Merlino Magic
YouTube Shorts SEO Test · Verified Screenshots
5 shorts. 1 month.
Google domination
across five surfaces.
Live screenshot evidence from a YouTube Shorts SEO test on H-Town Plumbers, a Houston plumbing brand. Five shorts targeting high-intent water heater queries. Below is what Google currently shows.
Total Views
2.8K+
Across 5 shorts
#1 Rankings
3
Videos & Short Videos
Top-3 Placements
5+
Across Google surfaces
Surfaces Hit
5/5
Search · Videos · Shorts · Images · PAA
01 · The Source Content
Five shorts. Real channel. Real views.
YouTube · @H-TownPlumbers
5 published shorts · 1.2K · 1K · 351 · 117 · 99 views
Shorts Tab
Top performers: "What's the average lifespan of a water heater" at 1.2K views and "How much does Lowes charge to install a water heater" at 1K views, both sub-30 days.
02 · Google Videos · Week 1 → Week 2
From #2 to #1 in seven days.
→
Week 1 · #2
Google · Videos Tab
"What is usually the most common water heater problem in Houston?"
Launch
Short debuts at #2 in the Videos tab, sitting between Word of Advice TV (2019) and Mike Klimek (2023).
★ Week 2 · #1
Google · Videos Tab
Same query · one week later
Dominated
Climbed to #1, pushing both legacy YouTube competitors below it. Clean takeover.
03 · Google Short Videos · Two #1s
First slot in the Short Videos carousel · twice.
★ #1 Position
Google · Short Videos
"What is usually the most common water heater problem in Houston?"
Carousel · 1st
First slot ahead of TikTok, Facebook, and Instagram competitors covering the same topic.
★ #1 Position
Google · Short Videos
"How much does Lowes charge to install a water heater in Houston?"
Carousel · 1st
First slot for a high-intent commercial query targeting big-box pricing comparisons.
04 · Main Google SERP · Top 3
YouTube shorts ranking directly against blog posts.
Top 3 SERP
Google · Web Results
"What is usually the most common water heater problem in Houston?"
Initial
Short surfaces in the top 3 of the standard 10-blue-link results, against established plumbing sites and The Spruce.
★ #2 Overall
Google · Web Results (4/30)
Same query · current snapshot
PAA-Adjacent
#2 overall below the People Also Ask block · ahead of The Spruce and Universal Home Experts.
05 · Additional Surfaces
A second top-3 SERP win · plus Google Images.
Top 3 SERP
Google · Web Results
"What's the average lifespan of a water heater in Houston?"
Second Query
A second short hits the top 3, alongside Santhoff Plumbing and Lowe's, beating local competitors with full-length blog content.
Indexed
Google · Images
Water heater problem queries
5th Surface
Short thumbnail visible in Google Images, opening a fifth discovery surface beyond text and video search.
Bottom Line
Five shorts. One month. Three #1 rankings, top-3 SERP placements on two queries, and visibility on every major Google surface. This is the Merlino Magic playbook, working at scale.