Why YTM alone misleads
A 10-year bond with a 7.5% YTM and a 3-year bond with a 7.2% YTM are not comparable instruments — their interest-rate risk is materially different.
Use modified duration as the first filter, then look at YTM. Beginners almost always do the reverse.
Tools to simplify the trade-off
If you don't have a strong rate view, a ladder collapses the duration decision into something far more manageable.
Pair shorter and longer tenors so reinvestment risk and price risk partially offset each other.