3 Efficient Methods for Saving YouTube’s Standardized Images

How to Download YouTube Thumbnail in 3 Ways [Online/Win/Mac]

Richard Bennett

Mar 27, 2024• Proven solutions

A YouTube thumbnail is the minimized edition of a video that a viewer sees first when they are looking for relevant content that presents the desired satisfaction. The miniature clips with conspicuous images that one can click on to view the contents of a video are what YouTube thumbnails are. People have varying reasons to download YouTube thumbnail. One of them is that you may have already uploaded the video and want to save the thumbnail on your computer. Other people want to download YouTube thumbnail for work use, designing, blogging, or just to share it with friends. In this article, we are going to discuss three easy ways to download YouTube thumbnail. You will learn:

• 1. How to Download Thumbnail from Your Own YouTube Video?
• 2. How to Download YouTube Thumbnail by Online Downloader?
• 3. How to Download YouTube Thumbnail by a Custom URL?
• 4. Warning and Notice
• 5. Bonus Tip-Create YouTube Thumbnail for Free

1. How to Download Thumbnail from Your Own YouTube Video?

If you want to download the thumbnail from your own YouTube video, then all you need to do is:

• Simply open the video manager.
• You then need to click on the Edit button next to the video.

• Hover your mouse pointer over the thumbnail and some options will show up. Click on Download image

• The thumbnail image of your video will show up. Right click it, select Save Images As, and you will then have to choose the location that you would want to save the file in and that’s about all it takes to download YouTube thumbnails from your videos.

2. How to Download YouTube Thumbnail by Online Downloader?

Alternatively, you can also download YouTube thumbnail from an online YouTube thumbnail downloaders. It’s free to use and you don’t need to register any service. Here are the steps:

• Click Here to open the online YouTube Thumbnail Downloader
• Copy the URL link of your YouTube video and paste it to the box. Then click Download Now button

• Once you click on download it will give you several resolutions to save it to your computer or Smartphone. This method also allows you to choose a variety of sizes that are going to be compatible with your device

• Upon clicking on download, you will get the save as prompt to choose the destination that the thumbnail to be stored in. Then it is up to you to decide on the name you would want the thumbnail to have or just leave it with the default name.

3. How to Download YouTube Thumbnail by a Custom URL?

You can also download YouTube thumbnail by a direct url. Let us see how it can done using this method:

• Get the ID of the YouTube video. Just open that video on YouTube and a long address will appear has some random letters and numbers that come after the equals sign. This is the actual video ID that you need to use to download the thumbnail.

• All the YouTube thumbnails can be accessed using the same URL. You only need to go to the url in the picture below.

• Copy those random numbers that we said are the video ID and paste them in the part that says ID in the above URL then click on enter.

• When the video is open just right-click anywhere in your browser and select save image as to download YouTube thumbnail on your computer. This URL is the one that will give you the best resolution of the video that you want.

4. Warning and Notice

If the video belongs to someone else then the copyright belongs to that person. It is common for people to steal other people’s work and post it as their own and that is a breach. Even if you are to include a note that indicates the original creator it would still be their work and not yours. You will require having permission from the owner especially if you intend to use it for commercial purposes. Otherwise, you will be infringing on their rights and can be liable for legal action.

YouTube is very strict on works that infringe copyrights and is quick to block or pull-down such videos. If someone notices that you are using their thumbnail or video and reports it YouTube takes it down. It is possible for you to simply contact the owner of the video to ask for the permission with an explanation of the purpose.

5. Bonus Tip-Create YouTube Thumbnail for Free

There are various ways you can create YouTube thumbnails that captivate the attention of the intended viewers. We are going to look at how to simply do it with Canva that you could use to accomplish the task with perfection. It has a state of the art interface that is easy to use. Here is how:

• Pick a presentable template in the Canvas library that has hundreds of diverse YouTube thumbnail designs. You have a wide range to pick the design that best suits your desired taste or alternatively design the template from the scratch if you have the knowhow.
• Select the professional graphic design elements you would want to incorporate. There are an excess of 2 million images at your disposal here and you can add your own. You will find custom frames, icons and banners to create YouTube thumbnail here.
• In the placeholder that allows you to include a message there are countless fonts to make a choice from for free.
• You can easily customize your YouTube thumbnail by altering the colors, fonts or background to give it an irresistible appearance.
• Share or download the finished YouTube thumbnail.

Don’t want to switch between software to create your YouTube thumbnail? Try Filmora

For some of us, switching between different softwares can be troublesome. Then try Filmora! You can not only edit your video, but also create thumbnail with it. Learn how to create a thumbnail for free using Filmora and try out its editing features yourself.

Note:

The content of your video should feature as a snapshot in your YouTube thumbnail for it to create a sense of suspense thus curiosity. The caption you choose to go with your thumbnail must be captivating and relevant to the content. It is these minor details that you include to create YouTube thumbnail that draws a lot of traffic to your video.

You may also like: Top 10 Best Free YouTube Thumbnail Makers

Conclusion

There is little difference in the method in the methods to download YouTube thumbnail as they are all easy to master. You will also come across some extensions that are added to the browser to perform the same function with similar results. The tricky part here is how to create YouTube thumbnails as it might require the touch of an expert. YouTube thumbnails play an important role in SEO thus the need to consult better-equipped people for that role if you are not up to it. The experts in the field are also aware of the trends and will advise you accordingly.

Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett

Mar 27, 2024• Proven solutions

A YouTube thumbnail is the minimized edition of a video that a viewer sees first when they are looking for relevant content that presents the desired satisfaction. The miniature clips with conspicuous images that one can click on to view the contents of a video are what YouTube thumbnails are. People have varying reasons to download YouTube thumbnail. One of them is that you may have already uploaded the video and want to save the thumbnail on your computer. Other people want to download YouTube thumbnail for work use, designing, blogging, or just to share it with friends. In this article, we are going to discuss three easy ways to download YouTube thumbnail. You will learn:

• 1. How to Download Thumbnail from Your Own YouTube Video?
• 2. How to Download YouTube Thumbnail by Online Downloader?
• 3. How to Download YouTube Thumbnail by a Custom URL?
• 4. Warning and Notice
• 5. Bonus Tip-Create YouTube Thumbnail for Free

1. How to Download Thumbnail from Your Own YouTube Video?

If you want to download the thumbnail from your own YouTube video, then all you need to do is:

• Simply open the video manager.
• You then need to click on the Edit button next to the video.

• Hover your mouse pointer over the thumbnail and some options will show up. Click on Download image

• The thumbnail image of your video will show up. Right click it, select Save Images As, and you will then have to choose the location that you would want to save the file in and that’s about all it takes to download YouTube thumbnails from your videos.

2. How to Download YouTube Thumbnail by Online Downloader?

Alternatively, you can also download YouTube thumbnail from an online YouTube thumbnail downloaders. It’s free to use and you don’t need to register any service. Here are the steps:

• Click Here to open the online YouTube Thumbnail Downloader
• Copy the URL link of your YouTube video and paste it to the box. Then click Download Now button

• Once you click on download it will give you several resolutions to save it to your computer or Smartphone. This method also allows you to choose a variety of sizes that are going to be compatible with your device

• Upon clicking on download, you will get the save as prompt to choose the destination that the thumbnail to be stored in. Then it is up to you to decide on the name you would want the thumbnail to have or just leave it with the default name.

3. How to Download YouTube Thumbnail by a Custom URL?

You can also download YouTube thumbnail by a direct url. Let us see how it can done using this method:

• Get the ID of the YouTube video. Just open that video on YouTube and a long address will appear has some random letters and numbers that come after the equals sign. This is the actual video ID that you need to use to download the thumbnail.

• All the YouTube thumbnails can be accessed using the same URL. You only need to go to the url in the picture below.

• Copy those random numbers that we said are the video ID and paste them in the part that says ID in the above URL then click on enter.

• When the video is open just right-click anywhere in your browser and select save image as to download YouTube thumbnail on your computer. This URL is the one that will give you the best resolution of the video that you want.

4. Warning and Notice

If the video belongs to someone else then the copyright belongs to that person. It is common for people to steal other people’s work and post it as their own and that is a breach. Even if you are to include a note that indicates the original creator it would still be their work and not yours. You will require having permission from the owner especially if you intend to use it for commercial purposes. Otherwise, you will be infringing on their rights and can be liable for legal action.

YouTube is very strict on works that infringe copyrights and is quick to block or pull-down such videos. If someone notices that you are using their thumbnail or video and reports it YouTube takes it down. It is possible for you to simply contact the owner of the video to ask for the permission with an explanation of the purpose.

5. Bonus Tip-Create YouTube Thumbnail for Free

There are various ways you can create YouTube thumbnails that captivate the attention of the intended viewers. We are going to look at how to simply do it with Canva that you could use to accomplish the task with perfection. It has a state of the art interface that is easy to use. Here is how:

• Pick a presentable template in the Canvas library that has hundreds of diverse YouTube thumbnail designs. You have a wide range to pick the design that best suits your desired taste or alternatively design the template from the scratch if you have the knowhow.
• Select the professional graphic design elements you would want to incorporate. There are an excess of 2 million images at your disposal here and you can add your own. You will find custom frames, icons and banners to create YouTube thumbnail here.
• In the placeholder that allows you to include a message there are countless fonts to make a choice from for free.
• You can easily customize your YouTube thumbnail by altering the colors, fonts or background to give it an irresistible appearance.
• Share or download the finished YouTube thumbnail.

Don’t want to switch between software to create your YouTube thumbnail? Try Filmora

For some of us, switching between different softwares can be troublesome. Then try Filmora! You can not only edit your video, but also create thumbnail with it. Learn how to create a thumbnail for free using Filmora and try out its editing features yourself.

Note:

The content of your video should feature as a snapshot in your YouTube thumbnail for it to create a sense of suspense thus curiosity. The caption you choose to go with your thumbnail must be captivating and relevant to the content. It is these minor details that you include to create YouTube thumbnail that draws a lot of traffic to your video.

You may also like: Top 10 Best Free YouTube Thumbnail Makers

Conclusion

There is little difference in the method in the methods to download YouTube thumbnail as they are all easy to master. You will also come across some extensions that are added to the browser to perform the same function with similar results. The tricky part here is how to create YouTube thumbnails as it might require the touch of an expert. YouTube thumbnails play an important role in SEO thus the need to consult better-equipped people for that role if you are not up to it. The experts in the field are also aware of the trends and will advise you accordingly.

Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett

Mar 27, 2024• Proven solutions

A YouTube thumbnail is the minimized edition of a video that a viewer sees first when they are looking for relevant content that presents the desired satisfaction. The miniature clips with conspicuous images that one can click on to view the contents of a video are what YouTube thumbnails are. People have varying reasons to download YouTube thumbnail. One of them is that you may have already uploaded the video and want to save the thumbnail on your computer. Other people want to download YouTube thumbnail for work use, designing, blogging, or just to share it with friends. In this article, we are going to discuss three easy ways to download YouTube thumbnail. You will learn:

• 1. How to Download Thumbnail from Your Own YouTube Video?
• 2. How to Download YouTube Thumbnail by Online Downloader?
• 3. How to Download YouTube Thumbnail by a Custom URL?
• 4. Warning and Notice
• 5. Bonus Tip-Create YouTube Thumbnail for Free

1. How to Download Thumbnail from Your Own YouTube Video?

If you want to download the thumbnail from your own YouTube video, then all you need to do is:

• Simply open the video manager.
• You then need to click on the Edit button next to the video.

• Hover your mouse pointer over the thumbnail and some options will show up. Click on Download image

• The thumbnail image of your video will show up. Right click it, select Save Images As, and you will then have to choose the location that you would want to save the file in and that’s about all it takes to download YouTube thumbnails from your videos.

2. How to Download YouTube Thumbnail by Online Downloader?

Alternatively, you can also download YouTube thumbnail from an online YouTube thumbnail downloaders. It’s free to use and you don’t need to register any service. Here are the steps:

• Click Here to open the online YouTube Thumbnail Downloader
• Copy the URL link of your YouTube video and paste it to the box. Then click Download Now button

• Once you click on download it will give you several resolutions to save it to your computer or Smartphone. This method also allows you to choose a variety of sizes that are going to be compatible with your device

• Upon clicking on download, you will get the save as prompt to choose the destination that the thumbnail to be stored in. Then it is up to you to decide on the name you would want the thumbnail to have or just leave it with the default name.

3. How to Download YouTube Thumbnail by a Custom URL?

You can also download YouTube thumbnail by a direct url. Let us see how it can done using this method:

• Get the ID of the YouTube video. Just open that video on YouTube and a long address will appear has some random letters and numbers that come after the equals sign. This is the actual video ID that you need to use to download the thumbnail.

• All the YouTube thumbnails can be accessed using the same URL. You only need to go to the url in the picture below.

• Copy those random numbers that we said are the video ID and paste them in the part that says ID in the above URL then click on enter.

• When the video is open just right-click anywhere in your browser and select save image as to download YouTube thumbnail on your computer. This URL is the one that will give you the best resolution of the video that you want.

4. Warning and Notice

If the video belongs to someone else then the copyright belongs to that person. It is common for people to steal other people’s work and post it as their own and that is a breach. Even if you are to include a note that indicates the original creator it would still be their work and not yours. You will require having permission from the owner especially if you intend to use it for commercial purposes. Otherwise, you will be infringing on their rights and can be liable for legal action.

YouTube is very strict on works that infringe copyrights and is quick to block or pull-down such videos. If someone notices that you are using their thumbnail or video and reports it YouTube takes it down. It is possible for you to simply contact the owner of the video to ask for the permission with an explanation of the purpose.

5. Bonus Tip-Create YouTube Thumbnail for Free

There are various ways you can create YouTube thumbnails that captivate the attention of the intended viewers. We are going to look at how to simply do it with Canva that you could use to accomplish the task with perfection. It has a state of the art interface that is easy to use. Here is how:

• Pick a presentable template in the Canvas library that has hundreds of diverse YouTube thumbnail designs. You have a wide range to pick the design that best suits your desired taste or alternatively design the template from the scratch if you have the knowhow.
• Select the professional graphic design elements you would want to incorporate. There are an excess of 2 million images at your disposal here and you can add your own. You will find custom frames, icons and banners to create YouTube thumbnail here.
• In the placeholder that allows you to include a message there are countless fonts to make a choice from for free.
• You can easily customize your YouTube thumbnail by altering the colors, fonts or background to give it an irresistible appearance.
• Share or download the finished YouTube thumbnail.

Don’t want to switch between software to create your YouTube thumbnail? Try Filmora

For some of us, switching between different softwares can be troublesome. Then try Filmora! You can not only edit your video, but also create thumbnail with it. Learn how to create a thumbnail for free using Filmora and try out its editing features yourself.

Note:

The content of your video should feature as a snapshot in your YouTube thumbnail for it to create a sense of suspense thus curiosity. The caption you choose to go with your thumbnail must be captivating and relevant to the content. It is these minor details that you include to create YouTube thumbnail that draws a lot of traffic to your video.

You may also like: Top 10 Best Free YouTube Thumbnail Makers

Conclusion

There is little difference in the method in the methods to download YouTube thumbnail as they are all easy to master. You will also come across some extensions that are added to the browser to perform the same function with similar results. The tricky part here is how to create YouTube thumbnails as it might require the touch of an expert. YouTube thumbnails play an important role in SEO thus the need to consult better-equipped people for that role if you are not up to it. The experts in the field are also aware of the trends and will advise you accordingly.

Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett

Mar 27, 2024• Proven solutions

A YouTube thumbnail is the minimized edition of a video that a viewer sees first when they are looking for relevant content that presents the desired satisfaction. The miniature clips with conspicuous images that one can click on to view the contents of a video are what YouTube thumbnails are. People have varying reasons to download YouTube thumbnail. One of them is that you may have already uploaded the video and want to save the thumbnail on your computer. Other people want to download YouTube thumbnail for work use, designing, blogging, or just to share it with friends. In this article, we are going to discuss three easy ways to download YouTube thumbnail. You will learn:

• 1. How to Download Thumbnail from Your Own YouTube Video?
• 2. How to Download YouTube Thumbnail by Online Downloader?
• 3. How to Download YouTube Thumbnail by a Custom URL?
• 4. Warning and Notice
• 5. Bonus Tip-Create YouTube Thumbnail for Free

1. How to Download Thumbnail from Your Own YouTube Video?

If you want to download the thumbnail from your own YouTube video, then all you need to do is:

• Simply open the video manager.
• You then need to click on the Edit button next to the video.

• Hover your mouse pointer over the thumbnail and some options will show up. Click on Download image

• The thumbnail image of your video will show up. Right click it, select Save Images As, and you will then have to choose the location that you would want to save the file in and that’s about all it takes to download YouTube thumbnails from your videos.

2. How to Download YouTube Thumbnail by Online Downloader?

Alternatively, you can also download YouTube thumbnail from an online YouTube thumbnail downloaders. It’s free to use and you don’t need to register any service. Here are the steps:

• Click Here to open the online YouTube Thumbnail Downloader
• Copy the URL link of your YouTube video and paste it to the box. Then click Download Now button

• Once you click on download it will give you several resolutions to save it to your computer or Smartphone. This method also allows you to choose a variety of sizes that are going to be compatible with your device

• Upon clicking on download, you will get the save as prompt to choose the destination that the thumbnail to be stored in. Then it is up to you to decide on the name you would want the thumbnail to have or just leave it with the default name.

3. How to Download YouTube Thumbnail by a Custom URL?

You can also download YouTube thumbnail by a direct url. Let us see how it can done using this method:

• Get the ID of the YouTube video. Just open that video on YouTube and a long address will appear has some random letters and numbers that come after the equals sign. This is the actual video ID that you need to use to download the thumbnail.

• All the YouTube thumbnails can be accessed using the same URL. You only need to go to the url in the picture below.

• Copy those random numbers that we said are the video ID and paste them in the part that says ID in the above URL then click on enter.

• When the video is open just right-click anywhere in your browser and select save image as to download YouTube thumbnail on your computer. This URL is the one that will give you the best resolution of the video that you want.

4. Warning and Notice

If the video belongs to someone else then the copyright belongs to that person. It is common for people to steal other people’s work and post it as their own and that is a breach. Even if you are to include a note that indicates the original creator it would still be their work and not yours. You will require having permission from the owner especially if you intend to use it for commercial purposes. Otherwise, you will be infringing on their rights and can be liable for legal action.

YouTube is very strict on works that infringe copyrights and is quick to block or pull-down such videos. If someone notices that you are using their thumbnail or video and reports it YouTube takes it down. It is possible for you to simply contact the owner of the video to ask for the permission with an explanation of the purpose.

5. Bonus Tip-Create YouTube Thumbnail for Free

There are various ways you can create YouTube thumbnails that captivate the attention of the intended viewers. We are going to look at how to simply do it with Canva that you could use to accomplish the task with perfection. It has a state of the art interface that is easy to use. Here is how:

• Pick a presentable template in the Canvas library that has hundreds of diverse YouTube thumbnail designs. You have a wide range to pick the design that best suits your desired taste or alternatively design the template from the scratch if you have the knowhow.
• Select the professional graphic design elements you would want to incorporate. There are an excess of 2 million images at your disposal here and you can add your own. You will find custom frames, icons and banners to create YouTube thumbnail here.
• In the placeholder that allows you to include a message there are countless fonts to make a choice from for free.
• You can easily customize your YouTube thumbnail by altering the colors, fonts or background to give it an irresistible appearance.
• Share or download the finished YouTube thumbnail.

Don’t want to switch between software to create your YouTube thumbnail? Try Filmora

For some of us, switching between different softwares can be troublesome. Then try Filmora! You can not only edit your video, but also create thumbnail with it. Learn how to create a thumbnail for free using Filmora and try out its editing features yourself.

Note:

The content of your video should feature as a snapshot in your YouTube thumbnail for it to create a sense of suspense thus curiosity. The caption you choose to go with your thumbnail must be captivating and relevant to the content. It is these minor details that you include to create YouTube thumbnail that draws a lot of traffic to your video.

You may also like: Top 10 Best Free YouTube Thumbnail Makers

Conclusion

There is little difference in the method in the methods to download YouTube thumbnail as they are all easy to master. You will also come across some extensions that are added to the browser to perform the same function with similar results. The tricky part here is how to create YouTube thumbnails as it might require the touch of an expert. YouTube thumbnails play an important role in SEO thus the need to consult better-equipped people for that role if you are not up to it. The experts in the field are also aware of the trends and will advise you accordingly.

Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Richard Bennett

Craft Unforgettable Experiences for More Subscribers with These 6 Tips

6 Ways To Increase Audience Retention on YouTube

Richard Bennett

Mar 27, 2024• Proven solutions

Audience retention is one of your most important stats on YouTube. It is even more important than your view count. Your view count really only tells you how many people are finding and clicking on your videos, not whether they are actually watching them. Audience retention refers to how much of a video a viewer watches before clicking away, which is very useful information to have. If you know when people are leaving your videos then you know what you need to work on.

You May Also Like: How to analyse your and your competitors’ YouTube Channel >>
How to structure a YouTube video >>

• Part 1: What is Audience Retention?
• Part 2: How to See Your Audience Retention Report in YouTube?
• Part 3: What is a Good Audience Retention Rate on YouTube?
• Part 4: 6 Ways to Increase YouTube Audience Retention

Part 1: What is Audience Retention?

To put it in simple terms, YouTube audience retention is about how much of each video your viewers watch. It’s usually expressed as a percentage, so if your viewer gets half way through, they will have a retention of 50 per cent.

For YouTube analytics, audience retention is taken as a mean of the retention figures for each of your viewers. For example, if you post a ten-minute video and half your viewers get to the five-minute mark, that’s a retention of 50 per cent. If the other half watch it right to the end, that’s a retention of 100 per cent. The mean of these two figures is 75 per cent, and that’s what YouTube will use as your audience retention figure.

This retention rate affects how highly your video is ranked on YouTube, with videos boasting higher audience retention rates appearing higher in the search results than those which do not. This is because both YouTube and Google are highly focussed on customer satisfaction, and a long watch time means a very happy customer was watching that video. For this reason, it’s well worth considering how to increase YouTube audience retention as it demonstrates that you’re making great content as well as helping you get more viewers.

Part 2: How to See Your Audience Retention Report in YouTube?

YouTube will produce reports to help you keep track of your audience retention. There are two types of audience retention reports; absolute and relative. Absolute allows you to view a graph of your video’s retention and see when people might be clicking away, or if they are skipping to later parts of your video. If you lose a lot of viewers in the first 15 seconds of your videos then that is a clear indication that your content is not what the viewers who find your videos really want. The relative report is where your video is compared to the average retention of similar videos.

Note that by ‘similar videos’, YouTube means videos of a similar length. There is no way to compare your videos only to other videos in your genre. The relative report will always be somewhat skewed because your videos will be measured against very different content.

To see an audience retention report log into your YouTube account and go to yourCreator Studio. There, selectAudience RetentionunderAnalytics.

Part 3: What is a Good Audience Retention Rate on YouTube?

When you’re considering how to increase YouTube audience retention, it can be good to have a goal in mind. Obviously 100 per cent is going to be the Holy Grail of retention rates, but how many videos are actually going to achieve that? It only takes for one person to ‘accidentally’ click on your video and rapidly click away, or for someone to have to stop for outside reasons, to drag your average down.

According to the YouTube community, a good goal to aim for is around 50 per cent, but as there is a lot which can affect your retention rate, that number may be different for you. Low view numbers sometimes get higher retention rates because it’s mainly subscribers watching, whereas channels with millions of views may suffer due to more people abandoning. Rather than setting yourself a golden number, focus instead on increasing your retention rate from wherever it is now, and celebrate your own success instead of measuring yourself against others.

Part 4: 6 Ways to Increase YouTube Audience Retention

If you’re serious about learning how to increase YouTube audience retention, here are five of the best ideas for you:

1. Compare your videos

Investigating your audience retention report will highlight the videos where you achieved maximum success. Think about what you did here, and work to replicate that technique. Perhaps you were talking about a product, or maybe your structured your video slightly differently. It’s up to you to dissect your video and find out what it was that kept people watching for longer, so that you can repeat this success in the future. You can also use some influencer marketing platform such as InflueNex to take a look at the videos in your similar channels, and learn the popular videos on their channels.

2. Get on with it

Research shows that YouTube viewers have an incredibly short attention span. Depending on who you believe, you could have as much as six seconds or as little as just three to grab their attention and compel them to carry on watching. If you want to improve your audience retention, coming in with an engaging, attention grabbing statement right at the start is crucial to your success. Nobody wants to waste their time watching someone waffle on for ages about their granny or their favorite hobbies, so get right down to it straight away, by telling them what’s in store.

3. Make it visually engaging

Perhaps all you’ve got is a presentation to make. You’re not a gamer, you’re not showing clips of your cat and you’re not doing a makeup tutorial, so surely all you need is a camera, good lighting and your face, right? Wrong. Viewers like to see the visual content changing, and videos which have a range of scenes are usually far more successful than those where it’s just a person talking to camera. Think about how you can insert cutaways, pop up text, different footage and other graphics to keep it interesting for your viewers.

4. Make it shorter

This one is a no brainer really. If you make a one-minute video, how hard is it going to be to keep viewers watching to the end compared to a 20-minute marathon. However, going too short can be negative too, unless you really do have something very quick and simple to showcase. Long videos work well for YouTubers in the gaming niche, in particular, because viewers want to know the end result, but for most of us, these sorts of viewing statistics are hard to reach.

If you consider a viewer who watches three minutes of your content, would you rather they watched three minutes of a ten-minute video and then clicked away bored, or would you rather they finished an entire video that was only three minutes long? Both in terms of audience retention and of your own reputation, having a viewer finish a short video is much more valuable to you than losing someone half way through a long one. That person probably enjoyed your content to the end and will more than likely watch another one of your videos. Conversely, the one you lost half way through was bored enough to stop watching and will probably not bother viewing any other videos of yours in future.

5. Keep them hooked

Think carefully about your YouTube video structure. Ideally, you will tell them at the very start that you’ve got something amazing to share with them later on. This could be a tip, a tutorial, a new product reveal or even something funny. Whatever it is, tell them they’re going to love it from the start, and keep reminding them to watch from the end to get this gift. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t give them great content all the way through, just that you should save a carrot for the end of the ride to reward those loyal viewers.

So, now you know how to increase YouTube audience retention, what are you going to do about it? Have a go at modifying your videos to boost the numbers who will watch to the end and let us know how you got on.

6. Use an Excellent Video Editor

Content is the king. It is necessary to use a powerful video editor to help you edit videos. With an excellent video editor like Filmora, you can custom stunning videos effortlessly.

Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett

Mar 27, 2024• Proven solutions

Audience retention is one of your most important stats on YouTube. It is even more important than your view count. Your view count really only tells you how many people are finding and clicking on your videos, not whether they are actually watching them. Audience retention refers to how much of a video a viewer watches before clicking away, which is very useful information to have. If you know when people are leaving your videos then you know what you need to work on.

You May Also Like: How to analyse your and your competitors’ YouTube Channel >>
How to structure a YouTube video >>

• Part 1: What is Audience Retention?
• Part 2: How to See Your Audience Retention Report in YouTube?
• Part 3: What is a Good Audience Retention Rate on YouTube?
• Part 4: 6 Ways to Increase YouTube Audience Retention

Part 1: What is Audience Retention?

To put it in simple terms, YouTube audience retention is about how much of each video your viewers watch. It’s usually expressed as a percentage, so if your viewer gets half way through, they will have a retention of 50 per cent.

For YouTube analytics, audience retention is taken as a mean of the retention figures for each of your viewers. For example, if you post a ten-minute video and half your viewers get to the five-minute mark, that’s a retention of 50 per cent. If the other half watch it right to the end, that’s a retention of 100 per cent. The mean of these two figures is 75 per cent, and that’s what YouTube will use as your audience retention figure.

This retention rate affects how highly your video is ranked on YouTube, with videos boasting higher audience retention rates appearing higher in the search results than those which do not. This is because both YouTube and Google are highly focussed on customer satisfaction, and a long watch time means a very happy customer was watching that video. For this reason, it’s well worth considering how to increase YouTube audience retention as it demonstrates that you’re making great content as well as helping you get more viewers.

Part 2: How to See Your Audience Retention Report in YouTube?

YouTube will produce reports to help you keep track of your audience retention. There are two types of audience retention reports; absolute and relative. Absolute allows you to view a graph of your video’s retention and see when people might be clicking away, or if they are skipping to later parts of your video. If you lose a lot of viewers in the first 15 seconds of your videos then that is a clear indication that your content is not what the viewers who find your videos really want. The relative report is where your video is compared to the average retention of similar videos.

Note that by ‘similar videos’, YouTube means videos of a similar length. There is no way to compare your videos only to other videos in your genre. The relative report will always be somewhat skewed because your videos will be measured against very different content.

To see an audience retention report log into your YouTube account and go to yourCreator Studio. There, selectAudience RetentionunderAnalytics.

Part 3: What is a Good Audience Retention Rate on YouTube?

When you’re considering how to increase YouTube audience retention, it can be good to have a goal in mind. Obviously 100 per cent is going to be the Holy Grail of retention rates, but how many videos are actually going to achieve that? It only takes for one person to ‘accidentally’ click on your video and rapidly click away, or for someone to have to stop for outside reasons, to drag your average down.

According to the YouTube community, a good goal to aim for is around 50 per cent, but as there is a lot which can affect your retention rate, that number may be different for you. Low view numbers sometimes get higher retention rates because it’s mainly subscribers watching, whereas channels with millions of views may suffer due to more people abandoning. Rather than setting yourself a golden number, focus instead on increasing your retention rate from wherever it is now, and celebrate your own success instead of measuring yourself against others.

Part 4: 6 Ways to Increase YouTube Audience Retention

If you’re serious about learning how to increase YouTube audience retention, here are five of the best ideas for you:

1. Compare your videos

Investigating your audience retention report will highlight the videos where you achieved maximum success. Think about what you did here, and work to replicate that technique. Perhaps you were talking about a product, or maybe your structured your video slightly differently. It’s up to you to dissect your video and find out what it was that kept people watching for longer, so that you can repeat this success in the future. You can also use some influencer marketing platform such as InflueNex to take a look at the videos in your similar channels, and learn the popular videos on their channels.

2. Get on with it

Research shows that YouTube viewers have an incredibly short attention span. Depending on who you believe, you could have as much as six seconds or as little as just three to grab their attention and compel them to carry on watching. If you want to improve your audience retention, coming in with an engaging, attention grabbing statement right at the start is crucial to your success. Nobody wants to waste their time watching someone waffle on for ages about their granny or their favorite hobbies, so get right down to it straight away, by telling them what’s in store.

3. Make it visually engaging

Perhaps all you’ve got is a presentation to make. You’re not a gamer, you’re not showing clips of your cat and you’re not doing a makeup tutorial, so surely all you need is a camera, good lighting and your face, right? Wrong. Viewers like to see the visual content changing, and videos which have a range of scenes are usually far more successful than those where it’s just a person talking to camera. Think about how you can insert cutaways, pop up text, different footage and other graphics to keep it interesting for your viewers.

4. Make it shorter

This one is a no brainer really. If you make a one-minute video, how hard is it going to be to keep viewers watching to the end compared to a 20-minute marathon. However, going too short can be negative too, unless you really do have something very quick and simple to showcase. Long videos work well for YouTubers in the gaming niche, in particular, because viewers want to know the end result, but for most of us, these sorts of viewing statistics are hard to reach.

If you consider a viewer who watches three minutes of your content, would you rather they watched three minutes of a ten-minute video and then clicked away bored, or would you rather they finished an entire video that was only three minutes long? Both in terms of audience retention and of your own reputation, having a viewer finish a short video is much more valuable to you than losing someone half way through a long one. That person probably enjoyed your content to the end and will more than likely watch another one of your videos. Conversely, the one you lost half way through was bored enough to stop watching and will probably not bother viewing any other videos of yours in future.

5. Keep them hooked

Think carefully about your YouTube video structure. Ideally, you will tell them at the very start that you’ve got something amazing to share with them later on. This could be a tip, a tutorial, a new product reveal or even something funny. Whatever it is, tell them they’re going to love it from the start, and keep reminding them to watch from the end to get this gift. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t give them great content all the way through, just that you should save a carrot for the end of the ride to reward those loyal viewers.

So, now you know how to increase YouTube audience retention, what are you going to do about it? Have a go at modifying your videos to boost the numbers who will watch to the end and let us know how you got on.

6. Use an Excellent Video Editor

Content is the king. It is necessary to use a powerful video editor to help you edit videos. With an excellent video editor like Filmora, you can custom stunning videos effortlessly.

Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett

Mar 27, 2024• Proven solutions

Audience retention is one of your most important stats on YouTube. It is even more important than your view count. Your view count really only tells you how many people are finding and clicking on your videos, not whether they are actually watching them. Audience retention refers to how much of a video a viewer watches before clicking away, which is very useful information to have. If you know when people are leaving your videos then you know what you need to work on.

You May Also Like: How to analyse your and your competitors’ YouTube Channel >>
How to structure a YouTube video >>

• Part 1: What is Audience Retention?
• Part 2: How to See Your Audience Retention Report in YouTube?
• Part 3: What is a Good Audience Retention Rate on YouTube?
• Part 4: 6 Ways to Increase YouTube Audience Retention

Part 1: What is Audience Retention?

To put it in simple terms, YouTube audience retention is about how much of each video your viewers watch. It’s usually expressed as a percentage, so if your viewer gets half way through, they will have a retention of 50 per cent.

For YouTube analytics, audience retention is taken as a mean of the retention figures for each of your viewers. For example, if you post a ten-minute video and half your viewers get to the five-minute mark, that’s a retention of 50 per cent. If the other half watch it right to the end, that’s a retention of 100 per cent. The mean of these two figures is 75 per cent, and that’s what YouTube will use as your audience retention figure.

This retention rate affects how highly your video is ranked on YouTube, with videos boasting higher audience retention rates appearing higher in the search results than those which do not. This is because both YouTube and Google are highly focussed on customer satisfaction, and a long watch time means a very happy customer was watching that video. For this reason, it’s well worth considering how to increase YouTube audience retention as it demonstrates that you’re making great content as well as helping you get more viewers.

Part 2: How to See Your Audience Retention Report in YouTube?

YouTube will produce reports to help you keep track of your audience retention. There are two types of audience retention reports; absolute and relative. Absolute allows you to view a graph of your video’s retention and see when people might be clicking away, or if they are skipping to later parts of your video. If you lose a lot of viewers in the first 15 seconds of your videos then that is a clear indication that your content is not what the viewers who find your videos really want. The relative report is where your video is compared to the average retention of similar videos.

Note that by ‘similar videos’, YouTube means videos of a similar length. There is no way to compare your videos only to other videos in your genre. The relative report will always be somewhat skewed because your videos will be measured against very different content.

To see an audience retention report log into your YouTube account and go to yourCreator Studio. There, selectAudience RetentionunderAnalytics.

Part 3: What is a Good Audience Retention Rate on YouTube?

When you’re considering how to increase YouTube audience retention, it can be good to have a goal in mind. Obviously 100 per cent is going to be the Holy Grail of retention rates, but how many videos are actually going to achieve that? It only takes for one person to ‘accidentally’ click on your video and rapidly click away, or for someone to have to stop for outside reasons, to drag your average down.

According to the YouTube community, a good goal to aim for is around 50 per cent, but as there is a lot which can affect your retention rate, that number may be different for you. Low view numbers sometimes get higher retention rates because it’s mainly subscribers watching, whereas channels with millions of views may suffer due to more people abandoning. Rather than setting yourself a golden number, focus instead on increasing your retention rate from wherever it is now, and celebrate your own success instead of measuring yourself against others.

Part 4: 6 Ways to Increase YouTube Audience Retention

If you’re serious about learning how to increase YouTube audience retention, here are five of the best ideas for you:

1. Compare your videos

Investigating your audience retention report will highlight the videos where you achieved maximum success. Think about what you did here, and work to replicate that technique. Perhaps you were talking about a product, or maybe your structured your video slightly differently. It’s up to you to dissect your video and find out what it was that kept people watching for longer, so that you can repeat this success in the future. You can also use some influencer marketing platform such as InflueNex to take a look at the videos in your similar channels, and learn the popular videos on their channels.

2. Get on with it

Research shows that YouTube viewers have an incredibly short attention span. Depending on who you believe, you could have as much as six seconds or as little as just three to grab their attention and compel them to carry on watching. If you want to improve your audience retention, coming in with an engaging, attention grabbing statement right at the start is crucial to your success. Nobody wants to waste their time watching someone waffle on for ages about their granny or their favorite hobbies, so get right down to it straight away, by telling them what’s in store.

3. Make it visually engaging

Perhaps all you’ve got is a presentation to make. You’re not a gamer, you’re not showing clips of your cat and you’re not doing a makeup tutorial, so surely all you need is a camera, good lighting and your face, right? Wrong. Viewers like to see the visual content changing, and videos which have a range of scenes are usually far more successful than those where it’s just a person talking to camera. Think about how you can insert cutaways, pop up text, different footage and other graphics to keep it interesting for your viewers.

4. Make it shorter

This one is a no brainer really. If you make a one-minute video, how hard is it going to be to keep viewers watching to the end compared to a 20-minute marathon. However, going too short can be negative too, unless you really do have something very quick and simple to showcase. Long videos work well for YouTubers in the gaming niche, in particular, because viewers want to know the end result, but for most of us, these sorts of viewing statistics are hard to reach.

If you consider a viewer who watches three minutes of your content, would you rather they watched three minutes of a ten-minute video and then clicked away bored, or would you rather they finished an entire video that was only three minutes long? Both in terms of audience retention and of your own reputation, having a viewer finish a short video is much more valuable to you than losing someone half way through a long one. That person probably enjoyed your content to the end and will more than likely watch another one of your videos. Conversely, the one you lost half way through was bored enough to stop watching and will probably not bother viewing any other videos of yours in future.

5. Keep them hooked

Think carefully about your YouTube video structure. Ideally, you will tell them at the very start that you’ve got something amazing to share with them later on. This could be a tip, a tutorial, a new product reveal or even something funny. Whatever it is, tell them they’re going to love it from the start, and keep reminding them to watch from the end to get this gift. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t give them great content all the way through, just that you should save a carrot for the end of the ride to reward those loyal viewers.

So, now you know how to increase YouTube audience retention, what are you going to do about it? Have a go at modifying your videos to boost the numbers who will watch to the end and let us know how you got on.

6. Use an Excellent Video Editor

Content is the king. It is necessary to use a powerful video editor to help you edit videos. With an excellent video editor like Filmora, you can custom stunning videos effortlessly.

Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett

Mar 27, 2024• Proven solutions

Audience retention is one of your most important stats on YouTube. It is even more important than your view count. Your view count really only tells you how many people are finding and clicking on your videos, not whether they are actually watching them. Audience retention refers to how much of a video a viewer watches before clicking away, which is very useful information to have. If you know when people are leaving your videos then you know what you need to work on.

You May Also Like: How to analyse your and your competitors’ YouTube Channel >>
How to structure a YouTube video >>

• Part 1: What is Audience Retention?
• Part 2: How to See Your Audience Retention Report in YouTube?
• Part 3: What is a Good Audience Retention Rate on YouTube?
• Part 4: 6 Ways to Increase YouTube Audience Retention

Part 1: What is Audience Retention?

To put it in simple terms, YouTube audience retention is about how much of each video your viewers watch. It’s usually expressed as a percentage, so if your viewer gets half way through, they will have a retention of 50 per cent.

For YouTube analytics, audience retention is taken as a mean of the retention figures for each of your viewers. For example, if you post a ten-minute video and half your viewers get to the five-minute mark, that’s a retention of 50 per cent. If the other half watch it right to the end, that’s a retention of 100 per cent. The mean of these two figures is 75 per cent, and that’s what YouTube will use as your audience retention figure.

This retention rate affects how highly your video is ranked on YouTube, with videos boasting higher audience retention rates appearing higher in the search results than those which do not. This is because both YouTube and Google are highly focussed on customer satisfaction, and a long watch time means a very happy customer was watching that video. For this reason, it’s well worth considering how to increase YouTube audience retention as it demonstrates that you’re making great content as well as helping you get more viewers.

Part 2: How to See Your Audience Retention Report in YouTube?

YouTube will produce reports to help you keep track of your audience retention. There are two types of audience retention reports; absolute and relative. Absolute allows you to view a graph of your video’s retention and see when people might be clicking away, or if they are skipping to later parts of your video. If you lose a lot of viewers in the first 15 seconds of your videos then that is a clear indication that your content is not what the viewers who find your videos really want. The relative report is where your video is compared to the average retention of similar videos.

Note that by ‘similar videos’, YouTube means videos of a similar length. There is no way to compare your videos only to other videos in your genre. The relative report will always be somewhat skewed because your videos will be measured against very different content.

To see an audience retention report log into your YouTube account and go to yourCreator Studio. There, selectAudience RetentionunderAnalytics.

Part 3: What is a Good Audience Retention Rate on YouTube?

When you’re considering how to increase YouTube audience retention, it can be good to have a goal in mind. Obviously 100 per cent is going to be the Holy Grail of retention rates, but how many videos are actually going to achieve that? It only takes for one person to ‘accidentally’ click on your video and rapidly click away, or for someone to have to stop for outside reasons, to drag your average down.

According to the YouTube community, a good goal to aim for is around 50 per cent, but as there is a lot which can affect your retention rate, that number may be different for you. Low view numbers sometimes get higher retention rates because it’s mainly subscribers watching, whereas channels with millions of views may suffer due to more people abandoning. Rather than setting yourself a golden number, focus instead on increasing your retention rate from wherever it is now, and celebrate your own success instead of measuring yourself against others.

Part 4: 6 Ways to Increase YouTube Audience Retention

If you’re serious about learning how to increase YouTube audience retention, here are five of the best ideas for you:

1. Compare your videos

Investigating your audience retention report will highlight the videos where you achieved maximum success. Think about what you did here, and work to replicate that technique. Perhaps you were talking about a product, or maybe your structured your video slightly differently. It’s up to you to dissect your video and find out what it was that kept people watching for longer, so that you can repeat this success in the future. You can also use some influencer marketing platform such as InflueNex to take a look at the videos in your similar channels, and learn the popular videos on their channels.

2. Get on with it

Research shows that YouTube viewers have an incredibly short attention span. Depending on who you believe, you could have as much as six seconds or as little as just three to grab their attention and compel them to carry on watching. If you want to improve your audience retention, coming in with an engaging, attention grabbing statement right at the start is crucial to your success. Nobody wants to waste their time watching someone waffle on for ages about their granny or their favorite hobbies, so get right down to it straight away, by telling them what’s in store.

3. Make it visually engaging

Perhaps all you’ve got is a presentation to make. You’re not a gamer, you’re not showing clips of your cat and you’re not doing a makeup tutorial, so surely all you need is a camera, good lighting and your face, right? Wrong. Viewers like to see the visual content changing, and videos which have a range of scenes are usually far more successful than those where it’s just a person talking to camera. Think about how you can insert cutaways, pop up text, different footage and other graphics to keep it interesting for your viewers.

4. Make it shorter

This one is a no brainer really. If you make a one-minute video, how hard is it going to be to keep viewers watching to the end compared to a 20-minute marathon. However, going too short can be negative too, unless you really do have something very quick and simple to showcase. Long videos work well for YouTubers in the gaming niche, in particular, because viewers want to know the end result, but for most of us, these sorts of viewing statistics are hard to reach.

If you consider a viewer who watches three minutes of your content, would you rather they watched three minutes of a ten-minute video and then clicked away bored, or would you rather they finished an entire video that was only three minutes long? Both in terms of audience retention and of your own reputation, having a viewer finish a short video is much more valuable to you than losing someone half way through a long one. That person probably enjoyed your content to the end and will more than likely watch another one of your videos. Conversely, the one you lost half way through was bored enough to stop watching and will probably not bother viewing any other videos of yours in future.

5. Keep them hooked

Think carefully about your YouTube video structure. Ideally, you will tell them at the very start that you’ve got something amazing to share with them later on. This could be a tip, a tutorial, a new product reveal or even something funny. Whatever it is, tell them they’re going to love it from the start, and keep reminding them to watch from the end to get this gift. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t give them great content all the way through, just that you should save a carrot for the end of the ride to reward those loyal viewers.

So, now you know how to increase YouTube audience retention, what are you going to do about it? Have a go at modifying your videos to boost the numbers who will watch to the end and let us know how you got on.

6. Use an Excellent Video Editor

Content is the king. It is necessary to use a powerful video editor to help you edit videos. With an excellent video editor like Filmora, you can custom stunning videos effortlessly.

Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Richard Bennett

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