
The recommended size for YouTube thumbnails is 1280x720px (1280 pixels wide and 720 pixels high). These dimensions work out to be a 16:9 ratio, which is the most commonly used aspect ratio across YouTube players and previews.

Some other guidelines recommended by [YouTube](https://support.google.com/youtube/answer/72431?hl=en) are:

- Thumbnail images should be **under 2MB**.
- Make sure your thumbnail size is **at least** 640 pixels wide.
- Be uploaded in image formats such as JPG, GIF, or PNG.

**Why are YouTube thumbnails so important?**

Thumbnails and titles act like billboards and are the primary things potential viewers consider when deciding whether to watch your videos. Well designed thumbnails and titles will get more clicks which means more views for your videos and more subscribers for your channel.

Thumbnails and titles are usually the first thing viewers see when browsing on YouTube and an important piece of your video’s metadata. They work together as a team to build anticipation while accurately representing what’s in your video. Make a good first impression on your audience!

**Are clickbait thumbnails effective?**

No.

To explain why, let's go through some [**official YouTube terminology**](https://creatoracademy.youtube.com/page/lesson/analytics-impressions#strategies-zippy-link-4):

- Impressions = How many times your video thumbnails are shown on YouTube
- Clickthrough-rate (**CTR**) = Proportion of your impressions that turn into views
- Average View Duration (**AVD**) = Average amount of time viewers watch your video

AVD is a key determinant of whether the YouTube algorithm continues to recommend your videos to potential viewers. If viewers are clicking your thumbnails and then finding out that your video doesn't match up with the title or thumbnail, they will click away and not watch your video. This has the effect of lowering your AVD, which will lead to YouTube penalizing your video. This is why you should never use clickbait thumbnails or titles!

**Should I test my thumbnails?**

Yes.

Thumbnails can help you with your CTR (which we discussed above). A good thumbnail and title can increase the proportion of impressions that turn into views. Just think to the last time you saw an interesting thumbnail or title on YouTube and decided to click on it. The key here is that your thumbnail should still represent the content of your video (and not be clickbait). This way you get more clicks, more views, and a high AVD!

Another benefit of improving your CTR is that the YouTube algorithm likes videos with high CTR and AVD. This means increasing your CTR leads to the YouTube algorithm recommending your videos to more viewers.

Want more tactics to grow on YouTube? Check out our [52 Tips to Get More Views on YouTube](../blog/52-tactics-to-get-more-views-on-youtube)


Official Recommended YouTube Thumbnail Size


*"Niche down and grow"*

You've probably heard this phrase or a variant of this phrase before and for good reason, it's absolutely true. But, it can be challenging for creatives to lock into only one topic or type of content. A fear many creators have about the idea of adherence to a niche is rigidity. They imagine mindless content creation, stuck in a topic they've long grown tired over, repeatedly repeating the same topic over and over. This is a deep misunderstanding that prevents many aspiring YouTubers from finding success. Sticking to a niche helps you retain your viewers and subscribers, keeping them coming back for more. By sticking to a niche or topic, your viewers know what to expect from your videos both in terms of quality and content. 

*Focus on value instead*

If you are struggling with finding or identifying your niche, just try to think about the topics you find interesting or your audience would find to be valuable. You then want to start focusing on this *value*. By thinking of your niche as a focus on value, you can also expand the range of videos you can produce.

Some examples of "expanding" your niche:

- If you're focused on business or education content, try to keep your videos focused on the outcome that the viewer desires by watching this content, or the identity in terms of their profession or titles within the industry or their organization. This allows you to expand into more general productivity style videos
- If you’re doing “Beauty Content” and you have been reviewing budget or drug store beauty products. Think about what value your viewers get from watching youre videos and how you can supplement it. For example, your viewers have gained knowledge about individual products from your reviews, but do they have information on how to mix and match products?
- If you are doing “Gaming Content” and you could focus on a series of games, you could focus on the Lore of those games and also on the shared universe across franchise games. 

Focus on Value and Keep Subscribers Coming Back for More


YouTube is one of the most widely used social media platforms with over 2 billion active users every month. Learn how you can tap into this huge audience, get more views on your videos, and supercharge growth on your YouTube channel! Let's dive right in.

PS: Don’t have time to read the whole list? Just get the [cheat sheet](https://emailoctopus.com/lists/193ea8c9-9db2-11ea-a3d0-06b4694bee2a/forms/subscribe).

---

_YouTube content strategy_

**🥇 Quality is paramount**

High-quality content increases your chances of success. Think of your YouTube channel like a TV channel, which can only succeed if your viewers find your videos entertaining and interesting.

**⛔️ Don't be limited by your niche**

Do not always stick to the same topics if you want to entertain a larger audience. Provide your audience with different topics that can grab their attention and offer something new to learn.

**⏳ Mix up your video length**

Publish both long and short videos to target different kinds of audiences. Short videos will entertain people with short attention spans and long videos will satisfy your loyal subscribers.

**📈 Capitalize on trends**

Give your opinion on the latest issues or publish a response to the latest social media trends. Trends are a great way to expand your viewer base beyond your regular subscribers.

**🐢 Consistency wins**

Publish your videos consistently. Aim for the same day (and even time) every week. Feed your subscribers well and they will keep coming back!

---

_YouTube channel branding_

**🏆 Brand recognition**

Your subscribers need to be able to recognize your channel with a single glance. You can achieve this by using the same theme, symbols, and colors consistently across all your videos, thumbnails, and social media platforms.

**🏞 Thumbnails can make or break your video**

Use thumbnails that _force_ viewers to click and watch your videos. Don't ruin your video with an ineffective thumbnail. Make sure you [test your thumbnails BEFORE you publish](http://thumblytics.com/) to give your videos the best chance of success.

**🕵️‍♂️ Be presentable AND relatable**

Appear clean and attractive if you are featuring yourself in the videos. Choose your outfits according to the topic you have chosen to discuss. You can connect better with the audience in this way.

**🖼 Check your background**

Even if your background isn't the focus of your video, it can have a large impact on your viewer's perception of the quality of your video. Make sure your background isn't messy.

**👤 Leverage your profile picture**

Use a logo as your profile picture if you do not appear in your YouTube videos. Use your face as a profile picture if you appear in your videos. By doing this, you can build a stronger connection with your viewers.

---

_Personal brand_

**📣 Run regular Q&A sessions**

You should do Q&A sessions with your viewers regularly, every week or at least twice a month. This not only helps your viewers feel connected with you, but gives you the feedback you need to improve the quality of your content.

**👑 Build authority**

Publish videos answering your audience’s questions. This is how many YouTubers have established their authority in a niche or topic.

**🧩 De-complexify the complex**

Choose complex topics and do some research on those topics. Explain these complex topics in a simple and easy-to-understand manner. This also helps to position yourself as an expert in the category. For example, you can review new gadgets and products to help buyers!

**🛣 Share your journey**

Create one or more videos to reveal your story, how you got to where you are today, and why you started making videos. It will help your audience learn about what you do and how you have built a brand to entertain and help your viewers.

**🔮 Be open and transparent**

Never hide your future goals from the viewers. Reveal your objectives to build stronger connections with the audience. They will become invested in helping you in chase and achieve your dreams, becoming regular viewers of your videos on YouTube.

---

_Engage with your audience_

**👯‍♀️ Community always wins**

You can create a community by interacting with the audience in your videos and by replying their comments on different platforms.

**🆓 Everybody loves giveaways**

Use freebies and other perks to build other ways to connect with your audience beyond your videos (e.g. building an email list).

**🙇‍♂️ Accept criticism graciously**

Accept criticism and listen your followers to improve your performance and let them know that you welcome feedback.

**👀 Be authentic**

It may be tempting to promote certain brands you don't trust in order to make some quick money in the short term. But to succeed over the long term, you should never promote anything you do not like or you do not find appropriate. Authenticity is required on YouTube if you want to stay relevant.

**🧠 Provoke thought**

Raise questions in your viewers minds and increase their interest in your channel.

---

_Promoting your YouTube channel and videos_

**🗣 Just ask**

Ask your viewers to share your videos and channel links on various social networking sites. It is the simplest way of marketing your brand and channel.

**🎳 Facebook groups**

Already have an idea of what interests your audience has. Find more of them by looking for relevant Facebook groups. This is also a great way to gather information on what your audience wants to watch.

**🔈 Podcast**

Engage with your audience over a different medium. Your viewers may listen to podcasts whille commuting or doing other tasks, make sure you stay connected with your subscribers during this time too!

**🤙 Collaborations**

Collaborations are a great way to "share" subscribers. When you collaborate with another YouTuber, you are showing them to all your subscribers and they are showing you to their subscribers.

**✉️ Everyone has email**

Use email lists to email promotions related to your videos and channels. Use some freebies to encourage your subscribers to share the videos and gain free perks.

**🎖 Run contests**

Organize contests and reward the random winners of those contests. Many people will take interest in your videos and many will subscribe if you provide useful items like coupons, outfits, caps, etc.

**📺 Tap into existing communities**

Tap into existing communities where sharing your channel is permitted. A good example of this is @TubeListHQ on Twitter. Explain your channel in 10 words or less and you get a free shoutout for your channel!

---

_Take advantage of the YouTube algorithm_

**🔍 Search Engine Optimization**

YouTube is the second largest search engine in the world. Take the time to learn more about YouTube SEO and implement those SEO tactics to rank your channel and videos higher in organic search results.

**🖱 Clickthrough-rate**

Impressions refer to how many times your thumbnails are seen. Clickthrough-rate (CTR) is the proportion of impressions that convert into views. If you videos have a higher CTR, the YouTube algorithm will be more likely to recommend your video to potential viewers. Another reason why optimizing your thumbnails is super important!

**📈 Analyze trends**

Analyze how people search and what they seek when searching for topics related to your channel. Be familiar with the latest trends to capture more views.

**📝 Do keyword research**

Use a mixture of high traffic and long-tail keywords. Use keywords in your video titles and descriptions to help viewers discover your videos.

**⌗ Leverage tags**

Once you've done your keyword research, make sure you use them in your tags. This also helps viewers discover your videos.

---

_Invest in the necessary equipment and tools_

**🔊 Audio quality**

Get a decent quality audio setup to provide great audio quality along with video quality. Invest in a quality microphone within your budget to give your viewers the best audio experience.

**☀️ Lighting**

Good lighting is an integral part of producing quality videos. Lighting can make a huge difference, even if you are recording through an ordinary camera or your smartphone camera. Investing in a qualify lighting setup will allow you to record and publish your videos anytime you want!

**📷 Familiarity**

Get familiar with all the features of a DSLR if you are using it to record your videos. Using a DSLR for video can be quite different to using it for photography.

**🎙 Sync audio**

Plug the microphone directly to the camera so that you can get better audio quality and save time on editing the video. Test that mic before you record the final video to ensure it works well.

**💥 Stability**

Get a tripod to keep the camera stable when recording a video for your YouTube channel. You can also buy a camera stabilizer to record stable videos because the audience does not like shaky videos on YouTube.

**🎬 Editing software**

Even experienced YouTubers can spend several hours and sometimes days to edit their videos. Investing in editing software can help you minimise this time and maximise the quality of results.

**🎞 Color grading**

Use color grading to provide your videos with a different look and a unique style.

**📽 Check before you publish**

There is no way to edit the videos once uploaded on YouTube. Therefore, you should check everything is correct before you publish a video.

**🎶 Background music**

Always use background music in your videos to keep viewers engaged.

**🎥 Consistent intros**

Use a consistent style of intro at the beginning of your videos. These intros should be kept relatively short in the 3-5 second range.

---

_Monetization_

**💰 Diversify**

Don’t just rely on AdSense for your revenue. Try affiliate marketing and get sponsors for your videos. That’s how you can generate more money than ads could ever provide.

**💯 Quantity is your friend**

You shouldn't compromise on content quality, but quantity also matters on YouTube. Churning out more videos also has the effect of improving the quality of your videos as you make more content!

**🗣 Referrals**

The referral business is another awesome way of making money through YouTube. Some YouTubers have earned thousands of dollars from just a few videos!

**🙅‍♀️ Avoid partner networks**

Avoid partner networks if possible because they often take a huge portion of your revenue (upwards of 50%).

**🤑 Direct fan support**

Your loyal fans can donate and support your efforts, but you need to let them know how. You can go live, play certain games, or do something else to entertain your audience. People will donate money if they find you engaging and entertaining.

---

_Don't obsess over the numbers_

**👤 Subscriber count isn't everything**

A huge number of subscribers does not promise a long watch time. Lower sub count doesn't affect your channel’s ranking or performance on YouTube. So, don’t worry about it.

**👎 Dislikes aren't always bad**

The impact of dislikes may not be as bad as you think. Dislikes show engagement between your viewers and your videos which is a good sign!

**⏳ Create long videos**

Even though every viewer does not like long videos, make sure that at least some of your videos are long. It will dramatically increase the average view duration and your channel’s ranking on YouTube.

**👍 "Shares" matter more than views**

You should worry more about “shares” rather than sub count or the number of views. Your videos can reach thousands of new viewers if it gets more shares on various social media platforms.

**⏱ Average view duration**

Average view duration is also important in making sure the YouTube algorithm recommends your video to potential viewers. Grab the viewer's attention as long as possible. Link to your other videos to keep the visitor on your channel for as long as possible.

---

**Now It’s Your Turn**

So which tactics are you going to try ?

Are there **any missing tactics we should add to the list?**

Don’t have time to read the whole list? Just get the [cheat sheet](https://emailoctopus.com/lists/193ea8c9-9db2-11ea-a3d0-06b4694bee2a/forms/subscribe).


⚡️ 52 Tactics To Get More Views On YouTube


The human element is extremely powerful in driving clicks on YouTube thumbnails, and we've consistently seen this across the thumbnail tests we've run (and trust us, we've run a [LOT](https://thumblytics.com/) of tests).  Humans have [evolved to detect eye contact](https://www.newscientist.com/article/dn22386-eye-contact-detector-found-in-the-brain/), making thumbnails with eye contact more *eye-catching*. In addition to this, humans communicate in large part by reading emotional cues on the face.  

*Before we dive into the content, we need you to promise us something. You must follow along and actually **do** each of these exercises, **manually**. If you just read over the steps, you might as well not even do them. The point of these exercises is to train your hands, your brain, and your mind in how to think, create, and tweak thumbnails. If you just read without applying the concepts, you are cheating yourself out of the effectiveness of the lessons.*

A common mistake we see among YouTubers is that they don't want to reveal their face and so they give up on the idea of including themselves in their thumbnails. What most people don't realise is that even showing a hand in a thumbnail can be powerful in boosting CTR (e.g. if you're making a video about the new iPhone, your thumbnail could be improved if it included a shot of the device in your hand).   

From our tests, we've found that the human element can be implemented in different ways with some more effective than others:

- Face
- Full Body 
- Part of a body (e.g. hand or arm)

Now let's **apply** what we've just learnt by making a thumbnail. But before we can make a thumbnail we need a video topic. We recommend using the topic of your upcoming video but it's completely up to you. Our video topic will be "How to make the perfect cup of coffee".  

**Tool of the Day:** Today we will be using Canva - A **free** and easy-to-use tool that helps you design consistently stunning graphics. The concepts that drive clicks on your thumbnail can be used no matter what design tool you are using, but Canva is a great way to get started with making custom thumbnails if you haven't made one before!

**Step 1:** Register on Canva by clicking [here](https://www.canva.com/create/youtube-thumbnails/). Once you have signed up, you should see something like this. Note the range of templates available on the left-hand side. 

![img](https://ci3.googleusercontent.com/proxy/_2gZQLhcPSD7oy75lyNRMZytK7K1GofvbmdR-_MDipErsabaJ_r53eM5lkflpRIZn1BXB5YWEDAwjVcVpzuFQx-m9PaB6Vi8K5jrmM_VY9XFwT8jLR27N1RzgqJ0nMa7AYj4x3gQ4qhWDR6pC5lzeO30hQYesQ1v22whTk_k9xO2qKo-Iwq5p18tA74=s0-d-e1-ft#https://gallery.eomail5.com/0e0a644e-82dd-11ea-a3d0-06b4694bee2a%2F1589449795694-Screen+Shot+2020-05-14+at+7.49.35+pm.png)

**Step 2:** Take (or find) a picture that incorporates a person (we recommend that you take one of yourself). The great thing about Canva is that they already have a LOT of templates that have the human element in them! We were just about to go take a picture of a cup of coffee in our hand, when we found this template. It's like Canva knew we were coming! 

![img](https://ci4.googleusercontent.com/proxy/lDVynIyj9t-cetg3dQalmr8CsYxCb1U6apPZ95NTSLMILegdwrfIL3ukN9MBo4K8tchgRmm4gfTf5anIMvUfMDXghUa7yR9_GECTp0LXtLvLmWG9PXD9P3QPCtL4RPDZoG6UWAxay9BLkOMCQaqe2rZLVbBRmRw4QJTOnmVDI80hORPytJpobKNSrBY=s0-d-e1-ft#https://gallery.eomail5.com/0e0a644e-82dd-11ea-a3d0-06b4694bee2a%2F1589450082311-Screen+Shot+2020-05-14+at+7.54.25+pm.png)

If you weren't able to find a suitable template with a human element, or just want to use your own images, you can click the "Uploads" button on the left-hand side of the screen.

![img](https://ci5.googleusercontent.com/proxy/wDFlkGp0jhTfVB648dbRNuxn5OHFPNXRLHEfnub-9Ca2-dw2xVWK-rNxG4zT2gAvVw_pvSYEbszPmAhzFPyQ5_stUHiRNytgyzywrDXc065ba0HdP5cYP5qgIip1ibDE611xziTGGegxbfORxIDY2EOzScH30W-ZQUNgmNQngeav_5nUzvVQZSMWU-s=s0-d-e1-ft#https://gallery.eomail5.com/0e0a644e-82dd-11ea-a3d0-06b4694bee2a%2F1589451545146-Screen+Shot+2020-05-14+at+8.17.45+pm.png)

**Step 3:** The beauty of Canva is the HUGE range of templates they have available. Because we were able to find such a great template, we only had to make a few small tweaks before we were happy!  The first tweak we made was to the thumbnail's saturation. We pressed the adjust button and turned up the saturation. Over-saturation is generally quite effective in boosting CTR.  

![img](https://ci6.googleusercontent.com/proxy/nUuEPQpzVsObSFj8ak8O6azqWk23oFrggdqVOS805AV-q1m2dv84Al5fq-BiUTJtqatDa6nCrdeq7oqcc2aBlefwXY2oLGU2N5jZxRupPc-YN--FcJqblbZMfE2TvZqs6MLTrQV1vRWEfmNssCtnj8_kVUk-r9QOauo7MdQmujb1M5FiS5csJVBXOgQ=s0-d-e1-ft#https://gallery.eomail5.com/0e0a644e-82dd-11ea-a3d0-06b4694bee2a%2F1589450976980-Screen+Shot+2020-05-14+at+8.08.00+pm.png)

We changed the text to be more attention-grabbing and to better capture our video content. While we thought the sizing of the text was good, we wanted a more casual vibe. We tried a few different fonts and settled on "Gagalin". Keeping with the casual vibe, we also decided to rotate the text to align with the hand. 

![img](https://ci6.googleusercontent.com/proxy/goJWi9uNo0YC0t96CjwSeMOwDZqWt-LOm4qBa7UFUn6dKxKRyZWFRIKwmh-J66OkO0ldQnBkCQLm99X9p2uVzRGqpl_7s1FiMPZUCsAopDvh7hzvHsNOTNyzxcjlnZte4Xi_esDFHiTcWoVwqdr786jOOs-VBTFUTwG5C4gqmwK2qXJt6Eqoz-UB4l8=s0-d-e1-ft#https://gallery.eomail5.com/0e0a644e-82dd-11ea-a3d0-06b4694bee2a%2F1589450610197-Screen+Shot+2020-05-14+at+8.03.12+pm.png)

**Step 4:** Download your creation by clicking the download button at the top-right corner of your screen. You have just applied **The Human Element** in your thumbnail design! That wasn't too hard was it? 

![img](https://ci4.googleusercontent.com/proxy/cRALFIhN3gJFxh8TFiAi0DD5uQSxT-s4k0rkjQ_HXZxdl9pbU79QRWPgNltSl8zvoS7HLCp7welEsQyMRWC2xZ0UBzsNzyCR10Hnb-YNnlFAA0eb2oyqhPj6-zpiGkJEqEYy8JhM_2bCLciSISJvpMBwG4dYdHug2jWLwRbTxOGVPgT9_MgiZun7I_0=s0-d-e1-ft#https://gallery.eomail5.com/0e0a644e-82dd-11ea-a3d0-06b4694bee2a%2F1589451118506-Screen+Shot+2020-05-14+at+8.11.41+pm.png)

And that's it! Proud of what you've created? Share it with the world! Tweet your thumbnail with the hashtag **#Thumblytics** we'd love to see it.

How to Make More Clickable YouTube Thumbnails: The Human Element


Let's start with some [**official YouTube terminology**](https://creatoracademy.youtube.com/page/lesson/analytics-impressions#strategies-zippy-link-4):

- Impressions = How many times your video thumbnails are shown on YouTube
- Clickthrough-rate (**CTR**) = Proportion of your impressions that turn into views
- Average View Duration (**AVD**) = Average amount of time viewers watch your video

**TIP:** If you increase your CTR, then you get more views on your videos. As simple as that!

Most creators will agree that first impression matters. For YouTube videos, your video’s first impression is its thumbnail (and title). It is generally accepted that optimising your thumbnail is a smart thing to do:

**Higher click-through rate = More views**

As we can all agree on that point, the question we will tackle today is:

> **Should thumbnails be optimised BEFORE publishing?**

The ability to A/B test YouTube thumbnails **after** publishing has been around for some time, with tools such as TubeBuddy helping you do these tests in an automated manner. Even before the automated solutions were available, it has always been possible to test thumbnails on live videos for as long as YouTube has allowed thumbnails to be changed or edited.

However, this leaves a lot to be desired. The majority of videos experience an initial spike in views and receive a significant proportion of their views within the first few days. Existing thumbnail testing solutions often recommend that A/B testing should be avoided on new videos for this very reason. For example, TubeBuddy recommends waiting until a video is [at least 5 days old](https://youtu.be/3TRjq12ScJE?t=77) before doing any A/B testing. This is a perfectly valid recommendation, with even YouTube stating that an initial spike often occurs for new videos:

> “[1] CTR is often highest right after upload when some of your most passionate fans and subs might see the video at the top of their home page and subs feeds. [2] As total impressions grow beyond your core audience, CTRs are expected to decline until reaching a relatively stable percentage (this is totally normal).”
>
> *Source:* [*YouTube Creator Academy*](https://creatoracademy.youtube.com/page/lesson/analytics-impressions#strategies-zippy-link-4)

For those that have been reading closely, this means that existing solutions miss out on optimising and maximising the impact of the initial spike. This is the main reason why you would want to front load your optimisation process to before your video is published. By optimising the thumbnail before publishing, you give your video the best chance of maximising the initial spike and reaching a larger audience.

Other reasons why testing a thumbnail after a video is live is sub-optimal:

- Due to YouTube only providing data on a daily level, A/B tests on live videos need to be conducted over a minimum of 2 weeks to account for differences in viewership by the day of the week (e.g. viewership may be higher over the weekend when people have more free time). This means the earliest date your *optimised thumbnail* can be used is 19 days after publishing (5 days (can’t A/B test on new videos) + 14 days for A/B test).
- A/B tests require a minimum level of traffic or views. If your channel isn’t established, it may be difficult to collect enough data to make an informed decision as to which thumbnail performed the best.
- Lack of control — Live videos are influenced by many factors, many of which are outside your control. Any data collected on live videos will be noisy and won’t be purely driven by the thumbnail choice.

At this point, you may be wondering if it’s possible to test thumbnails **before** publishing, and if so, how? This is where [Thumblytics](https://thumblytics.com/) comes in. Thumblytics takes different versions of your thumbnail (along with thumbnails from your competitors) and shows it to hundreds of people. The thumbnails you choose for your competitors act as the control in the experiment. By doing this, [Thumblytics](https://thumblytics.com/) is able to calculate a click-through rate for each version of your thumbnail, giving you the data you need to make an informed decision as to which thumbnail will perform best.

![img](https://i.ibb.co/bbML86X/1-w7-YD8k-T4-Nb-U6rk-R60-Vc-IIg.png")
![img](https://i.ibb.co/svTyzRr/1-Qub-X0-Fk-Jnn0-BR-89-Pofms-Q.png)