Secrets to Getting More YouTube Shorts Views
YouTube Shorts is the popular short-form video feature on YouTube. With over 15 billion daily views, competition is fierce to get views and go viral. In this article, we reveal secrets based on an in-depth study to optimize your shorts for more views.
Optimize Average View Duration
One of the most important ranking factors for shorts is average view duration. The longer viewers watch your shorts on average, the more YouTube will push it out to new viewers.
| Avg View Duration | Avg Views |
|---|---|
| 50-60 seconds | 4.1 million |
| 30 seconds | 700,000 |
Data from a study analyzing over 5,500 shorts shows shorts with 50-60 second average view durations got 4.1 million views on average. Shorts with only 30 seconds averaged just 700,000 views.
Aim for shorts between 50-60 seconds long and hook viewers in the first 5 seconds to keep them watching. High-quality, entertaining content is key.
Increase Your Viewed vs Swiped Away Percentage
For Viewed vs Swiped Away Percentage:
| VVSA | Avg Views |
|---|---|
| <40% | <10,000 |
| 70-90% | Hundreds of thousands |
Another key metric is your viewed vs swiped away percentage (VVSA). This measures how many viewers actually watch your short vs swiping away after seeing the thumbnail.
Shorts with under 40% VVSA averaged under 10,000 views. Shorts with 70-90% VVSA averaged hundreds of thousands of views.
Having compelling thumbnails and titles can help increase VVSA. So can previewing the most engaging part of your video in the Shorts player.
Optimal Short Length
For Optimal Short Length:
| Short Length | Performance |
|---|---|
| 45-60 seconds | Top performing |
| <30 seconds | Bottom performing |
In addition to view duration, the study found longer shorts generally outperform shorter ones.
Of the top performing shorts analyzed, most were 45-60 seconds long. The bottom performing shorts skewed under 30 seconds.
Longer shorts have more potential watch time for engaged viewers. And length indicates production quality.
Optimizing Thumbnails
For Optimizing Thumbnails:
| Thumbnail Optimization Tips |
|---|
| Colorful, high contrast |
| Minimal, large text |
| Strong fonts |
| Faces, people |
| On brand |
Thumbnails directly impact clickthrough rate (CTR) and VVSA. Make them colorful and eye catching with strong contrast.
Use minimal but large text with strong fonts. Clickbait works. Faces and people perform well. Stay on brand.
Test different options and inspect CTR data. Higher CTR equals more views.
Engage Viewers With Comments
Responding to comments on your shorts boosts engagement. This signals to YouTube the content is resonating.
Ask viewers questions to spark discussion. Heart any interesting comments.
The more comments and interaction, the more YouTube promotes your shorts.
Optimizing Shorts based on these data insights can significantly boost views and shares. But quality content is still key. Provide value, entertainment or education for the best results.