What are YouTube Timestamps?

Nowadays, the number of active users increases daily. As we have already said, YouTube is a pretty popular search engine. Moreover, it is the second most visited platform after Google.

These days, YouTube has become more and more popular among marketers and creators. They want to attract the attention of many users, so they create interesting videos. They aim to deliver the messages to their viewers.

Those creators started to upload longer videos than before. Therefore it became more complicated to keep viewers engaged. So, YouTube offers to use timestamps. YouTube timestamps have become really helpful for those users who have limited time. YouTube timestamps enable you to add a reference to a concrete place in YouTube videos. Those timestamps can be depicted in the video`s description beneath. It is possible to provide a link both in minutes and hours. Below we will define the advantages of YouTube timestamps. Do users need them, or do YouTube timestamps just distract and unnecessary? 

YouTube Timestamps: Main Advantages

According to the opinions of users, YouTube timestamps are essential for them. The most widespread benefit among users is that YouTube timestamps make the viewing process of a concrete part of videos easier. Users can find and watch definite parts of the videos that they are interested in. The process of finding the concrete part does not take much time. Just go on the description of the video, find the part you want to watch, and click the link.

If you use YouTube as a marketer or creator, timestamps can be useful for you regarding the SEO field. If you add timestamps, Google places them below the video results. Your viewers can quickly find the needed content they want to watch. Your videos are easy to find both on YouTube and via Google Search. For the same video, you will get a reward both from Google and YouTube. So, in the future, you will get many opportunities to get on top pages of search engine results. You get more views of a video, which enables you to get a higher rating in search results. 

Ways of Appending Timestamps to YouTube Videos

There are several easy methods to append YouTube timestamps to YouTube videos. Some of them require more time, but all of them are effective in order to make the searching process for the desired content in the video easier and quicker for your viewers.

Adding Timestamps Manually to the URL

This method means that you will need to add the timestamps to your YouTube videos manually. It seems simple, but there is a need to be concentrated while adding timestamps. You need to append the timestamp code to the tail of the URL of your videos. In this case, if the URL of your video has a question mark (?), there is a need to utilize &t= to indicate the timestamp. In this case, if the URL of your video does not have a question mark (?), there is a need to utilize ?t=. Note that using such a method, you are able to indicate the time both in hours, minutes, and seconds. For instance:

• Forty seconds into your video will be denoted &t=40s or ?t=40s
• Three minutes and 40 seconds will be denoted &t=3m40s or ?t=3m40s
• Two hours, three minutes, and 40 seconds will be denoted &t=2hr3m40s or ?t=2hr3m40s

Via the YouTube Embed Tool

This way is faster than the previous one as you do not have to spend time creating URLs. You can utilize the embedded share tool of YouTube. To begin, open the needed video, find the needed frame from where you desire your users to begin viewing. Put the video on pause. Press the ‘share’ icon—this icon you can find on the toolbar. When you press this icon, a pop-up window will appear. Choose the ‘Start at’ variant and regulate the desired time. All that is left is to copy the changed URL. You can place the timestamped YouTube video directly to your selected platform.

Add Timestamps to the Video Description

This is the easiest way of appending timestamps to YouTube videos. Just write the needed timestamps directly into the YouTube video description. It is good to write short descriptions for every timestamp so that the viewer can look through these timestamps with short descriptions and go on to the desired part of the video.

Conclusion

YouTube timestamps give you the benefits no matter if you are an ordinary user or a creator. If you are looking for concrete content of the video as a user, timestamps are what you need. As a creator, by adding timestamps, you can raise your viewer retention to your videos. Moreover, YouTube timestamps expand SEO opportunities. They can make interactions with your viewers better.

We propose one more way of increasing SEO opportunities. You can refer to transcription services. There are many professional transcription services you can rely on. Accurate timestamps together with video transcriptions will surely improve the quality of your YouTube videos. They can make your videos SEO-friendly.

You may think that it is not beneficial to hire a transcriptionist. Of course, you can make transcripts by your own efforts, but this work is not as simple as it seems. If you want to differ from other YouTube creators, we advise asking for help from reliable transcription services. There are many automated transcription services, but we do not guarantee high-quality results. It is better to hire a transcriptionist. If you can’t afford a full-time transcriptionist, it does not mean you need to give up. Transcripts of YouTube videos do not require much time, so that there is no need to employ a full-time transcriptionist. You can hire a part-time or hourly professional transcriptionist. The results of the transcripts will please you.