This is good news for YouTube creators.
Last June, YouTube previewed its coming A/B thumbnail testing option, which will provide another means to help creators optimize their content performance.
As demonstrated in the clip, YouTube’s thumbnail testing option will enable creators to upload three thumbnail variations for each video, then run them in a comparative test for up to two weeks. From there, you’ll be able to choose the best-performing attention-grabber, which could be another way to improve video engagement.
At the time of the initial announcement, as noted in the above clip, YouTube said that the option would be widely rolled out in 2024, but since then, there’s been no word on the expanded availability of the tool.
Till today, with YouTube Creator Liaison Rene Ritchie sharing a brief update on where thumbnail A/B testing is at.
As per Ritchie:
“Thumbnail testing is still in testing. As of late last year, the testing ramped up to 50K channels of various types, sizes, and regions across YouTube (which is still a tiny number given how many channels are on YouTube). That’ll continue until team feels like the product is delivering what it needs to for creators, and then it’ll start moving into launch mode. No timeline yet, because it’s hard to predict how fast or slow tests of this size will go, but as soon as it’s ready to launch, YouTube will absolutely let everyone know.”
So it’s not quite ready yet, but YouTube has expanded its testing, and it will be made available sometime soon.
It could provide a significant boost for YouTube creators, with thumbnails acting as a key drawcard to maximize viewer interest, and it’ll be interesting to see how valuable the option is when it’s rolled out.
Which, again, should be soon. We’ll keep you updated on any progress.