YouTube Chapters / Timestamps Not Working (HOW TO FIX)

YouTube has started to make the search page more visual by adding video chapters so viewers can get a better glimpse of what’s inside the video. In the video below, you’ll learn where video chapters or timestamps appear on YouTube and Google Search why your video chapters are not working or not showing, and how to fix them.

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Here’s how my video appears in the search results when viewed via the YouTube app after I’ve added YouTube video chapters. Under the video, it says, 16 chapters. If I tap 16 chapters then I can see all the chapters that I’ve added to my video. If a viewer wants to watch a specific segment of that video they can just tap on that segment. If I tap 7 reasons why, then YouTube starts playing that particular segment on the YouTube app. So I can just scroll through the different segments and then choose which segment I wish to watch. So I tap on “Why search results, then it shows that particular segment that I wish to watch.

YouTube chapters also appear in the Google Search results as you can see here. Here’s the title of the video, “YouTube Search Results Not Showing (How To Fix)“. It shows 16 key moments in this video, and these are all my video chapters. If someone clicks on one of those chapters, like I click on this 0.00 chapter, it takes them directly to that particular segment. Sometimes Google will display a large thumbnail in the Google Search results and select the best segment for your viewers to watch.

As you can see, Google has selected this small segment from 2 minutes and 11 seconds for the viewer to watch. Google calls these featured snippets. According to Google, featured snippets come from web search listings. Google’s automated systems determine whether a page would make a good featured snippet to highlight for a specific search request.

How To Add Timestamps (Video Chapters)
Here’s how to correctly add timestamps to YouTube videos, and some of the reasons they may not be working or showing up in the search results.

  1. Timestamps must be added in the description of the video. If you don’t add them correctly in the description they won’t show up.
  2. The first timestamp must be marked as 0:00. In other words, minutes and seconds. If you have a long video, like a live stream, you might add a timestamp like 32 minutes and 54 seconds.
  3. Use a colon between the minutes and seconds so it becomes a live link. If you use a semicolon or don’t add a colon then it won’t become a live link.
  4. The timestamp and the title must be on the same line. As you can see here, I’ve added the timestamps on the left and the video chapters on the right with a space in between. After you’ve created your list of video chapters, check to make sure that they all have live links. The live timestamp links will appear in blue beside the video titles.
  5. Each chapter must be at least 10 seconds long. When you’re scrolling through your video to create your video chapter titles make sure they’re at least 10 seconds apart.

Another reason why your video chapters are not showing up under your videos is that you might have a channel strike. YouTube says that if your channel has any active strikes your video may not be eligible for auto-generated video chapters. Automatic chapters are automatically enabled in the video details under your video. Keep in mind that when you add video chapters in the description below your video it will override any of the automatic video chapters that YouTube provides.

YouTube is also starting to show search results from other languages with automatically translated captions, titles, and descriptions. This will only happen when relevant content in the local language is not available. This means viewers from Brazil can explore the Grand Canyon with captions in their local language.

Another reason your video chapters may not be working is that your video content is not appropriate for some viewers. When you create your video chapters, make sure they follow the YouTube Community Guidelines and policies. Here’s my recommendation when creating video chapters for your own videos. Create video chapter titles that appeal both to your viewers and to the search engines. This means you want to create a title that describes the content in your video and includes the keywords that people are searching on. This will help your video get discovered in YouTube search and Google Search.

If you want to learn more about how to enable automatic video chapters, watch this video on the screen right now. You’ll learn why you should use them and how you can opt out of automatic video chapters.

Related video
View this video to learn How To Add Chapters To Your YouTube Video Automatically Or Manually
Watch this video to learn how YOUTUBE CHAPTERS IN VIDEO (boost engagement)
Click here to learn How To Get More Views From Search Results On YouTube (for small channels)

Click here to get The One Blueprint That Gives You Step-By-Step Instructions
On How To Grow A Profitable YouTube Channel

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