5 Ways We’re Going To Get Free YouTube Views

SEO Your Videos for Free YouTube Views

The easiest way to garner an audience is to figure out what people are searching on the internet, then create content based on those topics. That is why using search engine optimization to gain free YouTube views is huge. But remember those 200 billion users? Yeah, they make it kind of hard to rank videos if your channel is small. YouTube’s keywords are extremely competitive. So in order to give the biggest YouTubers a run for their money, we as a small company have to remain agile. Staying on top of the trendiest, hottest, newest keywords is essential in gaining free YouTube views. One handy tool to keep in your SEO belt is Google Keyword Planner. Here, you can choose which platform you’re interested in SEO’ing, type in a word, then receive a huge list of long-tail keyword suggestions for every search term. It’s free, user-friendly, and 99.99% accurate!

Video Length and Watch Time

While most social media platforms prefer shorter videos, YouTube is partial to longer content (6-12 minutes). This is because YouTube’s #1 focus is viewer retention. Longer videos also means higher watch time: another statistic YouTube pays special attention to. Watch time is the total accumulated amount of time people have spent watching your video on YouTube. For example, if a 1-minute video is watched all the way through 10 times, its watch time is 10 minutes. But, if another 3-minute video is watched all the way through 10 times, its watch time is 30 minutes. See the difference? Longer videos = Higher watch times = Higher rankings = More free YouTube views = A happy you. Don’t believe us? Check out this industry study that found the most important metric related to YouTube ranking to be watch time.

Create Playlists to Increase Session Watch Time

Session watch time is the amount of time someone spends on YouTube during a single session. It comes as no surprise that YouTube is a bigger fan of content that keeps people on their site longer (if you need proof, check out this video from YouTube Creators confirming that longer Session Time can increase a video’s visibility on the platform). So in order to get more free YouTube views, you need to get viewers to stream several of your videos in one session. One of the best ways to increase the session watch time on your channel is to create playlists. The beauty of this feature is more than skin deep!

First, playlists give you the power to control what your viewers watch next as they play one right after the other (automatically if viewers have their “autoplay” functionality toggled on). Secondly, it gives you a chance to bundle your similar content so you can cater to specific interests of your subscribers. For example, uber famous YouTuber PewDiePie created a playlist of all his videos reviewing Reddit and titled it, you guessed it, “Reddit Review.” The idea is if a person clicks on the playlist, they are interested in Reddit and will be more likely to watch multiple videos in the playlist since they are all related in concept. Lastly, Oberlo makes a good point by saying playlists can also help improve search rankings, as playlist titles are another opportunity to target keywords.

Invest in Your Intro

YouTube can understand a huge majority of what is said in your videos and can make sense of its context. It goes without saying that making your videos accurate and interesting is of the utmost importance when it comes to gaining free YouTube views. But, none of your video matters if you lose the attention of your viewers right at the beginning. Skylark Media sees the first 15-30 seconds as the most critical time frame to capture your audience. Without an enticing, exciting, and informative introduction, it’s likely the viewers will navigate away from your video. YouTube’s algorithm will then penalize you by ranking you lower in searches, resulting in less free views for you. For more information on how to create a killer YouTube intro, check out this article by Biteable. 

The Sequel Technique Leads to Free YouTube Views

When done well, all the above-mentioned methods make up what is called the sequel technique. Essentially, this practice suggests creating a “sequel” of a popular video in your niche, then carrying out a series of steps in an attempt to rank it high in the chosen video’s suggested section to get more free YouTube views. The first step is to find a popular video in your niche. Next, identify some things you like about the video and improve upon them. These aspects can include but are not limited to: 

• Graphics and animation
• Audio quality
• Pacing
• Overall video content and quality
• Content delivery

Lastly, optimize your video using the same keywords, tags, and metadata as the popular video. Be sure to include the keywords in the video title and description, too. The more similar your video is to the popular one, the more likely it is to land in the suggested section, meaning more free YouTube views for you. Learn more about the sequel technique in Backlinko’s video below. 

Be Sure To Like And Subscribe

Once you’ve completed all the steps, say “hello” to free YouTube views!  We may be new to the platform, but armed with these 5 tricks to gain more free YouTube views, we may just have what it takes to give the big YouTubers a run for their money. For more on optimizing your YouTube channel across your business, check out this article on 5 Ways To Connect Your Website And Social Media. If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to check out our website, email info@idstoledo.com, or call 419.442.7911. And really, don’t forget to subscribe.