Help Center

Before any viewer decides to watch your videos, the first thing they see are thumbnails and titles. They work together as a team to build anticipation while accurately representing what’s in your video which is why they are important pieces of your video’s metadata.

If the thumbnails and titles deliver the promise of what the viewers can expect from your videos, they will continue watching and this lets YouTube know that the viewer is enjoying your content and makes your videos appear more in related search queries, suggested videos, and on the homepage.

The other key components to optimize your search result ranking are description and tags. If you promote your videos well and optimize these four elements, altogether they are factored into YouTube’s and Google’s algorithms to increase discoverability.

THUMBNAILS

Video thumbnails let viewers see a quick snapshot of your video as they're browsing YouTube.

When you customize your thumbnails, be sure you’ve got a strong, vibrant image, that conveys key information about your video.

Think about your thumbnail BEFORE you shoot, so you can capture several options.

You can apply the rule of thirds to compose interesting and dynamic images, then overlay them with your branding and/or descriptive text.

Choose an image and/or graphics that stand out and pique curiosity.

Include people’s faces, and make sure they are large enough that a viewer can see the whites of their eyes on a small screen.

Add extra contrast, saturation, and sharpness.

Include large-font text that teases a value or a story. Make sure to use a font that's easy to read onscreen.

Check if your thumbnail looks good on mobile and desktop, and if it would stand out among other thumbnails.

TITLES

Craft a title that piques the curiosity of the prospective viewer, without giving away the answer. Well-written titles can be the difference between someone watching and sharing your video, or scrolling right past it — and it’s best to create titles that accurately represent what’s in the content.

Keep titles concise (60 characters) with the most important information upfront.

Save episode numbers and branding towards the end.

Check that your titles don’t get cut off in suggested videos, search results, and mobile. Model your title after search phrases.

Pay attention to trends related to your topic.

DESCRIPTIONS

Writing descriptions with keywords can help viewers find your videos more easily through search.

Begin your description with the search phrase that you used to determine the title. Provide an overview of your video using natural language - not just a stream of keywords.

When writing your description copy, use keywords to optimize search result ranking and put the most important keywords toward the beginning of your description.

Identify at least 1-2 main words that describe your video and feature them prominently in both your description and title.

Include backlinks to your website, blog, and social media profiles to improve general SEO and visibility. Include calls to action where relevant.

For long videos, include time stamps for topic-specific sections.

TAGS

Tags are used to help people find your videos when they type something into the YouTube search bar.

Your unique channel tag - make sure you have a common tag used throughout your entire YouTube channel.

Use four to five word-search phrases related to the video including the title of the video.

Use variations on your search phrases including commonly misspelled keywords.

Avoid random tags and one or two-word tags. Don’t use misleading keywords.

Use software like TubeBuddy to help you identify strong keywords and phrases.

What is the difference between a copyright strike and a content ID claim?

CONTENT ID CLAIMS

Content ID is an automated copyright management system. For copyright owners who have access, Content ID automatically finds videos that use their material and lets them claim it, depending on whether the video falls under Fair Use, instead of submitting a copyright takedown notice.

The copyright owners can choose different actions to take on any video clips, images, or audio that matches theirs:

• Block a whole video from being viewed on a country-by-country basis

• Monetize the video by running ads against it; sometimes sharing revenue with the uploader

• Track the video’s viewership statistics and leave them on the site

What else you should know:

• A content ID claim will not adversely affect your YouTube channel.

• Content ID claims are a part of Copyright Law.

• Content ID claims are issued to creators if they don't own the TV, music clips, music, or other copyrighted media.

• Copyright owners can also make a manual claim for anything the Content ID tool misses for any reason.

• Content ID claims only apply to the videos flagged and not the entire channel.

• Content ID claims are not accompanied by copyright strikes, and can not result in suspension or termination of your channel.

• A content ID claim can be proven false depending on whether you own the content that is being claimed by someone else.

COPYRIGHT STRIKES

A copyright strike is issued to a creator if they’ve uploaded something within their video that they do not own the rights to. The copyright holder has the right to remove that video from YouTube altogether, which means it’s blocked everywhere and the ability to generate any further ad revenue is shut down.

What else you should know:

• A copyright strike will adversely affect your channel.

• Copyright strikes are manual and are activated when a rights owner files a DMCA takedown request and YouTube will completely remove your video.

• If you receive a copyright strike, you won’t be able to monetize your videos.

• If you have an active copyright strike, some channel features may be disabled such as live streaming.

• If you receive three copyright strikes, your YouTube channel will be terminated and you will be banned from creating another one.

• Copyright strikes expire after three months.

YouTube Premieres is a feature that allows creators to bring together their whole community to watch their newest video in real-time.

How to set up a Premiere?

1. Once you’re logged in, click the video icon at the top of YouTube and select Upload Video.

2. Follow the prompt to upload your video. Drag your video file to the center of the prompt for a quicker way to upload.

3. Fill out your metadata in the fields provided.

4. Check the box to set it as Premiere, and schedule the date and time you’d like your video to be released.

5. Share the event with your fans and countdown to the launch!
   
   

Tips & Tricks

1. Promote Effectively

   Each premiere comes with its pre-release landing page and URL, giving you the promotional tools to build hype, encourage engagement, and increase viewership at launch.
   
   While premiering every release may make sense for once-a-week creators, daily uploaders can consider spacing out their premieres to keep the moments feeling special.
   
   

2. Connect With Fans

   Premieres allow creators and fans to live chat before and during the release. Engage with your audience in real time and create community conversations as you co-watch your premiere with viewers.
   
   Viewers can begin engaging with premieres as soon as they’ve been uploaded. For most creators, it’s highly recommended to upload a premiere between 60 minutes to 3 hours before release and creators must be present in the live chat during this release window.

   During live chat:

   • Actively engage with fans and be a part of the watching experience by adding talking points at certain moments in your content.

   • Encourage fans to ask questions.

   • Use chat moderators as a way to help find and reply to comments more quickly.

   • Enable chat replay to help late-comers feel just as hyped about your Premiere.

   • Thank viewers who attended the Premiere.
     
     

3. Unlock New Revenue

   By bringing Super Chat and Members-only chat to pre-recorded content, Premieres opens a whole new revenue source for non-live-focused creators.
   
   If you’re eligible for Super Chat and have enabled this feature, tell viewers where the money is going in your Premieres such as to buy new equipment, or to fund a specific project or goal.

Turn on ads for individual videos:

1. Sign in to YouTube.

2. Go to YouTube Studio.

3. In the left menu, select Content.

4. Select a video.

5. In the left menu, select Monetization.

6. Choose the type of ads that you want to run.

7. Click Save.
   
   

Turn on ads for multiple videos:

Follow these instructions to turn on ads for multiple videos you’ve already uploaded:

1. Sign in to YouTube.

2. Go to YouTube Studio.

3. In the left menu, select Content.

4. Select the grey box on the left of the video thumbnail for any video you want to monetize.

5. Click the Edit dropdown in the black bar above your video list > click Monetization.

6. Click On in the monetization dropdown - to change ad settings in bulk: Click Add edit.

7. Click Update videos > check the box next to “I understand the consequences of this action” > click Update videos.

Earning money on YouTube while playing video games is a fast-growing trend.

Although it may seem easy to create gaming videos, creators should still consider that YouTube policies and guidelines are still applied to all content uploaded to your channel - video or live stream, thumbnail, title, description, and tags - and any violation could affect the monetization status of your videos and your channel as a whole.

Below are some examples from YouTube's advertiser-friendly content guidelines that are related to gaming topics. All monetization changes may apply to videos featuring both real or computer-generated subjects if there are policy violations in audio or visual form including text. This includes the video thumbnail and title.

Inappropriate language

Turn on ads: light profanities such as “damn” or “hell”; fully censored or abbreviated profanities in the title, thumbnail, and video such as "WTF" or “What the ****”; infrequent usage of strong profanity

Limited ads: moderate profanities including partial censorship or misspellings in titles or thumbnails such as "What a bull sh1t"; strong profanities used frequently throughout a video such as the f-word; multiple uses of strong profanities within the first 30 seconds such as “shit,” “bitch”

No ads: extreme profanities or racial slurs such as the n-word ; strong or extreme profanity even when misspelled such as “You d!ck!”, “c*nt,” “n***er,” “fa**ot

Adult content

Turn on ads: non-gratifying sexual topics; regular romantic scenes; a non-arousing portrayal of limited clothing

Limited ads: sex toys or similar pleasure enhancement products not in use; implied sex acts; descriptive sexual topics referenced in gameplay; highly sexualized titles

No ads: visible sexual acts or sexual body fluids; a game story that features sex-related entertainment as a part of the plot; explicit and vulgar titles such as “hot s3x”

Violence

Turn on ads: graphic violence; censored clips of graphic violence such as the moment of a kill

Limited ads: edited video gameplay emphasizing graphic violence or gore in the video such as zooming in or encircling the moment of graphic violence

No ads: depiction of a single graphic violence scene such as an extreme fatality moment; compilation of the graphic scenes such as compilation of extreme kills

Controversial issues

Turn on ads: brief or fleeting references to any of the topics or events listed in No Ads column such as usage of the word “suicide” in a video game context

Limited ads: graphic depictions of controversial issues in the thumbnail such as someone getting abused; dramatized or artistic depictions of controversial issues that are not highly graphic

No ads: graphic depictions or detailed descriptions of controversial issues such as child abuse, pedophilia, child marriage, sexual abuse, sexual harassment, self-harm, suicide, eating disorders, domestic abuse, abortion, bullying; explicit audio of the act taking place

Sensitive events

Turn on ads: passive mentions of sensitive events as one of many topics during gameplay; gaming content portraying Foreign terrorist organizations (FTO) as a general subject without footage of terrorist attacks; portraying Drug trade organizations (DTO) or their members; comedic videos with fleeting references to FTOs or DTOs

Limited ads: content focused primarily on specific DTOs or DTO leaders and may include non-graphic situations of attacks or their aftermath, hostage situations, etc.

No ads: games based on an actual sensitive or tragic event that happened such as a 9/11 simulation game

Gaming monetization policies apply to in-game cutscenes or cinematics, reaction videos, conversation/voiceover gameplay, texts or graphics inserted in the video, comments captured and legible on your video, gambling content related to gameplay, long-form content, and violations presented as a focal subject.

Thumbnails and titles

Shocking and stimulating phrases are often added to thumbnails or titles to attract viewers. However, just as with video content, violative elements identified in thumbnails or titles will also earn limited or no ads.

Sample thumbnails:

• Encircling or otherwise calling to attention such as highlighting blurred genitals

• Lewd text related to sex acts such as “watch this character ejaculate”

• Shocking images, such as explicit sex acts or graphic violence

Sample titles:

• Fully spelled-out, censored, or intentionally misspelled profanities such as “what the f#%k”

• Misleading titles promising sexual content

• Titles with adult-only references such as 19+ or ADULT ONLY

• All caps are used in the title to catch attention such as “EXTREME FATALITY WINS”

To understand YouTube's algorithm, you have to understand your audience.

YouTube's search and discovery system aims to help viewers find the videos that they want to watch and to maximize long-term viewer engagement and satisfaction.

The algorithm follows the audience. Pay attention to what your viewers watch and don't watch, what they watch the most, and what they skip. If you focus on what your audience likes, the algorithm will follow.


Discovery optimization tips

• Use titles thumbnails that accurately represent your content.

• Videos are less likely to be recommended to new viewers if the titles and thumbnails are misleading, clickbaity, or sensational.

• Use creative video techniques to keep your audience engaged.

• Effective editing can maintain and build your viewers' interest throughout the video.

• Organizing the content on your channel can build long watch time sessions.

• Using a series playlist allows other videos in the playlist to be featured and recommended when someone is viewing a video in the series.

• Create a regular release schedule for your videos when uploading.

• Review your YouTube Analytics to see where your views are coming from and which videos are successful at keeping viewers watching.

Audience retention is a measurement used to see which parts of your videos are working well.

You can view your audience retention reports in your YouTube Analytics.

To view the report at channel level to compare audience retention performance among your recently published videos:

1. Sign in to YouTube Studio.

2. From the left menu, select Analytics.

3. Select the Engagement tab and look for the Audience Retention Report.

To view the report at video level to analyze data for a specific video:

1. Sign in to YouTube Studio.

2. From the left menu, select Videos and choose a video.

3. From the left menu, select Analytics.

4. Select the Overview tab or the Engagement tab and look for the Audience Retention Report.

Understanding the audience retention graph

gradual decline: a downward pattern on the graph means your viewers are losing interest over time

flat line: these are parts in your video where almost no one dropped off while watching

spikes: indicates parts in your video that were either re-watched or users skipped to

dips: these are parts in your video that were either skipped or where users stopped watching your video completely

Some points to consider:

• Make your video thumbnails and titles a good reflection of your video content to avoid misleading your viewers.

• A high percentage of audience retention for the first 30 seconds of your video means your intro has kept the audience engaged. Experiment with different styles as your intros highly affect your viewers' decision to continue watching your video or not.

• If flat lines appear in the later part of your video, try moving these parts earlier as audience sizes typically decrease over the length of the video.

• Spikes mean that these parts of your video are watched more than the others. However, it can also mean that the content of these parts is unclear so they had to re-watch the sections.

• Review the dips and understand the reason why the viewers lost interest in these parts of the video.

Repetitious content refers to channels where the difference between the videos can not be determined easily because of too much similarity.

This policy is taken from AdSense program policies and applies to your channel as a whole. If you have many videos that violate the guidelines, monetization may be removed from your entire channel.


What can be monetized

You can create videos that follow a similar pattern but the substance of every video should relatively vary.

Examples:

• Same intro and outro for your videos, but the bulk of your content is different

• Similar content, where each video talks specifically about the qualities of the subject you’re featuring

• Short clips of similar objects edited together where you explain how they’re connected

What can't be monetized

You can't monetize content that’s created using a basic template. You can't spam the platform with copies of the same video and earn revenue from them - it will not help you get more viewers and subscribers, too.

Examples:

• Content that exclusively features readings of other materials you did not originally create, like texts from websites or news feeds

• Songs modified to change the pitch or speed, but are otherwise identical to the original

• Similar repetitive content, or mindless content with low educational value, commentary, or narrative

• Templated, mass-produced, or programmatically generated content

• Image slideshows or scrolling text with minimal or no narrative, commentary, or educational value

Reused content refers to repurposing someone else's content without adding significant original commentary or educational value.

This policy is taken from AdSense program policies and applies to your channel as a whole. If you have many videos that violate the guidelines, monetization may be removed from your entire channel.

What can be monetized

YouTube allows reused content if viewers can tell that there’s a meaningful difference between the original video and your video.

Examples:

• Using clips for a critical review

• A scene from a movie where you’ve rewritten the dialog and changed the voiceover

• Replays of a sports tournament where you explain the moves a competitor did to succeed

• Reaction videos where you comment on the original video

• Edited footage from other creators where you add a storyline or commentary

What can't be monetized

Reused content is not based on copyright, permission, or fair use. You may have permission from the original creator and not get claims against your content, but your channel may still violate the reused content guidelines.

Examples:

• Clips of moments from your favorite show edited together with little or no narrative

• Short videos you compiled from other social media websites

• Collections of songs from different artists (even if you have their permission)

• Content uploaded many times by other creators

• Promotion of other people’s content (even if you have permission)

Depending on where your viewer is based, these non-skippable ads can be up to 15-20 seconds on desktop and mobile devices. Viewers must watch the ad before they can watch the selected video.

As a content creator, you can control which of your videos will have non-skippable ads on your dashboard.

Enable non-skippable video ads

1. Sign in to YouTube Studio.

2. From the left menu, select Video Manager > Videos.

3. Choose a video and click Edit.

4. Under Monetization, enable Non-skippable video ads.

5. Click SAVE.

If the non-skippable video ads option is not available for you, raise a request first with the Creator Support Team for them to activate it on your channel.

Moreover, you can also control the kind of ads that play on your channel by default.

Set default ad formats

To specify the default set ads formats you want to allow for your channel:

1. Sign in to YouTube Studio.

2. From the left menu, click Settings.

3. Select Upload defaults > Monetization.

4. In the “Types of ads” section, select the checkbox next to each type of ad format you want to allow for monetized videos that you upload. All formats are selected by default.

5. Click SAVE.

You can track the engagement and revenue flow from videos that include the different types of ads to make educated decisions about what works best with your audiences.

We recommend all creators turn on personalized ads to maximize the revenue they earn on YouTube.

Google can personalize ads so they're more useful to you on Google services such as Search or YouTube, and on websites/apps that partner with Google to show ads.


Turn on personalized ads

1. Go to your Google Account.

2. On the left navigation panel, click Data & personalization.

3. On the Ad personalization panel, click Go to Ad Settings.

4. Click the switch next to Ad personalization is OFF.

Edit your info or interests

Under "How your ads are personalized," select your personal info or interests.

• To update your info, select Update. Follow the steps on the screen.

• To turn off an interest, select Turn off. Confirm by selecting Turn off.

• To bring back an interest, select What you've turned off. Choose an interest and select Turn back on.

Only monetizing partners who’ve accepted the Shorts Monetization Module can earn ad revenue from Shorts.

How to turn on Shorts ad revenue sharing?

To start sharing in Shorts ad revenue, monetizing partners will need to accept the Shorts Monetization Module – terms that let you earn from ads and YouTube Premium in the Shorts Feed. Shorts ad revenue sharing will apply to your channel’s eligible Shorts views starting on the date you accept. Shorts views accrued before accepting the Shorts Monetization Module are not eligible for Shorts ad revenue sharing.

There are four steps to how Shorts ad revenue sharing works:

1. Pool Shorts Feed ad revenue

   Each month, revenue from ads running between videos in the Shorts Feed gets added together and used to both reward creators and help cover the costs of music licensing.

2. Calculate the Creator Pool

   Shorts Feed ad revenue is then allocated into the Creator Pool based on views and music usage across Shorts uploaded by monetizing creators. See examples below:

   • If a monetizing creator uploads a Short without any music, all revenue associated with its views goes into the Creator Pool.

   • If a monetizing creator uploads a Short with music in it, then YouTube will split the revenue associated with its views between the Creator Pool and music partners based on the number of tracks used.

3. Allocate the Creator Pool

   From the overall amount in the Creator Pool, revenue is distributed to monetizing creators based on their share of total views from creators’ Shorts in each country.

   For example, if a creator gets 5% of all eligible Shorts views uploaded by monetizing creators, they’ll be allocated 5% of the revenue in the Creator Pool.

4. Apply revenue share

   Monetizing creators will keep 45% of their allocated revenue, regardless if music was used or not.

What’s not included in the Creator Pool:

• Revenue associated with views of Shorts uploaded by creators who haven’t yet accepted the Shorts Monetization Module, or aren’t yet eligible to monetize their Shorts. This revenue will be used to cover the costs of music licensing and/or be retained by YouTube.

• Revenue associated with views of Shorts uploaded by music partners.

• Revenue associated with views of Shorts that are determined to be ineligible.

• Revenue associated with any ads shown upon opening the Shorts Feed before a Short is viewed (e.g. the YouTube Shorts Masthead).

• Revenue associated with any ads shown on navigational pages within the Shorts player.

Where to see your Shorts Feed ad revenue

YouTube Analytics will start displaying estimated daily Shorts Feed ad revenue along with other performance metrics when available, or from the day you start monetizing with Shorts ads.

After uploading your Short, you can see its monetization status in the Content section of YouTube Studio. Shorts with views being considered for Shorts ad revenue sharing will show a green or yellow monetization icon.


Lastly, your channel must follow the YouTube channel monetization policies, including our policies on repetitious and reused content. This also includes YouTube’s Community Guidelines, Terms of Service, Copyright, and Google AdSense program policies.