We’re not here to bore you with:
- What is a thumbnail
- Tell you the best size for a thumbnail…
- Because you know all of this by now
This guide is what made by people like you, looking for real answers.
Related: How to make a Good Thumbnail.
How to Know if Your Thumbnail is Good
Answer: A/B Test your thumbnails to know if they’re any good.
This’ll help you understand your audience way easier than just guessing.
Why A/B Testing is so important:
- What it does: You can create multiple thumbnails and see which one gets a higher click-through rate (CTR) with data taken straight from your target audience.
- Tool: Thumbnail Test can help you test thumbnails and optimize your CTR.
- Analytics data: Look at your CTR, especially in the first 24 hours after publishing, for videos with high impressions. This tells you how effective a thumbnail was at grabbing attention.
Even Google recommends coming back in 24 hours here:
What Makes a Good Thumbnail
The greatest YouTube thumbnails grab attention and give a clear idea of what the video is about.
- Eye-Catching Imagery: Use bright colors and high-contrast visuals.
- Clarity: It should be easily understood at a small size.
- Relevant: Match the image to your video content.
- Text Overlays: Use minimal text to add context, but don’t overcrowd.
- Faces: If relevant, showing expressive faces can boost engagement.
- Branding: Consistent style or logo helps viewers recognize your content.
- High Quality: Use sharp, high-resolution images.
A table’s going to make this easier to grasp:
| Factor | Benefit | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Catchy Image | Grabs attention in a crowded feed | Close-up of a surprised gamer’s face for a gaming review |
| Clear Text | Tells viewers exactly what the video is about | “The BEST Budget Laptop in 2024” |
| HQ Design | Looks professional and polished | Clean design, bright colors and contrasting text |
Focus on making it stand out while keeping it relevant to your video’s content!
Conclusion
This guide just taught you that:
- The best way to know if a thumbnail is good is to A/B test it.
- And to do so, you may want to use Thumbnail Test
Why? Because YouTube doesn’t have this feature yet, so your best option is to use third-party tool.
Hope we’ve answered all of your questions!
Thank you for reading this,
Thumbnail Test
