This post will help you fix the YouTube chapters not working on your YouTube video.
Adding chapters to YouTube videos is a good way to improve viewer engagement.
It gives viewers the option to jump to sections that are relevant to them.
You see, some viewers don’t need the basics of a subject. So, they may want to jump to the more advanced sections of a topic.
Also, after watching a video, viewers get to review sections that are important to them by clicking on the timestamps.
Adding chapters to your videos also helps the YouTube algorithm understand your video better. This may help your video rank better on YouTube.
That said, videos with chapters get priority in the search results with the ‘key moments’ features as shown below.
YouTube Chapters Not Working
Sometimes you may find that the chapters you create aren’t working. Timestamps appear in the description box. However, when you click on any of them, you’re not brought to the relevant sections.
In other words, markers aren’t provided on the video player.
If so, here’s how to fix YouTube chapters not working.
YouTube Chapters Not Working : Lack of Subscribers
Your channel must have at least 1000 subscribers before YouTube allows you to add chapters to your videos.
Haven’t hit the target yet? Prepare in advance.
Create timestamps and keep them in a text file. When you reach a thousand subscribers you can add them to your videos.
0:00 Timestamp Left Out
You may think there isn’t content at 0:00. So you may have left the timestamp out. It’s the main cause of YouTube chapters not working.
You can write 0:00 – Intro, even if there’s only your channel logo there.
No colon and Space
Timestamps must be followed by a colon and space before the title. You can’t have 1.00-Basics.
It should be 1:00 – Basics.
Less than 3 Characters
A timestamp must be accompanied by at least three characters,
So you can’t have timestamps like 0:00 – A or 0:10 – AB.
It should be 0:00 – Why.
Less than 3 Chapters
You must have at least 3 chapters for timestamps to work on a YouTube video.
So, add more chapters if you have 2 or fewer than that.
Chapters Less than 10 Seconds
A chapter won’t work if it’s less than 10 seconds. YouTube doesn’t think any useful content could be delivered within that time period.
So, before you create a new timestamp, make sure the one before it is at least 10 seconds long.
No Chronological Order
If your timestamps aren’t in chronological order, they won’t work. You can’t have 3:00 followed by 2:00.
Clickable Link Before Timecode
Chapters may not work if you insert a clickable link before a timestamp.
Thus you can’t insert www.google.com 0:50 – Chapter 1.
More than 50 Chapters
YouTube places a maximum limit of 50 chapters per video. If you have more than that, reduce the number so that your timestamps and chapters work.
Active Copyright Strikes
If you have active copyright strikes, YouTube may prevent you from including chapters on a video.
Community Guideline Violation
This would usually relate to a content policy violation. Does your video contain inappropriate content? If so, chapters may not work.
Frequently Asked Questions on YouTube Chapters
An easy way to remove a chapter is by changing the 0:00 timestamp to 0:10 or any such number. Chapters will not appear on your YouTube video.
You may want to try adding chapters to another video. If video chapters still don’t appear you may want to contact YouTube Help.
Go to YouTube Studio and click on Content. Go to your video and click on the pencil icon. Then go to the Description section under Video Details and make the necessary changes.