Transform Your Video Calls: Google Meet on YouTube Guide

Google Meet helps people to connect virtually with each other in a well-protected environment. If you have physical restrictions, Google Meet can provide an enhanced ecosystem to collaborate with your team members. With high video and audio quality, it can prevent you from any sort of disturbance. If you want to connect with a larger audience during your Google Meet sessions, you can go for live streaming.

This article will address how to conduct Google Meet live stream through the platform of YouTube. To learn more, continue reading this guide.

1. Available Google Workspace Edition
2. Approval of YouTube Channel for Live
3. Connect your YouTube Channel to Google Meet

• How to Live Stream from Google Meet to YouTube
• Bonus Tip: Easily Record your Google Meet Live Stream

Part 1: Three Things to Check Before Starting Your Live

Before increasing your audience from Google Meet live stream on YouTube, make sure to check the below prerequisites.

1. Available Google Workspace Edition

For Google Meet YouTube live, there are some requirements. The reason is that not every ordinary user of Google Meet can go for YouTube live streaming. To do so, you should buy any of the following pricing plans:

Google Workspace Pricing Plan	Price
Enterprise Starter	Approx. $10/User/Month
Enterprise Standard	Approx. $20/User/Month
Enterprise Plus	Approx. $30/User/Month
Education Plus	Approx. $5/Student/Month
Teaching and Learning Upgrade	Approx. $4/License/Month
Workspace Individual Subscriber	Approx. $9.9/Month
Google One Subscribers with 2 TB or More Storage Space	Approx. $10/Month

Note: To know the exact pricing plans of Google Workspace, you have to contact Google Support.

2. Approval of YouTube Channel for Live

To conduct live streaming, you must receive approval from the YouTube channel. For this, you must access your channel’s YouTube Studio to perform the account verification. Now to activate and enable live streaming on your YouTube account, check the following steps:

Step1 Open your YouTube account and click on the “Profile” icon given at the top-right corner. After opening the Profile menu, click on the “YouTube Studio” option.

Step2 A new window will be displayed on your screen. From the left panel, select “Content” among other options. Under the section called “Live,” locate the “Get Started” option. Afterward, tap on the “Request” option and perform the verification steps for enabling live streaming. After 24 hours, you would get approval for live streaming on YouTube. Hence, you would be able to live stream Google Meet meetings through your YouTube channel.

3. Connect your YouTube Channel to Google Meet

Once you get approval for live streaming, you can connect the YouTube channel to your Google Meet account. If the Host Management option is disabled, anyone within the Google Meet session can start live streaming. Conversely, only hosts or co-hosts can begin live streaming if this option is activated. Moreover, the individual who is starting the live stream from Google Meet will get connected to his YouTube channel.

Furthermore, you should use the same email address to enter the Google Meet that is connected to your YouTube account. By using the same email address, you can ensure smooth live streaming of Google Meet sessions to your YouTube channel. Also, you can only use laptops or desktops for initiating live streaming. The reason is that the Google Meet live stream on YouTube is not currently available on mobile devices.

Part 2: How to Live Stream from Google Meet to YouTube

Once you have fulfilled all the requirements, you can start a live stream from Google Meet to YouTube. Check the following steps to execute the process:

Step1 To allow Google Meet sessions to live stream on YouTube, the Google Workspace admin must adjust some settings. To begin, log in to the “Admin Console” on the Workspace administrator account. Now go to “Apps” and access the “Google Workspace” option.

Step2 Afterward, click “Google Meet” and tap on the “Stream” option. Once done, click on the “Pencil” icon to open the Settings menu. Now enable the options “Let People Steam Their Meetings” and “Let People Use YouTube to Stream Meetings.” Once done with the changes, click on the “Save” button.

Step3 Make sure that the Google account attached to your YouTube channel is capable of live streaming. Once done, go to your YouTube channel and tap on the “Create” button. Afterward, hit the “Live” button.

Step4 Now enter your Google Meet session and click on the “Activities” option. From the Activities menu, select “Live Streaming.” Now a small menu will open for live-streaming settings. You can create a new event and add an event title. Make sure to choose the privacy options and desired language. Afterward, click on the “Start Streaming” option.

Step5 A small pop-up will appear that will tell you to remind your participants about live streaming. After reminding, click on the “Start” button. You can see the red “Live” button that will indicate to you the ongoing live-streaming session. Once you have concluded the live streaming by clicking on the “Stop Streaming” button, you can check the video analytics by visiting your YouTube channel.

Bonus Tip: Easily Record your Google Meet Live Stream

Do you want to save your Google Meet live-stream session? The best tool through which you can save your essential live-streaming sessions is Wondershare Filmora Screen Recorder . By using this efficient screen recorder, you can access your saved live streaming session and revise the important points discussed in it.

The screen recorder of Filmora is capable of capturing webcam and screen recording simultaneously. You can select a customized recording area through this tool. For example, you can choose a full screen, a specific window, or a customized area. Furthermore, this screen recording tool can also capture your microphone and system’s sounds in high quality. At the same time, as a powerful video editor, you can edit your videos with various advanced features of Filmora to bring them to the next level. Click the video below to learn more about Filmora’s new features.

Steps to Record Live Streaming Using Filmora Screen Recorder

Are you ready to capture your live-streaming session on Google Meet? Here are the simple and accurate steps to begin the process:

Step1 Open the Screen Recorder

Download Wondershare Filmora and open its interface. Click the “Screen Recorder” option given on the main homepage. By doing so, a screen recorder window will open. Here, you can select screen recording modes such as full-screen, target window, or custom. Also, make sure to choose your system’s audio and microphone to proceed.

Step2 Adjust Settings and Start Recording

From Settings, you can also select the quality, frame rate, and color of mouse clicks. Once you have adjusted all the settings properly, hit the “REC” button.

Step3 End the Recording

After the countdown, the screen recording will begin. To stop the recording, you can press the F9 button from your keyboard. After the recording ends, the file will be dropped into the media library of Filmora.

Conclusion

Google Meet is a reliable environment to connect and collaborate with people. To increase your reach and target audience, you can conduct Google Meet live streaming on YouTube. This article has discussed a detailed way through which you can live stream your Google Meet session on your YouTube channel.

To save and access your live streaming sessions later, you can try the screen recorder of Wondershare Filmora . This screen recorder can capture screen and respective audio in high quality.

Free Download For Win 7 or later(64-bit)

Free Download For macOS 10.14 or later

Part 1: Three Things to Check Before Starting Your Live

Before increasing your audience from Google Meet live stream on YouTube, make sure to check the below prerequisites.

1. Available Google Workspace Edition

For Google Meet YouTube live, there are some requirements. The reason is that not every ordinary user of Google Meet can go for YouTube live streaming. To do so, you should buy any of the following pricing plans:

Google Workspace Pricing Plan	Price
Enterprise Starter	Approx. $10/User/Month
Enterprise Standard	Approx. $20/User/Month
Enterprise Plus	Approx. $30/User/Month
Education Plus	Approx. $5/Student/Month
Teaching and Learning Upgrade	Approx. $4/License/Month
Workspace Individual Subscriber	Approx. $9.9/Month
Google One Subscribers with 2 TB or More Storage Space	Approx. $10/Month

Note: To know the exact pricing plans of Google Workspace, you have to contact Google Support.

2. Approval of YouTube Channel for Live

To conduct live streaming, you must receive approval from the YouTube channel. For this, you must access your channel’s YouTube Studio to perform the account verification. Now to activate and enable live streaming on your YouTube account, check the following steps:

Step1 Open your YouTube account and click on the “Profile” icon given at the top-right corner. After opening the Profile menu, click on the “YouTube Studio” option.

Step2 A new window will be displayed on your screen. From the left panel, select “Content” among other options. Under the section called “Live,” locate the “Get Started” option. Afterward, tap on the “Request” option and perform the verification steps for enabling live streaming. After 24 hours, you would get approval for live streaming on YouTube. Hence, you would be able to live stream Google Meet meetings through your YouTube channel.

3. Connect your YouTube Channel to Google Meet

Once you get approval for live streaming, you can connect the YouTube channel to your Google Meet account. If the Host Management option is disabled, anyone within the Google Meet session can start live streaming. Conversely, only hosts or co-hosts can begin live streaming if this option is activated. Moreover, the individual who is starting the live stream from Google Meet will get connected to his YouTube channel.

Furthermore, you should use the same email address to enter the Google Meet that is connected to your YouTube account. By using the same email address, you can ensure smooth live streaming of Google Meet sessions to your YouTube channel. Also, you can only use laptops or desktops for initiating live streaming. The reason is that the Google Meet live stream on YouTube is not currently available on mobile devices.

Part 2: How to Live Stream from Google Meet to YouTube

Once you have fulfilled all the requirements, you can start a live stream from Google Meet to YouTube. Check the following steps to execute the process:

Step1 To allow Google Meet sessions to live stream on YouTube, the Google Workspace admin must adjust some settings. To begin, log in to the “Admin Console” on the Workspace administrator account. Now go to “Apps” and access the “Google Workspace” option.

Step2 Afterward, click “Google Meet” and tap on the “Stream” option. Once done, click on the “Pencil” icon to open the Settings menu. Now enable the options “Let People Steam Their Meetings” and “Let People Use YouTube to Stream Meetings.” Once done with the changes, click on the “Save” button.

Step3 Make sure that the Google account attached to your YouTube channel is capable of live streaming. Once done, go to your YouTube channel and tap on the “Create” button. Afterward, hit the “Live” button.

Step4 Now enter your Google Meet session and click on the “Activities” option. From the Activities menu, select “Live Streaming.” Now a small menu will open for live-streaming settings. You can create a new event and add an event title. Make sure to choose the privacy options and desired language. Afterward, click on the “Start Streaming” option.

Step5 A small pop-up will appear that will tell you to remind your participants about live streaming. After reminding, click on the “Start” button. You can see the red “Live” button that will indicate to you the ongoing live-streaming session. Once you have concluded the live streaming by clicking on the “Stop Streaming” button, you can check the video analytics by visiting your YouTube channel.

Bonus Tip: Easily Record your Google Meet Live Stream

Do you want to save your Google Meet live-stream session? The best tool through which you can save your essential live-streaming sessions is Wondershare Filmora Screen Recorder . By using this efficient screen recorder, you can access your saved live streaming session and revise the important points discussed in it.

The screen recorder of Filmora is capable of capturing webcam and screen recording simultaneously. You can select a customized recording area through this tool. For example, you can choose a full screen, a specific window, or a customized area. Furthermore, this screen recording tool can also capture your microphone and system’s sounds in high quality. At the same time, as a powerful video editor, you can edit your videos with various advanced features of Filmora to bring them to the next level. Click the video below to learn more about Filmora’s new features.

Steps to Record Live Streaming Using Filmora Screen Recorder

Are you ready to capture your live-streaming session on Google Meet? Here are the simple and accurate steps to begin the process:

Step1 Open the Screen Recorder

Download Wondershare Filmora and open its interface. Click the “Screen Recorder” option given on the main homepage. By doing so, a screen recorder window will open. Here, you can select screen recording modes such as full-screen, target window, or custom. Also, make sure to choose your system’s audio and microphone to proceed.

Step2 Adjust Settings and Start Recording

From Settings, you can also select the quality, frame rate, and color of mouse clicks. Once you have adjusted all the settings properly, hit the “REC” button.

Step3 End the Recording

After the countdown, the screen recording will begin. To stop the recording, you can press the F9 button from your keyboard. After the recording ends, the file will be dropped into the media library of Filmora.

Conclusion

Google Meet is a reliable environment to connect and collaborate with people. To increase your reach and target audience, you can conduct Google Meet live streaming on YouTube. This article has discussed a detailed way through which you can live stream your Google Meet session on your YouTube channel.

To save and access your live streaming sessions later, you can try the screen recorder of Wondershare Filmora . This screen recorder can capture screen and respective audio in high quality.

Free Download For Win 7 or later(64-bit)

Free Download For macOS 10.14 or later

Design Guide: YouTube Banners & Thumbnail Creation

How to Make YouTube Banners and Thumbnails

Richard Bennett

Mar 27, 2024• Proven solutions

The art on your YouTube channel – banners, thumbnails, icons, and watermarks – will help to determine how viewers feel about your vlog. If your art does not look like it all goes together then people will get a sloppy, amateurish, impression of your channel. However, if your different pieces of channel art all seem to complement each other and match the tone and theme of your channel then it will help viewers to have a pleasant browsing experience. They will get the impression that you take your YouTube channel seriously and that they can trust you as a source of information, comedy, or general entertainment.

How to Make YouTube Banners and Thumbnails

YouTube Banners and Thumbnails are two of the most important pieces of channel art you will need. This article will explain the best practices for both, and suggest sites where you will be able to build your own banners and thumbnails for free.

1. YouTube Banners

Quick Tips:

1. The image you upload for your YouTube banner should be 2560 x 1440px (pixels).
2. The ‘safe area’ for text, logos, and other important visual information (like faces) is 1546 x 423px.

Your banner is probably the first thing that comes to mind when you think about channel art. Banners are the headers that rest at the tops of channel pages on YouTube. Your banner should be 2560 x 1440 px, although not all of it will always be visible. On a desktop computer or mobile device only a 1546 x 423 px ‘safe area’ will be visible. When viewed on a TV screen your entire image will be visible. YouTube does support PNG, but if your PNG file does not upload properly (as has been the case for some YouTubers) then changing your file type to JPEG might help.

YouTube Banners are extremely important to the success of your channel. If you do not have a banner then it looks like you do not really care about your vlog. If you have a basic banner that is not at all personalized then it certainly looks like you care, but it might also look like you are new to YouTube.

The best banners are customized to reflect the kind of experience you want viewers to have on your channel. The banner of a comedic YouTube channel might use bright colors, where the banner for a gaming channel will probably use darker colors similar to the ones that are in the games the vlogger plays. Connecting your banner to the theme of your channel is part of how you define the style of your vlog. It is the difference between being a Beauty Guru and a general YouTuber who gives makeup tips sometimes.

Including a photo of yourself, or your logo if you have one, is a great way to personalize your banner.

2. YouTube Thumbnails

Quick Tips:

1. Search for your video’s topic to see the thumbnails your thumbnail will be competing against.
2. Make any text huge so people can read it on their smartphone screens.
3. Emojis, colored boarders, and graphics are all potential ways to stand out.

Thumbnails are often ignored by newer YouTubers. YouTube selects a thumbnail for every one of your videos and it is always a still image from that video. You can choose which frame you want to use and a lot of people feel like that is good enough. When you create a custom thumbnail, however, you get to not only choose your image but insert a title.

If you are choosing the images you are using for thumbnails you can make sure they are always similar frames. This will help people identify your videos quickly in searches. Using titles in your thumbnails will also help searchers identify your videos, if you always use the same title style. Another benefit of titles is that they capture the attention of people looking for your specific topic. Remember when building your thumbnails that they will appear smaller on YouTube than they probably are while you edit them. On mobile devices, they will look even smaller. So, if you are going to use text in your thumbnail, make sure it is huge.

One thumbnail taboo that you should never break is using an image that has nothing to do with your video. Using an image of a cute cat for a vlog post that has nothing to do with cats is misleading and will anger viewers. You may draw in a lot of viewers who want to see a cat video, but they will leave right away when they do not see a cat and they will never watch anything by you again.

3.Where To Create Banners and Thumbnails

There are sites online that will allow you to edit images and use them in templates for YouTube banners. You can also use these services to edit your thumbnails. Two of the most popular, free, online photo editors are PicMonkey.com and Canva.com.

Canva has templates you can use to create YouTube banners, as well as a variety of stock images you can use in combination with your own when creating channel art. It is free to edit images on Canva, but they do have some premium features which cost $1 each to access. This service has both a desktop version and an iPad app.

PicMonkey lets you import images from your computer or social media accounts, edit them, and use them in templates for YouTube banners or other kinds of social media graphics. PicMonkey is free to use, but you can only access their more advanced editing tools if you buy a paid subscription. Monthly subscriptions are $4.99 per month, and yearly subscriptions are $2.75 per month.

Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett

Mar 27, 2024• Proven solutions

The art on your YouTube channel – banners, thumbnails, icons, and watermarks – will help to determine how viewers feel about your vlog. If your art does not look like it all goes together then people will get a sloppy, amateurish, impression of your channel. However, if your different pieces of channel art all seem to complement each other and match the tone and theme of your channel then it will help viewers to have a pleasant browsing experience. They will get the impression that you take your YouTube channel seriously and that they can trust you as a source of information, comedy, or general entertainment.

How to Make YouTube Banners and Thumbnails

YouTube Banners and Thumbnails are two of the most important pieces of channel art you will need. This article will explain the best practices for both, and suggest sites where you will be able to build your own banners and thumbnails for free.

1. YouTube Banners

Quick Tips:

1. The image you upload for your YouTube banner should be 2560 x 1440px (pixels).
2. The ‘safe area’ for text, logos, and other important visual information (like faces) is 1546 x 423px.

Your banner is probably the first thing that comes to mind when you think about channel art. Banners are the headers that rest at the tops of channel pages on YouTube. Your banner should be 2560 x 1440 px, although not all of it will always be visible. On a desktop computer or mobile device only a 1546 x 423 px ‘safe area’ will be visible. When viewed on a TV screen your entire image will be visible. YouTube does support PNG, but if your PNG file does not upload properly (as has been the case for some YouTubers) then changing your file type to JPEG might help.

YouTube Banners are extremely important to the success of your channel. If you do not have a banner then it looks like you do not really care about your vlog. If you have a basic banner that is not at all personalized then it certainly looks like you care, but it might also look like you are new to YouTube.

The best banners are customized to reflect the kind of experience you want viewers to have on your channel. The banner of a comedic YouTube channel might use bright colors, where the banner for a gaming channel will probably use darker colors similar to the ones that are in the games the vlogger plays. Connecting your banner to the theme of your channel is part of how you define the style of your vlog. It is the difference between being a Beauty Guru and a general YouTuber who gives makeup tips sometimes.

Including a photo of yourself, or your logo if you have one, is a great way to personalize your banner.

2. YouTube Thumbnails

Quick Tips:

1. Search for your video’s topic to see the thumbnails your thumbnail will be competing against.
2. Make any text huge so people can read it on their smartphone screens.
3. Emojis, colored boarders, and graphics are all potential ways to stand out.

Thumbnails are often ignored by newer YouTubers. YouTube selects a thumbnail for every one of your videos and it is always a still image from that video. You can choose which frame you want to use and a lot of people feel like that is good enough. When you create a custom thumbnail, however, you get to not only choose your image but insert a title.

If you are choosing the images you are using for thumbnails you can make sure they are always similar frames. This will help people identify your videos quickly in searches. Using titles in your thumbnails will also help searchers identify your videos, if you always use the same title style. Another benefit of titles is that they capture the attention of people looking for your specific topic. Remember when building your thumbnails that they will appear smaller on YouTube than they probably are while you edit them. On mobile devices, they will look even smaller. So, if you are going to use text in your thumbnail, make sure it is huge.

One thumbnail taboo that you should never break is using an image that has nothing to do with your video. Using an image of a cute cat for a vlog post that has nothing to do with cats is misleading and will anger viewers. You may draw in a lot of viewers who want to see a cat video, but they will leave right away when they do not see a cat and they will never watch anything by you again.

3.Where To Create Banners and Thumbnails

There are sites online that will allow you to edit images and use them in templates for YouTube banners. You can also use these services to edit your thumbnails. Two of the most popular, free, online photo editors are PicMonkey.com and Canva.com.

Canva has templates you can use to create YouTube banners, as well as a variety of stock images you can use in combination with your own when creating channel art. It is free to edit images on Canva, but they do have some premium features which cost $1 each to access. This service has both a desktop version and an iPad app.

PicMonkey lets you import images from your computer or social media accounts, edit them, and use them in templates for YouTube banners or other kinds of social media graphics. PicMonkey is free to use, but you can only access their more advanced editing tools if you buy a paid subscription. Monthly subscriptions are $4.99 per month, and yearly subscriptions are $2.75 per month.

Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett

Mar 27, 2024• Proven solutions

The art on your YouTube channel – banners, thumbnails, icons, and watermarks – will help to determine how viewers feel about your vlog. If your art does not look like it all goes together then people will get a sloppy, amateurish, impression of your channel. However, if your different pieces of channel art all seem to complement each other and match the tone and theme of your channel then it will help viewers to have a pleasant browsing experience. They will get the impression that you take your YouTube channel seriously and that they can trust you as a source of information, comedy, or general entertainment.

How to Make YouTube Banners and Thumbnails

YouTube Banners and Thumbnails are two of the most important pieces of channel art you will need. This article will explain the best practices for both, and suggest sites where you will be able to build your own banners and thumbnails for free.

1. YouTube Banners

Quick Tips:

1. The image you upload for your YouTube banner should be 2560 x 1440px (pixels).
2. The ‘safe area’ for text, logos, and other important visual information (like faces) is 1546 x 423px.

Your banner is probably the first thing that comes to mind when you think about channel art. Banners are the headers that rest at the tops of channel pages on YouTube. Your banner should be 2560 x 1440 px, although not all of it will always be visible. On a desktop computer or mobile device only a 1546 x 423 px ‘safe area’ will be visible. When viewed on a TV screen your entire image will be visible. YouTube does support PNG, but if your PNG file does not upload properly (as has been the case for some YouTubers) then changing your file type to JPEG might help.

YouTube Banners are extremely important to the success of your channel. If you do not have a banner then it looks like you do not really care about your vlog. If you have a basic banner that is not at all personalized then it certainly looks like you care, but it might also look like you are new to YouTube.

The best banners are customized to reflect the kind of experience you want viewers to have on your channel. The banner of a comedic YouTube channel might use bright colors, where the banner for a gaming channel will probably use darker colors similar to the ones that are in the games the vlogger plays. Connecting your banner to the theme of your channel is part of how you define the style of your vlog. It is the difference between being a Beauty Guru and a general YouTuber who gives makeup tips sometimes.

Including a photo of yourself, or your logo if you have one, is a great way to personalize your banner.

2. YouTube Thumbnails

Quick Tips:

1. Search for your video’s topic to see the thumbnails your thumbnail will be competing against.
2. Make any text huge so people can read it on their smartphone screens.
3. Emojis, colored boarders, and graphics are all potential ways to stand out.

Thumbnails are often ignored by newer YouTubers. YouTube selects a thumbnail for every one of your videos and it is always a still image from that video. You can choose which frame you want to use and a lot of people feel like that is good enough. When you create a custom thumbnail, however, you get to not only choose your image but insert a title.

If you are choosing the images you are using for thumbnails you can make sure they are always similar frames. This will help people identify your videos quickly in searches. Using titles in your thumbnails will also help searchers identify your videos, if you always use the same title style. Another benefit of titles is that they capture the attention of people looking for your specific topic. Remember when building your thumbnails that they will appear smaller on YouTube than they probably are while you edit them. On mobile devices, they will look even smaller. So, if you are going to use text in your thumbnail, make sure it is huge.

One thumbnail taboo that you should never break is using an image that has nothing to do with your video. Using an image of a cute cat for a vlog post that has nothing to do with cats is misleading and will anger viewers. You may draw in a lot of viewers who want to see a cat video, but they will leave right away when they do not see a cat and they will never watch anything by you again.

3.Where To Create Banners and Thumbnails

There are sites online that will allow you to edit images and use them in templates for YouTube banners. You can also use these services to edit your thumbnails. Two of the most popular, free, online photo editors are PicMonkey.com and Canva.com.

Canva has templates you can use to create YouTube banners, as well as a variety of stock images you can use in combination with your own when creating channel art. It is free to edit images on Canva, but they do have some premium features which cost $1 each to access. This service has both a desktop version and an iPad app.

PicMonkey lets you import images from your computer or social media accounts, edit them, and use them in templates for YouTube banners or other kinds of social media graphics. PicMonkey is free to use, but you can only access their more advanced editing tools if you buy a paid subscription. Monthly subscriptions are $4.99 per month, and yearly subscriptions are $2.75 per month.

Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett

Mar 27, 2024• Proven solutions

The art on your YouTube channel – banners, thumbnails, icons, and watermarks – will help to determine how viewers feel about your vlog. If your art does not look like it all goes together then people will get a sloppy, amateurish, impression of your channel. However, if your different pieces of channel art all seem to complement each other and match the tone and theme of your channel then it will help viewers to have a pleasant browsing experience. They will get the impression that you take your YouTube channel seriously and that they can trust you as a source of information, comedy, or general entertainment.

How to Make YouTube Banners and Thumbnails

YouTube Banners and Thumbnails are two of the most important pieces of channel art you will need. This article will explain the best practices for both, and suggest sites where you will be able to build your own banners and thumbnails for free.

1. YouTube Banners

Quick Tips:

1. The image you upload for your YouTube banner should be 2560 x 1440px (pixels).
2. The ‘safe area’ for text, logos, and other important visual information (like faces) is 1546 x 423px.

Your banner is probably the first thing that comes to mind when you think about channel art. Banners are the headers that rest at the tops of channel pages on YouTube. Your banner should be 2560 x 1440 px, although not all of it will always be visible. On a desktop computer or mobile device only a 1546 x 423 px ‘safe area’ will be visible. When viewed on a TV screen your entire image will be visible. YouTube does support PNG, but if your PNG file does not upload properly (as has been the case for some YouTubers) then changing your file type to JPEG might help.

YouTube Banners are extremely important to the success of your channel. If you do not have a banner then it looks like you do not really care about your vlog. If you have a basic banner that is not at all personalized then it certainly looks like you care, but it might also look like you are new to YouTube.

The best banners are customized to reflect the kind of experience you want viewers to have on your channel. The banner of a comedic YouTube channel might use bright colors, where the banner for a gaming channel will probably use darker colors similar to the ones that are in the games the vlogger plays. Connecting your banner to the theme of your channel is part of how you define the style of your vlog. It is the difference between being a Beauty Guru and a general YouTuber who gives makeup tips sometimes.

Including a photo of yourself, or your logo if you have one, is a great way to personalize your banner.

2. YouTube Thumbnails

Quick Tips:

1. Search for your video’s topic to see the thumbnails your thumbnail will be competing against.
2. Make any text huge so people can read it on their smartphone screens.
3. Emojis, colored boarders, and graphics are all potential ways to stand out.

Thumbnails are often ignored by newer YouTubers. YouTube selects a thumbnail for every one of your videos and it is always a still image from that video. You can choose which frame you want to use and a lot of people feel like that is good enough. When you create a custom thumbnail, however, you get to not only choose your image but insert a title.

If you are choosing the images you are using for thumbnails you can make sure they are always similar frames. This will help people identify your videos quickly in searches. Using titles in your thumbnails will also help searchers identify your videos, if you always use the same title style. Another benefit of titles is that they capture the attention of people looking for your specific topic. Remember when building your thumbnails that they will appear smaller on YouTube than they probably are while you edit them. On mobile devices, they will look even smaller. So, if you are going to use text in your thumbnail, make sure it is huge.

One thumbnail taboo that you should never break is using an image that has nothing to do with your video. Using an image of a cute cat for a vlog post that has nothing to do with cats is misleading and will anger viewers. You may draw in a lot of viewers who want to see a cat video, but they will leave right away when they do not see a cat and they will never watch anything by you again.

3.Where To Create Banners and Thumbnails

There are sites online that will allow you to edit images and use them in templates for YouTube banners. You can also use these services to edit your thumbnails. Two of the most popular, free, online photo editors are PicMonkey.com and Canva.com.

Canva has templates you can use to create YouTube banners, as well as a variety of stock images you can use in combination with your own when creating channel art. It is free to edit images on Canva, but they do have some premium features which cost $1 each to access. This service has both a desktop version and an iPad app.

PicMonkey lets you import images from your computer or social media accounts, edit them, and use them in templates for YouTube banners or other kinds of social media graphics. PicMonkey is free to use, but you can only access their more advanced editing tools if you buy a paid subscription. Monthly subscriptions are $4.99 per month, and yearly subscriptions are $2.75 per month.

Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett is a writer and a lover of all things video.

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