How to Add Chapters to YouTube Videos. Chapters Explained!

What are YouTube chapters? How are they different from timestamps? How to add chapters to YouTube videos? If you are confused and want to learn how to use the new YouTube feature, watch this video where Jan from @So geht YouTube discusses all of these topics.

▬ Contents of this video ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬

0:00 - Intro
0:10 - YouTube Chapters
0:45 - What are YouTube chapters?
1:17 - How to add chapter markers?
2:42 - When are changes updated?
3:02 - How to disable chapters?
3:21 - Are chapters available in my country?

You probably know this problem: it’s hard to keep the attention of viewers, especially with longer videos. There might be a part later in the video that is interesting to viewers but how should they know? This is where the new YouTube chapter markers can help.

What are YouTube chapters?

Chapters are generated based on the timestamps that creators include in their video's description.
Timestamps have pretty much always been on YouTube. But what's new is that you can see certain parts of a video once you hover over the timeline of a video. This feature has been tested for some time and is now officially rolled out to everyone.

How do I add chapter markers to my videos?

00:XX - Text
00:XX - Text
00:XX - Text

It's very important that you put the zero timestamp first. Otherwise, it's not going to work. This needs to be the first timestamp!

These are the exact timestamps when each chapter starts. You can put little dashes afterward or you can just do a single space. This doesn't matter because YouTube will just take the text afterward.

2) Update changes on YouTube.
Once you open a video on YouTube, you will see the chapters.

When are changes updated?

Usually immediately after you made them. If they don't update immediately, YouTube says that they will update in the next 24 hours. If they don't, make sure you formatted your timestamps correctly.

Can I disable YouTube chapters?

Yes, you can! Just change the first time code from zero seconds to something else.

Are chapter markers available in every country?

According to YouTube, yes, they are. They are available in every country and every language. Warning! The chapter text will only be in the language of the creator. They are not going to be translated.

▬ About tubics ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬

#tubics is a Video Marketing software that helps businesses and YouTube creators to rank their videos better on search engines like YouTube and Google. This works in a similar way to search engine optimization (SEO) for websites, but just for YouTube videos. Users receive concrete suggestions for optimizing their videos and can implement them directly in the software.

Why tubics? Companies and creators invest a lot of money and time in their YouTube channels. Yet many are struggling with low video views. Better video metadata helps to make the video easier to find and thus reach more viewers.

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[youtube-agency-tubics]

If your chapters don't work, make sure to check the following points:
1. Make sure that the first timestamp you list starts with 00:00.
2. Your video should have at least three timestamps listed in ascending order.
3. The minimum length for video chapters is 10 seconds.

[iamjigzzy]

Here’s a tip I don’t think was in the video: to quickly skip between chapters on mobile, double tap with two fingers. ✌🏻

[th_bldy.punk]

I WAS SEARCHING FOR IT ALL DAY AND I TOTALY FINE IT TYSMMM

[wordofmessiahministriessam]

JUST what I needed to hear. I'm uploading two days' worth of videos with ten sessions. The viewers (of the private video of their conference) will hugely appreciate bumping from session to session. Nicely done--be brief, be bright, be gone :)

[BadWrenchAuto]

This has helped me optimize my videos myself. I have not seen much growth and not sure if I will break thru in my niche but I am glad I found tubics.

[MoonhareStudio]

Thanks for that. I've been including timestamps in descriptions for some of my videos but didn't know about this feature. Just added a 00:00 marker to the description in my latest tutorial and it worked a dream. Thanks for that. I must go back and add this to some of my previous tutorials now.

[Ο_Θετικός]

At last someone who doesn't make 20 minute videos.Thank you so much for the info.Regards from Thessaloniki, Greece!

[IZBTV]

Looked this video up and within a few minutes I now have professional looking chapters on my videos. Thank you so much for this straight forward no fuss explanation so we can all up our game and learn new ways to make our content more accessible. Much love from the Polite Shade Kingdom💜🐝

[DrPatrickKingsep]

Thank you for this. This is the first time I will be adding chapters. Your help was much appreciated! 🙂

[RAGaming]

Really appreciate the quick and simple, yet very helpful format of your tutorial video! A friend suggested for me to do this with my guide videos for my little channel so I came to do some research! Thanks so much for posting this!😃

[ConsciousUnited]

THANK YOU! Spent the last 30 minutes trying to find WHERE to see if they are working and yours is the only video that shows to open up the video in YouTube.

[MissAnarchyk]

good bless you!! so I have no idea what that was called and I search for " how to upload youtube video and have that red separate bar" AND YEY!! first video was yours!! let's

[TheThaiLife]

Exactly what I was looking for, chapters here I come! Thank you!

[DerHeinz]

Sehr gut - einmal den Jan auf englisch geschaut: Wieder was gelernt :-)

[robw]

Thank you! This is perfect for my Bible recordings! I can record book of Philippians for example and place markers at each of the four chapters that viewer can immediately go to.

[Tarapeutic]

Thank you. I was missing the 0.00 and I'm like WHY ISNT THIS WORKING lol. thanks for the straight to the point helpful vid!

[fairyfortunes]

Thank you so much! I didn't quite understand the YouTube help page on chapters without your video explanation. I'm so excited to include them in my content in 2024.

[SEPAChannel]

You wont believew how much I was looking for this ones. Much apreciated !!!

[CountryCowDesigns]

Thanks, this is really helpful. Perfect for my sewing tutorials as they're so long and people want to skip to specific parts!

[hampsterjoeanimations]

I Really Learned Alot from this guy, Thanks.