Video thumbnails are important because they have such a big impact on CTR. As I said, a higher CTR means more video views and shares. (Often, MUCH more.) But thumbnails aren’t the only way to increase CTR. Here are some other great ways.

1. Use the YouTube Creator Studio to monitor your CTR. Look for “impressions click-through rate”. If you notice a video has a low click-through rate, upload a new thumbnail with a different design or text.
2. Optimize your video title. Here are 3 tips: Add brackets or parentheses at the end. Include a specific number. And use a length of about 40-50 characters. For example, “How to Rank #1 in Google in 2020 (7 New Strategies)”.
3. Make it emotional. Our Google CTR study found that using emotionally-charged words in titles can increase CTR in search results. In my experience, that’s just as true on YouTube. Similarly, Netflix found that including a person’s face with an emotional expression in the thumbnail leads to more clicks.
4. Zig when others zag. When you’re first starting out, it’s great to follow best practices like these. But another powerful way to increase your CTR is to stand out. So don’t be afraid to try something different. For example, if competing videos use cluttered thumbnails with lots of text and graphics, you can try a minimalist design.
5. Give your video description plenty of attention, too. This doesn’t have as big of an impact on CTR, but it makes a huge difference in how often your video will show up in search. Check out our free YouTube Description Template for help with yours.