Get Your Desired Youtube Thumbnail

If you want a good click-through rate, you need better YouTube thumbnails. Here are 9 tips to help you create images viewers are likely to click. 

YouTube thumbnails are like mini-billboards that advertise your channel. Without them, viewers have no idea why they should click on your videos. Even worse, some people won’t notice your content at all – especially on competitive search pages. 

That’s why you need stunning custom thumbnails to boost clicks and grow your channel. Mainly because…

• Click-through rates (CTR) can send positive or negative signals to YouTube’s video recommendation system.

When people see your videos but decide not to click them, CTR drops.

How Thumbnails Affect Your Click-Through Rate

On YouTube, click-through rate is the percentage of people who clicked your video after seeing its thumbnail. Here’s an example: If 20,000 people see your video somewhere on YouTube, but only 400 people click, that’s a 2% click-through rate. In other words, 2% of people were interested enough to click on your video.

Thumbnails are the first thing many viewers see on YouTube. That’s why they're crucial for boosting CTR and why creators spend hours crafting thumbnail images.

Generally, a good CTR is any percentage that beats your channel average. So if 5% of people click your content, you should set a goal to reach 6%, 7%, 8%, and beyond.

Also, according to YouTube, 50% of channels have a 2-10% CTR. That’s another benchmark you can use to track your progress.

9 Best Practices for YouTube Thumbnails

1. Use the Right YouTube Thumbnail Dimensions

2. Take Clear, High-Resolution Photos

3. Use Bright, Inviting Colors

4. Add Text to Your Thumbnail