Part 3/9:
Another vital mistake that creators may not be aware of is the use of YouTube's A/B testing tool, particularly for long-form content. This tool purportedly helps in selecting optimal thumbnails but often fails to yield the best results. Research indicates that using the A/B test can significantly decrease views because it often selects thumbnails that don’t resonate with the target audience.
A case study showed that the A/B test chose the wrong thumbnail in over 78% of instances. Therefore, it's recommended that creators avoid this feature, allowing their intuition informed by audience engagement to guide their choice of thumbnail instead.