The best way to get more views on YouTube is to optimize your videos so they show up in search and recommendations
— and keep viewers engaged once they click. That means mastering clickable thumbnails, compelling titles, and content that delivers on its promise.


With 10+ billion views tracked through coaching and tools, vidIQ provides data-backed insights into what drives video discovery.


In this section, we will break down strategies, examples, and case studies so you can consistently grow your views.

More Views

How To Get More Views on YouTube

The fastest way to get more YouTube subscribers is to publish videos that keep viewers watching and make it easy for them to subscribe.
That means using strong titles and thumbnails, clear calls to action, and building content around topics people are already searching for.


At vidIQ, we analyze millions of channels to see what actually drives subscriber growth, from doubling down on high-retention videos
to packaging content in ways that hook new audiences. Explore our guides and case studies to learn proven tactics that will
help you grow your subscribers faster.

Get Subscribers

How to Get More YouTube Subscribers

To make money on YouTube, creators start by qualifying for the YouTube Partner Program and enabling ads, but that’s just the beginning. Real income comes from combining multiple streams: sponsorships, channel memberships, affiliate marketing, and selling your own products or services. 

At vidIQ, we’ve studied how creators unlock monetization
milestones and scale beyond ad revenue. Here you will learn practical strategies to diversify income and build
a sustainable business from your YouTube channel.

Make Money

How To Make Money on YouTube

YouTube Analytics reveal which videos are working and why, but not all metrics matter equally. Watch time, retention, CTR, and revenue are the numbers that drive real growth. 

At vidIQ, we break down these metrics with examples so you can spot trends, identify weak points, and make smarter decisions for your channel. Here you’ll learn how to use analytics as a growth engine, not just a dashboard.

Data Insights

YouTube Analytics Explained: Metrics That Matter

Watch Time is arguably THE most important metric on YouTube right now, and creators won’t be able to monetize their content without 4000 hours of it. But what is it and how can creators increase the amount of Watch Time their videos attract? We keep you updated on the best practices around Watch Time, and how you can increase how much your video content generates.

Watch Time

YouTube Watch Time

YouTube Shorts are one of the fastest ways to reach new viewers and grow your channel.


With millions of Shorts analyzed, vidIQ has tracked the formats and strategies that help creators break through. Here you’ll learn how to make Shorts that stand out, and how to use them to boost your long-form videos.

YouTube Shorts

YouTube Shorts: Tips and Strategies

The best YouTube tips save time and make your videos perform better. From thumbnail tweaks to hidden features in YouTube Studio, small changes can drive big results. 

At vidIQ, we’ve tested countless tactics across millions of videos to see what really works. Here you’ll find quick wins and practical shortcuts you can use right now to grow faster and work smarter.

Quick Tips

YouTube Tips for Creators

The fastest way to grow on YouTube is to create content around trending topics while viewers are searching for them. 

With vidIQ’s data, we track the keywords, niches, and formats that are taking off across millions of channels. Here you’ll find insights into what’s working now, including creator case studies and examples, so you can publish videos that ride the wave of demand and stay ahead of competitors.

Trending Now

YouTube Trends and Insights

Your In-Depth Guide to Building a Successful YouTube Channel

 has one primary goal: to get their videos recommended to more people. They want YouTube to (finally) notice their content, identify the subject matter, and suggest it to thousands of like-minded viewers.

Your best plan of action, especially as a small creator, is to understand how YouTube recommends videos. You'll want to figure out why the algorithm promotes some content and, well...basically ignores others.

In truth, it's not that the algorithm doesn't favor you or is biased against your channel. 

YouTube doesn't hate small creators. It just doesn't know whom to recommend you to yet. 

In this blog, we'll learn how to fix that.

YouTube Recommendations Are Based on Viewer Behavior

Here's the first mindshift you need to make:

Every single video you upload is treated as a new test. 

YouTube doesn't care if you have 5 subscribers or 5 million. What it cares about is whether people are clicking on your video, sticking around to watch it, and coming back for more.

So even if your last 10 videos flopped, the next one still gets a shot. That's actually good news for small creators. But to pass the test, you've got to send YouTube the right signals about your content and your audience.

Graph showing typical video performance on YouTube

When someone watches your video and has a positive experience, YouTube starts looking for other people with similar viewing patterns and interests. The more positive signals you generate, the wider your reach becomes. This is why you'll sometimes see a small channel with 100 subscribers get a video that hits 50,000 views seemingly overnight.

YouTube’s 3-Tiered Recommendation System

Think of YouTube’s recommendation process like leveling up in a game. Every video is tested in a sequence of audiences:

Your subscribers and repeat viewers. This is your home base. If they enjoy the video, it moves to the next stage.

People in your niche who watch similar videos—maybe they follow your competitors or recently searched for the topic.

Complete strangers. If your video performs well in the first two groups, it “graduates” here and has a shot at virality.

The beauty of this system is that it rewards creators who truly serve their audience, not just those who game the algorithm. When you consistently deliver value to your core viewers, YouTube becomes more confident in recommending you to similar people.

Small creators often treat their channel like a digital diary. One day it's gaming, the next it's cooking, then it's a vlog with your dog. Creative freedom is great, but to the algorithm, it's pretty confusing.

Spoiler: If you make content for everyone, YouTube won't know who to recommend you to.

Think about it from YouTube's perspective. The platform serves billions of hours of content every day. Its job is to keep people watching by showing them exactly what they want to see. When your channel jumps between wildly different topics, YouTube can't build a 

clear picture of who your ideal viewer is.

This doesn't mean you can never evolve or try new things, but especially in your first 50-100 videos, consistency is your best friend.

Keep your thumbnails and titles visually consistent

Develop a recognizable content format or style

You're not just building videos. You're building a brand that YouTube can confidently recommend to the right people.

The biggest point of affirmation for the algorithm to determine whether your videos can be recommended or not is watch time. And the best way to do that is to improve the 

If someone watches your video and then watches another video (yours or someone else's), YouTube rewards you. If your video ends their session (they close the app or tab), that's a negative signal to YouTube recommendations. That's called 

5 Ways to Increase YouTube Watch Time on Any Video

Session time is arguably more important than individual video performance because it shows YouTube that your content fits into the broader viewing experience people want. 

When viewers stay on the platform after watching your video, you're contributing to YouTube's core business model. Here's how you can improve your session time:

Reference your other videos inside your current one

Use verbal handoffs: "Next, watch this…"

Create content series that naturally lead into each other

Use the "Hook – Hold – Handoff" Framework

This framework is used by some of the fastest-growing creators on YouTube. It's how you keep people watching—and signal to YouTube that your content is binge-worthy.

Grab attention in the first 5–10 seconds.

 "I cooked gourmet food for the most dangerous animals on Earth..."

The hook isn't just about being loud or shocking. It's about immediately communicating the value and intrigue of your video. Your hook should make viewers think: "I need to see how this plays out."

Progressive revelations, bigger stakes, deeper insights—whatever your video promises, you need to deliver it in a way that builds momentum rather than plateaus.

This is where pacing becomes crucial. Plan your content like a story with rising action. Each segment should feel more valuable or interesting than the last.

 "If you liked this one, just wait till you see what I did next…"

The result? Binge behavior. And binge behavior is the algorithm's rocket fuel.

A lot of small creators kill their videos with bad titles that are vague, boring, and generic. 

Your title is competing with hundreds of other videos for attention. Generic titles get ignored because they don't create any emotional investment. Specific titles with clear benefits cut through the noise.

Consider the psychology of your viewer when they're scrolling. They're asking themselves: "Is this worth my time?" Your title needs to answer that question with a clear "yes" and a compelling reason why.

In case of thumbnails, make sure to focus on clarity. If your thumbnails look like a chaotic Canva explosion... It's time to clean up. 

Expression that matches the video's emotion

You get 2 seconds on the homepage. Make them count. Your thumbnail needs to generate curiosity and be readable at the size of a postage stamp. If you can't tell what your thumbnail is about when it's tiny, neither can your potential viewers.

How To Create Scroll-Stopping YouTube Thumbnails Faster with AI

Here's a fatal mistake a lot of creators make: You have an awesome title and a killer thumbnail… but your video intro is a snooze fest.

"Hey guys, welcome back to the channel! So glad you're here…"

…you've already lost half your audience. Instead, do this:

Reinforce the promise of the video immediately

If the title is "How YouTube Deleted My Channel," say it right away in the video: "Three days ago, YouTube deleted my channel, and here's exactly what happened…"

The first 15 seconds of your video are crucial for YouTube recommendations. This is where the algorithm decides whether your content is engaging enough to show to more people. A slow start signals that viewers might click away, which hurts your recommendation potential.

This one's sneaky. YouTube transcribes your entire video. Every word.

So, if your video is about YouTube recommendations but you never actually say "YouTube recommendations," the algorithm may not be confident in what your video is about.

Say your main keyword early and naturally

 ("YouTube algorithm," "getting recommended," etc.)

YouTube's automatic captions and transcription feed directly into their understanding of your content. This semantic understanding helps the algorithm match your video with relevant searches and recommend it alongside similar content.

Don't stuff keywords awkwardly, but make sure you're naturally using the language your audience uses when searching for your type of content.

YouTube favors videos that are relevant right now. This is called 

. Your chances of getting recommended skyrocket if you time your video with:

A phone showing the youtube logo next to the youtube homepage on a desktop computer

How does the YouTube algorithm work — specifically, the recommendation engine that promotes videos to billions of viewers? Keep reading to find out and grow your channel!

YouTube's 'Suggested Videos' Algorithm: How to Crack It

With the New Year having just passed, you might be asking yourself “Do I need to start my watchtime from scratch to reach 4,000 hours in 2019?”

The short answer is no… but it’s a bit more nuanced than that.

YouTube’s 4,000 hour of watchtime: A breakdown

According to YouTube, in order to be eligible to apply for the Partner Program (YPP), you must meet the following requirements:

You have more than 4,000 watch hours in the previous 12 months

You have linked an approved AdSense account

In this post, we’ll be focusing primarily on requirement number two: You have more than 4,000 watch hours in the previous 12 months.

Now you might be thinking, 12 months is a calendar year, but YouTube doesn’t measure watchtime by calendar years. Instead, YouTube measures the last 365 days of watchtime from your channel. In a nutshell, you need 4,000 hours of watch time in the last 12 months, up until today's date.

For example, let’s say today is January 2, 2019. YouTube will track watchtime all the way back to January 3, 2018. The next day (January 3, 2019), YouTube will track back to January 4, 2018, and so on.

This is why your total watchtime may actually go up and down as you try to achieve 4,000 hours. Large spikes in watchtime will be negated when they reach that 12 month threshold, as will large dips, so it’s smart to keep a watchful eye on this metric.

If you have the totally free vidIQ Chrome extension installed, you can easily track your watchtime in real-time on the top-right hand side of every YouTube page on desktop.

In the example below, the vidIQ displays the channel’s watchtime total as 3,100 hours over the past 12 months. You’ll notice the metric is in amber, meaning the channel hasn’t yet reached 4,000 hours. Once it has surpassed 4,000 hours, however, the metric will become green (you hit the target, pal!), and once you surpass 5,000 hours, it will disappear.

Along with watchtime hours, vidIQ also tracks number of subscribers, so you can keep those numbers top of mind, too.

Mouse over the little graph icon to reveal a full breakdown of channel stats, including the watchtime over the past 12 months and… (drumroll, please), a progress bar showing you exactly how close you are to hitting 4,000 hours.

Don’t see the watchtime metric with the vidIQ extension? Chances are you’ve already surpassed 5,000 hours, so way to go!

What happens when I hit 4,000 hours of watchtime?

Here’s some good news: You don't have to wait 12 months to hit that monetization threshold.

If you get 4,000 hours of watchtime in three months (umm, wow), so long as you have 1,000 subscribers you're already eligible to apply for the YPP. Note the keyword being eligible — you've still got to apply and then be approved before you can actually start monetizing your content.

Upon acceptance you might be stressing about keeping those watchtime hours up, but don’t panic, YouTube won’t kick you out if you dip below 4,000 hours so long as it’s clear you’re still active. Keep working hard, posting content you’ll be just fine.

Answer directly from YouTube Help. Cue huge sigh of relief.

Still have questions about 4,000 hours of watchtime, monetization and even demonetization? Peep our deep dive video here and our 

If you want to take your YouTube channel to the next level then make sure to download vidIQ. It will help you research YouTube, analyze videos, audit your own channel, and take actionable steps 

Graphic showing YouTube channel watchtime over the last 12 months from Jan 2018 to Jan 2019

If you’re a video creator working towards monetizing your YouTube channel, you likely already know that in order to do so you need 1,000 subscribers and 4,000 hours of watch time over 12 months.

I Didn't Get 4000 Watch Time Hours on YouTube... Do I Need To Start Again?

Buckle up, video creators, 2019 is going to be a year of milestones...

Set channel milestones for subscribers, views, uploads, likes, hours watched, and comments, and peep your best performing months for the same metrics — for free 

When vidIQ surpassed 100,000 subscribers, we were awarded the Silver Creator Award (thanks, YouTube!), however, since then we’ve achieved some pretty significant milestones… ones that don’t come with shiny plaques.

Ending 2018 on a high note as we surpassed 250,000 subscribers.

Milestones, like fingerprints, are unique to each individual. Our definition of a milestone may be different from yours, so it makes sense that we should have the ability to celebrate milestones by the metric and measure of our choosing.

The Achievements tool gives you that flexibility — whether you're aiming for your first 100 subscribers, your first 5,000 views or 10,000,000 hours of watched time, our tool will track a milestone if it's relevant to you, no matter the stage of your YouTube journey.

If you already have the free vidIQ Chrome extension, you can access Achievements on the left-hand navigation bar of most YouTube pages.

When you click on it, you’ll see six key achievements from your channel: subscribers, views, uploads, likes, hours watched and comments.

The headline achievement is always your next expected milestone, so in the case above, vidIQ is expected to smash 250,000 hours of total watched time on the channel in just two days time.

Zoom into the Hours Watched key achievement to see a further breakdown of your most recent milestone achieved, including the date, minutes watched and even years watched.

Keep an eye on the progress bar along the bottom of each metric to gauge when you’re forecasted to hit your next milestone.

So what do you do when you actually achieve your milestones? You celebrate them, of course.

Click on any of the key achievement boxes to instantly create an achievement or certificate to share on social media.

In the example above, we hit 125,000 likes in December of 2018 — an achievement we shared with our Twitter followers. To do the same, simply select the Twitter icon to automatically generate a tweet complete with text and an image, click on “Tweet” and there you are, job done.

We could have stopped there with the Achievements tool, but we wanted to add a little extra spice by giving you visibility into your best-performing months for the same key metrics.

From the Achievements screen, simply scroll down to see how you’re currently fairing compared to your best months.

For example, in December 2018 vidIQ had its best month yet for subscribers — 18,600 of ‘em. The progress bar along the bottom shows how we’re tracking for the current month. At 1,123 subscribers, we’ve got some work to do to match a monumental December.

The diamond symbol represents your best ever month's performance — mouse over it to confirm the date.

Of course, just like key achievements you can click on any of these boxes and share your success.

Now (full disclosure) there is one more section in the Achievements tool which to be honest, is a little undercooked right now, and that’s the Top Performing Video section.

At the moment it displays the video on your channel with the most views. We’d like to add additional metrics (such as the video with the most watched time or the video that’s generated the most subscribers) but we want your input.

What would you like to see in the Top Performing section? Let us know in the comments below.

And if you love Achievements but you're wondering how on earth to get it, this is just a tiny piece of a super powerful tool.

Research YouTube, analyze videos, audit your own channel, take actionable steps and track your milestones… 

all for free with the the vidIQ Chrome extension.

Dashboard showing 200K hours watched milestone achieved on December 2, 2018, with progress bar

Introducing our brand spankin’ new vidIQ Achievements tool, empowering YouTubers to define, monitor, achieve and celebrate their unique milestones at a glance.

Introducing vidIQ Achievements for More Views and Subscribers

We know that some of you have battled through a lot over the last 12 months just to get your content monetized. 1000 subscribers, 4000 hours of watchtime, and an agonizing application period. But, you finally made it. #HereComesTheMoney!

With the run up to Christmas you've probably seen your revenue from your YouTube videos gradually climb too... then BAM! Here comes January and all of sudden you are earning even less peanuts than you were this time last week. The question is WHY!?

In summary it comes down to economics. But the more important question should be why does this really matter, because if this REALLY concerns you, then I'm afraid you are REALLY selling yourself short!

Install the vidIQ Chrome Extension for free today: 

Line graph comparing earnings trends in December versus January with vidIQ branding.

Why does your Adsense revenue do so badly in January?

Why YouTube AdSense Revenue SUCKS in January

We asked many amazing creators what it takes to get more views and subscribers in 2019 and this is what they had to say:

Andrew LakeMaker: Spend a good 3-4 hours per thumbnail, they are that important.

Evan Carmichael: Better understand your data to come up with new video series.

Spankie Valentine: Focus on the artistic and creative process.

Derral Eves: Data does not lie. use data to drive decissions.

Sean Cannel: Master your craft by keeping to the basics, leveling up and learning as much as you can.

Ernest: Strive for higher audience retention and sharing.

Brian G. Johnson: Keep on striving for perfection even though that's not possible.

YouTube creators discussing platform trends and tips for success in 2019 with vidIQ logo.

Want to know how to crush your YouTube channel? Hear from many of the best.

How to Get More YouTube Views & Subscribers

YouTube Rewind is designed to celebrate all that is good on the platform. The 2018 edition features Will Smith, Baby Shark, Ninja and many other famous YouTubers. But what was once a loved tradition now seems to be one of those lightning rod videos that people will click on and immediately dislike irrespective of the content.

Here is an explanation on why it did so bad

Marques Brownlee has a lot of great ideas and theories on why this video blew it.

Haters are always gonna hate but there just seems to be a lot more of them on YouTube these days. It wasn't always like this. People use to look forward to the annual YouTube Rewind video. In 2012-2016 millions would watch and like it and less than a hundred thousand would dislike it; a ratio of more than ninety percent in the positive.

As the years have gone by and YouTube has become global and more mainstream however, they've also been hit by bad news stories such as adpocalypse and the controversy over Logan Paul - remember he was one of a poster boys of last year's Rewind. 2017 saw a 25% drop in approval while 2018 sees the Rewind being disliked almost twice as much as it is liked.

So what's going on? More people are watching YouTube than ever before, more video creators are making more money on YouTube than ever before yet more viewers seem more disillusioned than ever before

We noticed something about YouTube Premieres

In this video we talk about our thoughts on how they used YouTube Premiers for this video and why that confused us.

We'd love to hear your constructive thoughts on why you think this is happening on YouTube. Let us know in the comments.

YouTube Rewind 2018 with 2 million dislikes and vidIQ logo overlay

People seem to really hate the YouTube rewind 2018 video. In the first 24 hours, it received over 2.35 million dislikes making it the 9th most disliked video of all time on YouTube.

YouTube Rewind 2018 Hits 2 Million Dislikes in 24 Hours

We make managing your YouTube presence as easy for brands as Twitter and Facebook, and help bridge the gap between your video marketing and social media team. And we’re making it available to HootSuite’s 8+ million users.

Already a HootSuite user and using vidIQ Premium? Use this link to Install the vidIQ app for HootSuite now!

Not a vidIQ Premium user? Request a Demo and find out what all the buzz is about.

Here’s the scoop: If you’re a vidIQ Premium user you’ll now be able to access our best of breed YouTube management suite directly in the HootSuite dashboard. You’ll be able to:

Monitor every mention of your YouTube videos on Twitter!

90% of Tweets that contains URLs to your YouTube videos don’t mention your brand name or Twitter handle. These are valuable conversations about your brand that you’re missing out on. We find them all!

Increase your volume of tags 10x across your entire YouTube library in less than 10 minutes

YouTube is the 2nd largest search engine in the world, and 58% of YouTube viewers watch your video because of Search and Related Videos, making SEO very important. We deliver high quality tags in bulk on a weekly basis. Respond to YouTube comments from any of your YouTube channels

Engaging with your viewers via YouTube comments is proven to increase engagement and views by 4x. We take the tedium out of YouTube comment moderation and response with powerful moderation tools. Upload YouTube videos at the best time of day

Don’t treat YouTube like dropbox – just like Twitter and Facebook, there is a best time to upload your videos. We find it. Gain actionable insights into your YouTube campaigns and see how your videos are being shared across Facebook and Twitter.

Views and Subscribers are only part of the story. We show you how your videos are performing across Twitter and Facebook so you can optimize for success. With vidIQ for HootSuite, vidIQ Premium users now have a powerful YouTube tool to add to your social media management arsenal – 

vidIQ and Hootsuite logos on blue background with upward trending graph arrows

As a global brand, managing your YouTube presence along with your Facebook and Twitter endeavors is no easy task – especially with a fragmented array of tools and a large social media team.

Introducing the vidIQ App for HootSuite

At last month’s Streaming Media East show in New York City, our CEO Rob Sandie was on an expert panel.

Rob critiqued YouTube’s cost benefits, built-in audience, established marketing channels, native device compliance, technical features, and discussed YouTube’s platform as a destination for engagement.

If you weren’t able to attend, watch the video below to learn the pros and cons of using YouTube as a video platform and hear which content and distribution strategies YouTube is best suited for.

In addition to the panel, Rob was interviewed by Blip.tv on how vidIQ is helping brands leverage YouTube as a primary home for their audience with our YouTube optimization tools. Watch the video below for the full details.

As viewers continue to flock to YouTube, brands are re-evaluating it as a practical alternative to costly online video platforms.

Your In-Depth Guide to Building a Successful YouTube Channel

YouTube's 'Suggested Videos' Algorithm: How to Crack It

I Didn't Get 4000 Watch Time Hours on YouTube... Do I Need To Start Again?

Introducing vidIQ Achievements for More Views and Subscribers

Why YouTube AdSense Revenue SUCKS in January

How to Get More YouTube Views & Subscribers

YouTube Rewind 2018 Hits 2 Million Dislikes in 24 Hours

Introducing the vidIQ App for HootSuite

Using YouTube As An Online Video Platform

Then & Now | A Brief History of the YouTube Player

Pewdiepie VS T Series - 500,000 Subscribers In One Day

10 YouTube Data Secrets You Didn't Know!

How to Properly Upload Videos to YouTube

Want More YouTube Views? 30 YouTube Video Ideas To Kickstart ANY Channel