Short (YouTube Short)
YouTube Shorts are vertical videos up to 60 seconds that appear in YouTube's short-form feed, competing with TikTok and Reels.
YouTube Shorts are Google's short-form vertical video format. They live in a dedicated Shorts shelf and feed within the YouTube app and are capped at 60 seconds.
Shorts ads appear between organic Shorts and auto-play with sound. Because YouTube's audience skews slightly older and more intent-driven than TikTok's, Shorts can be effective for products that benefit from a bit more context.
Creative that works on TikTok and Reels generally translates well to Shorts with minor adjustments. The key difference is YouTube's comment and subscribe UI, which occupies different screen real estate than Meta or TikTok overlays.
Related terms
Reel
Reels are short-form, looping vertical videos on Instagram and Facebook, up to 90 seconds, designed for entertainment and discovery.
Vertical (9:16)
A 9:16 aspect ratio video format (1080×1920 px) for full-screen mobile placements like TikTok, Reels and Stories.
YouTube Shorts Ads
YouTube Shorts Ads are vertical video ads shown between organic Shorts in YouTube's short-form feed.
Hook
A hook is the opening 1–3 seconds of a video ad, designed to stop the scroll and compel the viewer to keep watching.