How Thumbnail Designs Affect Video Discovery on YouTube

Did you know that 90% of the top-performing videos on YouTube use custom thumbnails? 

That stat is both an indicator and an intimidator for creators. Creating videos is a long process, and when you’re done editing the video, having to create a thumbnail seems like a mountain you don’t want to climb. 

But understanding the elements that go into a thumbnail template can produce a thumbnail that excels and boosts your engagement, and I thought I could help you with that!

So, let me help you find the key elements to design your perfect custom thumbnails. 

Creating a Perfect First-Impact

The success of the thumbnail lies in impacting the viewers at first glance; if they are stopping to look at your thumbnail, your thumbnail has succeeded. 

The next step is to intrigue them enough with elements in your thumbnails for them to click. This is like establishing eye contact after a firm handshake; it is nothing major, but it does wonders. 

Kurzgesagt’s thumbnail here is a great example of an attention grabber. Let’s see their key features!

Key Elements of a Strong First Impression:

• Color contrast: The colors used are bright and complement each other perfectly. Besides that, the user can see the evolution through the colors alone, making the thumbnails a perfect specimen for color study. 
• Clear imagery: Although cluttered, the imagery conveys the point clearly, allowing viewers to easily understand the video's topic. 
• Descriptive Text: Despite the minimalistic text, the viewers can easily understand the topic of the video from the thumbnail, driving them to click it. 

Clarity is Key

It doesn’t matter if the thumbnail is crammed or minimalistic. The visual clarity of the thumbnails is the key, and if the elements convey the message of the thumbnail directly, then the thumbnails become highly engaging. 

theRadBrad’s thumbnails are a great example of clarity. He usually shows the game's characters and the number of the video in the series in simple text, enhancing brand engagement. Here are a few tips from theRadBrad’s spectacular thumbnails!

Tips for Clear Thumbnails:

• Focal Point: Focus on one subject. This also means the placement has to be perfect to enhance the visuals. 
• Minimal Text: Keep text short and bold, which eases readability; this applies if you use text. 
• Avoid Clutter: A loaded thumbnail can be cut in very few ways, so it should be avoided if possible. If made wrong, it can overwhelm the viewer. 

Consistency Builds the Brand

If the thumbnails bear consistent elements throughout the channel, it establishes a brand identity that makes it easier for the viewers to identify the content. 

Half as Interesting has maintained a consistent thumbnail game since the beginning of their channel. Their thumbnail elements are consistent, which brings in the results. Let’s take a look at the factors. 

Factors to Build Brand Consistency:

• Use Consistent Colors and Fonts: Half as Interesting uses consistent light and dark colors, which creates a perfect contrast. 
• Logo Placement: Their logo can always be seen in the top right corner of their thumbnails. 
• Thumbnails that Match Video Content: Half as Interesting’s thumbnails perfectly align with the theme of their videos, which helps with consistency. 

Emotions Sell

Everyone loves a good display of emotions, and the thumbnails that show sharp emotions tend to do well.

The emotions shown in thumbnails do not always have to be sharp or super expressive, they can be subtle and a little understated as well, just enough to tease the theme to the viewers. 

Our boy PewDiePie is quite expressive in his thumbnails, often showing expressions of shock, happiness, and frustration. Let’s see how it helps draw the viewers: 

How Emotional Thumbnails Work:

• Relatability: Faces and emotions help create the emotional connection with the creator, which drives up the CTR. 
• Curiosity: An emotional hook can make people curious enough to click the thumbnail; curiosity can be easily generated with emotions. 
• Visual Engagement: Viewers stop to look at the thumbnails showing emotions that create that successful visual engagement. 

Text, but Not Too Much

The presence of text is good in thumbnails, but too much text tires the readers. 

Minimalistic doesn’t have to be boring though, the creators can experiment with typography and make it suit the theme of the content.

Gameranx uses what can be defined as the peak of minimalist text; they use various fonts and themes, but the text still delivers. Let’s see how they do it: 

How to Use Text Effectively:

• Keep It Brief: 3-5 words max per thumbnail. 
• Readable Font: Make sure it’s readable even on smaller devices.
• Complement, Don’t Overwhelm: Use text to enhance the visual content and ensure the viewer is not distracted from it.

Test, Tweak, and Repeat

Before committing to one thumbnail type, test, edit, and repeat until you find the perfect thumbnail that excels both in terms of visuals and performance. 

In today’s competitive world of content creation, one cannot miss out on a single element as it causes losses in the long term. 

The best example for testing and editing thumbnails to perfection is Shroud. Their thumbnails started out as simple with dull colors and transitioned to bright and bold colors with improved animation that obtained optimal results, let’s see how thumbnails can be optimized: 

How to Optimize Thumbnails:

• A/B Testing: A/B testing requires choosing two thumbnail types and seeing which one performs best. 
• Review CTR Analytics: Monitoring the CTR analysis helps identify consistent and successful patterns of thumbnails. 
• Iterate: Don’t be afraid to change thumbnails after posting the video to boost performance; it’s all about that CTR.

How YouTube Algorithm Favors Engaging Thumbnails

The YouTube algorithm is all about engaging the viewer; the better the thumbnail, the more it gets clicked, and the more your reach grows. So, it’s necessary to pay attention to your thumbnails. 

Dude Perfect has some of the most engaging thumbnails on YouTube. Aside from their content, their channel’s growth can be attributed to their clean thumbnail game. Let’s see the factors that help their engagement!

Why Thumbnails Influence the Algorithm:

• Click-Through Rate (CTR): The higher your CTR, the wider your content’s reach. So, check out your genre’s top-performing thumbnails, as they usually have the highest CTR. 
• Engagement Signals: A well-designed thumbnail has a good set of engagement signals, which are viewing duration, audience retention, likes, and shares. 
• Discovery Cycle: More clicks = more exposure = more views.

Now, you might be wondering how you can create thumbnails that hit that sweet spot. An easy solution would be to use free YouTube thumbnail templates from any random thumbnail maker.

But then, you might compromise on quality and compromise on that razzle dazzle your YouTube videos and thumbnail deserves. Don't worry though, Rizzle has you covered.

Introducing Rizzle - The Perfect YouTube Thumbnail Maker

Rizzle makes creating YouTube thumbnails easy and professional with its intuitive AI tools. Whether a beginner or a seasoned creator, you can design eye-catching YouTube thumbnail images that stand out.

With Rizzle's YouTube thumbnail maker, you can customize:

• Fonts: You can add various fonts to your thumbnails with Rizzle.
• Colors: You can experiment with color grading and see what defines your thumbnails the best.
• Layouts: With Rizzle's templates, you can enhance the visual appeal of your thumbnails.

Match your brand's style in just a few clicks. Plus, Rizzle allows you to add logos and watermarks, features not found in many other AI tools.

So when you create YouTube thumbnails for your videos, Rizzle ensures your YouTube video thumbnails grab attention and improve engagement. Give your content the polished look it deserves with Rizzle’s custom thumbnail feature, designed to elevate your brand and boost video performance.

Wrapping It Up

Creating an eye-catching YouTube thumbnail isn’t something that can be rushed; it is one of the most important things in content creation. Creating perfect thumbnails can be a long process, but it will be beneficial in the long run. 

Last but not least, do not be afraid to experiment while creating YouTube thumbnails and layouts to find the perfect fit for your channel. After all, thumbnails are the curtains to your content, so make sure they are perfect! 

Are you worried about perfect YouTube thumbnail design and creation? Don't worry!

Rizzle allows users to create custom YouTube thumbnails that suit the contents of the video and also provides text to add to thumbnails. Test and edit what suits you and your YouTube thumbnail template and enhance your reach up to 3 folds! So what are you waiting for? Try Rizzle today and boost your YouTube channel!