YouTube are finally launching A/B thumbnail testing, with a feature called Test & Compare
YouTube are rolling out the ability to upload up to three different thumbnail designs, with statistics that show which is the best choice.
Ever been stuck knowing what to include in your video thumbnail? Don’t judge a book (video) by its cover (thumbnail). Despite this, those little images can be crucial to YouTube success. Besides titles, they are often the one factor that will determine whether or not a viewer clicks on your video or not. This is why creators have long called out for an in-built thumbnail A/B testing tool, which previously required a third-party tool.
Announced at VidCon and demoed in a recent video from YouTube’s official Creator Insider channel, A/B thumbnail testing is finally coming in a feature YouTube calls Test & Compare. As shown in the video below, creators can upload up to 3 different thumbails and set a period of time where the multiple thumbnails will be tested with different prospective viewers. Watch time percentages are recorded, before settling on the final winning thumbnail.
YouTube have been in the early stages of testing this feature with a few hundred creators over the past few months. A beta will be rolling out to a few thousands creators in the coming months. YouTube hopes to launch Test & Compare more broadly next year. You can sign up to be considered to test feature like this in the future on the Creator Research page.