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Before you film
While uploading
After publishing
Why a checklist
Most YouTube SEO advice boils down to a few habits done every time. The checklist keeps them in one place so you don't skip the boring ones — captions, chapters, end screens — on a busy upload day.
What actually moves rankings
YouTube ranks on what viewers do: whether they click (title + thumbnail), whether they keep watching (the first 30 seconds and pacing), and whether they come back. Metadata — tags, description keywords — helps YouTube understand what the video is about, but it can't make people click or stay.
So the most important checks are the first three before filming and the thumbnail and title at upload. The rest helps at the margins.
The 48-hour review
Two days after publishing, check impressions click-through rate and average view duration. If CTR is well below your channel's usual, try a new thumbnail or title. If retention drops sharply in the first 30 seconds, the opening didn't match the promise — fix it in your next video.