Remember the good old days of DVD where you could skip between chapters in a movie rather than rewinding and fast-forwarding on a VHS? Well, you can now do that on YouTube. I’m going to show you why you should be using chapters and how to set them up.
Chapters show up in the scroll bar at the bottom of the video and make it easier for your viewers to skip to different sections but what are some of the other benefits of using chapters.
An example of YouTube chapters.
SEO Benefits
First of all, it is yet another way of telling YouTube and Google the content of your video. For YouTube to recommend your videos and place them in search results they need to know what your video is about.
Chapters are a great way of breaking down exactly what you cover in your content.
Audience Retention
Chapters also give your viewers a sneak peek of what you will be covering in the video. This can be beneficial in a couple of different ways. Firstly it helps build excitement in the viewer making them want to watch the whole video so that they don’t miss a thing.
Secondly, if a viewer isn’t quite connecting with your content they may have a look at the chapters to see what else is covered. If something catches their interest it may keep them watching and stop from clicking away.
Encore Encore
Chapters are also great for viewers on repeat viewings. I don’t know about you but I have definitely watched a how-to video on YouTube, gone away to try the thing, forgotten what they have said and then searched for the video again.
How much easier would it be for me to pick the right chapter and be taken straight to the information I need rather having to scrub through the video?
Are There Any Downsides?
Now I have heard the argument that chapters are going to reduce your watch time as people will be skipping sections of your video.
I disagree.
The same people who will be using chapters are the same people who will be skipping through your video to find the information they need. Why not make it easier for them to find this information? This will make them more likely to keep watching rather than searching for another video with the answer.
But How Do You Setup Chapters?
So how do you set up chapters on YouTube? Chapters work in the same way as the old timestamp codes used to.
Basically in your description, you write the name of your chapter with a timestamp after it for when that chapter starts.
So the first chapter is going to be at 0:00 and I have called this chapter ‘Does YouTube still use tags?’.
My next chapter starts at 51 seconds so I have written the title ‘What are tags?’ Followed by the time 0:51. Just make sure you write that time in minutes and seconds, the same format as a digital clock.
Just repeat this process for all of the chapters in your video. You can do this on new uploads or go back and add chapters to old videos.
Tips For Chapter Titles
It’s a good idea to try and build intrigue rather than stating what is in the chapter. For example, I could have called this chapter ‘Suggested words for tags’ but instead I have asked the question ‘What words should I use for tags?’. Asking a question will open a story loop and your viewer will want to know the answer to close it.
Editing your videos instantly makes them look more professional and lets you add things like calls to action, branding and music but where do you even start?
In my new course ‘How To Edit Your Business Videos’ I will show you how to use the video editor Filmora to instantly improve the look of your videos.