# Text on screen and words out loud

Course: [Short Video: Reels, TikTok, Shorts](https://the-app.fyi/academy/short-form-video)
Lesson 4 of 5 · 3–5 min
URL: https://the-app.fyi/academy/short-form-video/on-screen-text-and-seo

### No sound, no Google

Lots of people watch **muted**. Even more search for answers inside TikTok / Instagram / YouTube — not Google.

### Two layers of “findability”

1. **On screen** — big hook and key phrases
2. **Out loud** — the same words: “how to build Instagram hashtags,” “why you shouldn’t buy engagement”

Plus a normal-language caption — not emoji only.

### Practical rules

- The hook reads on a phone in a fraction of a second
- Not a wall of text — short chunks
- Captions: auto is fine, but fix names and terms
- In the description — 1–2 query-style phrases, like a viewer would search

### Hashtags here

> **Tags don’t replace words:** 3–5 on topic. They don’t replace spoken and on-screen words. They support them.

## Check yourself

What helps a video get found on topic most?

1. Only `#fyp`
2. Key phrases on screen, in speech, and in the caption
3. A silent video with no text
4. 30 hidden tags in a comment

Explanation: Search and recommendations lean on clear content language. Empty tags and silence without captions don’t explain the topic.