Video content dominates the digital landscape due to consistent viewership across platforms. Silent viewing is also becoming increasingly prevalent, and global audiences are leaning towards inclusive content. Therefore, content creators must adapt their strategies to meet the needs of their viewership while maximizing their reach, which is why some YouTubers need to add captions to their videos. Fortunately, YouTube transcription companies help creators and video producers expand their reach and improve their audiences’ viewing experience through captioning and subtitles.
In this article, you’ll learn:
- Captions significantly boost accessibility for hearing-impaired viewers and the 92% who watch videos on mute.
- Adding captions improves SEO and discoverability because search engines can index the text content.
- Including captions can help content creators comply with accessibility laws that may be required in certain jurisdictions.
What are Video Captions?
Have you ever seen those words or sentences appearing on the screen while a video is playing? Those are called captions. Captions help everyone understand what’s being said, even if they can’t hear the sound. It’s a bit different from when we add subtitles, as they’re primarily used for those who can hear but can’t understand the language in the video.
In addition, captions should be included in videos as part of the to-do list for YouTubers, as they help people with hearing problems enjoy the content just like everyone else. Captions also come in handy for people who don’t want to play the audio out loud. A survey of U.S. consumers found that 92% view videos with the sound off on mobile.
Types of Videos Where Highly Accurate Captions Are Essential
Having discussed video captions, below are some videos you can search for—whether on YouTube or other platforms—where correct video captions are needed.
| Videos | Description |
| Educational or Instructional | Clear captioning to grasp all key points and avoid missing crucial info. |
| Legal | Precise transcription of complex terminology and details to avoid misinterpretation. |
| Medical | Accurate captions for medical jargon and procedures—consequences if misunderstood. |
| Interviews | Capture nuanced language, proper nouns, and context of the subject matter. |
| Documentaries | Properly transcribe complicated topics or terminology to convey the intended message. |
| Film Productions | Word-for-word dialogue text allows viewers with hearing issues to experience the storytelling. |
Why YouTubers Need To Add Captions To Their Videos
YouTubers can gain a lot from putting accurate captions to their videos — much more than they could lose. Let’s cover the most significant ones.
Accessibility For Everyone
Adding captions to your YouTube videos can be handy for deaf and hard-of-hearing viewers. Without captions, they are left in the dark and can’t fully engage with your content.
An estimated 38 million Americans experience hearing loss, with 25.4 million having mild loss, 10.7 million with moderate loss, 1.8 million with severe loss, and 0.4 million with profound loss in their better ear.
What does it mean for YouTubers? Taking the time to put captions can significantly expand your viewership potential. In 2024, accessibility isn’t a luxury; it’s a necessity.
Not only that, many of us watch videos without sound for various reasons, such as being in public spaces or multitasking and captioning your videos helps your message get across in any situation.
Improves Comprehension Even In Noisy Environments
Let’s be real—we can’t always watch videos in perfect conditions. Sometimes, we’re in a noisy coffee shop, a crowded bus, or a bustling household. With captions, however, it’s effortless to comprehend the contents of the video even when the audio is a bit hard to grasp.
This factor is especially important for YouTube videos with abstruse information, instructions, or even speaking methods. From a different angle, captions can significantly increase viewers’ watch time and engagement since they can better understand your content.
Moreover, those who prefer to watch videos at lower volumes or those with older devices with poor audio quality can appreciate the added clarity that captions provide.
Captions Support Language Learners
YouTube is a global platform, and your videos have the potential to reach viewers worldwide—except for certain countries where YouTube is banned, like China.
Captions can be an extremely useful tool for language learning for non-native English speakers. There are an estimated 1.5 billion English learners worldwide. This estimate surely doesn’t include people trying to learn the language through self-study.
It also means that English language learners can watch your videos, read along, engage with other viewers in the comment section, and improve their comprehension skills when you simply add captions to your YouTube videos.
Helps with SEO and Discoverability
Search engines like Google or Bing can’t watch videos or listen to audio, however, they CAN read the transcript.
By default, YouTube automatically creates a transcript of what was said, in the language it was spoken, so that search engines can index it. This means your video content becomes more discoverable in search results, both on YouTube and other search engines like Google.
The best part of this approach is that you’re improving your YouTube SEO without creating separate written content. The captions can help your videos rank for relevant search terms, which is a win-win for you and your viewers.
Increases Viewer Retention
In a digital world flooded with dopamine-boosting short videos that keep everyone from doom scrolling, providing real value while keeping your viewers engaged is critical.
That said, captions can help increase watch time by making YouTube videos more accessible and easier to follow. Viewers are likelier to stick around when they fully understand and appreciate your content. Videos with captions retain 91% of viewers to completion, versus 66% for uncaptioned ones.
Captions also allow viewers to quickly scan through the content without watching the entire video, which can be particularly useful for longer formats. In addition, viewers who find your content applicable are more likely to share it with others, which inevitably expands your reach.
Makes Videos Optimized for Social Media
As many of us might’ve noticed, social media platforms like Instagram and TikTok are increasingly becoming video-centric. However, many users watch videos without sound.
Captioning your YouTube videos can help your content remain effective even when shared on other platforms. This is particularly important for videos that rely heavily on dialogue or narration – documentaries or conspiracy theories types of videos, for example.
Viewers can consume your video content in any setting. They can watch on a crowded subway or line up in a restaurant drive-through with 17 other cars ahead of them. Social media algorithms often favor videos that keep users on the platform longer, and captioned videos tend to have higher watch times.
Furthermore, captions make your content more shareable, as viewers are more likely to engage with videos they can understand without audio.
Staying on the Good Side of the Law
Depending on your location and the nature of your content, youtubers needing to add captions to their videos might be more than just a good practice—it could be a legal requirement.
Certain types of online video content must be captioned in the United States to comply with accessibility laws, such as the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Proactively adding captions to your YouTube videos avoids potential legal issues and shows your commitment to inclusivity.
Moreover, as accessibility regulations continue to evolve, having captioned content puts you ahead of the curve. It shows that your channel is professional and committed to serving a diverse audience – it can improve your reputation within the YouTube community and beyond.
Should YouTubers Settle For Automatic Captions?
No, it’s best not to settle for automated solutions in most cases. While YouTube’s automated transcription feature can provide a general idea of the content, it has many limitations that may compromise the usability of the transcripts.
Automatically generated transcripts—including YouTube’s—aren’t even close to reaching 100% or 90% accuracy, even with the best circumstances. This means that YouTube transcripts are bound to contain errors, misinterpretations, or inconsistencies that could be problematic for certain types of content. Spending significant time editing the transcripts makes its so-called benefit questionable.
For example, accuracy is the most important factor in educational videos, tutorials, interviews, or legal proceedings, ensuring the information is correctly conveyed.
In those cases, it is highly recommended that you opt for professional human transcription services. These services can convert and provide a more reliable transcript that captures nuances, technical terms, and complicated discussions with better precision.
Improve Your YouTube Captioning With Accurate Transcriptions
We fully understand why YouTubers need to add captions to their videos, and with a strong presence in the industry since 2010, Ditto offers world-class transcription services that no other provider can match. Our services include:
- More than 99% accuracy on all types of content transcription
- 100% US-based, human transcription
- Fast turnaround times
- Different and affordable rates to fit different budgets
- Stringent security measures that meet different regulatory requirements
- No long-term commitments or contracts (pay as you go)
- Industry-leading customer service
- Flexible features for varying requirements
- Professional translation services for Arabic, French, Spanish, German, and more
Get the Best YouTube Transcripts with Ditto
So what are you waiting for? Maximize your reach and retention with Ditto’s professional transcription services and see the difference.
Ditto Transcripts is a Denver, Colorado-based transcription services company that provides fast, accurate, and affordable transcripts for individuals and companies of all sizes. Call (720) 287-3710 today for a free quote, and ask about our free five-day trial.
