Best 10 Practices to Increase YouTube Watch Time

All, Internet, Marketing, Social Media, Youtube,

Published on: July 28, 2021

YouTube utilizes watch-time as a mode of operation in which it employs algorithms for video recommendation, particularly in terms of ranking. YouTube has grown tremendously and is now the world's most visited video platform site. It has become a vital source of income for marketers, advertising companies, influencers, and other business figures.

On the YouTube platform, there are millions upon millions of video clips available. Everyone desires at least one viral video that can catapult their YouTube channel to the elite level. Everyone wants to be ranked higher to receive the most clicks and viewers.

Only those who have advanced in rank are granted this privilege. However, this is not a simple task. It necessitates planning and hard work. And this begs the question of how to increase watch time to improve your YouTube ranking. In the following sections, we will go over this in greater detail.

What Is YouTube Watch Time?

The amount of time a viewer has spent watching a video on YouTube is its watch time. It gives you a sense of what viewers like and what draws them in. It also gives you insight into what they dislike if they refuse to click on your content again in the future.

Increase YouTube Watch Time

First and foremost, do you have your own YouTube channel? Second, do you intend to make a living from YouTube? When your channel receives at least 4,000 watch hours in a year with 1,000 subscribers, your prospects will become a reality. If you meet these requirements, you will be able to apply for the YouTube Partner Program, abbreviated as YPP. This paves the way for you to earn money from advertisements.

The real question now is how to increase YouTube watch time in 2021.

The answers to your questions are below.

1) Quality Content Videos Increase YouTube Watch time

YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005. It is currently the world's second most visited website. Every minute, 500 hours of video are posted to its platform. So naturally, the competition is ferocious and relentless. To increase watch time, upload videos that are high in standard and quality.

In this case, it is the content that makes all the difference. So first, you must empathize with your target demographics’ mindset. Then, you must imagine yourself through their eyes and consider what kind of content would entice you to stay and watch the entire video.

The content must be adequate, compelling, and visually appealing. Once you've decided how you want to present your videos, you'll build a platform that will rapidly increase viewer traffic. You can also get information from veteran YouTubers who understand what makes the YouTube community tick.

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2) First 15 Seconds are Crucial

There is an infinite amount of YouTube content that is being streamed and recommended. The average YouTube viewer can only devote a few seconds to a video that appears on his page. If he comes across a new video on your YouTube channel. Remember that he will ask himself the questions listed below. Should I investigate this video? Should I keep watching it if I click on it? These solutions are in the first 15 seconds of your video.

If your 15 seconds do not pique your YouTube audience's interest, what should you do? They will quickly lose interest and move on to another topic. As a result, they will abandon your video platform. This only serves to reduce your watch time significantly.

This is why you must ensure that the first few seconds of your video are exciting and engaging enough to pique the YouTube audience's interest. If you can execute this strategy successfully, you will gain more viewers to your page, eventually resulting in a healthy watch time.

3) Expand Your Subscriber Base

The critical thing you can do once you've established your own YouTube presence is to grow your subscriber base. The more people who visit your page, the higher the number of subscriptions. This increase in viewership directly affects the watch time of your videos from the moment they are uploaded.

It can be challenging to increase your subscriber base. So, to enrich your subscriber base, employ the following strategies:

Optimize your YouTube channel and promote your videos on social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. You will target a specific audience, which will result in organic subscriber growth.

You must create social proof. Social proof is comparable to the level of popularity attained by your channel. When viewers visit your channel, they will notice that you have a sizable subscriber base. They will subscribe as well, and as a result, more people will subscribe — and these people will become viewers of your content, increasing your YouTube Watch time.

4) Select Clickbait Titles & Thumbnails

YouTube Titles and thumbnails represent the viewer's perception of your content. For example, when people search for videos about a particular subject, they would see a long list of titles and thumbnails, determining whether they want to watch the video.

If your title is well-designed, you will reap the benefits of more subscribers to your channel. In addition, other audiences who are looking for the same content will be shown the same thumbnail and titles. This will make your content more appealing to advertisers looking to capitalize on a growing YouTube channel.

5) Focus on Audience Retention

The percentage of a YouTube video watched by your YouTube audience is referred to as audience retention. After you've uploaded your video, keep an eye on the audience retention report. This will allow you to increase your YouTube watch hours. Maintain your focus on the audience retention of each video you upload to your YouTube Page.

The Audience Retention report will show you where your viewership is declining and where it is increasing. This data enables you to make the necessary changes to retain your audience and increase traffic.

Increasing the retention rate of your video will allow you to attract more viewers to your content, thus also increasing YouTube Watch Time.

6) Use Long-Tail YouTube Keywords

Long-tail YouTube Keywords can be beneficial to your subscription. The YouTube target audience is more likely to drive more traffic and increase your watch time through its use. This will allow you to outperform your competitors.

There are numerous SEO methods for developing long-tail keywords for content usage. However, you can obtain them more straightforwardly by using YouTube's suggestion feature. First, enter the work you know your audience is engaged in into the YouTube search bar. There, you will find a list of long-tail keyword ideas that you can use in your content.

You can use any type of content you want, such as ads, information, entertainment, and so on. In addition, you will receive a plethora of long-tail keyword ideas that will be helpful for the YouTube content you have created for yourself. This will ultimately lead to an increase in your platform's YouTube Watch Time.

7) Create Video Playlist

What if it comes to your attention that there is a way to boost watch time on YouTube in more hours even if no one has watched your videos?

To elaborate, if a viewer begins watching your video and then moves on to the next video in the playlist, you will still be credited with an increase in watch time. It also makes no difference if the videos in the playlist belong to someone else. Regardless, you will get credit.

Playlists guide viewers through a more gradual viewing experience, which may increase your YouTube watch time. You can make different video playlists to encapsulate all of your videos.

Make sure you organize your playlist in a logical sequence. Make certain that the videos are based on pertinent content. Playlists that effectively gain viewership can draw viewers to more of your videos in a single viewing session. This increases your visibility and increases the amount of time you spend watching YouTube.

If you are a frequent YouTube user, you may have developed a clear understanding of using watch time as a critical metric for measuring success on YouTube. The primary goal of any would-be YouTube influencer is to earn money or capital. YouTube has become a source of income for many individuals and businesses.

Making money has enabled people of all ages to do what they want and create their content. The difficulties associated with increasing the watch time may appear intimidating. But, in the end, it's all worth it.

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8) Increase Your YouTube Watch Time

Increasing your watch time is a surefire way to make yourself more appealing to YouTube's algorithm. As a result, your videos will appear more frequently in recommendations and search results.

It may take some time to enforce everything, but you will notice an increase in your Youtube Watch Time when you work on them one after the other.

Author Bio

Sara Daisy works at XtremeTechnologies - Digital Agency as a Social Media Marketing Expert. She is constantly coming up with new ideas and strategies for us. Aside from that, she is constantly busy establishing business objectives and implementing effective marketing strategies. she has an extensive experience in working for various digital, branding and motion graphics services provides in USA. Sara Daisy enjoys covering articles in the digital and content marketing niches.

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Abdullah Haroon

Abdullah is COO of Xtreme Technologies. He is Interested about Business, and Technology.