If you’re like most people, you probably watch a lot of YouTube videos. You might even be one of the many (15 million or so 🤯) content creators who upload videos to the platform on a regular basis. If so, then you know that one of the most important parts of a successful video is it’s structure. YouTube Chapters are one key feature that helps define that structure.
Chapters are a great way to improve the viewer experience on YouTube, while also improving your video’s search engine optimization (SEO). Adding YouTube chapter markers to your videos can help viewers find the content they’re looking for more easily, which of course is what Google is aiming to do.
Let’s explore YouTube chapters more deeply, and learn how to get the most out of them. We’ve packed in tons of useful info into this article, including an easy step-by-step process towards the end, so let’s get started.
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Jump to a section (blog version of YouTube Chapters 😉)
YouTube Chapters explained
The YouTube chapter feature is a way to add timestamps to your YouTube videos. Once you add in chapters, viewers can hover their mouse over your video and be presented with said chapters. Viewers can then click on a chapter and jump to that part of the video.
This makes it easier for viewers to find specific parts of a video, and to get an immediate snapshot of what the video is all going to include.
Adding chapters to your videos can also make them more visually appealing and engaging. In addition, it gives viewers additional context, allowing them to choose to watch chapters that are more important to them.
Adding chapters to a video can automatically be done by YouTube, or the video creator can also opt to add them in themselves if they want it presented a certain way.
Why bother using YouTube Chapters
Since its launch in 2017, the YouTube chapter feature has been a valuable tool for content creators. It adds organization and improves the overall viewing experience.
Viewer experience
For example, if a viewer wants to watch the part of the video where the creator talks about a specific tip, they can use the chapter feature to quickly find that section. It saves them time and improves their experience. Adding this capability to your videos has two benefits:
- Improves engagement and audience retention
- Viewers have a better understanding of the video and are more likely to watch other sections
YouTube video SEO
The other benefit that chapters can provide (and arguably most important) is when it comes to video SEO. Chaptering allows Google Search to list the video by segment and display it based on related search queries. This can be hugely helpful to garner more YouTube video views when you’re ranking for key search terms on Google.
Also, chaptering gives creators the opportunity to add target keywords into their chapter names. This is another opportunity to tell Google and YouTube who your content is for, further helping you find your audience and drive more video views.
Step-by-step guide for adding YouTube Chapters
To add chapters to your YouTube videos, you’ll need a YouTube account and you have to upload your video. Once you’ve uploaded your video, go into the “edit” section and add chapter markers.
Here are the exact steps to follow:
- Sign in to YouTube Studio. You need to have a YouTube channel to access it.
- On the left side menu, choose “content.”
- Select the video you want to edit.
- In the description, add a list of timestamps, and a title for each section.
- After indicating the timestamp, always add a space or dash before writing the title of the section.
- Save your edited video.
Another way to do this is by going to your videos and clicking on the “edit” tab in YouTube video manager. You can then select “chapters.” From there, you can add, delete, or reorder your chapters.
For further learning on how to setup YouTube Chapters, check out this video from the YouTube Creators channel.
Which videos should use YouTube Chapters?
YouTube chapters allow content creators to break up their videos into smaller, more digestible segments. This can be especially helpful for longer videos. But, do all videos and topics need chapters? Good question.
All videos can benefit from the additional metadata that chapters add to video content however, some are better suited than others. Here are some factors that can help you decide whether or not YouTube chapters in your video content would be beneficial.
Video Length
Length is the first factor, since shorter videos (less than three minutes) don’t really need chaptering given that there’s just not much to organize in the first place.
Video Category
The video category your content falls under is the second factor to consider. If your content falls under film and animation, entertainment, comedy, and music, these categories generally aren’t suitable for chaptering. Think about a music video for example… you wouldn’t add chapters to that as you don’t want viewers skipping around to certain sections.
On the other hand, categories that will benefit from chaptering include:
- News and politics
- Science and technology
- Education
- Video tutorials (how-tos) and vlogs
In short, YouTube chapters optimization can be beneficial for videos that are long, have a lot of information, or are divided into sections. Of course there are always exceptions, but hopefully that sheds some light on how we approach chaptering for our YouTube marketing clients.
How to name YouTube Chapters
Chaptering allows creators to add titles and descriptions to specific parts of their videos. It’s important to note that YouTube also uses this feature for YouTube SEO so it can lead to more views and subscribers.
So, your title should be catchy and relevant, but it also needs to include the right keywords that people are using in their searches for that topic. Here’s what you need to consider when naming your chapters:
- Use relevant keywords so your videos are easier to find and more likely to rank higher.
- Consider YouTube and Google search queries. Try to mimic what search phrases people will use when searching for content like yours.
- Consider your chapters like a table of contents. Make it super simple and easy to read and use.
- Keep your titles short and concise. A long, descriptive title might look good, but it's not going to do you any favors in search.
- Use the main keyword in the most significant chapters. Do not overuse it though as it can be perceived as keyword stuffing.
Why your YouTube Chapters aren’t working
There are a variety of reasons why some videos with YouTube chapters don’t work or don’t respond after you’ve added the feature. Some common reasons are the video file format and how the video was encoded.
In other cases, it may be because the YouTube chapter feature isn’t available in your region yet. Here’s a checklist you can use to identify errors and troubleshoot your YouTube chapters:
- You did not add a 00:00 timestamp.
- You used less than three chapters.
- The timestamps are not in the video description (adding them as pinned comments doesn't work).
- The timestamps are not listed in chronological order.
- You used incorrect formatting in your description. A timestamp requires a colon (:) to separate minutes and seconds. You should also use a space to separate the timestamp and the title.
- One or several of your chapters is less than ten seconds.
- You have too many chapters.
The number of subscribers you have doesn’t affect this feature. As long as you have a YouTube account, you can add chapters to your uploads.
YouTube Chapters can make your videos rank higher
YouTube is a platform that has helped creators from all over the world inform and entertain their audience. Adding chapters to your video can make it easier for them to digest information and look for specific content that’s valuable to them.
Chaptering also gives creators the opportunity to rank in search engines and increase their viewership. So, if you want to boost your subscribers and views, start with doing the little things right, like adding chapters to your YouTube videos.
If you want to know more about YouTube marketing and video SEO, contact us. We can help you with your YouTube strategies, content, and results!
