- This could be the most important video
you watch about growing your channel this year.
And it's not because of anything I'm about to tell you
it's about this graph
and what it's gonna show you about your channel.
This no word of a lie, is an algorithm cheat code.
(upbeat music)
If a creator successfully uses this cheat code
their channel is gonna end up looking like this
the algorithm killer.
And to learn all of the secrets behind this
stick around to the end of this video.
And I'll prove it to you.
One of the keys to growing a successful YouTube channel
is building an audience.
If you create content
YouTube is always going to bring viewers to your stage.
And if you satisfy those viewers through your content
they are more likely to return to your future content.
And that is audience loyalty.
If they're loyal, YouTube is satisfied with
what you've done so far, and it will bring
new viewers to your content and so the cycle repeats.
So with that in mind, have a guess at this question.
Do you have any clue how many new viewers
come to your content and how many stick around
for future content?
Post that in the comments below
and I'll show you exactly how to find out
that information for your channel.
(upbeat music)
Yep, it's not that hard to find.
And as far as I can tell YouTube just rolled this out
to everyone all at once.
Basically you have two lines, the blue line, new viewers.
This is YouTube going on the hunt, trying to find new people
who may enjoy your content.
Think of this as free advertising.
Next, we have the purple line.
And this I think is the crucial one.
In fact, this graph is so important
it's time to pull out the controversial (indistinct).
(horn blaring)
Wow. I think this data is more important
to a creator than subscribers.
This thing is just damn cool, innit?
(horn blaring)
(vibrating sounds)
The reason I believe this to be true is
because returning viewers represent new viewers
who have converted into regular viewers.
Not those who've clicked on the subscribe button
and then never watch any more of your content.
These are sticky viewers, loyal viewers,
viewers keen to watch what you've already created
and what you're about to serve up next.
So with all that in mind,
here's your first key learning point.
Grow that purple line and you will grow your
overall audience over a longer period of time.
If you need a bit more clarity, let's
break this down with a real-world example from our channel.
This is our data over a three month time period.
At the start of it, we brought in 15 and a half thousand
returning viewers daily.
By the end of this time period,
our returning viewer count on a daily basis
has increased to 24,000 which is pretty significant.
And that has impacted the bottom line
of our channel very positively.
In that same time period daily channel views
have increased from 58,000 to 89,000 views.
And because we're doing a good job increasing our rate of
returning viewers, YouTube is now going out to find
new viewers for our content as reflected
in our daily impressions
which have almost doubled over that same time period.
Now I highly recommend re-watching the last 50 seconds
of this video.
Not because we want more watch time, although it does help
but because I want this explainer
of the YouTube algorithm to sink him.
If you are of the mindset that you want to beat the system
or cheat an algorithm, this is the only one
you need to pay attention to.
When it comes to YouTube it is not about
beating an algorithm.
It is about building an audience and this data
tells you exactly how it's going to happen on your channel.
Now, at this point, I just wanna pause for a brief moment
to say YouTube, thank you.
Over the past couple of years
all of us creators and YouTube themselves
have gone through this arduous process of transitioning
from the classic creative studio that we all know and love
to this brand new YouTube studio, which is now
starting to pay off with these wonderful new analytics.
But here's the really important thing
for all of us creators, we have to act on this data.
That's key learning point number two, let's dive
into this a little bit again through our channel.
There is a clear spike in new viewers
to the channel at this point,
but it actually seemed to turn off return viewers.
The possible cause?
Well, this occurred when I was having a bit of fun with
Mr. Beast, who commented on one of our videos.
Of course, this is likely to draw in a new audience
but our core audience is here for YouTube growth.
And when we stray from that shared goal
they passed on the content.
That right there folks is a lack of channel focus,
as well as bringing in an audience
who we can't really do anything with,
since we're not primarily a Mr. Beast appreciation channel.
On the other hand, let's review this portion of the data
where there is a consistent uptick
in both new viewers and returning viewers.
What we find here are a collection of videos
focused around channel growth
with particular focus on YouTube shows because
it's an important development in the video landscape.
And because of this
more viewers are returning to our content.
YouTube is now looking for new viewers
to show our content to.
Each video that sticks to the main focus of the channel
incrementally builds upon itself.
And the result is a larger audience and a growing community.
This is it.
The data is right here.
The question for all of us creators
is are we going to act on this data?
Are we going to consistently create content that is core
to our channel values and beliefs?
Or are we gonna go for those quick shot in the arm videos
that may go semi viral but then we have an audience.
We have no idea what to do with, because our channel's
not about that particular person on YouTube.
Fortunately for me, I love looking at YouTube data.
But I know for some of you
you find it both intimidating and boring.
But look at it from this point of view,
a couple of hours spent in front of graphs and numbers
can save you potentially weeks months if not years
of going in the wrong direction on YouTube
because you're not paying attention to the data
which is ultimately all about your audience.
So if you're still watching
and you're still finding this useful, and again
entertained along the way, make sure to give us a thumbs up.
I'm going to show you a couple more examples
of what this graph may look like on your channel.
From the data,
it looks like this creator was going in the right direction.
Each new video certainly brought back more
and more return viewers.
The creator seems to know their audience.
Unfortunately, a lack of consistency has killed
their momentum.
It's flattened the growth and it's beginning to fall.
The solution seems simple here, start creating again.
This next one is a tale of two extremes.
YouTube is bringing in tons of new viewers to this channel
every single day, which is awesome.
Unfortunately, almost none of them come back,
which is terrible.
Why does this happen?
Well, it's likely because of one or a few videos
that are driving huge traffic to the channel,
potentially through ranking highly
for a popular search term.
But then the viewers don't stick around because
they don't feel the channel has anything else to offer them.
This one's interesting for a couple of reasons.
And I have a bit of insider knowledge on this one.
The creator told me that the driving force behind
these graph surges was from a video weeks beforehand.
This sure goes to show you that
videos can pop at anytime on YouTube.
However, that's not the most exciting thing about this data.
To put this very simply,
when returning viewers start to exceed new viewers
on a channel, you've basically beaten the algorithm.
And won YouTube.
(Crowd cheering)
That's learning point number three by the way.
You get that purple line above the blue line
it means that many of the new visitors to your channel
are converting into return viewers.
And if you're not sure exactly what that means
now we can go back to the algorithm killer.
This creator figured out exactly who their audience is
and what content to make for them.
YouTube shares that content with new viewers
and they very quickly become return viewers
and they continue to be return viewers as YouTube serves up
more new viewers who also convert into return viewers.
This is a channel of perpetual motion.
YouTube finds new viewers,
those viewers return the channel grows.
And it's been doing this for six months now and no,
your eyes aren't deceiving you.
We're dealing with millions of daily views
and yes, regular viewers here at vidIQ.
You're right.
We're talking about Jake Fellman, once again.
He's now got his wrestling name, The Algorithm Killer.
Jake's laser focus channel on custom 3D animated "Among Us"
YouTube shows has seen his channel earn
three and a half million subscribers, over 2 billion views
and consistently ranked in the top 50 most watched
US YouTube channels.
He's bigger than Sesame street.
And if Jake Fellman keeps converting new viewers
into regular viewers, YouTube will keep going out
and finding more potential viewers through the
20 million plus daily impressions his channel receives.
Now, yes, admittedly, this video is all about the
big picture, getting more views, building an audience,
growing a community.
So if you want a specific look
at Jake Fellman's success story
and go into all of the nuances of how he grew his channel,
we have a case study over here.
I think ultimately this all boils down to
four YouTube principles.
The first one being,
you knowing what your target audiences is
and what they watch on YouTube
so that you can come up with ideas and content
that they might want to watch.
The second principle is getting people to click
on your videos.
And that is why thumbnails and titles are so, so important.
You have a fraction of a second
to capture someone's attention.
Make it count or the content doesn't mean anything.
But of course, principle three is that
the content does matter.
Because once the viewer is watching your video
you want them to stay on it for as long as possible
which sends positive feedback to YouTube.
Remember YouTube says this
good click-through rates and good audience retention
or watch time, will mean that YouTube will start to
find a new audience to promote your content
because it's already proven to be successful.
But as well as that new audience
you want your current audience to return
with your future content.
And that is where channel focus is so crucial.
And we of course will continue to talk about it
and educate you until YouTube exists no more.
Also quick little Easter egg,
just go back to the first half of this video
and check that number.
shows you how long it takes to make these videos sometimes.
Thank you, love ya.