What Are the Advantages of Adding Timestamps to YouTube Videos?

YouTube is the second most visited social media platform, boasting over 2 billion video users. Despite this popularity, relatively few people have discovered the power of timestamps in YouTube videos.

We are witnessing a rise in the use of video content that is available to us. And most times amongst these videos, the viewers are asking: how can I search for that particular YouTube content, or how can I pull out that specific YouTube clip?

These questions are necessary, particularly when a viewer wants to come up with the most essential parts of the video. But why is this so? The primary reason why viewers do so is that viewers like what they need and what’s more entertaining.

Apart from that, viewers always skip the non-essential parts of the YouTube video. Why then limit your viewers with such video flexibility? Adding timestamps to YouTube videos can help your video viewers cut short on time wasted when searching through the most relevant parts of the YouTube content.

In this article, we introduce timestamps as the most essential basis of summarizing your YouTube content if a viewer wants to jump to the most crucial sections of the YouTube video. We also highlight the advantages of having timestamps in your YouTube videos.

What Are Timestamps?

Timestamps on YouTube videos are clickable markers of specific sections of the video content. Timestamps assist viewers in jumping right to the section they want without watching the full video from the beginning.

But how can you create these timestamps on your YouTube videos? You can either make the timestamps manually on your YouTube videos or use the YouTube built-in timestamp feature to generate the timestamps automatically.

However, manually timestamping your YouTube videos works best, as one can test the timestamp after input. And view the video and see whether it matches the video section.  

What Do Timestamps Look Like?

Timestamps do not look complicated. All you need is to search for the specific video section you would like to timestamp and add the particular time for the video moment. Timestamps are written in the format, ‘’hours:minutes: seconds" or ''minutes: seconds''. Then followed by the description of the video segment.

For instance, if a video segment occurs four minutes and nineteen seconds after the start of the video. And is talking about, ‘’different colours of the rainbow’’. The timestamp will be added as ‘’ 4:19 Different Colours of the Rainbow’’.

Why Are Timestamps Useful to YouTube Videos?

1)     They Enhance Viewer Navigation.

Every video viewer desires to watch what they want. Something becomes interesting in a video, and likely everyone wants to have a look. That's where timestamps assist the audience.

Adding timestamps to your YouTube videos gives your viewers direct access to that particular section of the video. Timestamps enable the viewers to navigate the video, going directly to that precise section they desire if that's what they need.

Viewers can easily click on the video sections and directly tap on the part they need and go to it. Instead of manually scrubbing the entire video, timestamps allow the viewers to move to the exact info they want.

2)     They Enhance Better Video Experience.

What’s meant by a better video experience? A better video experience goes beyond basic video watching. It's how your audience feels impacted by the video. How successful has your viewer been in connecting with the content?

Timestamps promote a better video experience for your audience. Timestamps make the YouTube content user-friendly, empowering them to interact with the content more efficiently.

Viewers become more active than being passive when they scroll through the video sections. Making the video experience smoother, brighter, and satisfying.

3)     They Enhance Content Usability in Commenting and Sharing.

When video users become satisfied, there are higher chances of leaving feedback concerning your videos. What is this video feedback? Video feedback is the information provided after viewers interact with your videos.

Feedback is a crucial part of the video creating process as it allows the video creators to polish their work to meet the audience's needs. Timestamps control how your viewers watch your content.

There is a higher chance that the viewers might leave content feedback when you include timestamps. With timestamps, viewers are more likely to comment on your videos. Share the precise section with others or leave a like to show appreciation for the content.

4)     They Increase Video Watch Time.

Timestamps make long videos appear shorter. Rather than viewers taking a few seconds and leaving your longer videos. Timestamps make the viewers stay longer as they explore the other sections of the long videos.

Viewers can even rewatch the specific sections they are attracted to, avoiding the drop-off rates. Without timestamps, viewers may get bored exiting very early, especially for long videos.

5)     They Increase Content Retention.

Timestamps help to break down the complex video segments. Timestamps break video content into smaller labelled sections, giving viewers a clear overview of what to expect.

Timestamps make the viewers stay on the video for longer hours while watching the video in multiple sections. This makes the viewers feel more satisfied and clearly comprehend the content.

Viewers can also rewatch the content again through these sections and other times, watch the favourable parts for hours and hours. Making them grasp what the content was intended for.

6)     They Enhance Search Engine Improvements.

Timestamps support content search and discovery. When you add these YouTube sections, the specific sections get indexed by the search engines. Responding to viewers discovering the exact part of your YouTube video directly from the search results.

Each timestamped section gets its metadata. Allowing the search engines to understand what each video section is all about. For example, when someone searches for something related to your video, the search engines can show a link that jumps directly to the actual video timestamp.

7)     They Boost Mobile User Experience.

Mobile phones involve controlled visibility due to small screens. Adding timestamps to YouTube videos allows the mobile users to view the video content and interact with it efficiently.

Scrolling an entire video on the small screen can be frustrating and inaccurate. Timestamps allow the mobile users to tap directly on the sections needed. Making the video viewers on phones to get to the section they want to watch more quickly.

8)     They Enhance Video Appearance.

Timestamps guide viewers along a planned video path. Timestamps give viewers the roadmap, informing them of what to expect. They show what's coming, making your content appealing and professional.

Well-structured timestamps make your YouTube videos look more organised and polished. Building professionalism and credibility, which can make the video viewers subscribe and come back for future videos.

Conclusion

Adding timestamps to YouTube videos is not too easy. But professional transcription services like Verbalscripts can help. Verbalscripts manually add timestamps to audio and videos during the transcription process. Allowing you to save more cost and time in carrying out the timestamping process.

Whether you are a content creator, journalist, or researcher, Verbalscripts empowers you to create polished, professional YouTube content in record time. The Verbalscripts team views your YouTube video transcription results and makes the necessary adjustments while precisely adding timestamps.

The team correctly adds timestamps double-checking them to ensure your video transcript is on point and professional. Once you are in reach of Verbalscripts' video transcription services, you can keep everything in sync on your YouTube videos.

The team can easily add timestamps to your YouTube videos manually. To assist your audience in finding, verifying, and understanding your YouTube videos with ease. So, check with Verbalscripts transcription services and make your YouTube content easier to explore.