- I've just found a small channel
that has seemingly cracked the YouTube algorithm
with their very first video.
But here's the thing, I don't actually know how they did it.
They created a two hour video essay
on a 30 year old space simulator game called Wing Commander.
I mean, who would wanna watch that?
Yeah, exactly.
It seems like it's an incredibly ambitious project
that's a quarter of a century too late.
And you never the score, right?
The YouTube algorithm literally hates small channels.
So how did they pull this off?
100,000 views, 100 days, one video.
Well, the only way to find out was to ask them
and it soon turned out this was no fluke.
(upbeat music)
As I began my research, it soon became clear
that this was no random gaming video
and I should know because I watched it, the entire thing
and I loved it.
The creator tapped into a single and critical principle
that helped the video take off and prove once and for all
that the YouTube algorithm isn't biased
against small channels.
Hi, I'm Rob by the way, and welcome to vidIQ.
Over the many years I've helped countless creators
turn their passions into successful YouTube channels
and if you are wondering what my favorite
1990 space simulator game is, it's Tie Fighter, obviously.
(game shooting)
Oh, that takes me back, does that.
But we're not talking about that.
Today, we're talking about this.
But in truth, it doesn't matter whether I'm talking about
this game or that recipe or those cryptocurrencies
or a million other things.
This single strategy applies to all channels equally.
So let's start taking action.
The strategy is actually a simple and classic one.
Supply and demand.
To find a topic people are interested in
that no one else is covering.
The story starts with a creator playing
this 30 year old game for the first time just one year ago.
But of course hundreds of thousands
fondly remember, Wing Commander from its original release.
Having enjoyed this blast from the past,
the creator went onto YouTube
in search of modern long form retrospectives on the game
but it couldn't find anything of value.
And this sets us up for a classic,
supply and demand opportunity.
Classic video game retrospectives
are a huge topic on YouTube.
This one here on Super Mario World
has nearly 5,000,000 views, and there are big retrospectives
on all of the classic big, video games
from Goldeneye to Street Fighter II
and that was the gap the creator saw.
Classic space simulator games were being underrepresented
when it came to video game retrospectives.
And this was the creator's first effort.
And let's be honest,
it's got some fairly conventional packaging.
The title's fairly generic.
It's copied on the thumbnail.
If this was going through an audit,
we'd have one or two suggestions.
But does it really matter when there is zero competition?
The only real question was whether this had an audience.
Well, to begin with, YouTube wasn't sure.
In the first 24 hours, just 130 impressions
and a lot of that traffic came from search.
Viewers needed to have a specific intent
on finding Wing Commander content to watch this video.
But hey, a 9% click-through rate, 23 views
and a whopping 29 minutes of average view duration.
It's a start, right?
Now the next bit is really important
because it demonstrates how the YouTube algorithm
isn't ignoring small channels.
Instead, it is working relentlessly on their behalf.
For the next couple of months
YouTube cautiously continue to test the content
a few dozen impressions a day.
Terrible watch time on some occasions
but incredible view duration on other days.
Up to one hour.
One hour average view duration on a single video.
And over time, there were enough positive signals
for YouTube to start testing the content in a new way,
through Browse and Suggested.
No longer did a viewer need to find the content,
YouTube is now recommending it to them.
Naturally, that resulted in more views,
a lot more watch time, and yet more impressions.
YouTube Tell is a combination of higher click-through rates
and watch time increases YouTube recommendations.
That's massive potential watch time,
leading to massive recommendations.
Although the click-through rate is quite bad.
But there is an explanation for this.
As YouTube test content with new and wider audiences,
those people are not familiar with the content
or the creator, so they're more cautious to click
which is naturally going to bring down click-through rates.
But how else can YouTube test content?
That is why click-through rate is a very fluid
and unreliable number when it comes to CTR,
context is king.
On the other hand, in this example,
watch time actually stabilized at a very strong number,
which meant that YouTube was finding the right audience
and they were satisfied by the content.
Very positive signals for the algorithm to work with.
Now, going back to our earlier examples
of video game retrospectives,
it is clear that Super Mario World is far more popular
than Wing Commander but what is the upper limit
of popularity for this game?
Well, through testing, YouTube assumed around about
2.8 million people might be interested in this topic
and eventually 100,000 people
committed to watching the video.
Now, of course, there's always a possibility
that YouTube may test this video further in the future,
but for now, it appears that it's exhausted
the potential audience for this video.
And so now the creator needs to plan their next video.
- I am currently knee deep in the production
of my next video, which is going to be about 1993's X-Wing.
- Yeah, X-Wing was good, but it was no Tie Fighter.
What X-Wing is however is the natural
and perfect progression for this creator.
It is another 1990 space sim that's remembered
and loved by far more people than Wing Commander,
which naturally means an even bigger potential audience.
And yet, a quick search on YouTube
suggests that currently there is no epic,
retrospective review of this game on YouTube.
Supply and demand.
And when that next video comes out,
the YouTube algorithm can unleash its secret weapon,
personalization.
It already has 100,000 views of data
at an average view duration of 20 minutes,
which is very powerful.
Once your video is in somebody's watch history,
YouTube can take that information and find similar viewers
who may enjoy the content and it is a huge snowball effect.
Over the coming weeks, months, even years,
anybody who's watching 1990 space video games on YouTube
is likely to come into contact
with some of Space Cadet Rewinds content.
I wouldn't be surprised if YouTube tests that video
with every single person
who watched The Wing Commander video.
And you know what?
I'm gonna watch it because I know I'm gonna really enjoy it.
If you are a small channel, just starting out
on your YouTube journey, ask yourself this simple question.
What content is missing from YouTube
that people want to watch that I know I can talk about?
That's the gap you need to start filling.
But we did mention earlier that Space Cadet Rewind
still has work to do when it comes to their video packaging,
especially the titles.
They need to be more curious, more enticing.
This is how you write titles that get clicks and more views.