Hyperspecific how-to content will draw in a different audience than video essays about sci-fi movies. Focus on accuracy and audience-appropriate language rather than chasing viral formulas.
3. Your growth stage. Here’s the breakdown on that:

• • Early stage (0 to 100,000 subscribers). Be as specific as possible in titles and descriptions. Your titles should clearly describe what your video delivers because you’re helping YouTube categorize your content to target the proper audience. This is crucial for organic exposure, since the algorithm needs to understand where you fit.
  • 100,000 to 1 million. Focus on curiosity gaps and emotional hooks.
  • 1 million+ subscribers. Brand recognition allows for more creative, less descriptive titles.

Strategic descriptions

Rebecca cautions that one of the most overlooked elements in uploading a YouTube video is “treating descriptions as an afterthought instead of a strategic tool.” These are the elements she considers most important:

• The first 125 characters. This is the most crucial real estate in your description box that appears in search results and video previews. Avoid using it to add details like generic channel intros or filler.
• Number of links. Some creators place every social media link, website, and affiliate link into their descriptions, creating clutter that overwhelms viewers. YouTube may also interpret excessive linking as spammy behavior. Keep links strategic and relevant to the video content.
• Contextual keywords. Use natural language that provides context about your video’s topic, related subjects, and problems it solves. YouTube’s algorithm is advanced and can grasp the context and meaning behind your content, not just exact keyword matches.
• Timestamps and chapters. Chapters, which break a video up into sections, help the YouTube algorithm understand your content structure. They also generate additional search entry points and help viewers navigate your video.
• Related video links. Link strategically to your own relevant videos to keep viewers in your ecosystem longer, which YouTube rewards.

SEO, but don’t hinge on it

YouTube SEO in 2025 is far more sophisticated than just adding tags.

“While keywords still matter for initial discoverability, YouTube’s algorithm has evolved to prioritize user behavior signals over metadata,” Rebecca explains.

While keywords help with search traffic, most YouTube views come from suggested videos and Browse features. Creators posting successful videos titled, “I Quit” with little to no description prove the point that “compelling content with strong audience connection outperforms perfectly optimized mediocre content,” Rebecca says. The algorithm rewards user satisfaction above all else. If viewers find real value in your content, YouTube will promote it regardless of whether you’ve perfectly optimized every keyword.

A clear, compelling thumbnail

“The thumbnail is your video’s movie poster, book cover, and sales pitch rolled into one tiny image," Rebecca says. Mastering the thumbnail means you’re getting viewers to click on your content. Some creators to look at for inspiration are Ryan Trahan, Patrick Cc, Johnny Harris, and MrBeast.

More isn’t better in the world of thumbnails. Avoid multiple text overlays, busy backgrounds, too many faces, arrows pointing everywhere, and other excessive visual effects. Clutter can communicate poor quality and chaos.

You’re also designing for mobile, so your video should be easily understood in a smaller format. Audiences should understand roughly what your video is about from the thumbnail alone, before they even glance at the title.

Recommended specs for a YouTube video

Spend more time on creating quality content than focusing on advanced settings in how you film, Rebecca recommends. 1080p MP4 with H.264 at 10 to 12 Mbps covers 95% of use cases perfectly, and YouTube re-encodes your video anyway.

"Most viewers won’t notice the difference between a 10 Mbps and 15 Mbps 1080p video, but they will notice if your content is engaging," Rebecca says.

If you want to take a deeper dive into your video file specs, Rebecca suggests these for the best balance of quality and performance:

Resolution and frame rate:

• 1080p at 30fps. This works for most content, such as talking heads, tutorials, or vlogs.
• 1080p at 60fps. This works best for gaming or high-motion content.
• 4K. Consider this only if you have fast upload speeds and your audience watches on larger screens, or if you want to optimize for TV.

Format and codec:

• H.264 (MP4). This is universally supported and efficient.
• H.265 (HEVC). Use this if your editing software supports it, as it is a better size compression.

Audio:

• AAC codec at 384 kbps for stereo.
• Always record audio at a higher quality than your export.

How to upload a video to YouTube on a mobile device

1. Open the YouTube app
2. Log in to your YouTube account
3. Tap the + at the bottom of your navigation bar
4. Check media sharing settings on your phone
5. Select your video
6. Write your Title + Description
7. Select other settings (location, allow remixing, etc.)
8. Tap Next
9. Select age settings (required)
10. Upload video

Follow these basic steps to upload videos to YouTube from your phone:

1. Open the YouTube app

Uploading from your phone requires using either the YouTube app or the YouTube Studio app, which is YouTube’s video editing platform. You can download both of these apps from the Android or Apple store.

2. Log in to your YouTube account

Log in to your account. You’re required to have a Google account to log into YouTube, which you then use to log into YouTube.

3. Tap the + at the bottom of your navigation bar

Find the + at the lower part of the screen and tap it.

4. Check media sharing settings on your phone

Depending on your phone’s media sharing settings, you may need to allow access to all of the media on your phone, or you can select the files you want to share.

To allow photo access all the time on both Android and iPhone, change your permissions under Settings, then Apps, then navigate to YouTube and enable photo access. Otherwise, you can select the media you want to upload every time you upload a file.

5. Select your video

Tap the video you want to share. The YouTube navigation screen also includes Shorts, Live, or a post, which can include text, polls, and images to give your subscribers a sneak peak of your content.

Tap Next in the lower left-hand corner when you have your video selected.

6. Write your title and description

Craft a compelling title in 60 characters or less and strategically write your description in 125 characters or less to get all of the most important information visible to your audience.

7. Select other details (location, allow remixing, etc.)

You have several additional details to select before posting:

• Visibility. Choose if your video will be public or private. To promote business, generally you want public. (You can also schedule your video to become public at a later date).
• Location. Sharing where your video was filmed could be helpful for location-based businesses like cafés.
• Add to playlist. If you have a series of videos you’re making, you can add yours to a playlist.
• Shorts remixing. This allows other users to take your video and create content from it.
• Paid promotions. Select this if you’re being paid by a third party to create your video.
• Altered content. YouTube’s policy is that you’re required to tell it if your content is altered but seems real. This includes realistic sounds or visuals made with AI or other tools.

8. Tap Next

Now that you have all your details ready, tap Next in the top right corner.

9. Select age settings (required)

This selection is mandatory for all creators worldwide due to YouTube’s agreement with the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to comply with the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Rule (COPPA). You’ll need to select whether your content is made for kids or not. YouTube recommends selecting “not made for kids” for general audience content.

10. Upload video

You’re ready to post! Tap “upload video” at the bottom of the screen.

How to upload a video to YouTube on desktop

1. Open your browser
2. Navigate to YouTube
3. Log in to your YouTube account
4. Click Create in the upper right-hand corner of your screen
5. Select your video
6. Fill out the details of your video
7. Fill out your video elements
8. Go through final checks
9. Select your visibility
10. Publish

Follow these basic steps to upload videos to YouTube from your desktop:

1. Open your browser

You can use any browser to access YouTube.

2. Navigate to YouTube

Then, navigate to the YouTube desktop website.

3. Log in to your YouTube account

Log in the same way you would on mobile with your Google account. You’re required to have a Google account to log into YouTube.

4. Click Create in the upper right-hand corner of your screen

Click the icon with a camera and Create in your upper right-hand corner and select Upload video.

5. Select your video

Browse your files to select or drag and drop the video you want to publish.

6. Fill out the details of your video

The details page includes:

• Title and description. Craft a compelling title and strategically write your description to get all of the most important information in the first 125 characters.
• Thumbnail. Choose the image you want to draw viewers in.
• Playlists. If you have a series of videos you’re making, you can add yours to a playlist.
• Audience. You’ll need to select whether your content is made for kids or not. YouTube recommends selecting “not made for kids” for general audience content. This screen also provides a Learn More section to help guide you through the right choice for your video.
• Age restriction. Choose between restricting your video to viewers over the age of 18 or not.
• Paid promotion. Select this if you are being compensated by a third party to create your video.

Once you’re done with this, click Next to move on to the next step.

7. Fill out your video elements

Video elements include:

• Add subtitles. YouTube can automatically transcribe audio in your video into subtitles. Otherwise, you can add an SRT file to add captioning to your video.
• Add to playlist. If you have a series of videos you’re making, you can add yours to a playlist.
• Shorts remixing. This allows other users to create content from your video.
• Paid promotions. You must disclose if a brand is compensating you to promote something inside the video you are uploading.
• Altered content. YouTube’s policy is that you’re required to tell them if your content is altered but seems real. This includes realistic sounds or visuals made with AI or other tools.

Once you’re done with this, click Next to move on to the next step.

8. Go through final checks

YouTube automatically checks your video for copyright issues. Once this is complete, you can click Next to move on to the last step before publishing.

9. Select your visibility

Select who can see your video and when it goes live by choosing between private, unlisted, or public settings. You can also schedule when to post your video if you don’t want it to go live immediately.

10. Publish

You’re ready to post! Click Publish to upload your video.

YouTube video optimization tips

These best practices can help you set your video up for success:

Create playlists

“Playlists and YouTube cards are among the most underutilized tools for keeping viewers in your ecosystem and extending session duration,” Rebecca says. Both help you control where viewers go next and build experiences that serve your audience.

She suggests the following playlist strategy:

• Create journey-based playlists. Build them around problems your audience wants to solve to keep viewers engaged.
• Optimize playlist titles and descriptions. Treat these as strategically as your video title and description, as they appear in search results independently.
• Strategically order your videos. Lead with your strongest video to grab attention, followed by your most valuable content to build trust, and end with videos that naturally lead to more of your content.
• Create content loops. Design your playlists so the last video naturally leads back to watching more of your content or revisiting earlier playlist videos with new understanding.

Leverage YouTube interactive elements

YouTube cards are interactive elements that pop up on-screen during a video on desktop and mobile, like when a creator tells you to “Click here” and points at a card that appears. Elements include Videos, Playlists, Channel links, or external links (if you’re part of the YPP). There is a maximum of five cards that can be added per video.

Place cards strategically when you mention related topics, reference previous videos, or transition between sections. The best card placement feels natural and adds value to the viewing experience.

Review YouTube analytics

YouTube Studio is a destination for rich metrics to analyze your content and guide what you create next. You can log into YouTube Studio with your Google account. Rebecca suggests tracking these metrics:

• User experience. Average view duration (found in the Overview section of your analytics), click-through rate (found in the Reach section of your analytics), and audience retention (found in Engagement) tell YouTube more about your content’s quality than any keyword list. A video that keeps viewers engaged will outrank keyword-optimized content that people abandon quickly.
• Content satisfaction. If people click away from your content immediately, it signals a mismatch between promise and delivery, hurting your rankings regardless of keyword optimization.
• Engagement depth. Comments, likes, shares, and saves indicate genuine content value.