Increasing your views on YouTube

Here is a YouTube visits chart from the past year, showing new (blue) and returning (green) visitors: 

A good many of the visits originated in India (mostly males, aged 25-40) so I checked and found that this is in line with general YouTube visits: 

 

As much as our target audience is the UK, this is a 'numbers' game therefore any hits could be considered worthwhile.

This is the breakdown by country:

1 year :July 2023 - July 2024

During the past year, there were almost 3,000 visits from the UK to our YouTube channel 

However...

10 years :July 2013 - July 2024

For the past ten years, the average of our UK visits per annum was around 5,550 and the Indian visits - excluding the past 12 months - was negligible, not even an average of 100 visits each year.

So, in fact, our UK average had been about 100% higher in prior years. Why is this? Well, the most popular video (more than 50,000 views) features a currently available product. The next three are not current (uploaded 2013-2015) and have had a combined total of 55,000 views to date. It's also fair to say that we have only uploaded 3 videos in the 3 years so, yes, our viewing figures were bound to suffer.

So, why else might the YouTube views reduced? The answer is probably Facebook. More people than ever are using Facebook, about 500 million more than YouTube. However, Over a billion hours of video are watched on YouTube every day, which is more than most other video media combined. 

If you already have a YouTube channel with existing videos, how can you increase their views? Well,  don't waste time asking Google - all their suggestions involve paying them! Here are our top ten tips for you to consider:

◻ add a watermark 

◻ enable embedding 

◻ include subtitles - videos are often watched silently at work 
◻ make the title interesting, include keywords  

◻ choose or create an interesting thumbnail
◻ create a playlist so that the video following yours is... yours    

◻ consider adding a transcript  

◻ encourage sharing, especially from other blogs and websites   

◻ email your contacts with the embedded video or link

◻ personal preference but, for a silent video, leave it so. Don't add free music!

   

These are the basics just to start you thinking. There is more help all over the internet but, remember, if your video is too long, not to the point (especially if the point is entertainment) or just plain boring, you will lose viewers' interest within seconds. Make a good start and maintain that level throughout.

Lastly, some current facts: Music videos account for more than a third of total YouTube views and Peppa Pig is the UK's most popular video!