What is Watch Time and How Can it Help You Conquer YouTube?

YouTube generates more than 4 billion views every day! Of course, such a large-scale service needs proper control of video content and also how much is being watched. YouTube service representatives have created a number of indicators for that purpose, and Watch Time is one of them. At first glance, Watch Time seems like a very simple indicator. But is this really the case?

Watch Time is not just the length of time people spend watching your video. This is also the time that viewers spend on YouTube after they watch. YouTube has created an indicator to assess not only the benefit of video time watched for you as its owner, but also the benefit for time spent at the website. It is noteworthy to mention that the introduction of such an indicator was one of the ways to reduce fraud attempts and manipulation of the number of views! Earlier, video owners bought the views and/or enticed viewers with YouTube deceptive thumbnails.

To put it mildly, this practice is unfair. And there are, after all,  honest ways to improve YouTube Watch Time and make more money online. Here are some of them…

#1 Hook the Viewer as Soon as Possible

Your video should be exciting and funny so that the audience would like to watch it until the end. However, few beginner video creators think about attracting attention from the first seconds of the video. Harlan Hogan once said: “You never get a second chance to make a first impression.” The audience appreciates your video from the beginning of watching and determines whether it is worth their attention. Try to draw the viewer’s attention in the first 15 seconds.

#2 Create Engaging Content

Viewer’s attention is hooked! What’s next? Your video should be interesting from start to finish, and especially so from the beginning. Modern audiences are very capricious and demanding. They do not spend time on something they are not interested in (same as you do and me). Moreover, interesting content will increase the number of subscribers on YouTube, not just the watch time indicator.

#3 What about Length?

Make the video exactly as long as it needs to be. Some brands, such as Samsung, Levis, Heineken, Apple, Carlsberg and Nike, use long videos to convey the basic idea of their message to the audience. These videos often have a viral effect and are watched by millions. Which again confirms the lack of a direct relationship between the length of the video and its popularity. The content is the biggest indicator of the success. That is exactly right and indisputable.

#4 The Right Title and Thumbnail

There is no doubt that the perfect title and a riveting thumbnail play important roles in SEO and getting people to click on the video. Come up with a title that teases your viewers and makes them watch your video! Do not disclose the content and be truthful from the get-go. Of course, poor thumbnails have shown an ability to attract attention, but successful ones do it much more effectively and have better lasting power.

#5 Call-to-Action

Use CTA’s by telling your viewers what should they do (like, subscribe, etc.), as many of them lose sight of doing that just a few seconds after watching. Do not forget about adding links in your YouTube videos. Remember: the inclusion of the CTA is essential to engage your audience further.

Watch Time and PewDiePie’s Secret to Success

Probably everyone who has to deal with YouTube video knows PewDiePie (Felix Kjellberg). He is the Swedish video blogger and the founder of the eponymous YouTube channel – the most viewed channel of all time! But how did PewDiePie conquer YouTube?

Image Credit: Socail News Daily

First, Felix draws viewer’s attention with interesting and innovative content. His themes are video games and traveling. Videos are full of humor and jokes and are usually really funny, and they are not too long (an average of 10 minutes), which is also easy to watch.

Second, PewDiePie creates a sense of unity among his followers. He uses such phrases as Bro Army, says goodbye using Brofist. Felix also repeats the phrase: “I am one of you, viewers.” His followers love him!

Third, one of the most important factors of success is low competition. Felix comes from Sweden, where he began to build a blogger career. Competition in this country is much lower than in the US, Canada, Australia, etc. Therefore, Felix had a unique niche to create a breakthrough in YouTube blogging.

 

As we can see, there is no need for superhuman skills to gain popularity on YouTube. Content does matter. With due attention to it, your Watch Time will be at the highest level. Good luck!

Image Credit: Tubefilter