How To Get Your YouTube CTR Up (No Blue Pills, We Promise😆)

What is YouTube CTR ?

YouTube CTR (click-thru rate)  is a percentage of the number of times viewers click on your video when it is suggested in the search results. Each time someone searches and your video is suggested in the YouTube results we call that an “impression.” So YouTube CTR is the number of clicks, divided by the number of impressions multiplied by 100.  If your video is served 100 times and people click on it 3 times, then the click-thru rate is 3/100; number of clicks/number of impressions = 3%.

As a brand or content creator, getting your video ranked #1 for your keywords should be a major goal to work towards, because the higher your videos rank, the more clicks and views you get. YouTube has said that there are several factors that determine the ranking of videos in search results. However, the most important factor that YouTube has shared with marketers to determine ranking in YouTube search results is the click-thru rate of the video. This article will delve into why a high YouTube CTR rate is so important for your videos, and how your videos can consistently achieve a high  YouTube CTR.

Contents :
How Revenue Is Tied To YouTube CTR
Understanding YouTube Business Model
What Can You Do To Improve Your YouTube CTR ?

• Use keywords in video titles and descriptions
• Use keyword in your thumbnail description
• Include keywords and semantic variations of your keywords in your transcript
• Use custom thumbnails
• Use faces in thumbnails ( ideally one single face )
• Use bold and attractive thumbnails that capture the eye
• Exploit color theory
• Adhere to YouTube size specs for thumbnails
• Avoid visual clutter in the thumbnails
• Make sure fonts in your thumbnail are easily legible
• Avoid click bait titles, thumbnails
• Use brackets in titles
• Perform A/B Testing of Thumbnails
• Look to Instagram for inspiration for thumbnails

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How Revenue Is Tied To YouTube CTR

As per the explanation above, if your video has 10% click-thru rate, it then means that for every 100 search results, there are 10 clicks to watch it, which means there are 10 opportunities for YouTube to serve ads and make money. Now, remember that the cornerstone of YouTube business is to get people to watch videos so it can serve them ads … so videos that get more clicks provide opportunities for YouTube to make money, and neatly align themselves with YouTube’s revenue generation.  If your video is able to attract clicks when it shows up in search results, then YouTube will show more and more of it, as you provide opportunities for the platform to serve ads and make money. It is a virtuous cycle benefiting both you and YouTube = win, win scenario. On the flip side, if no one clicks on your videos when YouTube serves it in search results it means that YouTube is not able to make money, and thus the algorithm will show less and less of it. You can now see why YouTube would rather serve a video that provides it 10 click opportunities to make money versus a video that only provides 0 click opportunities. Higher click-thru rates means ad revenue for YouTube, and if your account is monetized, ad revenue for you too.

Understanding YouTube’s Business Model 

But a high YouTube CTR also means something else – that your videos are able to accurately answer the queries for which people are asking from YouTube.  YouTube is the world’s 2nd largest search engine, and people browse the platform to get answers to their questions in video format.  Mastering how to create content that answers those questions, and attracting people to click the play button on YouTube is a key step of improving your YouTube CTR. Content that answers viewers questions accurately keeps the viewers on the platform longer, providing more opportunity to serve ads and for YouTube to earn revenues.

For business owners, these viewers are an audience that could be converted into clients and customers. When businesses decide to use YouTube as a marketing channel to generate new customers it is important for them to make sure that they are providing content that answers the questions of their potential customers.  To reach their audience on YouTube businesses must ask them a few key questions :

• What are the issues that our clients face and what are they searching for when they come to YouTube ?
• What are the keywords that our clients use to get the information they are looking for ?

Answering these questions will help business owners craft a YouTube video marketing strategy to create content that provides answers to potential customers. We have already covered in detail how to search for YouTube keywords here.  By creating video content that answers the questions for their customers, businesses and brands educate prospective clients how their products and services solve their clients’ pain points, and how a purchase of the business’ products and services is a wise investment.

What Can You Do To Improve Your YouTube CTR ?

Use keywords in video titles and descriptions

Keywords are the actual queries that viewers type into the YouTube search bar to find your video. In this previous post, we have already covered how to find the keywords that will guide you on what content to create. We discussed that it is important to make sure that the keywords you are creating video content for have enough monthly volume and low competition.  Make sure that your keywords are included in your YouTube title, your video description.   Viewers should be able to easily see the keyword that they searched when they scan the search results. This will encourage them to click and thus improve your CTR.

Use keyword in your thumbnail description

Include your keyword in your thumbnail description when you upload it to YouTube. Even though viewers will not  see the thumbnail description, it will help the YouTube algorithm understand your content even better, and rank it even higher for the keywords, improving the chances of a higher CTR.

Include keywords and semantic variations of your keywords in your transcript

In this post we discussed how you should also include the keyword in several parts of your script and in-video audio track. For example, if your keyword is “affordable mortgage in New York City,” make sure that you mention this keyword a few times in your video, as well as other semantic variations of the same keyword, that is, similar phrases that mean the same as your keyword. In our case, “affordable mortgages in New York City” are “cheap mortgages in New York City” and “low cost mortgages in NYC.” Upload a transcript of your script to help the YouTube algorithm understand your content even better.  This may signal to the YouTube algorithm that your video covers the topic in-depth, and is the best answer for the query, encouraging the YouTube algorithm to suggest your video more, and potentially rank it higher.

Use custom thumbnails 

Do not go with the default thumbnail that YouTube creates for by pulling a still from one of your video frames. According to YouTube Content Creator tips, 90% of the best performing videos used custom thumbnails.

Use faces in thumbnails ( ideally one single face )

Faces perform well in thumbnails, and depending on your niche, facial expressions such as surprise or shock may encourage people to click.  Taking a cue from the world’s biggest YouTuber, MrBeast, whose videos have several cheesy expressions of him. Studies have shown that having a singular face image in the thumbnail does encourage CTR. Where there are many faces in the thumbnail, highlighting one face in particular gets better attention from viewers.

Use bold and attractive thumbnails that capture the eye

This is major. Attractive thumbnails drive clicks. When you start your brand’s YouTube channel you may need to do trial and error and see which thumbnail designs perform best. Whilst “attractive” is subjective, do compare your thumbnails to those of other content creators that are performing well in your niche, and make sure that your thumbnail design follows, and improves upon their layout.

Exploit color theory

Content creators on Reddit have suggested that bold, saturated colors picked from three colors that form a triad on the color wheel will work well to catch the attention of viewers.  Other content creators have advised to contract text color from background color, so that the text is easily legible.

Adhere to YouTube size specs for thumbnails 

Below are the recommended sizes as per YouTube Content Creator tips:

• Have a resolution of 1280×720 (with minimum width of 640 pixels).
• Be uploaded in image formats such as JPG, GIF, or PNG.
• Remain under 2MB for videos or 10MB for podcasts.
• Try to use a 16:9 aspect ratio as it’s the most used in YouTube players and previews.
• For podcast playlists, upload a thumbnail with an aspect ratio of 1:1 instead of 16:9 (1280 x 1280 pixels

Avoid visual clutter in the thumbnails 

Thumbnail images that have way too much visuals, text and no clear point of focus are not enjoyable to look at, and lead to lower click-thru. Research from Princeton University and Chicago University concludes that “According to the Fluency Theory, the human brain finds it more enjoyable when the information can be processed easily. It is possible that adding a focus to the thumbnail makes it more appealing to viewers because it is easier to process.”

Make sure fonts in your thumbnail are easily legible 

If we can’t read it, we don’t click it …  If we can’t read it, we don’t click it … Check out what fonts other YouTube content creators who are ranking well in your niche are using, and try them out. The type of thumbnails that will do well in a baking niche may be quite different from those of boxing training videos.

Avoid click bait titles, thumbnails

Avoid having a title that is about one thing but the video content is about another. This may lead to down votes for your video, which will lead the YouTube algorithm to rank your video lower  …. which will make your CTR lower … you see the point.  In this research paper presented at the 2nd International Conference on Social Psychology and Humanity Studies, click-baity titles were found to negatively impact viewer experience, and left viewers feeling “viewer feel unsatisfied, annoyed, and betrayed.” Viewers were also less likely to share the video, reducing the chances of virality and publicity for your video.  In the same vein make sure your thumbnail design matches the tone and mood of the video. Don’t have a thumbnail that promises thunder and brimstone for a calming yoga video. Some other content creators have suggested that it is best if your thumbnail is pulled from some visuals in the first few seconds of the video, so viewers soon see that which led them to click on the thumbnail and don’t start to suspect that they were sucked into a clickbait video.

Use brackets in titles 

Yes, putting brackets in video titles has been shown to improve the click-thru rate of videos. In a research done by study by Outbrain and Hubspot concluded that titles that contained brackets got 38% more clicks than titles without them in blog posts, and several YouTubers have confirmed that the tactic also works for YouTube titles.

Perform A/B Testing of Thumbnails 

Try changing the thumbnail of older videos to see if they will perform better and to find a design format that works best with your audience. Alternatively, you can also use Tubebuddy to do A/B testing of thumbnails, and the platform will tell you which of your thumbnails will do well and achieve a high YouTube CTR.

Look to Instagram for inspiration for thumbnails

For visual inspiration, go to Instagram accounts in your niche and see what top content creators are using for thumbnail designs. Other top content creators like Noah Morris have shared that before they go start creating YouTube videos, they do a competitor analysis of other videos that cover the same topics, seeing not only the format that the top ranking videos have used, but also the title keywords, descriptions and thumbnails. This becomes their starting point, so that the challenge is to improve, and outdo, what has been proven to rank.

Work With Professional Teams To Improve Your Brand Campaigns and YouTube CTR

For brands looking for help with their YouTube marketing services and other social campaigns, our teams in New York, Los Angeles , Miami and New Jersey are ready to help. Start a conversation via production@sinematic.tv