How to Boost Your YouTube Watch Time
Watch time is an important metric for YouTube channels. It’s one of the ranking factors that YouTube uses to determine which videos will be shown to viewers and which ones will be hidden. The better your watch time, the more likely your video will be shown to viewers and the more likely it is that they’ll watch it to completion.
You can see how your watch time is doing in the “Videos” tab of your YouTube account, or by looking at the Watch Time Report. This report will show you the amount of hours that your videos have accumulated over the past seven days, and over the course of the last month.
The first step to increasing your watch time is to make sure that your videos are high quality and interesting. Viewers have a tendency to lose interest in a video after a few seconds, so make sure that your videos are entertaining and keep them engaged from the beginning.
Have captivating thumbnails
The video thumbnail is the first thing that a viewer sees when they search for or click on a video. The thumbnail must capture the viewer’s attention, as well as tell them what the video is about. It’s also important that the thumbnail is sized correctly to be able to load quickly in a web browser.
Have a clear brand (personality)
You want your channel to have a strong personality and appeal to your audience. Use a consistent theme, tone and style to help your videos stand out from the competition and gain more views.
Create long, engaging videos
Long videos have a better chance of ranking in the YouTube search results and getting promoted on YouTube’s homepage and Suggested Video sidebar. They also have a higher average viewing duration, which is one of the main factors in YouTube’s Watch Time algorithm.
Create playlists
Playlists can also boost your Session Watch Time by allowing viewers to watch multiple videos in a row without having to stop. However, it is important to remember that your viewers should turn off playlists after they’re finished watching them, or else YouTube will keep loading new videos to their device.
Use high-quality titles and thumbnails
The title and thumbnail are the two first things that a viewer sees when they search or click on a video. The video title needs to be accurate and descriptive – don’t use misleading or inaccurate information. It’s also important that the thumbnail of the video is appealing, as this will help it to attract clicks from search and retweets.
Have a strong and recognizable brand
When you have a brand that you’re proud of, it will make your videos more successful on YouTube. It will also increase your subscribers, which will in turn boost your Watch Time.
Have a large collection of videos
The amount of time that your viewers spend on your channel will be important to your Watch Time, so it’s best to have a large collection of content. A large number of high-quality videos will help your channel earn more Watch Time and reach the 4,000-hour mark required for monetization. youtube watch time