Elevate Your Presence: The Best 5 Practices for Max Viewers

5 Tips to Get More Views with YouTube Optimization [Free Checklist]

Richard Bennett

Oct 26, 2023• Proven solutions

0

We all want our videos to get a lot of views, and in turn, lead to more subscribers. In order to do so, we have to prepare it for success. If you are hoping to optimize a video after it has already been published to YouTube, then you aren’t going to get the best result, because much of optimization is done before the video is even shot.a

In this article, we will give youa checklist , which you should have with you at the very beginning of creating a YouTube video: the ideation stage. As you go through your process, check off each task. By doing so, you can ensure that you have given the video the best chance to rank high and be discovered.

How to Optimize Your Video to Rank Higher on YouTube?

1. Keep Your Audience’s Attention
2. Do Keyword Research
3. Engage Your Audience
4. Upload YouTube Video in Proper Length

1. Keep Your Audience’s Attention:

Even though your view count is going up, it doesn’t mean your audience is watching your video. And if they are not, then YouTube is going to consider your video less valuable and therefore, lowering its rank.

Audience Retention is an important metric to keep an eye on after every video you’ve published.

Before you start your next project, take a look back at the Audience Retention of your previous videos.

1. Enter YouTube Studio in your channel
2. Access to Analytics
3. Select the video you want to review
4. Click into engagement
5. See where a dip in watch time

What is Good Audience Retention?

If you want to see how your Audience Retention is performing, the Average Percentage Viewed will give you a broad perspective. The higher the percentage, the more people are watching your entire video.

If you get above 60% Average Percentage Viewed, you should feel very proud. In our modern world with our short attention span, that is considered good retention.

In the example above, we see that on average, a viewer will only see 44% of the video. For the video below, we see that it only has 30% of the video viewed. Overall, the first video is performing better.

There is also a dip that happens at the beginning in the second example, which indicates that viewers are skipping forward and about 20% then deciding it’s not worth continuing. It’s good data to help you improve your introduction and the hook.

If there is important information that you are presenting at a given point and in the Audience Retention you see that only a small percentage of your viewers actually see it, then for the next video, you might want to position the details in a different point in the video.

How to Improve Audience Retention

Here are a few ways you can retain your audience’s attention if you noticed a drop in viewership:

- Film a hook (introduce your video to let the audience know what to expect)

- Add b-roll (having supplemental footage to cut to makes your video more interesting to watch)

- Have a co-host (Having someone on screen gives the video more dynamic interactions)

- Edit out the unimportant stuff

- Write a conclusion (having a conclusion prepared will allow you to transition from the content of the video to the call to action without the audience even knowing) See this example by PolyMatter below and notice how seamless their ending is.

If you have a video that is doing a good job retaining the audience, then replicate it. If there isn’t, keep experimenting with new structures. Improving audience retention is not simply important for your ranking, but it will affirm that you are building quality videos.

Knowing how to structure your video will allow you to be strategic as you build out your content.

2. Do Keyword Research:

Many viewers find YouTube videos via search, and if you aren’t using the appropriate keywords, then YouTube won’t be able to identify your content and display it for your viewers.

Where Do Keywords Appear on YouTube?

- Title: Have keywords at the beginning of the title and limit them up to approximately 60 characters so it appears in full in search.

- Tags: Include 10-15 tags from general keywords to more specific.

- Descriptions: Put important information and keywords at the beginning of the description so both searcher and the search engine understands what the video is about.

Why Keywords Matter

keyword arrangement is an integral part of YouTube optimization because the robots behind YouTube don’t associate the value of the actual video content with what the viewer is actually seeking. You should pay attention to the relevance of keywords.

Even when you add closed captions, it doesn’t mean the best keywords are present to the Youtube search engine when we speak.

That is why it is important to know your audience and what words and phrases they are going to use to search for your video.

Here is how you can see what keywords were used to find your video:

1. Enter YouTube Studio in your channel
2. Access Analytics
3. Select Reach
4. Click into Traffic Source
5. Click Traffic Source: YouTube Search

If you want to find some new keywords for your upcoming video, you will need to do some research.

1. Enter Keywords You Want to Rank for In YouTube Search: This allows you to see what the most popular phrases are in the YouTube search engine.

2. Study the Competitors: See which videos are ranking high for your search term. Use a tool called VidIQ to see the keywords that the top videos are performing.

3. Search for Related Keywords and Evaluate Relevancy: A tool called Ubersuggest can help you find related keywords and allow you to identify the search volume, cost per click (aka CPC is used for determining the budget for paid search), and the competitiveness of the word or phrase.

Search volume: The number of searches with that particular keyword. The higher the number the more popular it is. You should aim to use keywords with a high search volume.

Keyword competition score: This score is usually indicated by a number and it represents how difficult it is for a keyword to rank due to other pages already ranking for that word or phrase. You want to find a keyword with a low competition score.

Pro tip: The best combination is high search volume and low competition score. But if you can’t get that perfect mix, go for the low competitive score, as it will give you a better chance to rank, even if it isn’t searched as often.

4. Come Up With Content Related to Those Keywords: To come up with topic ideas around a keyword, you can use a tool called Answer the Public , which gives you all the most popular questions searched online.

3. Engage Your Audience:

It’s been highly discussed on forums all over the Internet, and there appears to be a strong correlation between YouTube video ranking and the number of likes, dislikes, and comments the video received.

While YouTube itself might not be using the number of likes and comments to determine where your video rank, having high engagement allows your video to be discovered through other means.

Here is an example of how it would work:

- A YouTuber with 100,000 subscribers views your video and likes it

- Then your video might be visible to a fraction of those 100,000 subscribers.

- Boom! Domino effect!

- More people will see your video and like it, increasing your network of viewers and your watch time, which is one of the main factors that YouTube takes into consideration.

Get engagements with a call to action:

- Don’t be afraid to ask for an engagement at the beginning of the video to avoid fall off on retention.

- Encourage them to leave a comment or start a discussion by asking a question at the end of your video.

- Monitor comments and responds to them so you can build a relationship with your audience over time.

It’s all about creating a community and that is what YouTube encourages.

4. Upload YouTube Video in Proper Length:

YouTube puts a lot of weight on watch time, and in addition to that, it puts more weight on session watch time.

Session watch time is counted when people watch your video and then continue to watch others, it doesn’t have to be your own. The more time people spend watching YouTube videos, as a result of your content, the more likely YouTube will increase your ranking.

Since YouTube puts importance on time spent watching videos, the length of your video will play a key role.

If you have 5 videos and all of them are a minute long, a 100% watch through will only get you 5 minutes total.

However, if you have 1 video that is 20 minutes, and an average viewer only watches half of it, then you have an average watch time of over 10 minutes. That’s more than double what your five short videos can do. This longer video is worth more. However, if that 20-minute video is really boring and people drop off in the first minute, then it’s not any better than 1 of the 5 short videos.

If your format allows, go for a longer video instead of a shorter one. But the most important thing is that you can keep people watching your videos: so use end screen and playlist links to keep them engaged.

End screen: Pick related videos for your audience, so they know exactly what they should watch next. You can even create a background template for your end screens .

Playlist: If you have multiple videos that fit a specific topic, add them to a playlist so the viewer can enjoy them all in one viewing.

Key Takeaways:

1. Use Audience Retention to better understand how to structure your video for the best results.
2. Perform Keyword Research to find the keywords that your competitors are using and your audience is searching for.
3. Increasing Subscribers gets your video in front of more people the moment it is published.
4. Encourage Comments and respond to establish a relationship with your viewers.
5. Ensure that Viewers Continue Watching videos on YouTube after they finish watching yours.

Other Things That Affects Your YouTube Ranking

Except for the above-mentioned factors, there are also other issues that affect the ranking of your YouTube video. YouTube has stated that the number of subscribers doesn’t play a key role in your video ranking.

For example, if a YouTuber has a million subscribers and then overnight they lose 100 thousand, a video they had ranking number 1 will still be ranked number 1.

However, the number of subscribers has a lot of indirect effects on your channel.

- Subscribers know the moment your video is published

- Subscribers will watch your video in the first week (YouTube will rank your video higher if they see a lift in the first week of publishing)

- YouTube put a higher value on subscribers than views and social shares, because it’s harder to fake subscribers

Growing subscribers take time and effort, and even though it shouldn’t be your main focus, there are tactics you can do to gain more subscribers .

Don’t miss a chance to optimize your YouTube video, download, and print out this checklist for your next video project. For more information on SEO(Search Engine Optimization) on YouTube, you can also read the following article.

How to Fast Rank Video Higher with Video SEO >>

10 Best YouTube Keyword Tools to Use with Bonus Tips>>

If you want to find a video editing solution that empowers your imagination and creativity yet takes less effort, please try this robust and user-friendly video editing software Wondershare Filmora. It provides special effects, stock photo & video, sound library, etc., which will definitely enhance your productivity and helps to make money by making videos much accessible.

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

We all want our videos to get a lot of views, and in turn, lead to more subscribers. In order to do so, we have to prepare it for success. If you are hoping to optimize a video after it has already been published to YouTube, then you aren’t going to get the best result, because much of optimization is done before the video is even shot.a

In this article, we will give youa checklist , which you should have with you at the very beginning of creating a YouTube video: the ideation stage. As you go through your process, check off each task. By doing so, you can ensure that you have given the video the best chance to rank high and be discovered.

How to Optimize Your Video to Rank Higher on YouTube?

1. Keep Your Audience’s Attention
2. Do Keyword Research
3. Engage Your Audience
4. Upload YouTube Video in Proper Length

1. Keep Your Audience’s Attention:

Even though your view count is going up, it doesn’t mean your audience is watching your video. And if they are not, then YouTube is going to consider your video less valuable and therefore, lowering its rank.

Audience Retention is an important metric to keep an eye on after every video you’ve published.

Before you start your next project, take a look back at the Audience Retention of your previous videos.

1. Enter YouTube Studio in your channel
2. Access to Analytics
3. Select the video you want to review
4. Click into engagement
5. See where a dip in watch time

What is Good Audience Retention?

If you want to see how your Audience Retention is performing, the Average Percentage Viewed will give you a broad perspective. The higher the percentage, the more people are watching your entire video.

If you get above 60% Average Percentage Viewed, you should feel very proud. In our modern world with our short attention span, that is considered good retention.

In the example above, we see that on average, a viewer will only see 44% of the video. For the video below, we see that it only has 30% of the video viewed. Overall, the first video is performing better.

There is also a dip that happens at the beginning in the second example, which indicates that viewers are skipping forward and about 20% then deciding it’s not worth continuing. It’s good data to help you improve your introduction and the hook.

If there is important information that you are presenting at a given point and in the Audience Retention you see that only a small percentage of your viewers actually see it, then for the next video, you might want to position the details in a different point in the video.

How to Improve Audience Retention

Here are a few ways you can retain your audience’s attention if you noticed a drop in viewership:

- Film a hook (introduce your video to let the audience know what to expect)

- Add b-roll (having supplemental footage to cut to makes your video more interesting to watch)

- Have a co-host (Having someone on screen gives the video more dynamic interactions)

- Edit out the unimportant stuff

- Write a conclusion (having a conclusion prepared will allow you to transition from the content of the video to the call to action without the audience even knowing) See this example by PolyMatter below and notice how seamless their ending is.

If you have a video that is doing a good job retaining the audience, then replicate it. If there isn’t, keep experimenting with new structures. Improving audience retention is not simply important for your ranking, but it will affirm that you are building quality videos.

Knowing how to structure your video will allow you to be strategic as you build out your content.

2. Do Keyword Research:

Many viewers find YouTube videos via search, and if you aren’t using the appropriate keywords, then YouTube won’t be able to identify your content and display it for your viewers.

Where Do Keywords Appear on YouTube?

- Title: Have keywords at the beginning of the title and limit them up to approximately 60 characters so it appears in full in search.

- Tags: Include 10-15 tags from general keywords to more specific.

- Descriptions: Put important information and keywords at the beginning of the description so both searcher and the search engine understands what the video is about.

Why Keywords Matter

keyword arrangement is an integral part of YouTube optimization because the robots behind YouTube don’t associate the value of the actual video content with what the viewer is actually seeking. You should pay attention to the relevance of keywords.

Even when you add closed captions, it doesn’t mean the best keywords are present to the Youtube search engine when we speak.

That is why it is important to know your audience and what words and phrases they are going to use to search for your video.

Here is how you can see what keywords were used to find your video:

1. Enter YouTube Studio in your channel
2. Access Analytics
3. Select Reach
4. Click into Traffic Source
5. Click Traffic Source: YouTube Search

If you want to find some new keywords for your upcoming video, you will need to do some research.

1. Enter Keywords You Want to Rank for In YouTube Search: This allows you to see what the most popular phrases are in the YouTube search engine.

2. Study the Competitors: See which videos are ranking high for your search term. Use a tool called VidIQ to see the keywords that the top videos are performing.

3. Search for Related Keywords and Evaluate Relevancy: A tool called Ubersuggest can help you find related keywords and allow you to identify the search volume, cost per click (aka CPC is used for determining the budget for paid search), and the competitiveness of the word or phrase.

Search volume: The number of searches with that particular keyword. The higher the number the more popular it is. You should aim to use keywords with a high search volume.

Keyword competition score: This score is usually indicated by a number and it represents how difficult it is for a keyword to rank due to other pages already ranking for that word or phrase. You want to find a keyword with a low competition score.

Pro tip: The best combination is high search volume and low competition score. But if you can’t get that perfect mix, go for the low competitive score, as it will give you a better chance to rank, even if it isn’t searched as often.

4. Come Up With Content Related to Those Keywords: To come up with topic ideas around a keyword, you can use a tool called Answer the Public , which gives you all the most popular questions searched online.

3. Engage Your Audience:

It’s been highly discussed on forums all over the Internet, and there appears to be a strong correlation between YouTube video ranking and the number of likes, dislikes, and comments the video received.

While YouTube itself might not be using the number of likes and comments to determine where your video rank, having high engagement allows your video to be discovered through other means.

Here is an example of how it would work:

- A YouTuber with 100,000 subscribers views your video and likes it

- Then your video might be visible to a fraction of those 100,000 subscribers.

- Boom! Domino effect!

- More people will see your video and like it, increasing your network of viewers and your watch time, which is one of the main factors that YouTube takes into consideration.

Get engagements with a call to action:

- Don’t be afraid to ask for an engagement at the beginning of the video to avoid fall off on retention.

- Encourage them to leave a comment or start a discussion by asking a question at the end of your video.

- Monitor comments and responds to them so you can build a relationship with your audience over time.

It’s all about creating a community and that is what YouTube encourages.

4. Upload YouTube Video in Proper Length:

YouTube puts a lot of weight on watch time, and in addition to that, it puts more weight on session watch time.

Session watch time is counted when people watch your video and then continue to watch others, it doesn’t have to be your own. The more time people spend watching YouTube videos, as a result of your content, the more likely YouTube will increase your ranking.

Since YouTube puts importance on time spent watching videos, the length of your video will play a key role.

If you have 5 videos and all of them are a minute long, a 100% watch through will only get you 5 minutes total.

However, if you have 1 video that is 20 minutes, and an average viewer only watches half of it, then you have an average watch time of over 10 minutes. That’s more than double what your five short videos can do. This longer video is worth more. However, if that 20-minute video is really boring and people drop off in the first minute, then it’s not any better than 1 of the 5 short videos.

If your format allows, go for a longer video instead of a shorter one. But the most important thing is that you can keep people watching your videos: so use end screen and playlist links to keep them engaged.

End screen: Pick related videos for your audience, so they know exactly what they should watch next. You can even create a background template for your end screens .

Playlist: If you have multiple videos that fit a specific topic, add them to a playlist so the viewer can enjoy them all in one viewing.

Key Takeaways:

1. Use Audience Retention to better understand how to structure your video for the best results.
2. Perform Keyword Research to find the keywords that your competitors are using and your audience is searching for.
3. Increasing Subscribers gets your video in front of more people the moment it is published.
4. Encourage Comments and respond to establish a relationship with your viewers.
5. Ensure that Viewers Continue Watching videos on YouTube after they finish watching yours.

Other Things That Affects Your YouTube Ranking

Except for the above-mentioned factors, there are also other issues that affect the ranking of your YouTube video. YouTube has stated that the number of subscribers doesn’t play a key role in your video ranking.

For example, if a YouTuber has a million subscribers and then overnight they lose 100 thousand, a video they had ranking number 1 will still be ranked number 1.

However, the number of subscribers has a lot of indirect effects on your channel.

- Subscribers know the moment your video is published

- Subscribers will watch your video in the first week (YouTube will rank your video higher if they see a lift in the first week of publishing)

- YouTube put a higher value on subscribers than views and social shares, because it’s harder to fake subscribers

Growing subscribers take time and effort, and even though it shouldn’t be your main focus, there are tactics you can do to gain more subscribers .

Don’t miss a chance to optimize your YouTube video, download, and print out this checklist for your next video project. For more information on SEO(Search Engine Optimization) on YouTube, you can also read the following article.

How to Fast Rank Video Higher with Video SEO >>

10 Best YouTube Keyword Tools to Use with Bonus Tips>>

If you want to find a video editing solution that empowers your imagination and creativity yet takes less effort, please try this robust and user-friendly video editing software Wondershare Filmora. It provides special effects, stock photo & video, sound library, etc., which will definitely enhance your productivity and helps to make money by making videos much accessible.

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

We all want our videos to get a lot of views, and in turn, lead to more subscribers. In order to do so, we have to prepare it for success. If you are hoping to optimize a video after it has already been published to YouTube, then you aren’t going to get the best result, because much of optimization is done before the video is even shot.a

In this article, we will give youa checklist , which you should have with you at the very beginning of creating a YouTube video: the ideation stage. As you go through your process, check off each task. By doing so, you can ensure that you have given the video the best chance to rank high and be discovered.

How to Optimize Your Video to Rank Higher on YouTube?

1. Keep Your Audience’s Attention
2. Do Keyword Research
3. Engage Your Audience
4. Upload YouTube Video in Proper Length

1. Keep Your Audience’s Attention:

Even though your view count is going up, it doesn’t mean your audience is watching your video. And if they are not, then YouTube is going to consider your video less valuable and therefore, lowering its rank.

Audience Retention is an important metric to keep an eye on after every video you’ve published.

Before you start your next project, take a look back at the Audience Retention of your previous videos.

1. Enter YouTube Studio in your channel
2. Access to Analytics
3. Select the video you want to review
4. Click into engagement
5. See where a dip in watch time

What is Good Audience Retention?

If you want to see how your Audience Retention is performing, the Average Percentage Viewed will give you a broad perspective. The higher the percentage, the more people are watching your entire video.

If you get above 60% Average Percentage Viewed, you should feel very proud. In our modern world with our short attention span, that is considered good retention.

In the example above, we see that on average, a viewer will only see 44% of the video. For the video below, we see that it only has 30% of the video viewed. Overall, the first video is performing better.

There is also a dip that happens at the beginning in the second example, which indicates that viewers are skipping forward and about 20% then deciding it’s not worth continuing. It’s good data to help you improve your introduction and the hook.

If there is important information that you are presenting at a given point and in the Audience Retention you see that only a small percentage of your viewers actually see it, then for the next video, you might want to position the details in a different point in the video.

How to Improve Audience Retention

Here are a few ways you can retain your audience’s attention if you noticed a drop in viewership:

- Film a hook (introduce your video to let the audience know what to expect)

- Add b-roll (having supplemental footage to cut to makes your video more interesting to watch)

- Have a co-host (Having someone on screen gives the video more dynamic interactions)

- Edit out the unimportant stuff

- Write a conclusion (having a conclusion prepared will allow you to transition from the content of the video to the call to action without the audience even knowing) See this example by PolyMatter below and notice how seamless their ending is.

If you have a video that is doing a good job retaining the audience, then replicate it. If there isn’t, keep experimenting with new structures. Improving audience retention is not simply important for your ranking, but it will affirm that you are building quality videos.

Knowing how to structure your video will allow you to be strategic as you build out your content.

2. Do Keyword Research:

Many viewers find YouTube videos via search, and if you aren’t using the appropriate keywords, then YouTube won’t be able to identify your content and display it for your viewers.

Where Do Keywords Appear on YouTube?

- Title: Have keywords at the beginning of the title and limit them up to approximately 60 characters so it appears in full in search.

- Tags: Include 10-15 tags from general keywords to more specific.

- Descriptions: Put important information and keywords at the beginning of the description so both searcher and the search engine understands what the video is about.

Why Keywords Matter

keyword arrangement is an integral part of YouTube optimization because the robots behind YouTube don’t associate the value of the actual video content with what the viewer is actually seeking. You should pay attention to the relevance of keywords.

Even when you add closed captions, it doesn’t mean the best keywords are present to the Youtube search engine when we speak.

That is why it is important to know your audience and what words and phrases they are going to use to search for your video.

Here is how you can see what keywords were used to find your video:

1. Enter YouTube Studio in your channel
2. Access Analytics
3. Select Reach
4. Click into Traffic Source
5. Click Traffic Source: YouTube Search

If you want to find some new keywords for your upcoming video, you will need to do some research.

1. Enter Keywords You Want to Rank for In YouTube Search: This allows you to see what the most popular phrases are in the YouTube search engine.

2. Study the Competitors: See which videos are ranking high for your search term. Use a tool called VidIQ to see the keywords that the top videos are performing.

3. Search for Related Keywords and Evaluate Relevancy: A tool called Ubersuggest can help you find related keywords and allow you to identify the search volume, cost per click (aka CPC is used for determining the budget for paid search), and the competitiveness of the word or phrase.

Search volume: The number of searches with that particular keyword. The higher the number the more popular it is. You should aim to use keywords with a high search volume.

Keyword competition score: This score is usually indicated by a number and it represents how difficult it is for a keyword to rank due to other pages already ranking for that word or phrase. You want to find a keyword with a low competition score.

Pro tip: The best combination is high search volume and low competition score. But if you can’t get that perfect mix, go for the low competitive score, as it will give you a better chance to rank, even if it isn’t searched as often.

4. Come Up With Content Related to Those Keywords: To come up with topic ideas around a keyword, you can use a tool called Answer the Public , which gives you all the most popular questions searched online.

3. Engage Your Audience:

It’s been highly discussed on forums all over the Internet, and there appears to be a strong correlation between YouTube video ranking and the number of likes, dislikes, and comments the video received.

While YouTube itself might not be using the number of likes and comments to determine where your video rank, having high engagement allows your video to be discovered through other means.

Here is an example of how it would work:

- A YouTuber with 100,000 subscribers views your video and likes it

- Then your video might be visible to a fraction of those 100,000 subscribers.

- Boom! Domino effect!

- More people will see your video and like it, increasing your network of viewers and your watch time, which is one of the main factors that YouTube takes into consideration.

Get engagements with a call to action:

- Don’t be afraid to ask for an engagement at the beginning of the video to avoid fall off on retention.

- Encourage them to leave a comment or start a discussion by asking a question at the end of your video.

- Monitor comments and responds to them so you can build a relationship with your audience over time.

It’s all about creating a community and that is what YouTube encourages.

4. Upload YouTube Video in Proper Length:

YouTube puts a lot of weight on watch time, and in addition to that, it puts more weight on session watch time.

Session watch time is counted when people watch your video and then continue to watch others, it doesn’t have to be your own. The more time people spend watching YouTube videos, as a result of your content, the more likely YouTube will increase your ranking.

Since YouTube puts importance on time spent watching videos, the length of your video will play a key role.

If you have 5 videos and all of them are a minute long, a 100% watch through will only get you 5 minutes total.

However, if you have 1 video that is 20 minutes, and an average viewer only watches half of it, then you have an average watch time of over 10 minutes. That’s more than double what your five short videos can do. This longer video is worth more. However, if that 20-minute video is really boring and people drop off in the first minute, then it’s not any better than 1 of the 5 short videos.

If your format allows, go for a longer video instead of a shorter one. But the most important thing is that you can keep people watching your videos: so use end screen and playlist links to keep them engaged.

End screen: Pick related videos for your audience, so they know exactly what they should watch next. You can even create a background template for your end screens .

Playlist: If you have multiple videos that fit a specific topic, add them to a playlist so the viewer can enjoy them all in one viewing.

Key Takeaways:

1. Use Audience Retention to better understand how to structure your video for the best results.
2. Perform Keyword Research to find the keywords that your competitors are using and your audience is searching for.
3. Increasing Subscribers gets your video in front of more people the moment it is published.
4. Encourage Comments and respond to establish a relationship with your viewers.
5. Ensure that Viewers Continue Watching videos on YouTube after they finish watching yours.

Other Things That Affects Your YouTube Ranking

Except for the above-mentioned factors, there are also other issues that affect the ranking of your YouTube video. YouTube has stated that the number of subscribers doesn’t play a key role in your video ranking.

For example, if a YouTuber has a million subscribers and then overnight they lose 100 thousand, a video they had ranking number 1 will still be ranked number 1.

However, the number of subscribers has a lot of indirect effects on your channel.

- Subscribers know the moment your video is published

- Subscribers will watch your video in the first week (YouTube will rank your video higher if they see a lift in the first week of publishing)

- YouTube put a higher value on subscribers than views and social shares, because it’s harder to fake subscribers

Growing subscribers take time and effort, and even though it shouldn’t be your main focus, there are tactics you can do to gain more subscribers .

Don’t miss a chance to optimize your YouTube video, download, and print out this checklist for your next video project. For more information on SEO(Search Engine Optimization) on YouTube, you can also read the following article.

How to Fast Rank Video Higher with Video SEO >>

10 Best YouTube Keyword Tools to Use with Bonus Tips>>

If you want to find a video editing solution that empowers your imagination and creativity yet takes less effort, please try this robust and user-friendly video editing software Wondershare Filmora. It provides special effects, stock photo & video, sound library, etc., which will definitely enhance your productivity and helps to make money by making videos much accessible.

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

We all want our videos to get a lot of views, and in turn, lead to more subscribers. In order to do so, we have to prepare it for success. If you are hoping to optimize a video after it has already been published to YouTube, then you aren’t going to get the best result, because much of optimization is done before the video is even shot.a

In this article, we will give youa checklist , which you should have with you at the very beginning of creating a YouTube video: the ideation stage. As you go through your process, check off each task. By doing so, you can ensure that you have given the video the best chance to rank high and be discovered.

How to Optimize Your Video to Rank Higher on YouTube?

1. Keep Your Audience’s Attention
2. Do Keyword Research
3. Engage Your Audience
4. Upload YouTube Video in Proper Length

1. Keep Your Audience’s Attention:

Even though your view count is going up, it doesn’t mean your audience is watching your video. And if they are not, then YouTube is going to consider your video less valuable and therefore, lowering its rank.

Audience Retention is an important metric to keep an eye on after every video you’ve published.

Before you start your next project, take a look back at the Audience Retention of your previous videos.

1. Enter YouTube Studio in your channel
2. Access to Analytics
3. Select the video you want to review
4. Click into engagement
5. See where a dip in watch time

What is Good Audience Retention?

If you want to see how your Audience Retention is performing, the Average Percentage Viewed will give you a broad perspective. The higher the percentage, the more people are watching your entire video.

If you get above 60% Average Percentage Viewed, you should feel very proud. In our modern world with our short attention span, that is considered good retention.

In the example above, we see that on average, a viewer will only see 44% of the video. For the video below, we see that it only has 30% of the video viewed. Overall, the first video is performing better.

There is also a dip that happens at the beginning in the second example, which indicates that viewers are skipping forward and about 20% then deciding it’s not worth continuing. It’s good data to help you improve your introduction and the hook.

If there is important information that you are presenting at a given point and in the Audience Retention you see that only a small percentage of your viewers actually see it, then for the next video, you might want to position the details in a different point in the video.

How to Improve Audience Retention

Here are a few ways you can retain your audience’s attention if you noticed a drop in viewership:

- Film a hook (introduce your video to let the audience know what to expect)

- Add b-roll (having supplemental footage to cut to makes your video more interesting to watch)

- Have a co-host (Having someone on screen gives the video more dynamic interactions)

- Edit out the unimportant stuff

- Write a conclusion (having a conclusion prepared will allow you to transition from the content of the video to the call to action without the audience even knowing) See this example by PolyMatter below and notice how seamless their ending is.

If you have a video that is doing a good job retaining the audience, then replicate it. If there isn’t, keep experimenting with new structures. Improving audience retention is not simply important for your ranking, but it will affirm that you are building quality videos.

Knowing how to structure your video will allow you to be strategic as you build out your content.

2. Do Keyword Research:

Many viewers find YouTube videos via search, and if you aren’t using the appropriate keywords, then YouTube won’t be able to identify your content and display it for your viewers.

Where Do Keywords Appear on YouTube?

- Title: Have keywords at the beginning of the title and limit them up to approximately 60 characters so it appears in full in search.

- Tags: Include 10-15 tags from general keywords to more specific.

- Descriptions: Put important information and keywords at the beginning of the description so both searcher and the search engine understands what the video is about.

Why Keywords Matter

keyword arrangement is an integral part of YouTube optimization because the robots behind YouTube don’t associate the value of the actual video content with what the viewer is actually seeking. You should pay attention to the relevance of keywords.

Even when you add closed captions, it doesn’t mean the best keywords are present to the Youtube search engine when we speak.

That is why it is important to know your audience and what words and phrases they are going to use to search for your video.

Here is how you can see what keywords were used to find your video:

1. Enter YouTube Studio in your channel
2. Access Analytics
3. Select Reach
4. Click into Traffic Source
5. Click Traffic Source: YouTube Search

If you want to find some new keywords for your upcoming video, you will need to do some research.

1. Enter Keywords You Want to Rank for In YouTube Search: This allows you to see what the most popular phrases are in the YouTube search engine.

2. Study the Competitors: See which videos are ranking high for your search term. Use a tool called VidIQ to see the keywords that the top videos are performing.

3. Search for Related Keywords and Evaluate Relevancy: A tool called Ubersuggest can help you find related keywords and allow you to identify the search volume, cost per click (aka CPC is used for determining the budget for paid search), and the competitiveness of the word or phrase.

Search volume: The number of searches with that particular keyword. The higher the number the more popular it is. You should aim to use keywords with a high search volume.

Keyword competition score: This score is usually indicated by a number and it represents how difficult it is for a keyword to rank due to other pages already ranking for that word or phrase. You want to find a keyword with a low competition score.

Pro tip: The best combination is high search volume and low competition score. But if you can’t get that perfect mix, go for the low competitive score, as it will give you a better chance to rank, even if it isn’t searched as often.

4. Come Up With Content Related to Those Keywords: To come up with topic ideas around a keyword, you can use a tool called Answer the Public , which gives you all the most popular questions searched online.

3. Engage Your Audience:

It’s been highly discussed on forums all over the Internet, and there appears to be a strong correlation between YouTube video ranking and the number of likes, dislikes, and comments the video received.

While YouTube itself might not be using the number of likes and comments to determine where your video rank, having high engagement allows your video to be discovered through other means.

Here is an example of how it would work:

- A YouTuber with 100,000 subscribers views your video and likes it

- Then your video might be visible to a fraction of those 100,000 subscribers.

- Boom! Domino effect!

- More people will see your video and like it, increasing your network of viewers and your watch time, which is one of the main factors that YouTube takes into consideration.

Get engagements with a call to action:

- Don’t be afraid to ask for an engagement at the beginning of the video to avoid fall off on retention.

- Encourage them to leave a comment or start a discussion by asking a question at the end of your video.

- Monitor comments and responds to them so you can build a relationship with your audience over time.

It’s all about creating a community and that is what YouTube encourages.

4. Upload YouTube Video in Proper Length:

YouTube puts a lot of weight on watch time, and in addition to that, it puts more weight on session watch time.

Session watch time is counted when people watch your video and then continue to watch others, it doesn’t have to be your own. The more time people spend watching YouTube videos, as a result of your content, the more likely YouTube will increase your ranking.

Since YouTube puts importance on time spent watching videos, the length of your video will play a key role.

If you have 5 videos and all of them are a minute long, a 100% watch through will only get you 5 minutes total.

However, if you have 1 video that is 20 minutes, and an average viewer only watches half of it, then you have an average watch time of over 10 minutes. That’s more than double what your five short videos can do. This longer video is worth more. However, if that 20-minute video is really boring and people drop off in the first minute, then it’s not any better than 1 of the 5 short videos.

If your format allows, go for a longer video instead of a shorter one. But the most important thing is that you can keep people watching your videos: so use end screen and playlist links to keep them engaged.

End screen: Pick related videos for your audience, so they know exactly what they should watch next. You can even create a background template for your end screens .

Playlist: If you have multiple videos that fit a specific topic, add them to a playlist so the viewer can enjoy them all in one viewing.

Key Takeaways:

1. Use Audience Retention to better understand how to structure your video for the best results.
2. Perform Keyword Research to find the keywords that your competitors are using and your audience is searching for.
3. Increasing Subscribers gets your video in front of more people the moment it is published.
4. Encourage Comments and respond to establish a relationship with your viewers.
5. Ensure that Viewers Continue Watching videos on YouTube after they finish watching yours.

Other Things That Affects Your YouTube Ranking

Except for the above-mentioned factors, there are also other issues that affect the ranking of your YouTube video. YouTube has stated that the number of subscribers doesn’t play a key role in your video ranking.

For example, if a YouTuber has a million subscribers and then overnight they lose 100 thousand, a video they had ranking number 1 will still be ranked number 1.

However, the number of subscribers has a lot of indirect effects on your channel.

- Subscribers know the moment your video is published

- Subscribers will watch your video in the first week (YouTube will rank your video higher if they see a lift in the first week of publishing)

- YouTube put a higher value on subscribers than views and social shares, because it’s harder to fake subscribers

Growing subscribers take time and effort, and even though it shouldn’t be your main focus, there are tactics you can do to gain more subscribers .

Don’t miss a chance to optimize your YouTube video, download, and print out this checklist for your next video project. For more information on SEO(Search Engine Optimization) on YouTube, you can also read the following article.

How to Fast Rank Video Higher with Video SEO >>

10 Best YouTube Keyword Tools to Use with Bonus Tips>>

If you want to find a video editing solution that empowers your imagination and creativity yet takes less effort, please try this robust and user-friendly video editing software Wondershare Filmora. It provides special effects, stock photo & video, sound library, etc., which will definitely enhance your productivity and helps to make money by making videos much accessible.

Richard Bennett

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

Follow @Richard Bennett

YT Cover Art: The Key to More Views

What’s the Best YouTube Thumbnail Size?

Richard Bennett

Dec 30, 2022• Proven solutions

0

Making better YouTube thumbnails will help you get more views, and knowing the best YouTube thumbnail size is part of that. There are millions of videos on YouTube, so if you want the audience to click on yours, then you need to make a great first impression.

1. What’s the ideal YouTube thumbnail Size and Dimension?
2. Tips for Perfect Thumbnails
3. Making Better Thumbnails for YouTube

1. What’s the ideal YouTube thumbnail Size and Dimension?

An essential thing that every YouTube video developer needs to know is about the selection of the right side of the thumbnail for any video. As per the guidelines circulated by Google itself, the most appropriate size for the thumbnail image is 1280x720 pixels, where the recommended minimal pixel width is 640 pixels. Generally, the 16:9 ratio is considered as an ideal choice for Most of YouTube previews and players.

Here is one interesting thing that you need to know; the thumbnail of videos appears smaller during searches, but it naturally grows to the full size of a video during suggestions. Now the fact is that upscaling of images often loses the quality of content, whereas it is much easier to downscale larger images into smaller ones. Hence, the best idea is to use large size images so that this search and suggestion based scaling needs can be well accomplished.

You May Also Like:
Top 12 Best Free YouTube Thumbnail Makers >>
How to Download YouTube Thumbnail in 3 Ways [Online/Win/Mac] >>

2. Tips for Perfect Thumbnails

So, if you are ready to add thumbnails to your videos, then it is time to learn a few essential tips to do this task with improved impact. You need to ignore the blurry details and boost the eye-catching ones. Here are a few essential tips for developing the best videos with an impressive selection of thumbnail images:

YouTube’s Default Thumbnails

When you upload your video on YouTube, the platform itself gives you suggestions about thumbnails, and they are directly picked up from your own video. Although the idea is good and original, these thumbnails use to be of low quality with blur details. Hope! You don’t want to lose your audience with this bad selection.

Custom Thumbnails

This is probably the best choice for your customized videos, and the interesting thing is that here you can control everything manually with lots of useful effects.

First of all, you need to open your video on YouTube and then scrub a useful still from your video that you wish to use as a thumbnail.

Now, you need to take a screenshot of this particular instance of your video file. The best part is that most of the operating systems allow users to enjoy several shortcuts to complete this task. For example:

Mac users need to press Command+Shift+4 and then simply highlight the area that you want to include in your screenshot with the help of a frame. The system will automatically save your selected area to your desktop in the form of an image.

Window users are advised to access Windows Key with Print Screen option to get their desired screenshot.

Once you are ready with your video specific still image, then simply get it uploaded on YouTube using the edit video page.

3. Making Better Thumbnails for YouTube

The best part is to access some photo editing software tool to edit your image the way you like. You can use an advanced tool like Photoshop or a free online tool like Canva.

• Focus on Size:

It is always advised to create thumbnail images with standard video file size; the most commonly used standard size range is 1980x1080 or 1280x720. Images having a size smaller than this range may often appear blurry.

• Add Text:

The best idea is to use text-based editing for your thumbnail images and preferably add the title of your video to this image. It will naturally attract more viewers.

• Borders matter:

Professionals recommend adding borders around thumbnail images but do not try to make it too thick rather, try to make it noticeable with fine details.

• Background editing:

Most of the expert video thumbnail developers prefer to change the impact of thumbnail background by simply replacing the background color with solid colors. It will definitely attract more viewers and will bring major attention to the major subject.

• Test it before uploading:

Before uploading your customized thumbnail to your YouTube channel, prefer to check its final view. Zoom in to check the appearance of the thumbnail image on the larger screen, and it should also look fine when sized down.

Now that you know the best YouTube thumbnail size and how to design better thumbnails, do you think you’ll revisit the thumbnails of your existing YouTube videos?

If you want to find a video editing solution that empowers your imagination and creativity yet takes less effort, please try this robust and user-friendly video editing software Wondershare Filmora. It provides special effects, stock photo & video, sound library, etc., which will definitely enhance your productivity and helps to make money by making videos much accessible.

Richard Bennett

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

Follow @Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett

Dec 30, 2022• Proven solutions

0

Making better YouTube thumbnails will help you get more views, and knowing the best YouTube thumbnail size is part of that. There are millions of videos on YouTube, so if you want the audience to click on yours, then you need to make a great first impression.

1. What’s the ideal YouTube thumbnail Size and Dimension?
2. Tips for Perfect Thumbnails
3. Making Better Thumbnails for YouTube

1. What’s the ideal YouTube thumbnail Size and Dimension?

An essential thing that every YouTube video developer needs to know is about the selection of the right side of the thumbnail for any video. As per the guidelines circulated by Google itself, the most appropriate size for the thumbnail image is 1280x720 pixels, where the recommended minimal pixel width is 640 pixels. Generally, the 16:9 ratio is considered as an ideal choice for Most of YouTube previews and players.

Here is one interesting thing that you need to know; the thumbnail of videos appears smaller during searches, but it naturally grows to the full size of a video during suggestions. Now the fact is that upscaling of images often loses the quality of content, whereas it is much easier to downscale larger images into smaller ones. Hence, the best idea is to use large size images so that this search and suggestion based scaling needs can be well accomplished.

You May Also Like:
Top 12 Best Free YouTube Thumbnail Makers >>
How to Download YouTube Thumbnail in 3 Ways [Online/Win/Mac] >>

2. Tips for Perfect Thumbnails

So, if you are ready to add thumbnails to your videos, then it is time to learn a few essential tips to do this task with improved impact. You need to ignore the blurry details and boost the eye-catching ones. Here are a few essential tips for developing the best videos with an impressive selection of thumbnail images:

YouTube’s Default Thumbnails

When you upload your video on YouTube, the platform itself gives you suggestions about thumbnails, and they are directly picked up from your own video. Although the idea is good and original, these thumbnails use to be of low quality with blur details. Hope! You don’t want to lose your audience with this bad selection.

Custom Thumbnails

This is probably the best choice for your customized videos, and the interesting thing is that here you can control everything manually with lots of useful effects.

First of all, you need to open your video on YouTube and then scrub a useful still from your video that you wish to use as a thumbnail.

Now, you need to take a screenshot of this particular instance of your video file. The best part is that most of the operating systems allow users to enjoy several shortcuts to complete this task. For example:

Mac users need to press Command+Shift+4 and then simply highlight the area that you want to include in your screenshot with the help of a frame. The system will automatically save your selected area to your desktop in the form of an image.

Window users are advised to access Windows Key with Print Screen option to get their desired screenshot.

Once you are ready with your video specific still image, then simply get it uploaded on YouTube using the edit video page.

3. Making Better Thumbnails for YouTube

The best part is to access some photo editing software tool to edit your image the way you like. You can use an advanced tool like Photoshop or a free online tool like Canva.

• Focus on Size:

It is always advised to create thumbnail images with standard video file size; the most commonly used standard size range is 1980x1080 or 1280x720. Images having a size smaller than this range may often appear blurry.

• Add Text:

The best idea is to use text-based editing for your thumbnail images and preferably add the title of your video to this image. It will naturally attract more viewers.

• Borders matter:

Professionals recommend adding borders around thumbnail images but do not try to make it too thick rather, try to make it noticeable with fine details.

• Background editing:

Most of the expert video thumbnail developers prefer to change the impact of thumbnail background by simply replacing the background color with solid colors. It will definitely attract more viewers and will bring major attention to the major subject.

• Test it before uploading:

Before uploading your customized thumbnail to your YouTube channel, prefer to check its final view. Zoom in to check the appearance of the thumbnail image on the larger screen, and it should also look fine when sized down.

Now that you know the best YouTube thumbnail size and how to design better thumbnails, do you think you’ll revisit the thumbnails of your existing YouTube videos?

If you want to find a video editing solution that empowers your imagination and creativity yet takes less effort, please try this robust and user-friendly video editing software Wondershare Filmora. It provides special effects, stock photo & video, sound library, etc., which will definitely enhance your productivity and helps to make money by making videos much accessible.

Richard Bennett

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

Follow @Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett

Dec 30, 2022• Proven solutions

0

Making better YouTube thumbnails will help you get more views, and knowing the best YouTube thumbnail size is part of that. There are millions of videos on YouTube, so if you want the audience to click on yours, then you need to make a great first impression.

1. What’s the ideal YouTube thumbnail Size and Dimension?
2. Tips for Perfect Thumbnails
3. Making Better Thumbnails for YouTube

1. What’s the ideal YouTube thumbnail Size and Dimension?

An essential thing that every YouTube video developer needs to know is about the selection of the right side of the thumbnail for any video. As per the guidelines circulated by Google itself, the most appropriate size for the thumbnail image is 1280x720 pixels, where the recommended minimal pixel width is 640 pixels. Generally, the 16:9 ratio is considered as an ideal choice for Most of YouTube previews and players.

Here is one interesting thing that you need to know; the thumbnail of videos appears smaller during searches, but it naturally grows to the full size of a video during suggestions. Now the fact is that upscaling of images often loses the quality of content, whereas it is much easier to downscale larger images into smaller ones. Hence, the best idea is to use large size images so that this search and suggestion based scaling needs can be well accomplished.

You May Also Like:
Top 12 Best Free YouTube Thumbnail Makers >>
How to Download YouTube Thumbnail in 3 Ways [Online/Win/Mac] >>

2. Tips for Perfect Thumbnails

So, if you are ready to add thumbnails to your videos, then it is time to learn a few essential tips to do this task with improved impact. You need to ignore the blurry details and boost the eye-catching ones. Here are a few essential tips for developing the best videos with an impressive selection of thumbnail images:

YouTube’s Default Thumbnails

When you upload your video on YouTube, the platform itself gives you suggestions about thumbnails, and they are directly picked up from your own video. Although the idea is good and original, these thumbnails use to be of low quality with blur details. Hope! You don’t want to lose your audience with this bad selection.

Custom Thumbnails

This is probably the best choice for your customized videos, and the interesting thing is that here you can control everything manually with lots of useful effects.

First of all, you need to open your video on YouTube and then scrub a useful still from your video that you wish to use as a thumbnail.

Now, you need to take a screenshot of this particular instance of your video file. The best part is that most of the operating systems allow users to enjoy several shortcuts to complete this task. For example:

Mac users need to press Command+Shift+4 and then simply highlight the area that you want to include in your screenshot with the help of a frame. The system will automatically save your selected area to your desktop in the form of an image.

Window users are advised to access Windows Key with Print Screen option to get their desired screenshot.

Once you are ready with your video specific still image, then simply get it uploaded on YouTube using the edit video page.

3. Making Better Thumbnails for YouTube

The best part is to access some photo editing software tool to edit your image the way you like. You can use an advanced tool like Photoshop or a free online tool like Canva.

• Focus on Size:

It is always advised to create thumbnail images with standard video file size; the most commonly used standard size range is 1980x1080 or 1280x720. Images having a size smaller than this range may often appear blurry.

• Add Text:

The best idea is to use text-based editing for your thumbnail images and preferably add the title of your video to this image. It will naturally attract more viewers.

• Borders matter:

Professionals recommend adding borders around thumbnail images but do not try to make it too thick rather, try to make it noticeable with fine details.

• Background editing:

Most of the expert video thumbnail developers prefer to change the impact of thumbnail background by simply replacing the background color with solid colors. It will definitely attract more viewers and will bring major attention to the major subject.

• Test it before uploading:

Before uploading your customized thumbnail to your YouTube channel, prefer to check its final view. Zoom in to check the appearance of the thumbnail image on the larger screen, and it should also look fine when sized down.

Now that you know the best YouTube thumbnail size and how to design better thumbnails, do you think you’ll revisit the thumbnails of your existing YouTube videos?

If you want to find a video editing solution that empowers your imagination and creativity yet takes less effort, please try this robust and user-friendly video editing software Wondershare Filmora. It provides special effects, stock photo & video, sound library, etc., which will definitely enhance your productivity and helps to make money by making videos much accessible.

Richard Bennett

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

Follow @Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett

Dec 30, 2022• Proven solutions

0

Making better YouTube thumbnails will help you get more views, and knowing the best YouTube thumbnail size is part of that. There are millions of videos on YouTube, so if you want the audience to click on yours, then you need to make a great first impression.

1. What’s the ideal YouTube thumbnail Size and Dimension?
2. Tips for Perfect Thumbnails
3. Making Better Thumbnails for YouTube

1. What’s the ideal YouTube thumbnail Size and Dimension?

An essential thing that every YouTube video developer needs to know is about the selection of the right side of the thumbnail for any video. As per the guidelines circulated by Google itself, the most appropriate size for the thumbnail image is 1280x720 pixels, where the recommended minimal pixel width is 640 pixels. Generally, the 16:9 ratio is considered as an ideal choice for Most of YouTube previews and players.

Here is one interesting thing that you need to know; the thumbnail of videos appears smaller during searches, but it naturally grows to the full size of a video during suggestions. Now the fact is that upscaling of images often loses the quality of content, whereas it is much easier to downscale larger images into smaller ones. Hence, the best idea is to use large size images so that this search and suggestion based scaling needs can be well accomplished.

You May Also Like:
Top 12 Best Free YouTube Thumbnail Makers >>
How to Download YouTube Thumbnail in 3 Ways [Online/Win/Mac] >>

2. Tips for Perfect Thumbnails

So, if you are ready to add thumbnails to your videos, then it is time to learn a few essential tips to do this task with improved impact. You need to ignore the blurry details and boost the eye-catching ones. Here are a few essential tips for developing the best videos with an impressive selection of thumbnail images:

YouTube’s Default Thumbnails

When you upload your video on YouTube, the platform itself gives you suggestions about thumbnails, and they are directly picked up from your own video. Although the idea is good and original, these thumbnails use to be of low quality with blur details. Hope! You don’t want to lose your audience with this bad selection.

Custom Thumbnails

This is probably the best choice for your customized videos, and the interesting thing is that here you can control everything manually with lots of useful effects.

First of all, you need to open your video on YouTube and then scrub a useful still from your video that you wish to use as a thumbnail.

Now, you need to take a screenshot of this particular instance of your video file. The best part is that most of the operating systems allow users to enjoy several shortcuts to complete this task. For example:

Mac users need to press Command+Shift+4 and then simply highlight the area that you want to include in your screenshot with the help of a frame. The system will automatically save your selected area to your desktop in the form of an image.

Window users are advised to access Windows Key with Print Screen option to get their desired screenshot.

Once you are ready with your video specific still image, then simply get it uploaded on YouTube using the edit video page.

3. Making Better Thumbnails for YouTube

The best part is to access some photo editing software tool to edit your image the way you like. You can use an advanced tool like Photoshop or a free online tool like Canva.

• Focus on Size:

It is always advised to create thumbnail images with standard video file size; the most commonly used standard size range is 1980x1080 or 1280x720. Images having a size smaller than this range may often appear blurry.

• Add Text:

The best idea is to use text-based editing for your thumbnail images and preferably add the title of your video to this image. It will naturally attract more viewers.

• Borders matter:

Professionals recommend adding borders around thumbnail images but do not try to make it too thick rather, try to make it noticeable with fine details.

• Background editing:

Most of the expert video thumbnail developers prefer to change the impact of thumbnail background by simply replacing the background color with solid colors. It will definitely attract more viewers and will bring major attention to the major subject.

• Test it before uploading:

Before uploading your customized thumbnail to your YouTube channel, prefer to check its final view. Zoom in to check the appearance of the thumbnail image on the larger screen, and it should also look fine when sized down.

Now that you know the best YouTube thumbnail size and how to design better thumbnails, do you think you’ll revisit the thumbnails of your existing YouTube videos?

If you want to find a video editing solution that empowers your imagination and creativity yet takes less effort, please try this robust and user-friendly video editing software Wondershare Filmora. It provides special effects, stock photo & video, sound library, etc., which will definitely enhance your productivity and helps to make money by making videos much accessible.

Richard Bennett

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

Follow @Richard Bennett

Also read: