YouTube views are no longer just about the number of people who see your video. With the new update, YouTube now also shows viewers how much time they spend watching your videos. This means that not only do you need to focus on increasing views, but also watch time. Websites such as VidStats have even been created solely with the purpose of helping content creators analyze their YouTube viewing statistics and optimize their videos accordingly. It is now more important than ever that your audience sticks around to see what you have to offer. Let’s take a look at why watch time matters and how you can increase yours.
What is Watch Time?
Watch time is the amount of time viewers actually spend watching your videos. This differs from video views, which is the number of times your video is viewed. The update to YouTube’s algorithm now takes into account watch time, engagement, as well as other metrics in order to show your video to more people. As a result, rather than showing your video to the same number of people every hour, it could be shown to 10x more people per hour. This is great news for content creators who have been working hard to increase engagement and video retention rates. You can now see if your videos are being completed, or if viewers are quickly clicking back out of your video. The higher your watch time, the more likely your video will be shown to more people.
How to increase your YouTube Watch Time
There are several things you can do to increase your watch time and retention rate on YouTube. It’s important to note that not all of these things will work for everyone. You have to understand your audience and cater your content to their needs and interests. The first thing you should do is create an engaging thumbnail. This is the first thing your audience will see and click on, so it is important that they are intrigued enough to want to watch the video. Next, you should write a compelling title and description. This is where you should mention the main points of your video in order to let people know what to expect. If your title and description are well done, this will help encourage your audience to watch the full video. Your video should have a clear beginning, middle, and end. This is important for retention rate because people like to know where a video is going and what they are watching. Your video should have a clear purpose and end goal.
Avoid Irrelevant Views
One of the easiest ways to increase your watch time is to decrease your views. You may be wondering how this is possible, but it’s actually very simple. People like to feel like they are getting something out of their videos. If they click on a video, watch two seconds of it, and click off, they are not getting anything out of that experience. This is why fake views are having such a negative impact on engagement rates. People can very easily go on websites like Fiverr, buy fake views, and boost their numbers. Then, their videos are getting shown to more people who are clicking off after a couple seconds. This is why you should avoid purchasing fake views. Instead, focus on creating quality content that people actually want to watch. You can also try to get your video taken off of the fake views lists. You can do this by disputing the views or contacting the YouTube team. This can be an extremely lengthy process, but it is worth it in the end, as it will increase your watch time and retention rates.
Add Annotations
Another great way to increase your watch time and engagement is by adding annotations to your video. Annotating your video is very similar to writing a caption for a photo. It is an area where you can put extra information about your video that people can click on while they are watching. Annotations are especially useful if you are uploading a tutorial or educational video that has several different steps. If you put an annotation at the end of each step, people can easily jump back and click on the annotation to go back and see the step again. This will also help your retention rates, as people will be able to watch your video all the way through, rather than clicking off early.
Utilize YouTube Ads
Another great way to increase your watch time is by utilizing YouTube ads. This will help to ensure that your video is being shown to as many people as possible. When you use YouTube ads, you are paying a small amount of money in order to show your video to a much larger audience. This will also help to increase your retention rates because the more people that watch your video, the more likely they are to stay until the end. YouTube ads are affordable, and you can select how much you want to spend per day. This is a great way to get more views and watch time, as well as make a little bit of money off of your videos.
Produce High Quality Videos
This should go without saying, but in order to increase your watch time, your videos have to be high quality. This means that your video should be well shot, have good audio, and be edited well. Your video needs to look professional and be something that your audience will actually want to watch. Additionally, if you are uploading a tutorial video, you need to make sure that you have the steps clear and well explained. All of these things will help to increase your retention rates and encourage your audience to watch your video from start to finish.
Conclusion
Watch time is a great new feature from YouTube, but it is important to note that it is not everything. Just because you have a high watch time doesn’t mean that your video is actually doing well. When your video is finished, you want to make sure that you are doing everything in your power to get it seen. This means that you should be posting it on multiple social media platforms and sharing it with your friends and family members. You should also be optimizing your video and making sure that it is being seen by people who are interested in your topic. This is where engagement rates come into play. You should be trying to get your audience as engaged with your video as possible. Engagement rates are how Facebook measures how much your audience likes and comments on your videos. If your videos are high quality and your audience is engaged, then your watch time will go up and your video will be shown to more people. This is a great thing for content creators and will help to ensure that your hard work sees the light of day.
Article by DigiHolster
