YouTube and Google are working side by side with innovation. Both platforms want to make it easier for users to search. At the same time, they are also monetizing content. First, Google added Revenue Per Mile (RPM) metrics on YouTube. This is to help creators assess the possible monetization of their videos. On the side of YouTube, it enabled audio ads, shorter video ads, and non YPP ads. Recently, YouTube tests automated video chapters.
On 28 May 2020, YouTube rolled out video chapters. Video Chapters segment a video into different timeline sections. When highlighted, each chapter has a short description of its content. A playback bar allows users to go back and forth or skip a section. To make it easier for creators, YouTube is now testing automatic video chapters. This means that all videos posted on YouTube will be segmented into sections. Creators may no longer need to spend time manually adding timestamps to their video. The test is now conducted in a small group of videos. YouTube is using machine learning to add a description and automate the segmentation.
YouTube tests automated video chapters as of 24 November 2020.
Implications for Marketers:
YouTube’s automated video chapters may be a way to increase the visibility of video content. By splicing the videos into sections, it improves search capacity by adding descriptions on each segment. As such, marketers should keep watch of this feature. Once it’s officially rolled out, brands can use YouTube videos to rank their SEO. SEO increases brand discovery and eventually conversion.
