The YouTube Upload Checklist: 23 Things to Do Before You Hit Publish

1. Write 3 title variations. You'll pick one to publish; have the other two ready for A/B testing via YouTube Studio Experiments.
2. Run your primary title through ytmate's title analyser to check keyword inclusion, character length (under 70), and emotional hook strength.
3. Complete the video description: first 150 characters with primary keyword, body copy with secondary keywords, timestamps, resource links, and subscribe CTA.
4. Create your thumbnail. Run the phone test (view at arm's length on mobile). If it isn't clear at that scale, revise.
5. Identify your primary keyword and confirm search volume with YouTube autocomplete or a keyword tool.
6. Build your tags list: primary keyword (exact match), 2-3 keyword variations, 2 broader category tags. No more than 8 total.

1. Upload the video file and immediately add your title, description, and custom thumbnail — don't wait for processing to complete.
2. Set the correct category. YouTube uses category as a signal for which audience to test your video with first.
3. Add all chapters/timestamps in the description. Confirm that YouTube's chapter feature activates (chapters must start with 0:00).
4. Upload a custom SRT caption file if available, or review and correct YouTube's auto-generated captions before publishing.
5. Add to the relevant playlist. If no playlist exists for this topic, create one.
6. Set the language and recording location in Advanced Settings.
7. Enable or disable age restriction and comment moderation settings as appropriate.
8. Set your monetisation preferences if applicable.

1. Add end screen elements: one video or playlist link (related to this video's topic), one subscribe button. Position them in a corner that doesn't cover key on-screen content.
2. Add 1-2 cards at strategic moments in the video — at points where you reference another video or where viewers might naturally want to go deeper on a topic.
3. Write your community post announcing the video. Include the hook, not just the title. Post it to your Community tab immediately after publishing.
4. Prepare social sharing copy: a tweet-length hook, a LinkedIn-length insight from the video, and a short-form teaser if creating Shorts/Reels.

1. Engage with every comment in the first 2 hours. Early engagement signals to the algorithm that your video is generating conversation.
2. Check the video on mobile immediately after publishing — confirm thumbnail renders correctly, chapters are visible, and end screens are positioned correctly.
3. Monitor CTR and average view duration at the 6-hour mark. If CTR is significantly below your channel average, consider A/B testing with your second title variant.
4. Respond to every comment in the first 24 hours. This isn't just good community practice — comment velocity is an algorithm signal.
5. At 48 hours, review the traffic source breakdown. If Search traffic is low despite keyword optimisation, check whether your primary keyword appears naturally in the first paragraph of your description.

ytmate's upload checklist feature walks you through every item above in sequence, auto-filling what it can from your channel data and flagging anything that's been skipped. Run it before every upload.