Ask any YouTuber and they will tell you that generating significant views and subscribers isn't easy. But with the right strategy and tools, any video creator can build an engaged subscriber base when they understand what those subscribers want to watch.

Appealing to an audience to watch content you are passionate about making is just the first step, you need to know how to reach them and get your videos discovered. Our guides to how to guide more views on YouTube will give you the best tips to succeed on the platform.

Getting Views

How To Get More Views on YouTube

Getting thousands or even millions of YouTube subscribers is a dream for most creators. In the articles below, we'll show you how to turn casual viewers into long-term fans. 

Subscribers

YouTube Subscribers

Do you want to make money on YouTube? Millions of creators are earning a very good living from monetizing the platform and uploading content that drives huge views and engagements. Whether that YouTube income is from advertising revenue, merchandise sales, or brand deals, or subscriptions, we keep you updated with best practices and ideas.

Monetization

How To Make Money on YouTube

Want to see how your channel is performing? Read these YouTube analytics articles to discover what's working and what isn't. You'll learn how to identify which videos have the most Watch Time, clicks, audience retention, revenue, and more.

Analytics

YouTube Analytics

Watch Time is arguably THE most important metric on YouTube right now, and creators won’t be able to monetize their content without 4000 hours of it. But what is it and how can creators increase the amount of Watch Time their videos attract? We keep you updated on the best practices around Watch Time, and how you can increase how much your video content generates.

Watch Time

YouTube Watch Time

YouTube Shorts content is set to explode! 

All the latest tips, tricks, and rock-solid advice you need for this new feature.

YouTube Shorts

Do you know how to do keyword research so you understand what videos people are actually searching for on YouTube? Do you know how to create a custom YouTube thumbnail? Do you know how to create a Playlist on YouTube?

vidIQ has a ton of tips that will help every creator maximise their video content. We publish content every week to keep you up to date with all the best practices.

Tips & Tricks

YouTube Tips & Tricks

At vidIQ we have incredible insights into what viewers are searching for on YouTube. Not only can we confirm the top keywords being searched for, we can also show you how you can leverage that interest to create content around trending topics and tentpole events. That's going to give you a clear edge over other creators!

Insights

YouTube Insights

Your In-Depth Guide to Building a Successful YouTube Channel

If you're grinding for hours on each video and still seeing 12 views, including your replays, you're probably wondering: is YouTube too saturated to grow anymore?

That question haunts new creators more than the dreaded "0 views" screen. You put your heart into a video. You meticulously script, shoot, edit, and upload—and then? 

 Meanwhile, big creators are burning stacks of cash for thumbnails, and you're wondering if there's even any oxygen left in the room.

In the video above, Rob talks about all of it. Not in theory. Not with sugar-coated optimism. But with the raw, data-backed reality and the tools you can use to beat it.

How to Build the Right Mindset for YouTube Success

Over 20 million videos are uploaded to YouTube every single day. 

It's not just your niche that feels crowded—it's the whole platform. Even established creators are feeling the heat. Channels that used to pull 500K views per video are now seeing half that. The landscape has shifted dramatically, and the old playbook of "just upload consistently" isn't cutting it anymore.

But here's where it gets interesting. YouTube is thriving. It just hit a historic benchmark—12% of all TV streaming time in the U.S. That's more than Netflix. More than Disney+. It's not that people aren't watching YouTube—it's that they're not watching your video yet.

On top of that, most new creators don't actually create—they copy. You see what works in your niche and replicate it, hoping for similar results. But what you're really doing is blending into the crowd. In a saturated space, sameness is a slow death.

The platform isn't dying; it's evolving. And that evolution means a different approach from creators who want to break through the noise. Stop asking, "Is YouTube Saturated?" That's the Wrong Question. Instead, ask "Am I doing enough to stand out?"

Let's examine how creators breakthrough in oversaturated niches. Take the content space—arguably one of the most overcrowded areas being YouTube. Yet some creators manage to grow rapidly even here.

The secret isn't revolutionary content. It's revolutionary consistency in presentation. Successful creators develop visual and emotional signatures that become instantly recognizable. They use specific color schemes, maintain consistent fonts, and develop a visual language that viewers begin to associate with quality content.

This isn't about expensive production values or professional graphic design. It's about making deliberate choices and sticking to them. When someone scrolls through their subscription feed, your thumbnail should feel like seeing a familiar face in a crowd.

: Open your channel in incognito mode. Scroll through your thumbnails like a stranger would. Do you look like everyone else? If so, you've got work to do.

We've all cursed the algorithm at some point. 

: The algorithm doesn't find viewers for your video. It finds videos for viewers.

Your job is to make content that keeps people watching. That starts with a clear hook, tight editing, and a reason to stay till the end. The algorithm watches how viewers behave with your content. So think like a viewer.

Would you click your own thumbnail? Would you stay past 30 seconds? Would you share that video with a friend? If the answer is "maybe not," start there. The algorithm isn't mysterious—it's responsive. It amplifies content that audiences engage with and buries content that doesn't hold attention.

A lot of creators hit plateaus not because they aren't talented—but because they're inconsistent. And no, we're not talking hustle culture here. This isn't about 4 a.m. wake-up calls and burnout-as-a-badge-of-honor. It's about clarity and commitment.

If you've only got 5 hours a week to give to YouTube, that's not a limitation—it's your blueprint. The key is being intentional about how you spend that time:

Stick to it like clockwork. Put it on your calendar. And tell someone. Accountability is underrated—post your goals publicly, join a community, even hire a coach. But do something to stay consistent. Because in YouTube, momentum isn't just helpful. It's everything.

Creative Compound Interest: The Secret Sauce

Viral growth isn't luck. It's the end result of compound creative effort. Here's how it works in practice.

Better thumbnail design leads to more clicks. More clicks generate more data about what resonates with your audience. More data informs better scripting and pacing decisions. Better pacing results in higher watch time. Higher watch time triggers stronger algorithm recommendations. And the cycle repeats, each iteration building on the last.

The 12 Best YouTube Thumbnails People Love to Click On

But here's the part most people skip over: It takes time. Most creators quit at video 4 or 5 because they didn't blow up. But here's the truth: You're still in tutorial mode. Give it 3 to 6 months. That's 12 to 25 videos. If you're not improving, reassess. But if you are? Then you're not a beginner anymore. You're a builder!

YouTube in 2025 is not the same YouTube of 2015. Back then, you could upload a shaky vlog or a basic tutorial and find an audience. Today, it takes more. More clarity. More consistency. More craft.

But also? More opportunity. The audience is bigger than ever. The tools are better than ever. The path to monetization is clearer than ever. The question isn't whether YouTube is saturated. Are you ready to do what it takes to stand out in the crowd? 

Man overwhelmed with endless streaming options

Is YouTube too saturated to grow in 2025? Discover the truth about YouTube saturation, why most creators struggle, and how to stand out in a crowded platform with branding, consistency, and smart content strategy.

Has YouTube Become Saturated?

So, you're pouring your heart into your videos, hitting “publish,” and... the audience just isn’t sticking around. Quickly answer! What’s the most important part of a YouTube video? Is it the beginning, middle, or end?

If you know the answer, that means you understand the power of audience retention on YouTube. If you’re unsure or don’t know much about this channel-boosting metric, that’s OK. We’re seconds away from sharing the answer.

Why does audience retention matter so much on YouTube? Aren’t video views the supreme metric for growing a channel?

Audience retention measures how entertaining a video is. 

More than anything, that’s the key to unlocking more views.

How to Increase Audience Retention on Every YouTube Video

The YouTube Studio has a detailed audience retention report. It shows a video's average view duration, which is how many minutes viewers watched on average. In a hypothetical scenario, you might have a 10-minute video that people watch for four minutes.

And then there’s the average percentage viewed, which is also known as 

. Here's how YouTube calculates it: Average view duration / length of video x 100 = audience retention rate.

“A good example would be, let’s say your video is five minutes and the average view duration is two and a half minutes,” Rob says. “That would be exactly 50% audience retention.”

screenshot denoting audience retention rate for a vidiq video

And guess what? The higher your audience retention rate climbs, the easier it is to succeed on YouTube.

 Getting people to watch for longer means they might view/click more ads. And who 

 Videos with higher retention send a positive signal to YouTube’s recommendation system. The video has a higher chance of being recommended to viewers, especially if there are other positive signals (high 

, lots of likes, positive survey responses, etc.)

Understanding the YouTube Algorithm in 2025

You’ve probably heard that you need to hook your viewers at the start of the video. Great. But here’s where most creators go wrong — 

. It’s the secret sauce of real retention.

Every time you deliver a point, immediately follow it up with another compelling reason to stick around. Think of it like this: you’re not just telling a story, you’re 

 every step of the way. Hook. Payoff. New hook. Payoff. Repeat.

 talks about when planning your video, don’t just think about the topic or information you’re sharing — think about the 

 of what’s happening — not a fly on the wall. If your content feels like it’s ignoring the viewer or doesn’t invite them in, they’ll bounce. Period.

This means asking yourself while filming: “Am I making the viewer feel like they’re here with me, involved in this moment?”
Or are you giving off “awkward guy at the edge of the party” vibes?

Don’t start your video with “Hey guys, today I’m going to show you how to…” Just 

. Get into something juicy within seconds. Throw them into the fire — then explain what’s going on after they’re hooked.

An example from the video? A recipe video that starts mid-sentence with “Squeeze the blueberries into the…” and you’re like 

You can still get to the “Hey guys,” but not until you’ve already earned their attention.

3. The Most Crucial Part of a Video Is the First 30 Seconds

What happens in the first 30 seconds of your video is critical. Many creators focus on the meat of their content – the sections where they give the most value to viewers. But if people aren’t satisfied at the beginning of the video, they will click away to watch something else. And if they click away, your audience retention rate takes a massive hit.

Understanding YouTube Average View Duration

“When you look at your retention graph, it starts at 100% and rapidly drops down until it stabilizes a little bit,” Dan says. “On a lot of graphs I’ve seen, it’s this steady trickling down as the video goes on. We know if people are leaving in less than one second of a video, there’s a good chance we’re never getting them back.”

So what’s happening in the first 30 seconds? More than anything, viewers are deciding if they’re in the right corner of YouTube. 

They’re determining whether the video matches what they saw in the title and thumbnail.

viewer engaging with content on the phone

Viewer drop-off is unavoidable, but there are plenty of ways to decrease it. You can practice getting to the point of your video faster or using pattern interrupters, like images, audio, and different camera angles.

Want more tips to keep viewers engaged? Here is a strategical way to improve every video.

Knowing your audience retention rate is one of the first steps to making better videos. Here are three secrets to unlock the full power of this YouTube metric.

3 Secrets to Improve YouTube Audience Retention

This post was originally written Mar 10, 2020 and has been updated with newer information.

In 2025, custom thumbnails are still one of the most powerful ways to get noticed on YouTube.

Just as readers judge books by their covers, viewers judge videos by their thumbnails. It's unavoidable. You have just a tiny window of opportunity to grab that person's attention and draw them into your video. So let's jump into how to make custom thumbnails that do just that.

Custom Thumbnails on YouTube: Your Winning Feature

When you upload a video to YouTube, the platform automatically selects a few thumbnail options from your video. But chances are, those auto-generated frames selected will be off the mark and tell the viewer absolutely nothing about your content. 

That's why custom thumbnails remain one of the most important toolkit. With the help of a well-designed thumbnail, you can tell a much more colorful, intriguing, and direct visual story that might just earn your video an extra click.

Not sure how to enable custom thumbnails? 

minimum recommended resolution is 1280 by 720 pixels

. If you go any higher you might run into two problems. 

Shrinking down really high resolution images to thumbnail preview size can distort them and make them look a little weird. 

YouTube has a very restrictive 2MB file size limit. Keep that in mind if you intend to create really complex images. 

And finally, make sure to save your thumbnails in one of the following file formats: JPEG, GIF, BMP, or PNG.

Another advantage of creating thumbnails in 1280 X 720 resolution is that it matches the 16:9 aspect ratio of how 99.9% of your potential audience will see them. Stick to these basic YouTube thumbnail principles and you are off to a good start.

Here’s one of the most important tips in this entire guide.

When you design your thumbnail, you're looking at it full-size. Bust most viewers will see it much smaller on YouTube's homepage, especially on mobile and we like to call it the 10% rule. 

So here's the test: shrink your custom thumbnail down to 10% of its size. Can you still clearly see what's going on? Can you make out the subject, emotion, or action?

If not, simplify. Cut the clutter. Stick to a few bold elements which are usually a face, an object, and clean background.

Great Custom Thumbnails = Higher Click-Through Rates

Hopefully every YouTube content creator is aware of their 

. Every time a viewer sees one of your thumbnails, that counts as 

. Every time somebody clicks on one of those thumbnails, that is 

. And you can calculate the click-through rate from that. For example, let's say your thumbnail is shown 100 times, and it's clicked on 10 times, that's 10% click-through rate. CTR is a representation of how powerful and effective your titles and your thumbnails are together.

A question that's often asked at this point is, what is a good click-through rate? YouTube's answer is between 2% and 10%, but that depends on your niche, channel size, and your content style. 

benchmark your own CTR and aim to improve it

. Competing with yourself is way more productive and exciting as you see your CTR go up. Competing with somebody else's CTR is going to be frustrating and can lead to burnout.

Custom Thumbnails and YouTube's Safety System

Here’s a lesser known but important point: YouTube uses machine learning to scan your custom thumbnails and assess whether they’re safe for the platform.

A great tool for checking a thumbnail is safe is 

. It's free to use and unnervingly accurate. Just upload a thumbnail and it will:

Identify potentially unsafe or inappropriate content

Highlight whether your thumbnail might trigger YouTube's safety filters

So if you do create a thumbnail that is a little edgy, it might be a good idea to run it through Cloud Vision first. It is certainly an impressive glance into the world of artificial intelligence.

In a sea of videos, your custom thumbnail is your first impression. It’s your best chance to stop the scroll, spark curiosity, and earn that all-important click.

The good news? You don’t need to be a professional designer to create effective thumbnails. With tools like vidIQ’s 

, you can craft bold, high-performing thumbnails that follow all the best practices.

And keep in mind, the best thumbnails don’t work alone. A 

 working together with a great custom thumbnail grabs attention and sets clear expectations.

So don’t treat your thumbnail as an afterthought. Give it the attention it deserves, and watch what happens with your CTR.

If you want to take your YouTube channel to the next level then make sure to download vidIQ. It will help you research YouTube, analyze videos, audit your own channel, and take actionable steps 

Man pointing at YouTube custom thumbnail size limit text with vidIQ logo on blue background

Beyond the video content itself, custom thumbnails are probably the most important YouTube tool you have in your arsenal. Take a look at our essential guide and get it right every time.

How to Make Custom Thumbnails - The Essential Guide!

This post was originally written Mar 10, 2020 and has been updated with newer information

If you want to grow your channel, your custom thumbnails are one of the most important tools you have. Successful creators know this, and they never treat thumbnails as an afterthought.

We spoke to one of the best thumbnail artists in the business, 

 are the creators behind the wildly popular 

 series. Creating stand-out custom thumbnails for their content is an integral part of the process, and Vy gave us a sneak peek into what works across their YouTube channels.

Vy and her team have tested and refined the type of thumbnails that drive viewers to click through to watch. It’s a strategy that’s worked to generate millions of subscribers and billions of views across the five YouTube channels Vy manages. She gave us some exclusive insights into the use of color, graphics and text to create the perfect image.

Take a look at any of Vy and Chad’s YouTube channels and the first thing that hits you about the custom thumbnails is the extraordinary use of color. As experts in the game this is absolutely intentional, and understanding the best colors for YouTube thumbnail design is one of the keys to standing out.

Vy explains that the content they create appeals to a younger demographic who respond really well to bright and vibrant colors. In order to maximize the appeal of the thumbnails, Vy and her team play with, enhance, and even radically change the YouTube thumbnail colors on the image until they get the results they know will work.

Using just Photoshop, colors are saturated, backgrounds are blurred to make the foreground objects stand out, and drop shadows and outer glows are used to further make those objects or text pop. Vy will also separate out the background and foreground on different layers for added image clarity and depth. To break this process down further, let’s take a look at the thumbnail Vy and her team created for ‘

You can see the image-editing expertise fully in action on this thumbnail. Vy has used a fairly blurred 2 color background on one layer, with herself and the hacker on another layer. The two figures have been outlined using the outer glow tool so they stand out, drawing the viewer's attention to Vy’s bright jacket and the white mask of the hacker.

The jacket is actually blue denim but Vy changes the color for every thumbnail she wears it for based on the other colors she's using. The team members mix and match complementary colors based on the background and the objects in the thumbnail, and Vy will often change the color of the jacket so it’s the opposite to what anyone else in the thumbnail is wearing. So while it looks like Vy owns 30 denim jackets of the same design, it’s actually just the one clothing item that’s been manipulated to bring out the very best in the custom thumbnail.

Vy and the team also use colors to create a sense of consistency across their thumbnails with splashes of the same color popping up across different images. This creates a motif that runs through their thumbnails and reinforces the branding and familiarity of the channels.

Bright, high-contrast colors work well, but the best colors for YouTube thumbnails will depend on your niche, audience, and brand style.

Tip #2 Keep Text on Custom Thumbnails to an Absolute Minimum

Another thing you’ll notice from the thumbnails created across Vy’s, Chad’s and the Project Hacker YouTube channels is that text is kept to an absolute minimum, or not used at all.

Obviously this creates extra pressure on the designer who has to get the focus of the content over without spelling it out for the viewer. Vy and her team are world-class experts at this and know exactly when to use text only when necessary. When they do, it’s big and bright and it counts.

Vy confirms that a lot of rookie mistakes she sees with custom thumbnails on YouTube are trying to cram in as much text as possible. Unfortunately, it becomes almost impossible to read when you shrink the thumbnail down. When the graphic becomes too busy the viewer is going to have a hard time understanding what your video is about and they may not even click through to find out.

Vy’s team have solid rules for text use: use three words or less for any thumbnail, keep that text precise, and only ever use it if it makes the story complete. Also, think about the colors you use for the text to make it stand out. And 

don’t repeat the title in the thumbnail - ever!

Another vital component of the successful custom thumbnails that Vy and her team create is the use of emotion to draw viewers in. If just one person is in the thumbnail, they will use the face that shows the stronger emotion, and if there are two or more people, each will have a slightly different emotion to foster attention. This is incredibly important for capturing the eyeballs of the younger audiences scrolling through the YouTube feed on their mobile devices.

Another very effective way of conveying a strong emotion in a person is to actually show the whites of their eyes. Vy spends a lot of time on faces and knows how to make the most out of them. In the thumbnail for ‘

’ Vy accentuated Chad’s green iris and the whites of his eyes with Photoshop’s Saturation tool to make them really come alive. This really helps when it comes to the human connection.

But Vy goes even further to create a sense of emotion with viewers. Not only does she want to attract viewers with facial expressions, but also with a sense of action and purpose from the people featured in the image. As this is rarely achieved from someone just standing still, she makes sure that Chad, herself, or the Hacker are in some kind of motion - like running or fighting back. The aim is to create a need for the audience to find out what happens next.

Tip #4 Don’t Make the Custom Thumbnail an Afterthought

The art of the thumbnail is something Vy’s team 

. The topic of the video, and the story around it is a critical starting point for the graphic. The base image isn’t taken from a screenshot, it’s shot separately and taken from one of many images created during the photoshoot.

Vy will take multiple shots from multiple angles so she has a wide range of creative assets to work from. Thumbnails are never an afterthought for the team, and are as important as creating the main video content.

Tip #5 Keep on Testing Thumbnails - and Replace if You Need To

Vy will monitor click through rate very closely after uploading a video, and is quick to respond if she feels a thumbnail isn’t working as well as she expects. She tracks the click through rates of all of their custom thumbnails in a spreadsheet and analyses the data for performance insights. But as an expert, she’ll use her experience and instinct to 

 within the first 48 hours if the video isn’t getting the views - even before she can confirm the CTR. Talking of 

 makes it easy to generate multiple color variation and layouts, so finding your best YouTube thumbnail colors becomes fast and efficient. 

Whether you’re designing thumbnails manually or 

, the fundamentals are the same: bold colors, strong emotions, minimal text, and continuous testing.

Huge thanks to Vy for letting vidIQ in on her insights and process around creating the best custom thumbnails on YouTube. As you can see, creators who are pulling in millions of views never leave their thumbnail to chance. And you shouldn't either. 

Want To Get More YouTube Views & Subscribers?

Woman in patterned hoodie angrily confronting masked person in black with neon gloves.

We give you 5 expert tips on why creating the best YouTube custom thumbnails should NEVER be an afterthought if you want to grow views and subscribers fast.

Why YouTube Custom Thumbnails Should NEVER Be an Afterthought: 5 Expert Tips

How to Download Your Own YouTube Thumbnails

Want to get YouTube thumbnails from your own videos? Here’s the quick method:

Hover over your current thumbnail and click the three-dot menu

When you click 'download', the image may appear in a new web browser where you can do the usual right click and save. One thing to note, it doesn't matter what resolution you uploaded the thumbnail as, it will always be downloaded in 1280 X 720 resolution.

If you want to download YouTube thumbnails from any video, the easiest way is to use our free tool:

YouTube Thumbnail Downloader – HD Quality

Just paste the video URL, and our tool will instantly get YouTube thumbnails in high definition. No need to mess with URLs or search for the video ID—it’s simple, fast, and works on any public video.

You can manually download YouTube thumbnails from any public video. You'll need the 

, which you can find in the watch page URL—it’s the random collection of numbers and letters that comes after the equal symbol. So highlight all of that and copy it.

On a new browser tab, type in the following URL. Replace 

*https://img.youtube.com/vi/youtube-video-id/maxresdefault.jpg*

Once inserted, you should be able to press enter or click go and you should now see the thumbnail from that video. 

Keep in mind, thumbnails are copyrighted material. You can download YouTube thumbnails for personal use, research, or design inspiration—but get permission for commercial use, or ensure it qualifies under fair use.

Want to Mimic Popular YouTube Thumbnail Styles?

Downloading thumbnails is a great way to research what works. If you want to take it a step further, try vidIQ’s 

You’ll get ready-made templates that match popular YouTube thumbnail styles—perfect for learning proven design tactics and creating high-performing thumbnails faster.


Need to get YouTube thumbnails in high resolution? Learn how to download YouTube thumbnails manually or with our free YouTube thumbnail downloader.

How to Download a YouTube Thumbnail (Fast, Easy & Free)

Video blogs, a.k.a vlogs, are one of the oldest niches on YouTube. In fact, the first-ever YouTube video uploaded is essentially a vlog. But with the rise of different content formats, some might say vlogs have gradually taken a backseat. Some might even go as far as saying vlogging, especially popular formats like daily vlogs, is a dying art.

Vlogging isn’t just about filming random parts of your day—it’s storytelling, creativity, and connection rolled into one. Whether you’re sharing travel experiences, daily routines, or your journey, learning 

A vlog is a style of content where creators share personal experiences, opinions, or stories through video instead of written blogs. Unlike highly scripted or studio-produced videos, vlogs are often casual, raw, and focused on the creator’s personality and perspective.

Behind-the-scenes looks at hobbies or work

Storytelling, opinions, or reflections on life

 is that it turns everyday moments into engaging narratives. Whether it's a day in your life, a special event, or an ongoing journey, a vlog invites viewers to come along for the ride.

Not every vlog needs wild adventures or cinematic drone shots. What truly matters is 

Ready to make vlogs on YouTube? Use this post to learn about everything you need to know for success as a vlogger!

Your In-Depth Guide to Building a Successful YouTube Channel

Has YouTube Become Saturated?

3 Secrets to Improve YouTube Audience Retention

How to Make Custom Thumbnails - The Essential Guide!

Has YouTube Become Saturated?

Why YouTube Custom Thumbnails Should NEVER Be an Afterthought: 5 Expert Tips

How to Download a YouTube Thumbnail (Fast, Easy & Free)

How to Make YouTube Vlogs

The 12 Best YouTube Thumbnails People Love to Click On

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