STOP! Thumbnails & Video Quality Don’t Grow YouTube Channels

Creating attention-grabbing titles and thumbnails for YouTube videos is often emphasized by many as the key to getting more views. Common wisdom suggests that good titles and thumbnails lead to higher click-through rates, which should, in theory, lead to more views. But I have discovered that this is not necessarily the case.

Even with a high click-through rate, a video might not attract as many views as expected. For example, a video with a high 16.7% click-through rate only managed to gather 67 views. Meanwhile, another video with a much lower 8.7% click-through rate amassed over 3,000 views. This suggests that other factors are at play when it comes to YouTube's algorithm promoting videos to a wider audience.

Key Takeaways

• Higher click-through rates do not always mean more views.
• Other factors influence how YouTube promotes videos.
• Videos can perform well even with shorter average view durations.

Busting Popular Myths About Growing on YouTube

Many people believe that to get more views on YouTube, you need a top-notch title, a stunning thumbnail, and an engaging video that keeps viewers hooked until the end. This idea is widely promoted by YouTube experts, but data shows this isn't always true.

Despite having a high click-through rate at 16.7%, the first video only received 67 views. Conversely, a video with an 8.7% click-through rate amassed 3,140 views. This suggests that a high click-through rate alone does not guarantee more views.

Next, let's look at average view duration. The video with 67 views has an average view duration of 2 minutes and 30 seconds. Meanwhile, the more viewed video with 3,140 views has an average view duration of 1 minute and 39 seconds. This shows that high average view duration also doesn't necessarily lead to more views.

Consider another example: a video with almost 900,000 views has an average view duration of just 2 minutes and 43 seconds out of a 25-minute runtime. The drop-off rate is high, indicating that even videos with many views don't always maintain viewer interest for long periods.

Here’s how the YouTube algorithm actually works. It first promotes your video to a small, highly engaged audience. If this audience responds well, YouTube then promotes the video to a broader audience.

Imagine YouTube sends your video to an initial 1,000 interested viewers. If the click-through rate is 15%, then you get 150 views. Impressed, YouTube decides to show your video to a larger audience of 100,000 people. Again, it promotes your video to a smaller segment first. If this smaller group responds poorly, say with only a 2% click-through rate, YouTube pulls back promotion, limiting your total new views to two.

So, the total views from this cycle could be 152 views (150 from the initial test group and 2 from the broader audience). Even with a good click-through rate, if the larger test segment responds poorly, the algorithm significantly reduces promotion, limiting your video's reach.

This process is not just about viewer clicks but also how long viewers watch. The algorithm looks at multiple factors to decide if a video is worth promoting more broadly. Therefore, focusing solely on click-through rate or average view duration is misguided; balance and audience engagement across various metrics play crucial roles.

Insights into YouTube Analytics

Click-Through Rate Analysis

When evaluating how well your video titles and thumbnails are performing, it’s essential to look at the impression click-through rate (CTR) metric. This measures the percentage of people who click on your video after seeing it served on YouTube. For instance, one video on my channel has a high CTR of 16.7% but only got 67 views. Meanwhile, another video with a lower CTR of 8.7% managed to get a whopping 3,140 views. This demonstrates that a video with a great title and thumbnail does not always guarantee more views.

Example:

• Video 1:
  • CTR: 16.7%
  • Views: 67
• Video 2:
  • CTR: 8.7%
  • Views: 3,140

Average View Duration Insights

Another important metric is the average view duration, which measures how long viewers watch your video on average. A longer average view duration usually implies higher video quality. For example, a video with 67 views has an average view duration of 2 minutes and 30 seconds. Contrastingly, another video with 3,000 views has a shorter average view duration of 1 minute and 39 seconds. Interestingly, even successful videos with high view counts can have low average view durations. For instance, a video with nearly 900,000 views only holds viewers for an average of 2 minutes and 43 seconds, even though it’s a 25-minute video.

Example:

• Video 1:
  • Views: 67
  • Average View Duration: 2 min 30 sec
• Video 2:
  • Views: 3,000
  • Average View Duration: 1 min 39 sec
• Video 3:
  • Views: 900,000
  • Average View Duration: 2 min 43 sec

These insights illustrate that both CTR and average view duration are critical, but they do not always correlate directly with the number of views.

Case Studies

Small vs Large Channel Dynamics

To understand how video performance varies across different channel sizes, I looked at both small and large YouTube channels. For a small channel, a video with a high click-through rate (CTR) and long average view duration (AVD) sometimes ends up with fewer views. On one of my small channels, a video with a 16.7% CTR and an AVD of 2 minutes and 30 seconds only got 67 views. In contrast, another video with an 8.7% CTR but a much shorter AVD of 1 minute and 39 seconds generated over 3,000 views.

Large channels show similar trends. For instance, a video with nearly 900,000 views had viewers watch, on average, for only 2 minutes and 43 seconds of a 25-minute video. This indicates that a high view count doesn't necessarily correlate with viewers watching a significant portion of the video.

Data-Driven View Growth Strategies

When growing a channel, the key to increasing views lies in how YouTube's algorithm promotes videos. YouTube first tests videos with a small, highly engaged audience based on previous viewing habits. If 15% of this test audience clicks on the video, this positive engagement encourages YouTube to promote the video to a larger group.

In an example where YouTube pushes a video to 100,000 people, it initially tests with a small subset, like 100 viewers. If only 2% of this test subset clicks, the video gains just two additional views, leading YouTube to stop broader promotion due to negative engagement signals.

Conversely, a video performing well with the initial test audience at a 15% CTR might find the larger audience segment clicking at a 7% rate. This positive response means the video is likely to be shared with a broader audience, driving more views and growth for the channel. Critical metrics like CTR and initial viewer engagement play a pivotal role in determining whether a video is promoted more widely.

Algorithm Promotion Mechanics

Initial Audience Testing

When a video is first posted, YouTube promotes it to a small audience that is highly likely to watch it. This group often includes people who have watched and liked similar videos from the same channel. If the video resonates well with this audience, meaning a good number of them click on it, the click-through rate will be high. For instance, if the audience is 1,000 people and 15% click through, the video will get 150 views.

Larger Audience Expansion

If the video performs well with the initial small audience, YouTube promotes it to a larger audience. Instead of promoting it to the entire larger audience at once, it tests the video with a subset, like 100 viewers, to gauge their reaction. If this test segment reacts positively, more people will see the video. However, if only a few people click on the video, let's say 2%, then YouTube will limit further promotion.

Viewer Engagement and Promotion Decisions

YouTube's algorithm uses viewer engagement to decide how much to promote a video. Higher click-through rates and longer view durations are good signals. For example, if a video initially does well but then flattens out, it might be because the larger, more general audience didn't find it as engaging. This affects how far and wide YouTube will push the video, impacting total views.

Steps to Boost Views

Engaging Existing Viewers

To start, I make sure to get my videos seen by those who have already watched and liked my previous content. When I upload a new video, YouTube promotes it to a small group of these "warm" viewers. These viewers are more likely to click on and interact with my content. If this initial audience gives positive feedback, YouTube notices and starts promoting the video to more people.

Enhancing Algorithmic Favorability

Once my video gets good responses from the initial group, the goal is to keep the momentum going. The YouTube algorithm looks at how the next larger audience reacts to my video. If many of them click and watch, it signals to YouTube that it's a high-quality video. This means the video gets promoted even more, reaching an even larger audience and getting more views. To get these positive signals, I focus on making sure my titles, thumbnails, and content are appealing and engaging.

Final Thoughts

I've shown you some actual data from a small YouTube channel to highlight different insights. First, title and thumbnail quality, measured by clickthrough rate, does not always correlate with higher views. For example, a video with a 16.7% clickthrough rate received only 67 views. In comparison, another video with an 8.7% clickthrough rate got 3,140 views. This suggests that a higher clickthrough rate alone isn't the key to getting more views.

Looking into the average view duration, the length people watch videos, also tells an interesting story. A video with 67 views had an average view duration of 2 minutes and 30 seconds. On the other hand, a more viewed video (3,000 views) had a shorter average view duration of 1 minute and 39 seconds. This again contradicts the idea that better engagement leads to more views.

Another example involved a video with nearly 900,000 views with an average view duration of just 2 minutes and 43 seconds out of a 25-minute video. This indicates that long average view duration may not be necessary for a video to go viral.

To understand how YouTube's promotion works, let’s consider two scenarios:

1. Scenario 1:
   • YouTube sends a video to 1,000 interested viewers.
   • With a 15% clickthrough rate, the video gets 150 views.
   • YouTube then promotes the video to a larger audience of 100,000.
   • For a 2% clickthrough rate among 100 viewers in this larger audience, only 2 new views are gained.
   • The video gets a total of 152 views and a 13.8% clickthrough rate.
2. Scenario 2:
   • Same initial 1,000 viewers with a 15% clickthrough rate brings 150 views.
   • Promoting to the larger 100,000 audience, we assume a higher percentage, 7%, of this segment clicks.
   • This would lead to significantly better performance than Scenario 1.

So, focusing solely on clickthrough rate or duration might not be enough. It’s how videos resonate with larger audiences that truly influences their success.