Beginner’s Guide: Adding Text Overlays on YouTube

How To Add Captions to YouTube Videos

Richard Bennett

Mar 27, 2024• Proven solutions

By captioning your YouTube videos you help to make them accessible to more potential viewers. Subtitles are useful to viewers who have hearing impairments, whose first language is different from yours, or who are unable to watch your video with sound. Closed captioning can also be useful for you as a YouTuber because it helps with your SEO, or search engine optimization. Practicing better SEO can get your videos ranked higher in search results. Google and YouTube both index subtitles and transcripts much like they do your video’s description, unless you use automated captions.

This article will first explain how you can turn on subtitles for the videos you watch and then walk you through adding captions to your own videos.

How To Turn On Captions on YouTube

In order for you to be able to view subtitles for a YouTube video the uploader of the video will need to have added them, unless you change your account settings to display automatic captions.

To toggle subtitles on and off click on the Closed Captioning icon in the bottom right of your video player.

If the creator of the video has not added captions then you can enable automatic captions by going into your Account Settings and selecting Playback. Check the box next to Always Show Captions, and then check Show Automatic Captions by Speech Recognition. These captions may be flawed, but you will still be able to see the more accurate user submitted captions on videos that have them. The Always Show Captions feature may be useful not only to the hearing impaired, but to users who do not speak the same language as the video producer.

If you want to change the language of the subtitles click on the settings icon (the one that looks like a gear) next to the closed captioning icon and choose your language next to Subtitles/CC . If the language you want is not there select Auto-Translate and then pick a language. Google Translate will be used to generate subtitles in your chosen language.

Adding YouTube Captions in 4 Steps

1. Go to Video Manager in your Creator Studio and then look at your videos. Decide which one you want to add captions to.

2. Click on the drop-down menu next to the video you want to add captions to and choose Subtitles and CC.

3. Select Add New Subtitles or CC.

4. Choose whether to create your captions, upload a file that has them, transcribe your video, use automatic captioning, or use captioning software.

Create Subtitles or Closed Captions will allow you to create your subtitles on YouTube.

Upload A File allows you to upload a pre-made subtitle file from your computer. Supported file types include SubRip (.srt) and SubViewer (.sbv). You cannot use a word or PDF document for your subtitles.

Transcribe and Set Timings is where you can type a transcript of your video and set timings to sync it to your video. This differs from Create Subtitles or Closed Captions in that your transcript is all typed in to one text field.

Use Automatic Captioning will automatically use speech recognition technology to create captions. You can edit these auto-generated captions later if there are mistakes.

Use Captioning Software or Services is what you choose if you want to use a program or service to create the subtitles for your video.

The easiest way to add subtitles to your videos is to use Automatic Captioning. However, Automatic Captioning is imperfect and may result in your viewers getting a sloppy, skewed, interpretation of your video. Automatic captions are also not indexed by YouTube and Google the way subtitles you create or upload are. This means that they will not have any value to your SEO strategy. If you do not input your own captions or transcript you are missing out on an opportunity for better search engine rankings. Automatic Captions are great if you do not have time to input subtitles and need a temporary solution, though.

Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett

Mar 27, 2024• Proven solutions

By captioning your YouTube videos you help to make them accessible to more potential viewers. Subtitles are useful to viewers who have hearing impairments, whose first language is different from yours, or who are unable to watch your video with sound. Closed captioning can also be useful for you as a YouTuber because it helps with your SEO, or search engine optimization. Practicing better SEO can get your videos ranked higher in search results. Google and YouTube both index subtitles and transcripts much like they do your video’s description, unless you use automated captions.

This article will first explain how you can turn on subtitles for the videos you watch and then walk you through adding captions to your own videos.

How To Turn On Captions on YouTube

In order for you to be able to view subtitles for a YouTube video the uploader of the video will need to have added them, unless you change your account settings to display automatic captions.

To toggle subtitles on and off click on the Closed Captioning icon in the bottom right of your video player.

If the creator of the video has not added captions then you can enable automatic captions by going into your Account Settings and selecting Playback. Check the box next to Always Show Captions, and then check Show Automatic Captions by Speech Recognition. These captions may be flawed, but you will still be able to see the more accurate user submitted captions on videos that have them. The Always Show Captions feature may be useful not only to the hearing impaired, but to users who do not speak the same language as the video producer.

If you want to change the language of the subtitles click on the settings icon (the one that looks like a gear) next to the closed captioning icon and choose your language next to Subtitles/CC . If the language you want is not there select Auto-Translate and then pick a language. Google Translate will be used to generate subtitles in your chosen language.

Adding YouTube Captions in 4 Steps

1. Go to Video Manager in your Creator Studio and then look at your videos. Decide which one you want to add captions to.

2. Click on the drop-down menu next to the video you want to add captions to and choose Subtitles and CC.

3. Select Add New Subtitles or CC.

4. Choose whether to create your captions, upload a file that has them, transcribe your video, use automatic captioning, or use captioning software.

Create Subtitles or Closed Captions will allow you to create your subtitles on YouTube.

Upload A File allows you to upload a pre-made subtitle file from your computer. Supported file types include SubRip (.srt) and SubViewer (.sbv). You cannot use a word or PDF document for your subtitles.

Transcribe and Set Timings is where you can type a transcript of your video and set timings to sync it to your video. This differs from Create Subtitles or Closed Captions in that your transcript is all typed in to one text field.

Use Automatic Captioning will automatically use speech recognition technology to create captions. You can edit these auto-generated captions later if there are mistakes.

Use Captioning Software or Services is what you choose if you want to use a program or service to create the subtitles for your video.

The easiest way to add subtitles to your videos is to use Automatic Captioning. However, Automatic Captioning is imperfect and may result in your viewers getting a sloppy, skewed, interpretation of your video. Automatic captions are also not indexed by YouTube and Google the way subtitles you create or upload are. This means that they will not have any value to your SEO strategy. If you do not input your own captions or transcript you are missing out on an opportunity for better search engine rankings. Automatic Captions are great if you do not have time to input subtitles and need a temporary solution, though.

Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett

Mar 27, 2024• Proven solutions

By captioning your YouTube videos you help to make them accessible to more potential viewers. Subtitles are useful to viewers who have hearing impairments, whose first language is different from yours, or who are unable to watch your video with sound. Closed captioning can also be useful for you as a YouTuber because it helps with your SEO, or search engine optimization. Practicing better SEO can get your videos ranked higher in search results. Google and YouTube both index subtitles and transcripts much like they do your video’s description, unless you use automated captions.

This article will first explain how you can turn on subtitles for the videos you watch and then walk you through adding captions to your own videos.

How To Turn On Captions on YouTube

In order for you to be able to view subtitles for a YouTube video the uploader of the video will need to have added them, unless you change your account settings to display automatic captions.

To toggle subtitles on and off click on the Closed Captioning icon in the bottom right of your video player.

If the creator of the video has not added captions then you can enable automatic captions by going into your Account Settings and selecting Playback. Check the box next to Always Show Captions, and then check Show Automatic Captions by Speech Recognition. These captions may be flawed, but you will still be able to see the more accurate user submitted captions on videos that have them. The Always Show Captions feature may be useful not only to the hearing impaired, but to users who do not speak the same language as the video producer.

If you want to change the language of the subtitles click on the settings icon (the one that looks like a gear) next to the closed captioning icon and choose your language next to Subtitles/CC . If the language you want is not there select Auto-Translate and then pick a language. Google Translate will be used to generate subtitles in your chosen language.

Adding YouTube Captions in 4 Steps

1. Go to Video Manager in your Creator Studio and then look at your videos. Decide which one you want to add captions to.

2. Click on the drop-down menu next to the video you want to add captions to and choose Subtitles and CC.

3. Select Add New Subtitles or CC.

4. Choose whether to create your captions, upload a file that has them, transcribe your video, use automatic captioning, or use captioning software.

Create Subtitles or Closed Captions will allow you to create your subtitles on YouTube.

Upload A File allows you to upload a pre-made subtitle file from your computer. Supported file types include SubRip (.srt) and SubViewer (.sbv). You cannot use a word or PDF document for your subtitles.

Transcribe and Set Timings is where you can type a transcript of your video and set timings to sync it to your video. This differs from Create Subtitles or Closed Captions in that your transcript is all typed in to one text field.

Use Automatic Captioning will automatically use speech recognition technology to create captions. You can edit these auto-generated captions later if there are mistakes.

Use Captioning Software or Services is what you choose if you want to use a program or service to create the subtitles for your video.

The easiest way to add subtitles to your videos is to use Automatic Captioning. However, Automatic Captioning is imperfect and may result in your viewers getting a sloppy, skewed, interpretation of your video. Automatic captions are also not indexed by YouTube and Google the way subtitles you create or upload are. This means that they will not have any value to your SEO strategy. If you do not input your own captions or transcript you are missing out on an opportunity for better search engine rankings. Automatic Captions are great if you do not have time to input subtitles and need a temporary solution, though.

Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett

Mar 27, 2024• Proven solutions

By captioning your YouTube videos you help to make them accessible to more potential viewers. Subtitles are useful to viewers who have hearing impairments, whose first language is different from yours, or who are unable to watch your video with sound. Closed captioning can also be useful for you as a YouTuber because it helps with your SEO, or search engine optimization. Practicing better SEO can get your videos ranked higher in search results. Google and YouTube both index subtitles and transcripts much like they do your video’s description, unless you use automated captions.

This article will first explain how you can turn on subtitles for the videos you watch and then walk you through adding captions to your own videos.

How To Turn On Captions on YouTube

In order for you to be able to view subtitles for a YouTube video the uploader of the video will need to have added them, unless you change your account settings to display automatic captions.

To toggle subtitles on and off click on the Closed Captioning icon in the bottom right of your video player.

If the creator of the video has not added captions then you can enable automatic captions by going into your Account Settings and selecting Playback. Check the box next to Always Show Captions, and then check Show Automatic Captions by Speech Recognition. These captions may be flawed, but you will still be able to see the more accurate user submitted captions on videos that have them. The Always Show Captions feature may be useful not only to the hearing impaired, but to users who do not speak the same language as the video producer.

If you want to change the language of the subtitles click on the settings icon (the one that looks like a gear) next to the closed captioning icon and choose your language next to Subtitles/CC . If the language you want is not there select Auto-Translate and then pick a language. Google Translate will be used to generate subtitles in your chosen language.

Adding YouTube Captions in 4 Steps

1. Go to Video Manager in your Creator Studio and then look at your videos. Decide which one you want to add captions to.

2. Click on the drop-down menu next to the video you want to add captions to and choose Subtitles and CC.

3. Select Add New Subtitles or CC.

4. Choose whether to create your captions, upload a file that has them, transcribe your video, use automatic captioning, or use captioning software.

Create Subtitles or Closed Captions will allow you to create your subtitles on YouTube.

Upload A File allows you to upload a pre-made subtitle file from your computer. Supported file types include SubRip (.srt) and SubViewer (.sbv). You cannot use a word or PDF document for your subtitles.

Transcribe and Set Timings is where you can type a transcript of your video and set timings to sync it to your video. This differs from Create Subtitles or Closed Captions in that your transcript is all typed in to one text field.

Use Automatic Captioning will automatically use speech recognition technology to create captions. You can edit these auto-generated captions later if there are mistakes.

Use Captioning Software or Services is what you choose if you want to use a program or service to create the subtitles for your video.

The easiest way to add subtitles to your videos is to use Automatic Captioning. However, Automatic Captioning is imperfect and may result in your viewers getting a sloppy, skewed, interpretation of your video. Automatic captions are also not indexed by YouTube and Google the way subtitles you create or upload are. This means that they will not have any value to your SEO strategy. If you do not input your own captions or transcript you are missing out on an opportunity for better search engine rankings. Automatic Captions are great if you do not have time to input subtitles and need a temporary solution, though.

Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Richard Bennett

How to Verify Your YouTube Account?

How to Verify Your YouTube Account - a Simple Guide

Richard Bennett

Oct 26, 2023• Proven solutions

0

YouTube verify isn’t just for big channels, it’s for just about anyone serious about YouTube. The main benefits of verifying your channel are live streaming and the ability to publish longer videos. You must also verify your account to apply for monetization, although there are other qualifications for that as well.

How to verify your YouTube channel

To verify your YouTube channel, start by visiting this link: https://www.youtube.com/verify .

You’ll need to provide a phone number. A verification code will be either texted or sent via an automated voice call (your choice). Once you have the code, you just have to enter in the field YouTube provides.

How to post videos on YouTube longer than 15 minutes

The default settings on YouTube only allow creators to upload videos that are 15 minutes or shorter. To upload longer videos you will need to verify your YouTube account. Luckily this feature is easy to access.

From the YouTube upload page, you will see an option that says increase your limit at the bottom of the page. From there you will be redirected to the main YouTube verification page. In this area, you can follow the steps to verify your account, which will involve receiving a verification code via text message on your mobile phone or an automated voice call. Once you are verified you can upload videos that are up to 12 hours long or have a file size of up to 128 GB.

How to live stream on YouTube

Live streaming lets you reach out to your viewers an engage with them directly. With a verified YouTube account you can start the process of streaming directly from your channel page. Live streams will appear as recommended for your subscribers just like any other piece of the published content. After a live stream is finished content creators have the chance to publish the video that was captured during the live stream.

To live stream on YouTube you must have a verified channel and zero live stream restrictions for 90 days. An account may not be able to live stream within the first 24 hours of account creation.

To enable live streaming go to the creator studio, click on the live streaming tab, and enable the live stream. Live streams are also available through the YouTube mobile app from the ‘create a live stream’ button.

Customize YouTube Videos with Easy-to-Use Video Editor

Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett

Oct 26, 2023• Proven solutions

0

YouTube verify isn’t just for big channels, it’s for just about anyone serious about YouTube. The main benefits of verifying your channel are live streaming and the ability to publish longer videos. You must also verify your account to apply for monetization, although there are other qualifications for that as well.

How to verify your YouTube channel

To verify your YouTube channel, start by visiting this link: https://www.youtube.com/verify .

You’ll need to provide a phone number. A verification code will be either texted or sent via an automated voice call (your choice). Once you have the code, you just have to enter in the field YouTube provides.

How to post videos on YouTube longer than 15 minutes

The default settings on YouTube only allow creators to upload videos that are 15 minutes or shorter. To upload longer videos you will need to verify your YouTube account. Luckily this feature is easy to access.

From the YouTube upload page, you will see an option that says increase your limit at the bottom of the page. From there you will be redirected to the main YouTube verification page. In this area, you can follow the steps to verify your account, which will involve receiving a verification code via text message on your mobile phone or an automated voice call. Once you are verified you can upload videos that are up to 12 hours long or have a file size of up to 128 GB.

How to live stream on YouTube

Live streaming lets you reach out to your viewers an engage with them directly. With a verified YouTube account you can start the process of streaming directly from your channel page. Live streams will appear as recommended for your subscribers just like any other piece of the published content. After a live stream is finished content creators have the chance to publish the video that was captured during the live stream.

To live stream on YouTube you must have a verified channel and zero live stream restrictions for 90 days. An account may not be able to live stream within the first 24 hours of account creation.

To enable live streaming go to the creator studio, click on the live streaming tab, and enable the live stream. Live streams are also available through the YouTube mobile app from the ‘create a live stream’ button.

Customize YouTube Videos with Easy-to-Use Video Editor

Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett

Oct 26, 2023• Proven solutions

0

YouTube verify isn’t just for big channels, it’s for just about anyone serious about YouTube. The main benefits of verifying your channel are live streaming and the ability to publish longer videos. You must also verify your account to apply for monetization, although there are other qualifications for that as well.

How to verify your YouTube channel

To verify your YouTube channel, start by visiting this link: https://www.youtube.com/verify .

You’ll need to provide a phone number. A verification code will be either texted or sent via an automated voice call (your choice). Once you have the code, you just have to enter in the field YouTube provides.

How to post videos on YouTube longer than 15 minutes

The default settings on YouTube only allow creators to upload videos that are 15 minutes or shorter. To upload longer videos you will need to verify your YouTube account. Luckily this feature is easy to access.

From the YouTube upload page, you will see an option that says increase your limit at the bottom of the page. From there you will be redirected to the main YouTube verification page. In this area, you can follow the steps to verify your account, which will involve receiving a verification code via text message on your mobile phone or an automated voice call. Once you are verified you can upload videos that are up to 12 hours long or have a file size of up to 128 GB.

How to live stream on YouTube

Live streaming lets you reach out to your viewers an engage with them directly. With a verified YouTube account you can start the process of streaming directly from your channel page. Live streams will appear as recommended for your subscribers just like any other piece of the published content. After a live stream is finished content creators have the chance to publish the video that was captured during the live stream.

To live stream on YouTube you must have a verified channel and zero live stream restrictions for 90 days. An account may not be able to live stream within the first 24 hours of account creation.

To enable live streaming go to the creator studio, click on the live streaming tab, and enable the live stream. Live streams are also available through the YouTube mobile app from the ‘create a live stream’ button.

Customize YouTube Videos with Easy-to-Use Video Editor

Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett

Oct 26, 2023• Proven solutions

0

YouTube verify isn’t just for big channels, it’s for just about anyone serious about YouTube. The main benefits of verifying your channel are live streaming and the ability to publish longer videos. You must also verify your account to apply for monetization, although there are other qualifications for that as well.

How to verify your YouTube channel

To verify your YouTube channel, start by visiting this link: https://www.youtube.com/verify .

You’ll need to provide a phone number. A verification code will be either texted or sent via an automated voice call (your choice). Once you have the code, you just have to enter in the field YouTube provides.

How to post videos on YouTube longer than 15 minutes

The default settings on YouTube only allow creators to upload videos that are 15 minutes or shorter. To upload longer videos you will need to verify your YouTube account. Luckily this feature is easy to access.

From the YouTube upload page, you will see an option that says increase your limit at the bottom of the page. From there you will be redirected to the main YouTube verification page. In this area, you can follow the steps to verify your account, which will involve receiving a verification code via text message on your mobile phone or an automated voice call. Once you are verified you can upload videos that are up to 12 hours long or have a file size of up to 128 GB.

How to live stream on YouTube

Live streaming lets you reach out to your viewers an engage with them directly. With a verified YouTube account you can start the process of streaming directly from your channel page. Live streams will appear as recommended for your subscribers just like any other piece of the published content. After a live stream is finished content creators have the chance to publish the video that was captured during the live stream.

To live stream on YouTube you must have a verified channel and zero live stream restrictions for 90 days. An account may not be able to live stream within the first 24 hours of account creation.

To enable live streaming go to the creator studio, click on the live streaming tab, and enable the live stream. Live streams are also available through the YouTube mobile app from the ‘create a live stream’ button.

Customize YouTube Videos with Easy-to-Use Video Editor

Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Richard Bennett

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