Making YouTube videos and NOT getting any views sucks, so understanding where the views come from is very good to know.
Views can come from Google, browsing, YouTube search, suggested videos, channel page, and other sources.
Keep reading, and I’ll share how the YouTube algorithm is different than blogging. I’ll also share how the algorithm works and “most importantly” 2 ways to beat it!
Do you dare to keep reading?
Where Do YouTube Views Come From?
You might think that “many” YouTube views come from someone manually searching a video, but that isn’t the case.
What is “strange” about YouTube is that the views come from a variety of sources!
There is NO follow step 1, then step 2. It’s more art than science, almost!
One of the places a YouTube video, can be found is called browse features!
This can be the home page, subscription feed, and watch later.
You can tell my interests from my home screen.
If you’re not sure what the “watch later” button is, you can find it on the left side of the menu.
The second place someone can watch a video is with a YouTube search! As you can imagine, someone goes to the YouTube search bar and writes in a video that they want to watch.
Now, what determines if a video is number 1 or 100 depends on “all kinds” of signals.
The third place someone can find your video is from the suggested videos. These are the videos on the right side of the screen when you’re watching a YouTube video.
They can also come after you are finished watching a video!
The fourth place views come from when someone goes to your channel page and picks a video to watch!
The fifth place is other sources. Other sources could be when someone embeds a video on a website, it could be from YouTube Shorts or any other place.
Oh, and I almost forgot, there is a 6th place someone can find your video, and it’s on the search engine Google or another search engine.
What’s tricky about finding a video in Google is NOT that all searches have videos on the search page of Google!
Google determines if a video will work great or not.
Yes, YouTube is a tricky beast!
What YouTube Wants!
You can think of YouTube as a drug dealer that wants its consumers to “keep using” and not stop watching. The more time you watch, the more money they earn from “ads.”
YouTube is a business, and its goal is to make money!
Basically, YouTube will serve someone up a video they think they will like. This is why a “good” title and interesting thumbnail help in getting more views!
If you make YouTube videos, it’s best to make videos that “stand out.” This just means to make your title and thumbnail different and to create curiosity!
It reminds me of a wonderful book I read a while ago called “Differentiate or Die.”
Standing out does help in marketing!
YouTube Algorithm Vs. Blogging!
I “really” love blogging MORE than YouTube!
With blogging, things are more black and white. You could say blogging is like “math class” and YouTube is more “English class.”
In math class, you can get an A if you follow the formula and solve the problem. It doesn’t matter if the teacher hates you or if your skin is purple.
You could write the “perfect” paper in English class, and maybe the teacher didn’t like a part of it, and now you got a C.
With blogging, it’s all about creating content around a search term. This way, you can rank in search, and people come from those search terms.
If you know the formula, you “know” you can rank! With Youtube there are MORE variables, and it’s more tricky!
Oh, you also OWN the blog and don’t have to worry about YouTube sticking a stupid ad anywhere they want.
I don’t have to ask for people to “smash the stupid subscribe or like button.”
With a blog, you don’t have to worry about someone suspending your account, blocking a video, or canceling you.
It can happen on other platforms. Don’t get me started on Reddit, Quora, or TikTok!
Oh, and if you are on YouTube, get prepared for some troll comments! Just, because you’re on Youtube there will be people who will HATE on you because you’re trying to do something, and leave some nasty comments.
Some of them are funny – like this one…
Be prepared for that!
Hurt people like to hurt other people! If someone leaves a nasty comment, try to realize they are hurt!
The BIG drawback with a blog is it’s “slower.”
A blog post can take 8-12 months before it starts to see full traffic. The advantage YouTube has is it’s quicker! Another positive with YouTube is that it can help your brand because people see you. This helps you gain trust.
Also, with Youtube where you get views is different than a blog.
Blogging is about search and Youtube is about a certain type of person or audience!
How to “Beat” The YouTube Algorithm
The million-dollar question is how to win with YouTube!
How to get TONS of views with “little” work! All YouTube is trying to do is find stuff a viewer is interested in and then just show that person more of it!
How you win on this platform is to make videos that people enjoy! The people behind YouTube are “very smart” they will see that people like the video, then they will promote that video for you!
What exactly can you do to make videos that people enjoy?
One idea is to make the video long enough to cover the topic and NOT any longer! Get to the point as quickly as possible and eliminate ALL fluff!
I’m NOT saying I’m great at this, because I suck and love to talk.
This is why that hook is so important. The first few seconds are make or break.
You want to hook someone to keep going!
The second tip is to create a HUB. This means when you create a video promoting a second video related to the original. YouTube LIKES this because people are staying on YouTube.
Again, I struggle with this sometimes, too.
Plus, this can help both videos get more views.
Then, with the second video, you can promote your website and try to earn business. Here is a drawing I made of how this would work!
Why Use YouTube?
YouTube is a way to advertise something!
This is why I would recommend first starting with a website or blog. You could say it’s like building a home on a solid foundation (that you own). Then you can always use part of your blog to make a YouTube video and link back to your blog.
You could even use part of your blog to make TikTok videos or YouTube shorts.
Even better, drive traffic to another video and then to your website.
If you don’t have a website, but rely on YouTube for everything, then that is risky because you’re at the mercy of YouTube.
You’re playing in someone else’s sandbox, and they dictate the rules! Oh, I think I forgot that you can earn more money from ads on a website than on YouTube.
If you’re unsure how to build a blog or website, I wrote a post that shares 20 benefits of starting a blog, how AI can be helpful, and step by step how to do it in this post HERE.
Lastly, regardless of how you get traffic, building a list can ONLY help you.
One benefit is you own the traffic. Plus other benefits such as….
- Can promote multiple offers
- Can contact someone WAY in the future
- Promote your other content
- Do list swaps
- Easier to get accepted into affiliate programs
- MUCH higher conversion rate
- Great for launching products
- Get valuable feedback
- Protects you from algorithmic changes
- More personalized marketing
Even better, I show you how to build a list, create a landing page, and earn money from a list for FREE HERE.
I hope this blog post on where do Youtube videos come from was helpful to you. Bye for now!