How To Add Timestamps To Youtube Description

YouTube Timestamp Links – What they are and how to use them

October 10, 2019

YOUTUBE TIMESTAMPS: On 17 September 2019, Google announced the introduction of 'cardinal moments' to videos in Google Search – with the aim of making videos as scannable as text, for a more informative (and accessible) user experience. Co-ordinate to Google, this means " Search will provide links to key moments inside [a] video, based on timestamps provided by content creators " in English language on YouTube. Video publishers can also now apply for access to mark up non-YouTube videos in Search.

This is a major development for search-ability in video, so in this blog post, we'll break down what information technology ways and how information technology works for anyone looking to optimise their video performance on Google and YouTube.

What are YouTube timestamps?

Google'southward 'key moments' feature uses YouTube timestamps to link to video segments, found in the description below a video. These YouTube timestamp links improve user feel past making videos skim-able, and then viewers can quickly, hands find and click on the content they need when searching via Google or YouTube.

What kind of videos will benefit from YouTube timestamps?

A few reasons:

Enhanced user experience : Traditionally, looking for a specific department of a video has been a poor (manual, fourth dimension-consuming) experience, necessitating play-skip-playing through content to find that elusive gold nugget of information. With key moments on YouTube, this is at present a matter of the past – a win for internet users everywhere.

Maximised SEO opportunities : Secondly, as reported by Search Engine Periodical, " timestamps appear underneath the video thumbnail in Google search results, letting users open up the video at the office that's most relevant to them ". Then not just volition video segments be discoverable on YouTube – they'll likewise be discoverable, naturally, via Google Search. This is huge news for brands leveraging video for search engine optimisation (SEO), equally information technology won't just be individual videos doing the content marketing anymore; each video volition now have multiple opportunities to superlative search engine results pages (SERPs), including the highly coveted 'position zero' video rich snippet, and other special issue features. The takeaway: if your make's digital strategy relies on search rankings for conversion and conquering, add timestamps to your YouTube videos.

Example of video rich snippets on the Google search results ('position zero') — Example of video rich snippets on Google search results ('position nix')

Improved accessibility : Finally, in terms of accessibility, central moments will also aid the hearing and vision impaired when screen readers dictate search results pages – including snippets of video descriptions, which can now include times in a YouTube video.

How to timestamp YouTube videos

Log in to YouTube and navigate to the 'Clarification' field on a new or pre-existing video
To link to a specific timestamp, type the specific time in minutes:seconds (or hours:minutes:seconds, if demand exist) and add your keyword-optimised video segment's proper noun – then click 'Salvage'
Reload your published video and check the 'Clarification' section has updated accordingly. Simple!

What about non-YouTube videos?

For non-YouTube video publishers, it's a little trickier i.e. coding with Prune structured data so Google can understand and enable video search results (note: guidelines employ ). However, this feature is currently express, and then to apply for the Early on Adopters Program, you can submit your expression of interest here .

And that's information technology! Let us know your thoughts on the new characteristic, and how you think it'll touch on your business in the comments beneath.