Author: Eric Sachs / Source: socialmediaexaminer.com Do you have a YouTube channel? Looking for ways to keep viewers watching longer? Fine
Do you have a YouTube channel?
Looking for ways to keep viewers watching longer?
Fine-tuning the way you set up your YouTube videos will increase the number of views your channel generates and also deliver longer viewing sessions.
In this article, you’ll discover four ways to increase your YouTube watch time.
What Is YouTube Watch Time?
Before October 2012, total number of views was YouTube’s primary factor in ranking videos. However, when YouTube updated their algorithm that same month, watch time became the #1 ranking factor.
Watch time (or audience retention, as it’s popularly called in YouTube analytics) is the total amount of time in aggregate that viewers spend watching your videos. Ideally, videos topping in this metric result in higher overall viewing sessions.
With a boost in watch time, YouTube is more likely to promote your channel through search and recommended videos, which in turn leads to more views.
Now that you understand YouTube’s watch time metric, let’s look at five tactics that will help increase your total watch time.
#1: Structure Playlists to Drive a Linear Viewing Experience
Creating playlists for your YouTube videos is a way to guide potential viewers toward a longer viewing experience where they watch more of your best content.
When you organize your videos in interesting sequences (as shown in the image below), viewers will be more likely to watch your other videos. This ultimately boosts watch time, giving you a higher ranking on YouTube.
To optimize your playlists, use the start and end time function on YouTube to enumerate IN and OUT points for each video, which creates a more impressive user experience.
If you use the playlist feature, consider getting rid of your video intros and outros to avoid boring viewers which causes them to stop watching.
Tip: YouTube lets you link to related videos at the end of each video. To increase watch time, link to a themed playlist instead. When viewers click on the playlist URL, they’ll quickly be redirected to the playlist player.
#2: Choose Titles and Thumbnails That Accurately Reflect Your Content
The titles and thumbnails of your videos impact your video views and rankings. They serve as the…
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