The Power of YouTube End Screens: Promote Other Videos and Boost Watch Time

YouTube end screens offer a valuable opportunity to engage viewers and direct them to more of your content once a video finishes playing.

When used strategically, end screens can significantly boost watch time and impressions of your other videos. In this post, I’ll cover how to optimize end screens for maximum impact.

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Place End Screens in the Final 5-10 Seconds

You want end screens to display prominently while still leaving enough time for their elements to be seen.

Best practice is to place end screens around the last 5-10 seconds of a video. This gives viewers a moment to process the messaging before the video ends.

Timing it right keeps the end screen from flashing by too quickly or covering too much of the content itself.

Link to Relevant High-Authority Videos

Carefully choose which 2-4 videos to showcase on each end screen. Link to other relevant, high-performing videos when possible.

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This keeps viewers engaged with content tailored for them. Funneling them into your best videos encourages more continued viewing.

Prioritize linking to evergreen content and videos with proven high retention. This strategy maximizes the likelihood of further watch time.

Include a Subscribe CTA for Channel Growth

End screens are the perfect placement for a visible call to action to “Subscribe” to your channel.

Make this CTA prominent with eye-catching text and a contrasting button graphic. Many viewers who enjoyed one video will happily subscribe if prompted.

You can also experiment with different text offers like “Join us!” or “Don’t miss the next one!” to incite subscribing. Track CTRs to determine which phrasing converts most viewers.

Promote Playlists to Binge More Videos

Linking to relevant playlists showcases clusters of content ideal for continued watching.

Grouping videos by topic or series into playlists caters to viewers wanting more. Suggest one horizontal playlist on the end screen for quick access to lots of additional videos.

This taps into the power of YouTube’s autoplay feature. Once they click that playlist, YouTube queues up the next video automatically when each one ends.

Make Branding & Design Cohesive

Your end screen should maintain the look, feel and production value of your channel’s overall branding.

Some design tips:

• Use channel colors, logo and complementing graphics
• Make imagery and text big and legible
• Keep textual elements short and scannable

A polished end screen reinforces brand recognition. Use it to stylishly direct viewers without disruptive designs.

A/B Test End Screen Placements

Run A/B tests changing where elements appear on your end screens. YouTube provides data on the clickthrough rate of each end screen box.

Try different configurations like:

• Playlist on top, subscribe on side, videos on bottom
• Subscribe top and center, playlist bottom left, videos bottom right

See what placements draw most clicks for each CTA. Find the ideal layout to promote clickthroughs.

Maximize End Screens for More Discoverability

YouTube end screens offer free real estate to keep viewers engaged once the main video ends. Optimizing them boosts impressions and watch time for your other uploads.

Strategically designed end screens notify viewers of more relevant, high-quality content to binge on. The result is an increase in session watch time and overall channel discoverability.

Make sure you are taking full advantage of this powerful tool!

What’s your strategy for optimizing YouTube end screens? Share your top tips in the comments!