Case study: burning the topic as on-screen text grew Shorts search 5x

Case study: burning the topic as on-screen text grew Shorts search 5x

A recipe channel relied on spoken titles. We added a 2-second on-screen text header stating the dish name on 22 Shorts (YouTube reads on-screen text for Shorts search context).

Result: views from Shorts search rose from ~300 to ~1,600/month across those clips. No drop in retention.

Pros:
— Helps both viewers and YouTube's content understanding
— Free, 1 min/short

Cons:
— Adds clutter if overdone — keep it to one line, 2s
— Marginal on pure trend-audio Shorts

Price: free.

Verdict: cheap searchability boost for evergreen 'how-to' Shorts. Do it for tutorial niches. Skip for entertainment/meme content where nobody searches.