[0:00] YouTube thumbnails matter a lot when it 
comes to getting people to watch your  
[0:03] videos. Adobe Express sponsored this video so I 
can show you what YouTube has finally released,  
[0:08] which is their own free thumbnail testing tool, so 
that way we can see which thumbnails perform best.  
[0:13] YouTube built this tool because thumbnails are one 
of the most important factors in whether someone  
[0:18] clicks through to watch your video. YouTube even 
says 90% of the best performing videos on YouTube  
[0:24] use custom thumbnails. The problem myself and 
other creators run into is that it's really  
[0:28] hard to reliably predict what thumbnail will 
work well for our specific audience. The best  
[0:33] thumbnail isn't always the one you like, it's the 
one your audience likes, and the only way to know  
[0:38] it is to test it. What looks great for me might 
not work for you or my audience. even Mr. Beast  
[0:44] has a team that creates up to 50 thumbnail options 
per video, and that's why his tool, ViewStats.com,  
[0:50] tracks when videos change their thumbnail. Mr. 
Beast doesn't guess, he tests. You don't need 50  
[0:55] thumbnails, but you might need more than one. I 
always joke that A/B testing stands for "always  
[1:00] be testing," and I'm glad that YouTube has 
given us this feature for free. Here's how  
[1:04] A/B testing YouTube thumbnails works. You add the 
thumbnails that you want to test. YouTube shows  
[1:10] each option to different viewers and tracks which 
one performs best. Results can take up to 2 weeks,  
[1:15] though I've seen them sooner, and when the 
test is done, YouTube should automatically  
[1:19] update your video to the winning thumbnail. Of 
course, you can also manually verify that the  
[1:24] winning thumbnail has been selected. YouTube also 
isn't just tracking clicks here, they're tracking  
[1:28] watch time. Great YouTube thumbnails don't just 
get people to click, they help viewers understand  
[1:33] what the video is about so they don't waste time 
clicking on the wrong video. So that's why YouTube  
[1:38] picks the winner based on watch time, not just 
clicks. So the winning thumbnail isn't just the  
[1:43] one that people click on, it's the one that brings 
in viewers who actually watch our content. Heck,  
[1:48] I've been recommending YouTube thumbnail A/B 
testing for years. Back when I (Andrew Kan) worked  
[1:51] at TubeBuddy, it was one of the biggest claims 
to fame of the tool. So whether you're just  
[1:56] starting or you've been A/B testing for years 
like me, YouTube's A/B testing means you can  
[2:00] stop wondering what works and start knowing. 
Here's how to set up A/B testing. This feature  
[2:05] is currently available on desktop and does require 
advance verification. If you don't have that yet,  
[2:10] don't worry, it's free and only takes a few 
minutes. I also want to mention that A/B testing  
[2:15] is not available for made-for-kids content or age 
restricted 18+ content at the time of this video.  
[2:21] To set up an A/B test, you can test it on either 
a new or existing content. For a new upload,  
[2:26] click create in the top right-hand corner, then 
upload video. While the video is uploading, you'll  
[2:31] see the A/B testing option near the title area and 
in the thumbnail selection. For existing videos,  
[2:37] go to the video's edit page. For titles, click 
A/B testing in the same spot. For thumbnails,  
[2:42] scroll down to the thumbnail section and click 
on the 3 dots to reveal the A/B testing options.  
[2:47] When you click here, you'll see 3 options, 
title only, thumbnail only, and title and  
[2:52] thumbnail. These are all worth exploring, and I 
plan on making dedicated videos for each one. You  
[2:57] can subscribe to be notified when those drop. 
For now, we're just gonna be picking thumbnail  
[3:01] only. You only need 2 thumbnail options for 
this to work, but there is an option to add a  
[3:06] third thumbnail. That's sometimes called "A/B/C 
testing." This is the same idea as A/B testing,  
[3:11] just with 3 options instead of 2. Now, I 
know what you might be thinking, "Andrew,  
[3:15] it's hard enough to make one good thumbnail, how 
am I supposed to make 2 or 3?" Here's the thing,  
[3:20] you and I, we can't reliably predict what will 
work for our audience. 95% of click decisions  
[3:26] happen before people even consciously 
think about it. That's why we test. So,  
[3:30] when you're making your second or third thumbnail, 
make them noticeably different, different colors,  
[3:35] different expressions, different angles. YouTube 
even says testing thumbnails that are too similar  
[3:40] can cause the test to run longer because there's 
not enough difference to pick a winner. I've seen  
[3:44] people in our KDCC Discord server say they've 
A/B tested, but really all they did was change  
[3:50] punctuation on the text of the thumbnail. Sadly, 
that's not gonna cut it. So, how do you actually  
[3:55] make multiple thumbnails without spending hours on 
each one? Any tool can do it, but not every tool  
[4:00] makes it easy. That's why I like Adobe Express. 
All you have to do is set up your brand colors  
[4:04] and the fonts once. Then, from there, you can 
quickly swap colors, try different templates,  
[4:10] and create multiple versions without starting from 
scratch. Plus, you can start a thumbnail on your  
[4:15] phone and finish it on your computer, or the other 
way around, start it on your computer and finish  
[4:20] it on your phone. I was using Adobe Express before 
I was a brand ambassador, and actually recommend  
[4:25] and use it. I even made versions of the thumbnails 
for this video using Adobe Express. If you want to  
[4:31] try it out, head to adobe.com/express or use my 
affiliate link in the description to support the  
[4:36] YouTube channel. Once you got your thumbnails 
ready, here's how to set it up. Click add  
[4:40] thumbnail to upload your first option, then click 
add thumbnail again for your second. If you want  
[4:46] to do an A/B/C test, add a third one. Once they're 
uploaded, click set test, and make sure you  
[4:51] actually save your changes on the video. I've seen 
people forget this step. Your A/B testing results  
[4:56] can take up to 2 weeks, and sometimes YouTube 
won't have enough data to pick a clear winner. If  
[5:01] YouTube picks a winner, go with that. If YouTube 
says not enough impressions to declare a winner  
[5:06] or the YouTube thumbnails perform the same, go to 
that video's analytics and look under the reach  
[5:11] tab for more data. You can also use YouTube's own 
Ask Studio feature on desktop to help read the  
[5:16] data. Do your best to pick the thumbnail that's 
getting people to click and watch your content  
[5:21] based on the data that you do have. If there 
wasn't enough data on an existing video you're  
[5:26] testing, consider switching to the new thumbnail 
and study the results in about a week, since  
[5:30] there was a reason you wanted to test in the first 
place. Either way, keep testing on future videos.  
[5:35] The more you test, the more you learn what works 
for your audience. In the description, I've got  
[5:39] more A/B testing tips, an Adobe Express affiliate 
link so you can give this a try, and a link to the  
[5:44] KDCC Discord server if you need more help. If 
you found this video helpful, consider checking  
[5:48] out that video on screen. I'm Andrew Kan, and if I 
Kan A/B test YouTube thumbnails, then you Kan too!