YouTube Thumbnails: Text or No Text?

[Kevin Muldoon]

A few months ago I got into the habit of adding the full title of my video in text to my video thumbnails.

Sometimes this looks good. Sometimes, it does not. It really depends on the amount of text being used and, perhaps more importantly, whether the text clashes with the image being used in the background.

I watched a video from @Tim Schmoyer today in which he recommended using text in videos. I'm a big fan of his and enjoy his views on how to improve as a YouTuber. Tim suggested that videos with text get better click throughs.

However, today I started looking at this objectively and started looking at thumbnails from dozens of channels. I didn't see anything to suggest that top results in searches have text.

I'm mostly focusing on technology topics so I checked lots of tech channels and noticed that:

• A lot of of the most popular YouTubers do not use text at all - all they use is a good image
• Some YouTubers use text but keep it to a minimal i.e. only use one or two words
• A few others use a lot of text

I am considering redesigning all of my thumbnails. I only have about 50 or 60 videos and I so it would not be a huge pain to do this. In the past I have considered hiring someone to create better thumbnails for me, however I do not want to always rely on someone else to do that. I much prefer to be able to just upload a video and handle everything myself.

What's your view on text in video thumbnails?

Do you use text in your video thumbnails? If so, do you believe it makes people more likely to click?

 

[JoeBob32X]

We just do what looks good. The trick is to make sure the text isn't the main focus of the thumbnail:

We shifted the text to the upper right corner just a bit to reveal the main focus a little more. Some may argue that the thumbnail is too small to even matter, I argue that it's the little things that count. When people look at your archived videos it's like looking at movie or game cases from the spine of the box, what catches your eye isn't the text, it's the font or design in that little space.

 

[Furry Gurus]

The idea I use behind my thumbnails is: When the thumbnail picture clearly states what the video is about, I don't need to add text. The text is to help the potential viewer understand what to expect from the video.

 

[JoeBob32X]

The idea I use behind my thumbnails is: When the thumbnail picture clearly states what the video is about, I don't need to add text. The text is to help the potential viewer understand what to expect from the video.

Though, at the same time, it would help in some cases to sum the video up in one word. It just begs for context.

 

[Kevin Muldoon]

We just do what looks good. The trick is to make sure the text isn't the main focus of the thumbnail:

We shifted the text to the upper right corner just a bit to reveal the main focus a little more. Some may argue that the thumbnail is too small to even matter, I argue that it's the little things that count. When people look at your archived videos it's like looking at movie or game cases from the spine of the box, what catches your eye isn't the text, it's the font or design in that little space.

That has been one concern of mine i.e. that text is too small. However, if you make text too large, it can be a little overbearing.

The idea I use behind my thumbnails is: When the thumbnail picture clearly states what the video is about, I don't need to add text. The text is to help the potential viewer understand what to expect from the video.

I like that way of thinking. I agree with you on that. If it is apparent what the video is about, then text probably isn't necessary.

One of the problems we all face is that people are using YouTube on such a wide variety of devices. My thumbnails are much clearer on a desktop than on a smartphone with a 4" screen.

 

[Furry Gurus]

I like that way of thinking. I agree with you on that. If it is apparent what the video is about, then text probably isn't necessary.

One of the problems we all face is that people are using YouTube on such a wide variety of devices. My thumbnails are much clearer on a desktop than on a smartphone with a 4" screen.

I took a look at your thumbnails, and my opinion is that you have too much text. I would suggest that if you add text, try to add keywords instead of the entire title of the video. For example, just name the product you are reviewing instead of adding "unboxing and assembling the..." as well.

 

[JoeBob32X]

That has been one concern of mine i.e. that text is too small. However, if you make text too large, it can be a little overbearing.



I like that way of thinking. I agree with you on that. If it is apparent what the video is about, then text probably isn't necessary.

One of the problems we all face is that people are using YouTube on such a wide variety of devices. My thumbnails are much clearer on a desktop than on a smartphone with a 4" screen.

I would guess that the majority of people who use YouTube on a mobile are using tablets. Video streaming is a real battery killer on a phone. But that's all technicality. My thought process is that if I add the smallest things, that COULD very well equal one more subscriber. I understand that it could seem intimidating to have bolded chiller text on your thumbnail, but your more likely to gain more viewers/subs by intimidation as opposed to a lazy-looking tiny comic-sans. But you may want to keep it safe and just go textless if you doubt me.

 

[Kevin Muldoon]

I took a look at your thumbnails, and my opinion is that you have too much text. I would suggest that if you add text, try to add keywords instead of the entire title of the video. For example, just name the product you are reviewing instead of adding "unboxing and assembling the..." as well.

Yeah they look awful don't they.haha. In hindsight, I don't know what I was thinking!

I'm still unsure how to do it i.e. should I just use one or two keywords or should I just remove text altogether?[DOUBLEPOST=1432475828,1432475563][/DOUBLEPOST]

I would guess that the majority of people who use YouTube on a mobile are using tablets. Video streaming is a real battery killer on a phone. But that's all technicality. My thought process is that if I add the smallest things, that COULD very well equal one more subscriber. I understand that it could seem intimidating to have bolded chiller text on your thumbnail, but your more likely to gain more viewers/subs by intimidation as opposed to a lazy-looking tiny comic-sans. But you may want to keep it safe and just go textless if you doubt me.

haha I'm certainly not intimidated. We are talking about text after all

Here's the thing. You, and many other YouTubers, are saying that adding small things like text to a thumbnail helps increase subscriber growth. However, has anyone actually did a test study on this and proved this is the case?

There are YouTubers with millions of subscribers and they do not use text in their thumbnails. I'm starting to think that a lot of people have just assumed that using text improve click throughs...myself included.

 

[Furry Gurus]

I'm still unsure how to do it i.e. should I just use one or two keywords or should I just remove text altogether?

Depends on the video i guess.

 

[Kevin Muldoon]

Depends on the video i guess.

Perhaps I should try and keep text to between one and four words. Maybe that is the way to go moving forward.