According to YouTube, you can increase the chance of YouTube suggesting your content
by increasing your click-through rate and your video watch time. In this video, you'll
learn how to promote your YouTube video organically, so you get more views 24/7 year after year.
Let's go. Let's take a look at the typical traffic sources my videos get in the first
few hours and then weeks and months later. In the first few hours, my top traffic sources
are notifications, browse features, and suggested videos. Notifications refers to people that
have already subscribed to my channel, so they get notified via email or through push
notifications. Typically, they are my biggest fans, so they
want to watch my content as soon as they receive a notification. Browse features refers to
videos that viewer see on the home screen at youtube.com, their subscriptions feed,
watch later, and other browsing features. These videos will appear to subscribers and
even to non-subscribers who have browsed in the YouTube homepage.
Subscribe and click the bell notification icon if you want to be notified about how
to generate traffic leads and sales on autopilot from YouTube.
Suggested videos are those that appear on the right side of a watch page and below the
video that people are watching on the YouTube app. These are viewers that see one of your
rated videos after the video that you've just watched. If your thumbnail stands out from
all the other thumbnails that a viewer sees on the right side of the watch page, that
viewer will click and watch your video. Let's take a look at the main traffic sources
in the first 24 to 48 hours. My top traffic source is now browse features and notifications
is the bottom traffic source. This is because YouTube is surfacing more of my videos on
the YouTube home screen to my subscribers and non-subscribers.
Let's take a look at the traffic sources weeks or months later on my YouTube channel. Keep
in mind, this may be different for you because you're in a different niche. For this video
example, my top traffic source is YouTube search, which means that viewers are discovering
my video based upon a search query they're typing into YouTube search.
My second top traffic source is suggested videos, which means that people are clicking
and watching the videos on the right side of the watch page during and after the video
that they've just watched. If a lot of viewers click and watch your video, then YouTube will
surface that video to more people's watch pages. If this is the case, then suggested
videos will be the top traffic source. According to YouTube, 75% of all traffic on
YouTube comes from suggested videos, so it does free organic promotion from YouTube.
Let's take a look at the next main ranking factor, how to increase audience retention.
According to YouTube, videos with consistently high audience retention and watch time have
the potential to show up more frequently on search and suggested locations.
Most of my videos get an audience retention rate between 35 and 40%. However, I always
try to get 50% or higher so it increases the probability of getting organic traffic from
search and suggested. Here are some tips to increase your audience retention rate. Number
one, use a strong hook at the beginning of your video. According to YouTube, the first
30 seconds will determine if the viewer will keep watching your video all the way through.
A strong hook could be something simple like asking a question, making a bold statement,
or teasing the viewer about what's coming up later in the video. After you grab the
viewer's attention in the first 30 seconds, deliver your main content that you promised
in the title and the thumbnail. Try to keep your viewer engaged throughout the video by
resetting the attention using graphics, transitions, text overlays, et cetera.
At the end of the video, invite them to watch your related video so they'll stay longer
on the YouTube platform. Here's an example of what I say in my end-screen. "Just watch
the video on the screen right now on how to make a Shorts video on YouTube just using
your iPhone or Android device." The longer you keep your viewer engaged watching
one video or multiple videos, the higher probability that your video will get organic traffic from
search and suggested. Avoid the mistake of telegraphing the end of your video like saying
something like, "Well, that's all I have right now." If you do that, you'll probably see
a sudden dip in your audience retention graph in YouTube Analytics.
Speaking about YouTube Analytics, study the spikes and dips in your audience retention
graph. The spike refer to moments in your content that the viewers were very interested
in. The dips refer to moments in your content where your viewers might've left or not interested
in that particular content. If you get a 100% or higher audience retention
rate, that means viewers are rewinding the video to watch it again and again. Remember
when I mentioned notifications was my highest traffic source when I first uploaded my video,
if you want to attract more subscribers that are instantly notified about new content that
you're uploading, make sure you ask them to subscribe in your video and tell them why
they should subscribe. Also, tell them to click the bell notification
icon to be notified whenever you have new content. Keep in mind that your subscribers
are the ones that are most invested in your content and will drive the most views in the
first 24 to 48 hours. According to YouTube, if you have a high view velocity in the first
24 to 48 hours, YouTube will surface your video to a wider audience.
Here are some important things to keep in mind about organic promotion on YouTube. Number
one, some videos take weeks and months before they take off. If your video is not doing
well when you first upload it to YouTube, give it a bit of time for the traffic to take
off. As I mentioned previously, when you first
upload a video, YouTube is showing that video to your subscribers and non-subscribers. Your
subscribers are the people that drive the most views in the first 24 to 48 hours, so
if you get a high click-through rate and a high watch time, YouTube will surface more
of your video to a wider audience. Number two, double down on videos that are
doing well. Click on Analytics in YouTube Studio and look at your top videos that are
driving the most traffic. If you click on the Reach tab, you'll be able to see your
top traffic sources. Then if you click See More, you'll be able to see the keyword phrases
that brought in the most traffic for each of those traffic sources.
Number three, add every video to a playlist. Did you know that your playlist can also rank
in the search engines? Bundle related videos together on a playlist, so if a viewer watches
one video, they'll be more inclined to watch several videos in a row. This will help get
your videos organically promoted by YouTube. If you have a strong performing playlist,
add that playlist to the top of your channel homepage, so when first-time viewers visit
your channel homepage, they can take a deeper dive into your content and they'll be more
inclined to subscribe to your channel. Number four, link to a related video or a
playlist in the card or end-screen. You can also place a link to that related video or
playlist at the top of your description, and also pin it to the top of your comments.
Number five, promote your video using YouTube stories and community posts. Even before you
upload the new video, you can give a sneak peek to your viewers via community posts and
stories. Keep in mind that community posts and stories are not only seen by subscribers
but also will be seen by non-subscribers. Number six, add timestamps in the description
below your video. These are links which enable viewers to skip to the most interesting part
of the content in your video so the don't necessarily have to watch the whole video
to get to that part. I'll place a link to a video chapters tutorial in the description
below this video. Number seven, upload your new video as a channel
trailer or featured video. Your channel trailer video appears at the top of your channel homepage
for non-subscribers, so if people are visiting your channel homepage, they'll see that new
video. Your featured videos are only seen by people
who have already subscribed to your channel, so when you upload a new video as a featured
video or as a channel trailer, it will be seen by non-subscribers as well as subscribers.
Here's how to replace your current channel trailer or featured video. Click on Customization
on YouTube Studio and select Channel Trailer or featured video to replace the video that's
currently there. After you replace the current videos, save your changes. Now, your newly
uploaded video will appear as a new channel trailer or a new featured video.
Number eight, youTube Shorts. Take one point from your regular video and make it into a
Shorts video because Shorts videos can get a lot of traffic from the Short shelf, which
regular videos don't get. At the end of your Shorts video, you can link to your regular
video to drive more traffic to it. If you want to know how to upload a Shorts
video from your PC, watch the video on the screen right now. You'll also learn how to
get started with YouTube Shorts and how to create a Shorts video using the Shorts camera
app on your phone