Essentials to Skyrocketing Video Views on YouTube

How to Get Your YouTube Video Seen - 6 Easy Steps

Richard Bennett

Oct 26, 2023• Proven solutions

0

With an estimated 60 hours of video being uploaded to YouTube every minute you might be left wondering how to get your YouTube video seen in the huge sea of content. The good news is that a large number of these videos are not optimized in the correct format and taking some extra time to make sure that every video you post is well optimized for YouTube’s search engine can give you an instant advantage.

Here’s how you can get your YouTube video ranked higher in search results and attract more views in 6 easy steps.

• Step 1: Find Good Keywords for Your YouTube Videos
• Step 2: Make Full Use of Your Video’s Tags
• Step 3: Post a Transcript in Your Video Description
• Step 4: Write Searchable YouTube Video Titles
• Step 5: Optimize Your Video Description for YouTube SEO
• Step 6: Use Custom Video Thumbnails

1. Find Good Keywords for Your YouTube Videos

The keywords that you choose to use with your video will be the greatest factors in determining whether your video will actually be found by viewers searching for content like yours on YouTube. You need to be intelligent and choose strong keywords that are highly related to both your video and your niche on YouTube. Without the use of good keywords, your video will simply become lost in the endless stream of content being uploaded to YouTube, and audiences who might enjoy it will never get a chance to see it.

Consider doing some keyword research into your video’s subject using the Google Keyword Planner in or a variety of otherkeyword tools . Make sure the most important keywords are in your tags, title, and description.

2. Make Full Use of Your Video’s Tags

Tags are essential. A lot of creators either skip tags or only put in 1-5, and their actions will benefit you if you choose to use a lot.

Loading up your tags with keywords that are relevant to your video and genre will help your video appear in the viewer’s search results, which will earn you a lot more views. When users are looking for specific information, like how to recover lost data, just including things like ‘lost data’, ‘data recovery’, and even the full phrase ‘how to recover lost data’ in your video’s tags will give you a greater chance to actually appear in search engine results.

Including the maximum amount of tags possible will help to give YouTube the maximum amount of information to use in order to place your video in the results of different searches or to have it come up as ‘related’ to other videos. Users that only post 3 or 4 tags with each video could be missing out on countless amounts of traffic for their content.

3. Post a Transcript in Your Video Description

If you have a script or a transcript for your entire video you should consider posting it in the description of your video in order to improve your search engine ranking. This can also help for users that would like to have a written article to accompany your video and for indexing your video in search engine results. There are so many people that don’t make proper use of their video descriptions on YouTube that doing so will give you an advantage.

4. Write Searchable YouTube Video Tiles

By including your 1 or 2 most important keywords in the title of your video you will help YouTube sort your video into the correct search results. Generally, your most important keywords will be things like the name of the game you’re playing or the brand of makeup you’re reviewing.

Try to write titles that are searchable and which also get potential viewers excited about your content. Do not try to be mysterious or clickbait-y in your video title. Big channels can be very successful with those strategies because they’re already guaranteed a certain number of views, but this will almost always backfire for small channels.

Phrases such as ‘review’, ‘how-to’, and ‘tutorial’ get searched for a lot, so always include them in your titles when they apply to your videos.

5. Optimize your Video Description for YouTube SEO

Video descriptions should generally include around 4000 characters (about 900 words) in which you describe the content of your YouTube video, include important keywords, provide links to your other social media accounts, and ask viewers to subscribe. Using up all the space in your description is a good way to ensure you’re getting the maximum search value out of it.

If you use a lot of products in your videos (i.e. you make cooking videos, so your favorite frying pan is in a lot of shots) then it is a good idea to look into affiliate programs. Amazon has one of the best. If you become an affiliate you can post links to the products you use in your video description and, if a viewer follows one and buys something (even if it’s not the thing you liked to) you’ll earn a commission. This won’t help you with search rankings, but it’s a nice bonus.

6. Use Custom Video Thumbnails

A custom thumbnail is an excellent way to make your videos stand out (check out these awesome thumbnail makers ). A good thumbnail is its own piece of quality, customized, visual content that has the power to draw in audiences from search engine results. Make sure to take thumbnail-specific photos and perfect those images with text and graphics in Photoshop or a free alternative like Canva.

Custom thumbnails come with new metadata for your video and they can often be indexed in Google image searches along with the video content that you create. This means that you will have access to a text search via Google (your video title and description), video searches via Google, a video search via YouTube, and an image search via Google too.

In order tocreate a thumbnail that stands out and attracts more views, you should first search for your video’s title on YouTube and see what kinds of thumbnails come up. You want your thumbnail to be enough like the results that viewers recognize it as being on the same topic, and different enough that it doesn’t fade into the crowd (a good strategy is to use a splash of color the other creators haven’t included).

If you are interested in generating more traffic to any YouTube video be sure to follow these 6 steps for how to get your YouTube video seen (and check out 4 more here! ).

Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett

Oct 26, 2023• Proven solutions

0

With an estimated 60 hours of video being uploaded to YouTube every minute you might be left wondering how to get your YouTube video seen in the huge sea of content. The good news is that a large number of these videos are not optimized in the correct format and taking some extra time to make sure that every video you post is well optimized for YouTube’s search engine can give you an instant advantage.

Here’s how you can get your YouTube video ranked higher in search results and attract more views in 6 easy steps.

• Step 1: Find Good Keywords for Your YouTube Videos
• Step 2: Make Full Use of Your Video’s Tags
• Step 3: Post a Transcript in Your Video Description
• Step 4: Write Searchable YouTube Video Titles
• Step 5: Optimize Your Video Description for YouTube SEO
• Step 6: Use Custom Video Thumbnails

1. Find Good Keywords for Your YouTube Videos

The keywords that you choose to use with your video will be the greatest factors in determining whether your video will actually be found by viewers searching for content like yours on YouTube. You need to be intelligent and choose strong keywords that are highly related to both your video and your niche on YouTube. Without the use of good keywords, your video will simply become lost in the endless stream of content being uploaded to YouTube, and audiences who might enjoy it will never get a chance to see it.

Consider doing some keyword research into your video’s subject using the Google Keyword Planner in or a variety of otherkeyword tools . Make sure the most important keywords are in your tags, title, and description.

2. Make Full Use of Your Video’s Tags

Tags are essential. A lot of creators either skip tags or only put in 1-5, and their actions will benefit you if you choose to use a lot.

Loading up your tags with keywords that are relevant to your video and genre will help your video appear in the viewer’s search results, which will earn you a lot more views. When users are looking for specific information, like how to recover lost data, just including things like ‘lost data’, ‘data recovery’, and even the full phrase ‘how to recover lost data’ in your video’s tags will give you a greater chance to actually appear in search engine results.

Including the maximum amount of tags possible will help to give YouTube the maximum amount of information to use in order to place your video in the results of different searches or to have it come up as ‘related’ to other videos. Users that only post 3 or 4 tags with each video could be missing out on countless amounts of traffic for their content.

3. Post a Transcript in Your Video Description

If you have a script or a transcript for your entire video you should consider posting it in the description of your video in order to improve your search engine ranking. This can also help for users that would like to have a written article to accompany your video and for indexing your video in search engine results. There are so many people that don’t make proper use of their video descriptions on YouTube that doing so will give you an advantage.

4. Write Searchable YouTube Video Tiles

By including your 1 or 2 most important keywords in the title of your video you will help YouTube sort your video into the correct search results. Generally, your most important keywords will be things like the name of the game you’re playing or the brand of makeup you’re reviewing.

Try to write titles that are searchable and which also get potential viewers excited about your content. Do not try to be mysterious or clickbait-y in your video title. Big channels can be very successful with those strategies because they’re already guaranteed a certain number of views, but this will almost always backfire for small channels.

Phrases such as ‘review’, ‘how-to’, and ‘tutorial’ get searched for a lot, so always include them in your titles when they apply to your videos.

5. Optimize your Video Description for YouTube SEO

Video descriptions should generally include around 4000 characters (about 900 words) in which you describe the content of your YouTube video, include important keywords, provide links to your other social media accounts, and ask viewers to subscribe. Using up all the space in your description is a good way to ensure you’re getting the maximum search value out of it.

If you use a lot of products in your videos (i.e. you make cooking videos, so your favorite frying pan is in a lot of shots) then it is a good idea to look into affiliate programs. Amazon has one of the best. If you become an affiliate you can post links to the products you use in your video description and, if a viewer follows one and buys something (even if it’s not the thing you liked to) you’ll earn a commission. This won’t help you with search rankings, but it’s a nice bonus.

6. Use Custom Video Thumbnails

A custom thumbnail is an excellent way to make your videos stand out (check out these awesome thumbnail makers ). A good thumbnail is its own piece of quality, customized, visual content that has the power to draw in audiences from search engine results. Make sure to take thumbnail-specific photos and perfect those images with text and graphics in Photoshop or a free alternative like Canva.

Custom thumbnails come with new metadata for your video and they can often be indexed in Google image searches along with the video content that you create. This means that you will have access to a text search via Google (your video title and description), video searches via Google, a video search via YouTube, and an image search via Google too.

In order tocreate a thumbnail that stands out and attracts more views, you should first search for your video’s title on YouTube and see what kinds of thumbnails come up. You want your thumbnail to be enough like the results that viewers recognize it as being on the same topic, and different enough that it doesn’t fade into the crowd (a good strategy is to use a splash of color the other creators haven’t included).

If you are interested in generating more traffic to any YouTube video be sure to follow these 6 steps for how to get your YouTube video seen (and check out 4 more here! ).

Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett

Oct 26, 2023• Proven solutions

0

With an estimated 60 hours of video being uploaded to YouTube every minute you might be left wondering how to get your YouTube video seen in the huge sea of content. The good news is that a large number of these videos are not optimized in the correct format and taking some extra time to make sure that every video you post is well optimized for YouTube’s search engine can give you an instant advantage.

Here’s how you can get your YouTube video ranked higher in search results and attract more views in 6 easy steps.

• Step 1: Find Good Keywords for Your YouTube Videos
• Step 2: Make Full Use of Your Video’s Tags
• Step 3: Post a Transcript in Your Video Description
• Step 4: Write Searchable YouTube Video Titles
• Step 5: Optimize Your Video Description for YouTube SEO
• Step 6: Use Custom Video Thumbnails

1. Find Good Keywords for Your YouTube Videos

The keywords that you choose to use with your video will be the greatest factors in determining whether your video will actually be found by viewers searching for content like yours on YouTube. You need to be intelligent and choose strong keywords that are highly related to both your video and your niche on YouTube. Without the use of good keywords, your video will simply become lost in the endless stream of content being uploaded to YouTube, and audiences who might enjoy it will never get a chance to see it.

Consider doing some keyword research into your video’s subject using the Google Keyword Planner in or a variety of otherkeyword tools . Make sure the most important keywords are in your tags, title, and description.

2. Make Full Use of Your Video’s Tags

Tags are essential. A lot of creators either skip tags or only put in 1-5, and their actions will benefit you if you choose to use a lot.

Loading up your tags with keywords that are relevant to your video and genre will help your video appear in the viewer’s search results, which will earn you a lot more views. When users are looking for specific information, like how to recover lost data, just including things like ‘lost data’, ‘data recovery’, and even the full phrase ‘how to recover lost data’ in your video’s tags will give you a greater chance to actually appear in search engine results.

Including the maximum amount of tags possible will help to give YouTube the maximum amount of information to use in order to place your video in the results of different searches or to have it come up as ‘related’ to other videos. Users that only post 3 or 4 tags with each video could be missing out on countless amounts of traffic for their content.

3. Post a Transcript in Your Video Description

If you have a script or a transcript for your entire video you should consider posting it in the description of your video in order to improve your search engine ranking. This can also help for users that would like to have a written article to accompany your video and for indexing your video in search engine results. There are so many people that don’t make proper use of their video descriptions on YouTube that doing so will give you an advantage.

4. Write Searchable YouTube Video Tiles

By including your 1 or 2 most important keywords in the title of your video you will help YouTube sort your video into the correct search results. Generally, your most important keywords will be things like the name of the game you’re playing or the brand of makeup you’re reviewing.

Try to write titles that are searchable and which also get potential viewers excited about your content. Do not try to be mysterious or clickbait-y in your video title. Big channels can be very successful with those strategies because they’re already guaranteed a certain number of views, but this will almost always backfire for small channels.

Phrases such as ‘review’, ‘how-to’, and ‘tutorial’ get searched for a lot, so always include them in your titles when they apply to your videos.

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5. Optimize your Video Description for YouTube SEO

Video descriptions should generally include around 4000 characters (about 900 words) in which you describe the content of your YouTube video, include important keywords, provide links to your other social media accounts, and ask viewers to subscribe. Using up all the space in your description is a good way to ensure you’re getting the maximum search value out of it.

If you use a lot of products in your videos (i.e. you make cooking videos, so your favorite frying pan is in a lot of shots) then it is a good idea to look into affiliate programs. Amazon has one of the best. If you become an affiliate you can post links to the products you use in your video description and, if a viewer follows one and buys something (even if it’s not the thing you liked to) you’ll earn a commission. This won’t help you with search rankings, but it’s a nice bonus.

6. Use Custom Video Thumbnails

A custom thumbnail is an excellent way to make your videos stand out (check out these awesome thumbnail makers ). A good thumbnail is its own piece of quality, customized, visual content that has the power to draw in audiences from search engine results. Make sure to take thumbnail-specific photos and perfect those images with text and graphics in Photoshop or a free alternative like Canva.

Custom thumbnails come with new metadata for your video and they can often be indexed in Google image searches along with the video content that you create. This means that you will have access to a text search via Google (your video title and description), video searches via Google, a video search via YouTube, and an image search via Google too.

In order tocreate a thumbnail that stands out and attracts more views, you should first search for your video’s title on YouTube and see what kinds of thumbnails come up. You want your thumbnail to be enough like the results that viewers recognize it as being on the same topic, and different enough that it doesn’t fade into the crowd (a good strategy is to use a splash of color the other creators haven’t included).

If you are interested in generating more traffic to any YouTube video be sure to follow these 6 steps for how to get your YouTube video seen (and check out 4 more here! ).

Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett

Oct 26, 2023• Proven solutions

0

With an estimated 60 hours of video being uploaded to YouTube every minute you might be left wondering how to get your YouTube video seen in the huge sea of content. The good news is that a large number of these videos are not optimized in the correct format and taking some extra time to make sure that every video you post is well optimized for YouTube’s search engine can give you an instant advantage.

Here’s how you can get your YouTube video ranked higher in search results and attract more views in 6 easy steps.

• Step 1: Find Good Keywords for Your YouTube Videos
• Step 2: Make Full Use of Your Video’s Tags
• Step 3: Post a Transcript in Your Video Description
• Step 4: Write Searchable YouTube Video Titles
• Step 5: Optimize Your Video Description for YouTube SEO
• Step 6: Use Custom Video Thumbnails

1. Find Good Keywords for Your YouTube Videos

The keywords that you choose to use with your video will be the greatest factors in determining whether your video will actually be found by viewers searching for content like yours on YouTube. You need to be intelligent and choose strong keywords that are highly related to both your video and your niche on YouTube. Without the use of good keywords, your video will simply become lost in the endless stream of content being uploaded to YouTube, and audiences who might enjoy it will never get a chance to see it.

Consider doing some keyword research into your video’s subject using the Google Keyword Planner in or a variety of otherkeyword tools . Make sure the most important keywords are in your tags, title, and description.

2. Make Full Use of Your Video’s Tags

Tags are essential. A lot of creators either skip tags or only put in 1-5, and their actions will benefit you if you choose to use a lot.

Loading up your tags with keywords that are relevant to your video and genre will help your video appear in the viewer’s search results, which will earn you a lot more views. When users are looking for specific information, like how to recover lost data, just including things like ‘lost data’, ‘data recovery’, and even the full phrase ‘how to recover lost data’ in your video’s tags will give you a greater chance to actually appear in search engine results.

Including the maximum amount of tags possible will help to give YouTube the maximum amount of information to use in order to place your video in the results of different searches or to have it come up as ‘related’ to other videos. Users that only post 3 or 4 tags with each video could be missing out on countless amounts of traffic for their content.

3. Post a Transcript in Your Video Description

If you have a script or a transcript for your entire video you should consider posting it in the description of your video in order to improve your search engine ranking. This can also help for users that would like to have a written article to accompany your video and for indexing your video in search engine results. There are so many people that don’t make proper use of their video descriptions on YouTube that doing so will give you an advantage.

4. Write Searchable YouTube Video Tiles

By including your 1 or 2 most important keywords in the title of your video you will help YouTube sort your video into the correct search results. Generally, your most important keywords will be things like the name of the game you’re playing or the brand of makeup you’re reviewing.

Try to write titles that are searchable and which also get potential viewers excited about your content. Do not try to be mysterious or clickbait-y in your video title. Big channels can be very successful with those strategies because they’re already guaranteed a certain number of views, but this will almost always backfire for small channels.

Phrases such as ‘review’, ‘how-to’, and ‘tutorial’ get searched for a lot, so always include them in your titles when they apply to your videos.

5. Optimize your Video Description for YouTube SEO

Video descriptions should generally include around 4000 characters (about 900 words) in which you describe the content of your YouTube video, include important keywords, provide links to your other social media accounts, and ask viewers to subscribe. Using up all the space in your description is a good way to ensure you’re getting the maximum search value out of it.

If you use a lot of products in your videos (i.e. you make cooking videos, so your favorite frying pan is in a lot of shots) then it is a good idea to look into affiliate programs. Amazon has one of the best. If you become an affiliate you can post links to the products you use in your video description and, if a viewer follows one and buys something (even if it’s not the thing you liked to) you’ll earn a commission. This won’t help you with search rankings, but it’s a nice bonus.

6. Use Custom Video Thumbnails

A custom thumbnail is an excellent way to make your videos stand out (check out these awesome thumbnail makers ). A good thumbnail is its own piece of quality, customized, visual content that has the power to draw in audiences from search engine results. Make sure to take thumbnail-specific photos and perfect those images with text and graphics in Photoshop or a free alternative like Canva.

Custom thumbnails come with new metadata for your video and they can often be indexed in Google image searches along with the video content that you create. This means that you will have access to a text search via Google (your video title and description), video searches via Google, a video search via YouTube, and an image search via Google too.

In order tocreate a thumbnail that stands out and attracts more views, you should first search for your video’s title on YouTube and see what kinds of thumbnails come up. You want your thumbnail to be enough like the results that viewers recognize it as being on the same topic, and different enough that it doesn’t fade into the crowd (a good strategy is to use a splash of color the other creators haven’t included).

If you are interested in generating more traffic to any YouTube video be sure to follow these 6 steps for how to get your YouTube video seen (and check out 4 more here! ).

Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Richard Bennett

From Novice to Pro: How to Evade the Most Critical 8 Mistakes on YouTube

8 Mistakes People Should Avoid as a New YouTuber

Richard Bennett

Nov 01, 2022• Proven solutions

0

In the ten years that I’ve been a YouTuber, I’ve made a lot of mistakes. I learned from those mistakes and have helped many new YouTubers start their own channels. Here is a list of eight common mistakes that new YouTubers should avoid, along with tips to do things in a better way.

1. Failing to have a long-term vision

One common mistake that a lot of new YouTubers make is failing to have a long-term vision. Without a long-term vision, you’re more likely to poorly brand your YouTube channel, drop your YouTube channel activity in busier times, and, midway through, change the type of content you create and upload. None of these are good for your channel!

If you can think of the kind of content you’ll love to consistently create and share in the long-run, you’ll not only be able to narrow down your brand and effectively communicate to your audience who you are and what your channel is all about, but you’ll also have a better idea on what to put out next.

2. Choosing an ineffective custom URL

Another mistake I made with my first YouTube channel was choosing an ineffective custom URL. Because my last name is Kim, I wanted to make my custom URL “YouTube.com/kimagination.” But it wasn’t available. So, I took “kimaginati0n” with a zero where the “o” should be. I thought it was a good idea back then but it was a terrible idea.

Choose a custom URL with words that can’t be confused with other similar-sounding words. For consistency across all your different social media accounts, try to choose a custom URL that matches the usernames of all your other social media channels. If the username you want isn’t available, then keep on trying to come up with a good name that is available. When you’ve secured the same username across all your different social media channels, you can then very simply promote yourself and all your social media channels by displaying just the social media icons followed by your one username.

3. Coming up with titles that won’t get searched

Many new YouTubers make the mistake of titling their videos in an ineffective way. Rather than coming up with titles that more people might search, they either come up with titles that summarize what the video is about as a whole or title their videos the way big YouTubers do.

Big YouTubers can take advantage of non-searched, curiosity evoking titles like “You won’t believe what just happened…” because they already have a huge following. Their channels aren’t depending on getting discovered through search. But yours is. So come up with titles that people are actually searching.

As an example, let’s suppose you vlogged your time backpacking around Europe last summer. Don’t title your YouTube video “My Summer Backpacking Trip.” Instead, title it “Going Up The Eiffel Tower | Beautiful View of Paris!” This way, all the people who are curious about visiting Paris, the Eiffel Tower, and seeing what the view is like from the top of the Eiffel Tower might find your video.

4. Failing to have a thumbnail strategy

New YouTubers tend to think about their thumbnail images after they’ve finished editing their videos together. This is way too late in the process for something that is so incredibly important in getting views.

Even before filming, you should think about how you’re going to title your video to get the most views. After that, you should then try to picture, in your head, a thumbnail image that matches your title and creates curiosity and excitement. When you go into filming, you can then make sure to include some footage of you recreating that image.

5. Making weak intros

After you’ve managed to get someone to click on your video through your effective title and thumbnail image strategy, the next challenge is to keep that person watching your video without closing it too early. A typical viewer on YouTube decides within the first ten to fifteen seconds of landing on a video whether or not he or she will stay or leave. This short window of time is so important to set the tone of the rest of your video and build excitement and curiosity in your viewer with an effective, high-energy intro.

New YouTubers often make the mistake of having weak intros. Starting at the beginning of a story makes sense, right? The beginning, however, is not always the most exciting. Consequently, new YouTubers lose their audience’s attention too early on.

To read more on how some of the most successful YouTubers effectively do their intros, check out my blogpost on “How To Edit YouTube Videos Like a YouTuber .”

6. Forgetting to engage with subscribers

An important thing to do as a new YouTuber is engaging with your subscribers. Some new YouTubers, though, are so focused and busy with the production side of things that they forget to do the community side of things, including responding to comments. By not responding to comments as a new YouTuber, you hurt your potential to get more comments consistently from your subscribers. If your video’s comments section is very active, YouTube ranks your video higher in the videos it recommends to viewers.

Connecting with your audience shouldn’t just be limited to YouTube either. Use your other social media channels to connect with your audience as well.

7. Not promoting with social media

YouTube isn’t the only social media platform that people are spending their time on. People are spending their time on all kinds of different social media platforms, like Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. The more content in all of these platforms that you create to promote your video, the more potential your video has to be seen by their users.

New YouTubers sometimes forget to promote their videos and channel using other social media platforms. Consequently, they miss out on the opportunity to get views from multiple sources of social media.

8. Spamming comments

Commenting on other YouTube videos is another way to get your channel discovered from people reading over comments. If your profile picture and comment appears interesting enough, out of curiosity, people just might click your username to have a look at your channel.

But rather than leaving interesting comments that are related to the video, rather than adding to the conversation, some new YouTubers desperate to get more subscribers make the mistake of spamming videos with “check out my YouTube channel!” comments.

Spam comments annoy YouTubers. It would be much more beneficial to your channel to build good relationships with other YouTubers to possibly collaborate on a video together in the future.

Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett

Nov 01, 2022• Proven solutions

0

In the ten years that I’ve been a YouTuber, I’ve made a lot of mistakes. I learned from those mistakes and have helped many new YouTubers start their own channels. Here is a list of eight common mistakes that new YouTubers should avoid, along with tips to do things in a better way.

1. Failing to have a long-term vision

One common mistake that a lot of new YouTubers make is failing to have a long-term vision. Without a long-term vision, you’re more likely to poorly brand your YouTube channel, drop your YouTube channel activity in busier times, and, midway through, change the type of content you create and upload. None of these are good for your channel!

If you can think of the kind of content you’ll love to consistently create and share in the long-run, you’ll not only be able to narrow down your brand and effectively communicate to your audience who you are and what your channel is all about, but you’ll also have a better idea on what to put out next.

2. Choosing an ineffective custom URL

Another mistake I made with my first YouTube channel was choosing an ineffective custom URL. Because my last name is Kim, I wanted to make my custom URL “YouTube.com/kimagination.” But it wasn’t available. So, I took “kimaginati0n” with a zero where the “o” should be. I thought it was a good idea back then but it was a terrible idea.

Choose a custom URL with words that can’t be confused with other similar-sounding words. For consistency across all your different social media accounts, try to choose a custom URL that matches the usernames of all your other social media channels. If the username you want isn’t available, then keep on trying to come up with a good name that is available. When you’ve secured the same username across all your different social media channels, you can then very simply promote yourself and all your social media channels by displaying just the social media icons followed by your one username.

3. Coming up with titles that won’t get searched

Many new YouTubers make the mistake of titling their videos in an ineffective way. Rather than coming up with titles that more people might search, they either come up with titles that summarize what the video is about as a whole or title their videos the way big YouTubers do.

Big YouTubers can take advantage of non-searched, curiosity evoking titles like “You won’t believe what just happened…” because they already have a huge following. Their channels aren’t depending on getting discovered through search. But yours is. So come up with titles that people are actually searching.

As an example, let’s suppose you vlogged your time backpacking around Europe last summer. Don’t title your YouTube video “My Summer Backpacking Trip.” Instead, title it “Going Up The Eiffel Tower | Beautiful View of Paris!” This way, all the people who are curious about visiting Paris, the Eiffel Tower, and seeing what the view is like from the top of the Eiffel Tower might find your video.

4. Failing to have a thumbnail strategy

New YouTubers tend to think about their thumbnail images after they’ve finished editing their videos together. This is way too late in the process for something that is so incredibly important in getting views.

Even before filming, you should think about how you’re going to title your video to get the most views. After that, you should then try to picture, in your head, a thumbnail image that matches your title and creates curiosity and excitement. When you go into filming, you can then make sure to include some footage of you recreating that image.

5. Making weak intros

After you’ve managed to get someone to click on your video through your effective title and thumbnail image strategy, the next challenge is to keep that person watching your video without closing it too early. A typical viewer on YouTube decides within the first ten to fifteen seconds of landing on a video whether or not he or she will stay or leave. This short window of time is so important to set the tone of the rest of your video and build excitement and curiosity in your viewer with an effective, high-energy intro.

New YouTubers often make the mistake of having weak intros. Starting at the beginning of a story makes sense, right? The beginning, however, is not always the most exciting. Consequently, new YouTubers lose their audience’s attention too early on.

To read more on how some of the most successful YouTubers effectively do their intros, check out my blogpost on “How To Edit YouTube Videos Like a YouTuber .”

6. Forgetting to engage with subscribers

An important thing to do as a new YouTuber is engaging with your subscribers. Some new YouTubers, though, are so focused and busy with the production side of things that they forget to do the community side of things, including responding to comments. By not responding to comments as a new YouTuber, you hurt your potential to get more comments consistently from your subscribers. If your video’s comments section is very active, YouTube ranks your video higher in the videos it recommends to viewers.

Connecting with your audience shouldn’t just be limited to YouTube either. Use your other social media channels to connect with your audience as well.

7. Not promoting with social media

YouTube isn’t the only social media platform that people are spending their time on. People are spending their time on all kinds of different social media platforms, like Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. The more content in all of these platforms that you create to promote your video, the more potential your video has to be seen by their users.

New YouTubers sometimes forget to promote their videos and channel using other social media platforms. Consequently, they miss out on the opportunity to get views from multiple sources of social media.

8. Spamming comments

Commenting on other YouTube videos is another way to get your channel discovered from people reading over comments. If your profile picture and comment appears interesting enough, out of curiosity, people just might click your username to have a look at your channel.

But rather than leaving interesting comments that are related to the video, rather than adding to the conversation, some new YouTubers desperate to get more subscribers make the mistake of spamming videos with “check out my YouTube channel!” comments.

Spam comments annoy YouTubers. It would be much more beneficial to your channel to build good relationships with other YouTubers to possibly collaborate on a video together in the future.

Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett

Nov 01, 2022• Proven solutions

0

In the ten years that I’ve been a YouTuber, I’ve made a lot of mistakes. I learned from those mistakes and have helped many new YouTubers start their own channels. Here is a list of eight common mistakes that new YouTubers should avoid, along with tips to do things in a better way.

1. Failing to have a long-term vision

One common mistake that a lot of new YouTubers make is failing to have a long-term vision. Without a long-term vision, you’re more likely to poorly brand your YouTube channel, drop your YouTube channel activity in busier times, and, midway through, change the type of content you create and upload. None of these are good for your channel!

If you can think of the kind of content you’ll love to consistently create and share in the long-run, you’ll not only be able to narrow down your brand and effectively communicate to your audience who you are and what your channel is all about, but you’ll also have a better idea on what to put out next.

2. Choosing an ineffective custom URL

Another mistake I made with my first YouTube channel was choosing an ineffective custom URL. Because my last name is Kim, I wanted to make my custom URL “YouTube.com/kimagination.” But it wasn’t available. So, I took “kimaginati0n” with a zero where the “o” should be. I thought it was a good idea back then but it was a terrible idea.

Choose a custom URL with words that can’t be confused with other similar-sounding words. For consistency across all your different social media accounts, try to choose a custom URL that matches the usernames of all your other social media channels. If the username you want isn’t available, then keep on trying to come up with a good name that is available. When you’ve secured the same username across all your different social media channels, you can then very simply promote yourself and all your social media channels by displaying just the social media icons followed by your one username.

3. Coming up with titles that won’t get searched

Many new YouTubers make the mistake of titling their videos in an ineffective way. Rather than coming up with titles that more people might search, they either come up with titles that summarize what the video is about as a whole or title their videos the way big YouTubers do.

Big YouTubers can take advantage of non-searched, curiosity evoking titles like “You won’t believe what just happened…” because they already have a huge following. Their channels aren’t depending on getting discovered through search. But yours is. So come up with titles that people are actually searching.

As an example, let’s suppose you vlogged your time backpacking around Europe last summer. Don’t title your YouTube video “My Summer Backpacking Trip.” Instead, title it “Going Up The Eiffel Tower | Beautiful View of Paris!” This way, all the people who are curious about visiting Paris, the Eiffel Tower, and seeing what the view is like from the top of the Eiffel Tower might find your video.

4. Failing to have a thumbnail strategy

New YouTubers tend to think about their thumbnail images after they’ve finished editing their videos together. This is way too late in the process for something that is so incredibly important in getting views.

Even before filming, you should think about how you’re going to title your video to get the most views. After that, you should then try to picture, in your head, a thumbnail image that matches your title and creates curiosity and excitement. When you go into filming, you can then make sure to include some footage of you recreating that image.

5. Making weak intros

After you’ve managed to get someone to click on your video through your effective title and thumbnail image strategy, the next challenge is to keep that person watching your video without closing it too early. A typical viewer on YouTube decides within the first ten to fifteen seconds of landing on a video whether or not he or she will stay or leave. This short window of time is so important to set the tone of the rest of your video and build excitement and curiosity in your viewer with an effective, high-energy intro.

New YouTubers often make the mistake of having weak intros. Starting at the beginning of a story makes sense, right? The beginning, however, is not always the most exciting. Consequently, new YouTubers lose their audience’s attention too early on.

To read more on how some of the most successful YouTubers effectively do their intros, check out my blogpost on “How To Edit YouTube Videos Like a YouTuber .”

6. Forgetting to engage with subscribers

An important thing to do as a new YouTuber is engaging with your subscribers. Some new YouTubers, though, are so focused and busy with the production side of things that they forget to do the community side of things, including responding to comments. By not responding to comments as a new YouTuber, you hurt your potential to get more comments consistently from your subscribers. If your video’s comments section is very active, YouTube ranks your video higher in the videos it recommends to viewers.

Connecting with your audience shouldn’t just be limited to YouTube either. Use your other social media channels to connect with your audience as well.

7. Not promoting with social media

YouTube isn’t the only social media platform that people are spending their time on. People are spending their time on all kinds of different social media platforms, like Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. The more content in all of these platforms that you create to promote your video, the more potential your video has to be seen by their users.

New YouTubers sometimes forget to promote their videos and channel using other social media platforms. Consequently, they miss out on the opportunity to get views from multiple sources of social media.

8. Spamming comments

Commenting on other YouTube videos is another way to get your channel discovered from people reading over comments. If your profile picture and comment appears interesting enough, out of curiosity, people just might click your username to have a look at your channel.

But rather than leaving interesting comments that are related to the video, rather than adding to the conversation, some new YouTubers desperate to get more subscribers make the mistake of spamming videos with “check out my YouTube channel!” comments.

Spam comments annoy YouTubers. It would be much more beneficial to your channel to build good relationships with other YouTubers to possibly collaborate on a video together in the future.

Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett

Nov 01, 2022• Proven solutions

0

In the ten years that I’ve been a YouTuber, I’ve made a lot of mistakes. I learned from those mistakes and have helped many new YouTubers start their own channels. Here is a list of eight common mistakes that new YouTubers should avoid, along with tips to do things in a better way.

1. Failing to have a long-term vision

One common mistake that a lot of new YouTubers make is failing to have a long-term vision. Without a long-term vision, you’re more likely to poorly brand your YouTube channel, drop your YouTube channel activity in busier times, and, midway through, change the type of content you create and upload. None of these are good for your channel!

If you can think of the kind of content you’ll love to consistently create and share in the long-run, you’ll not only be able to narrow down your brand and effectively communicate to your audience who you are and what your channel is all about, but you’ll also have a better idea on what to put out next.

2. Choosing an ineffective custom URL

Another mistake I made with my first YouTube channel was choosing an ineffective custom URL. Because my last name is Kim, I wanted to make my custom URL “YouTube.com/kimagination.” But it wasn’t available. So, I took “kimaginati0n” with a zero where the “o” should be. I thought it was a good idea back then but it was a terrible idea.

Choose a custom URL with words that can’t be confused with other similar-sounding words. For consistency across all your different social media accounts, try to choose a custom URL that matches the usernames of all your other social media channels. If the username you want isn’t available, then keep on trying to come up with a good name that is available. When you’ve secured the same username across all your different social media channels, you can then very simply promote yourself and all your social media channels by displaying just the social media icons followed by your one username.

3. Coming up with titles that won’t get searched

Many new YouTubers make the mistake of titling their videos in an ineffective way. Rather than coming up with titles that more people might search, they either come up with titles that summarize what the video is about as a whole or title their videos the way big YouTubers do.

Big YouTubers can take advantage of non-searched, curiosity evoking titles like “You won’t believe what just happened…” because they already have a huge following. Their channels aren’t depending on getting discovered through search. But yours is. So come up with titles that people are actually searching.

As an example, let’s suppose you vlogged your time backpacking around Europe last summer. Don’t title your YouTube video “My Summer Backpacking Trip.” Instead, title it “Going Up The Eiffel Tower | Beautiful View of Paris!” This way, all the people who are curious about visiting Paris, the Eiffel Tower, and seeing what the view is like from the top of the Eiffel Tower might find your video.

4. Failing to have a thumbnail strategy

New YouTubers tend to think about their thumbnail images after they’ve finished editing their videos together. This is way too late in the process for something that is so incredibly important in getting views.

Even before filming, you should think about how you’re going to title your video to get the most views. After that, you should then try to picture, in your head, a thumbnail image that matches your title and creates curiosity and excitement. When you go into filming, you can then make sure to include some footage of you recreating that image.

5. Making weak intros

After you’ve managed to get someone to click on your video through your effective title and thumbnail image strategy, the next challenge is to keep that person watching your video without closing it too early. A typical viewer on YouTube decides within the first ten to fifteen seconds of landing on a video whether or not he or she will stay or leave. This short window of time is so important to set the tone of the rest of your video and build excitement and curiosity in your viewer with an effective, high-energy intro.

New YouTubers often make the mistake of having weak intros. Starting at the beginning of a story makes sense, right? The beginning, however, is not always the most exciting. Consequently, new YouTubers lose their audience’s attention too early on.

To read more on how some of the most successful YouTubers effectively do their intros, check out my blogpost on “How To Edit YouTube Videos Like a YouTuber .”

6. Forgetting to engage with subscribers

An important thing to do as a new YouTuber is engaging with your subscribers. Some new YouTubers, though, are so focused and busy with the production side of things that they forget to do the community side of things, including responding to comments. By not responding to comments as a new YouTuber, you hurt your potential to get more comments consistently from your subscribers. If your video’s comments section is very active, YouTube ranks your video higher in the videos it recommends to viewers.

Connecting with your audience shouldn’t just be limited to YouTube either. Use your other social media channels to connect with your audience as well.

7. Not promoting with social media

YouTube isn’t the only social media platform that people are spending their time on. People are spending their time on all kinds of different social media platforms, like Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. The more content in all of these platforms that you create to promote your video, the more potential your video has to be seen by their users.

New YouTubers sometimes forget to promote their videos and channel using other social media platforms. Consequently, they miss out on the opportunity to get views from multiple sources of social media.

8. Spamming comments

Commenting on other YouTube videos is another way to get your channel discovered from people reading over comments. If your profile picture and comment appears interesting enough, out of curiosity, people just might click your username to have a look at your channel.

But rather than leaving interesting comments that are related to the video, rather than adding to the conversation, some new YouTubers desperate to get more subscribers make the mistake of spamming videos with “check out my YouTube channel!” comments.

Spam comments annoy YouTubers. It would be much more beneficial to your channel to build good relationships with other YouTubers to possibly collaborate on a video together in the future.

Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Richard Bennett

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