Crafting the Ideal Set of Keywords for Your Youtube Videos

What is YouTube Tag and How to Find Great Tags For Your Videos?

Richard Bennett

Oct 26, 2023• Proven solutions

0

There are a huge number of videos uploaded to YouTube every day, and that is why it is so important to make sure your videos are sorted properly by the site using YouTube tags. If you don’t, potential viewers will miss out on the chance to discover and enjoy your videos.

Instead of forcing yourself through a painful brainstorming session, it can be easier to identify the best tags using these techniques that experienced content managers use to populate their tag lists.

In this article, I will show you how to find great tags for your YouTube videos as well as some answers to the frequently asked questions about YouTube Tags.

1. Use YouTube’s Auto-Suggest Tool
2. Try YouTube Tag Generators
3. Study Your YouTube Rivals’ Tags

Part 1: How to Find YouTube Tags [3 Effective Ways]

1. Use YouTube’s Auto-Suggest Tool to Get Tags

YouTube’s search engine can be your best ally on the quest for great tags. This tool was created to aid users who are looking for content on the platform, and content creators can benefit from it as well. By typing the general topic of your video, or a few words vaguely related to your video, into the search bar on YouTube you can see suggestions that reflect what viewers are searching for and take some of those suggestions into consideration for your tags. With every new phrase (and even every additional character you type), new options will appear. By playing around with this tool you will gain valuable insight into the searching habits of YouTube viewers.

This method may not be too precise, but the idea is to quickly gather information and perhaps get some inspiration for more creative or complex tags. Most of the suggestions will be logical, but there can be a few unexpected combinations you’d never think of. Be very careful when translating the findings to your own situation, since the fact that some terms are popular doesn’t mean they are relevant for your video. Another problem is that slightly altered terminology can significantly change the effectiveness of the tag, so you should ideally use the suggested phrases in the exact form as you found them or not at all. If you do make adjustments, you should test the new tag through the same auto-complete tool and see how it fares.

2. Try YouTube Tag Generators

If you’d like to dig a little deeper, there are multiple dedicated tools that can assist you in picking the most suitable YouTube tags for every video you upload. Let’s examine a few of them in greater detail:

#1. Keyword Tool

A very simple and reliable web-based tag generator that provides you with 750 frequently searched keywords that would be suitable for your video. The keyword list is based on YouTube’s search tool in a way similar to what we described in the previous chapter. However, since the analysis is automated with the Keyword Tool, you can get a huge list in just a few seconds. This generator is especially useful when you are looking for long-tail keywords that attract niche audiences.

#2. Rapid Tags

This tool is a bit more sophisticated and includes some analytic features on top of tag generating capacities, allowing you to manage your channel more effectively. It’s completely automated, so you won’t have to do any heavy lifting on your own. Just type the URL of your video into the appropriate field and let Rapid Tags do the rest. You can easily switch between the Generator, Analyzer, Ranker, and Tracker tools, so you can acquire a complete picture of the suitability of each tag and a better understanding of the projected performance of your video.

Want more tools to generate YouTube tags? Check our picks of the best YouTube video tag generators .

#3. BetterWaytoWeb

While this free-to-use tool has a very simple interface and won’t require any background knowledge to use, it still provides valuable information. It can suggest suitable tags for your new video based on the main keyword you provide, speeding up your research considerably. It can also analyze the tags placed on an existing YouTube video, which is important for deducing how other authors working in the same category are optimizing their content.

3. Study Your YouTube Rivals’ Tags

YouTube content authors can learn a lot by analyzing their top competitors. No matter what your videos are about, there are probably countless other creators that want to attract the same audiences as you. Only a tiny percentage of them will manage to gain significant viewership, and those are the ones you should be researching in detail.

If you are able to locate the most successful videos with content similar to yours you are already halfway to your goal, but one obstacle still remains. You can’t even see your competitor’s tags them when you click on their videos on YouTube. This type of information is not displayed, but some specialized solutions are able to reveal it upon request. Here is one YouTube certified analytic tool capable of doing that:

1. VidIQ

Currently used to manage more than 30,000 YouTube channels, this powerful video marketing suite can also help with tag selection. It can enlarge your tag library by a factor of 10, and provide you with a direct comparison with your chief competitors. In addition to increasing your views, this app can help you monitor your visibility on social networks, and track detailed statistics that describe the performance of your video. In other words, this is a comprehensive package that will help you manage your channel in a professional way.

What’s your YouTube tag strategy?

Part 2: YouTube Tag FAQs

1. What is YouTube Tag?

YouTube tag is a keyword that you added to help Google and YouTube understand your video context, which is an important ranking factor in YouTube searching. Basically, the better you tag your video, the more views you can get. But you should keep in mind that adding excessive tags to your video description is against YouTube policy.

2. How Many Tags Should You Use on YouTube?

Though there is no restriction about the numbers of the YouTube tags, you should keep the total characters of all tags within 400 characters. In most cases, 5-8 tags are appreciated for a YouTube video. It is recommended to add as many relevant tags as you can, such as brand-specific tags, YouTube auto-suggest tags, or tags created with some tag generator.

3. Do Tags on YouTube Get More Views?

The short answer is Yes. Since Google is encouraging people to use tags to help them understand your video content, then it can recommend the videos to relevant users accordingly. With tags, YouTube can categorize your videos and make them discoverable easier. For example, when you search tag #FilmoraSchoolStory in YouTube, you can see all the videos with the tag in the search result. allowing viewers to find your content more easily.

Retouch YouTube Videos with Filmora

There are lots of filters, overlays and effects pre-programmed in Wondershare Filmora video editor , you can improve YouTube videos without costing any extra fees if you’ve subscribed to Filmora.

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

There are a huge number of videos uploaded to YouTube every day, and that is why it is so important to make sure your videos are sorted properly by the site using YouTube tags. If you don’t, potential viewers will miss out on the chance to discover and enjoy your videos.

Instead of forcing yourself through a painful brainstorming session, it can be easier to identify the best tags using these techniques that experienced content managers use to populate their tag lists.

In this article, I will show you how to find great tags for your YouTube videos as well as some answers to the frequently asked questions about YouTube Tags.

1. Use YouTube’s Auto-Suggest Tool
2. Try YouTube Tag Generators
3. Study Your YouTube Rivals’ Tags

Part 1: How to Find YouTube Tags [3 Effective Ways]

1. Use YouTube’s Auto-Suggest Tool to Get Tags

YouTube’s search engine can be your best ally on the quest for great tags. This tool was created to aid users who are looking for content on the platform, and content creators can benefit from it as well. By typing the general topic of your video, or a few words vaguely related to your video, into the search bar on YouTube you can see suggestions that reflect what viewers are searching for and take some of those suggestions into consideration for your tags. With every new phrase (and even every additional character you type), new options will appear. By playing around with this tool you will gain valuable insight into the searching habits of YouTube viewers.

This method may not be too precise, but the idea is to quickly gather information and perhaps get some inspiration for more creative or complex tags. Most of the suggestions will be logical, but there can be a few unexpected combinations you’d never think of. Be very careful when translating the findings to your own situation, since the fact that some terms are popular doesn’t mean they are relevant for your video. Another problem is that slightly altered terminology can significantly change the effectiveness of the tag, so you should ideally use the suggested phrases in the exact form as you found them or not at all. If you do make adjustments, you should test the new tag through the same auto-complete tool and see how it fares.

2. Try YouTube Tag Generators

If you’d like to dig a little deeper, there are multiple dedicated tools that can assist you in picking the most suitable YouTube tags for every video you upload. Let’s examine a few of them in greater detail:

#1. Keyword Tool

A very simple and reliable web-based tag generator that provides you with 750 frequently searched keywords that would be suitable for your video. The keyword list is based on YouTube’s search tool in a way similar to what we described in the previous chapter. However, since the analysis is automated with the Keyword Tool, you can get a huge list in just a few seconds. This generator is especially useful when you are looking for long-tail keywords that attract niche audiences.

#2. Rapid Tags

This tool is a bit more sophisticated and includes some analytic features on top of tag generating capacities, allowing you to manage your channel more effectively. It’s completely automated, so you won’t have to do any heavy lifting on your own. Just type the URL of your video into the appropriate field and let Rapid Tags do the rest. You can easily switch between the Generator, Analyzer, Ranker, and Tracker tools, so you can acquire a complete picture of the suitability of each tag and a better understanding of the projected performance of your video.

Want more tools to generate YouTube tags? Check our picks of the best YouTube video tag generators .

#3. BetterWaytoWeb

While this free-to-use tool has a very simple interface and won’t require any background knowledge to use, it still provides valuable information. It can suggest suitable tags for your new video based on the main keyword you provide, speeding up your research considerably. It can also analyze the tags placed on an existing YouTube video, which is important for deducing how other authors working in the same category are optimizing their content.

3. Study Your YouTube Rivals’ Tags

YouTube content authors can learn a lot by analyzing their top competitors. No matter what your videos are about, there are probably countless other creators that want to attract the same audiences as you. Only a tiny percentage of them will manage to gain significant viewership, and those are the ones you should be researching in detail.

If you are able to locate the most successful videos with content similar to yours you are already halfway to your goal, but one obstacle still remains. You can’t even see your competitor’s tags them when you click on their videos on YouTube. This type of information is not displayed, but some specialized solutions are able to reveal it upon request. Here is one YouTube certified analytic tool capable of doing that:

1. VidIQ

Currently used to manage more than 30,000 YouTube channels, this powerful video marketing suite can also help with tag selection. It can enlarge your tag library by a factor of 10, and provide you with a direct comparison with your chief competitors. In addition to increasing your views, this app can help you monitor your visibility on social networks, and track detailed statistics that describe the performance of your video. In other words, this is a comprehensive package that will help you manage your channel in a professional way.

What’s your YouTube tag strategy?

Part 2: YouTube Tag FAQs

1. What is YouTube Tag?

YouTube tag is a keyword that you added to help Google and YouTube understand your video context, which is an important ranking factor in YouTube searching. Basically, the better you tag your video, the more views you can get. But you should keep in mind that adding excessive tags to your video description is against YouTube policy.

2. How Many Tags Should You Use on YouTube?

Though there is no restriction about the numbers of the YouTube tags, you should keep the total characters of all tags within 400 characters. In most cases, 5-8 tags are appreciated for a YouTube video. It is recommended to add as many relevant tags as you can, such as brand-specific tags, YouTube auto-suggest tags, or tags created with some tag generator.

3. Do Tags on YouTube Get More Views?

The short answer is Yes. Since Google is encouraging people to use tags to help them understand your video content, then it can recommend the videos to relevant users accordingly. With tags, YouTube can categorize your videos and make them discoverable easier. For example, when you search tag #FilmoraSchoolStory in YouTube, you can see all the videos with the tag in the search result. allowing viewers to find your content more easily.

Retouch YouTube Videos with Filmora

There are lots of filters, overlays and effects pre-programmed in Wondershare Filmora video editor , you can improve YouTube videos without costing any extra fees if you’ve subscribed to Filmora.

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

There are a huge number of videos uploaded to YouTube every day, and that is why it is so important to make sure your videos are sorted properly by the site using YouTube tags. If you don’t, potential viewers will miss out on the chance to discover and enjoy your videos.

Instead of forcing yourself through a painful brainstorming session, it can be easier to identify the best tags using these techniques that experienced content managers use to populate their tag lists.

In this article, I will show you how to find great tags for your YouTube videos as well as some answers to the frequently asked questions about YouTube Tags.

1. Use YouTube’s Auto-Suggest Tool
2. Try YouTube Tag Generators
3. Study Your YouTube Rivals’ Tags

Part 1: How to Find YouTube Tags [3 Effective Ways]

1. Use YouTube’s Auto-Suggest Tool to Get Tags

YouTube’s search engine can be your best ally on the quest for great tags. This tool was created to aid users who are looking for content on the platform, and content creators can benefit from it as well. By typing the general topic of your video, or a few words vaguely related to your video, into the search bar on YouTube you can see suggestions that reflect what viewers are searching for and take some of those suggestions into consideration for your tags. With every new phrase (and even every additional character you type), new options will appear. By playing around with this tool you will gain valuable insight into the searching habits of YouTube viewers.

This method may not be too precise, but the idea is to quickly gather information and perhaps get some inspiration for more creative or complex tags. Most of the suggestions will be logical, but there can be a few unexpected combinations you’d never think of. Be very careful when translating the findings to your own situation, since the fact that some terms are popular doesn’t mean they are relevant for your video. Another problem is that slightly altered terminology can significantly change the effectiveness of the tag, so you should ideally use the suggested phrases in the exact form as you found them or not at all. If you do make adjustments, you should test the new tag through the same auto-complete tool and see how it fares.

2. Try YouTube Tag Generators

If you’d like to dig a little deeper, there are multiple dedicated tools that can assist you in picking the most suitable YouTube tags for every video you upload. Let’s examine a few of them in greater detail:

#1. Keyword Tool

A very simple and reliable web-based tag generator that provides you with 750 frequently searched keywords that would be suitable for your video. The keyword list is based on YouTube’s search tool in a way similar to what we described in the previous chapter. However, since the analysis is automated with the Keyword Tool, you can get a huge list in just a few seconds. This generator is especially useful when you are looking for long-tail keywords that attract niche audiences.

#2. Rapid Tags

This tool is a bit more sophisticated and includes some analytic features on top of tag generating capacities, allowing you to manage your channel more effectively. It’s completely automated, so you won’t have to do any heavy lifting on your own. Just type the URL of your video into the appropriate field and let Rapid Tags do the rest. You can easily switch between the Generator, Analyzer, Ranker, and Tracker tools, so you can acquire a complete picture of the suitability of each tag and a better understanding of the projected performance of your video.

Want more tools to generate YouTube tags? Check our picks of the best YouTube video tag generators .

#3. BetterWaytoWeb

While this free-to-use tool has a very simple interface and won’t require any background knowledge to use, it still provides valuable information. It can suggest suitable tags for your new video based on the main keyword you provide, speeding up your research considerably. It can also analyze the tags placed on an existing YouTube video, which is important for deducing how other authors working in the same category are optimizing their content.

3. Study Your YouTube Rivals’ Tags

YouTube content authors can learn a lot by analyzing their top competitors. No matter what your videos are about, there are probably countless other creators that want to attract the same audiences as you. Only a tiny percentage of them will manage to gain significant viewership, and those are the ones you should be researching in detail.

If you are able to locate the most successful videos with content similar to yours you are already halfway to your goal, but one obstacle still remains. You can’t even see your competitor’s tags them when you click on their videos on YouTube. This type of information is not displayed, but some specialized solutions are able to reveal it upon request. Here is one YouTube certified analytic tool capable of doing that:

1. VidIQ

Currently used to manage more than 30,000 YouTube channels, this powerful video marketing suite can also help with tag selection. It can enlarge your tag library by a factor of 10, and provide you with a direct comparison with your chief competitors. In addition to increasing your views, this app can help you monitor your visibility on social networks, and track detailed statistics that describe the performance of your video. In other words, this is a comprehensive package that will help you manage your channel in a professional way.

What’s your YouTube tag strategy?

Part 2: YouTube Tag FAQs

1. What is YouTube Tag?

YouTube tag is a keyword that you added to help Google and YouTube understand your video context, which is an important ranking factor in YouTube searching. Basically, the better you tag your video, the more views you can get. But you should keep in mind that adding excessive tags to your video description is against YouTube policy.

2. How Many Tags Should You Use on YouTube?

Though there is no restriction about the numbers of the YouTube tags, you should keep the total characters of all tags within 400 characters. In most cases, 5-8 tags are appreciated for a YouTube video. It is recommended to add as many relevant tags as you can, such as brand-specific tags, YouTube auto-suggest tags, or tags created with some tag generator.

3. Do Tags on YouTube Get More Views?

The short answer is Yes. Since Google is encouraging people to use tags to help them understand your video content, then it can recommend the videos to relevant users accordingly. With tags, YouTube can categorize your videos and make them discoverable easier. For example, when you search tag #FilmoraSchoolStory in YouTube, you can see all the videos with the tag in the search result. allowing viewers to find your content more easily.

Retouch YouTube Videos with Filmora

There are lots of filters, overlays and effects pre-programmed in Wondershare Filmora video editor , you can improve YouTube videos without costing any extra fees if you’ve subscribed to Filmora.

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

There are a huge number of videos uploaded to YouTube every day, and that is why it is so important to make sure your videos are sorted properly by the site using YouTube tags. If you don’t, potential viewers will miss out on the chance to discover and enjoy your videos.

Instead of forcing yourself through a painful brainstorming session, it can be easier to identify the best tags using these techniques that experienced content managers use to populate their tag lists.

In this article, I will show you how to find great tags for your YouTube videos as well as some answers to the frequently asked questions about YouTube Tags.

1. Use YouTube’s Auto-Suggest Tool
2. Try YouTube Tag Generators
3. Study Your YouTube Rivals’ Tags

Part 1: How to Find YouTube Tags [3 Effective Ways]

1. Use YouTube’s Auto-Suggest Tool to Get Tags

YouTube’s search engine can be your best ally on the quest for great tags. This tool was created to aid users who are looking for content on the platform, and content creators can benefit from it as well. By typing the general topic of your video, or a few words vaguely related to your video, into the search bar on YouTube you can see suggestions that reflect what viewers are searching for and take some of those suggestions into consideration for your tags. With every new phrase (and even every additional character you type), new options will appear. By playing around with this tool you will gain valuable insight into the searching habits of YouTube viewers.

This method may not be too precise, but the idea is to quickly gather information and perhaps get some inspiration for more creative or complex tags. Most of the suggestions will be logical, but there can be a few unexpected combinations you’d never think of. Be very careful when translating the findings to your own situation, since the fact that some terms are popular doesn’t mean they are relevant for your video. Another problem is that slightly altered terminology can significantly change the effectiveness of the tag, so you should ideally use the suggested phrases in the exact form as you found them or not at all. If you do make adjustments, you should test the new tag through the same auto-complete tool and see how it fares.

2. Try YouTube Tag Generators

If you’d like to dig a little deeper, there are multiple dedicated tools that can assist you in picking the most suitable YouTube tags for every video you upload. Let’s examine a few of them in greater detail:

#1. Keyword Tool

A very simple and reliable web-based tag generator that provides you with 750 frequently searched keywords that would be suitable for your video. The keyword list is based on YouTube’s search tool in a way similar to what we described in the previous chapter. However, since the analysis is automated with the Keyword Tool, you can get a huge list in just a few seconds. This generator is especially useful when you are looking for long-tail keywords that attract niche audiences.

#2. Rapid Tags

This tool is a bit more sophisticated and includes some analytic features on top of tag generating capacities, allowing you to manage your channel more effectively. It’s completely automated, so you won’t have to do any heavy lifting on your own. Just type the URL of your video into the appropriate field and let Rapid Tags do the rest. You can easily switch between the Generator, Analyzer, Ranker, and Tracker tools, so you can acquire a complete picture of the suitability of each tag and a better understanding of the projected performance of your video.

Want more tools to generate YouTube tags? Check our picks of the best YouTube video tag generators .

#3. BetterWaytoWeb

While this free-to-use tool has a very simple interface and won’t require any background knowledge to use, it still provides valuable information. It can suggest suitable tags for your new video based on the main keyword you provide, speeding up your research considerably. It can also analyze the tags placed on an existing YouTube video, which is important for deducing how other authors working in the same category are optimizing their content.

3. Study Your YouTube Rivals’ Tags

YouTube content authors can learn a lot by analyzing their top competitors. No matter what your videos are about, there are probably countless other creators that want to attract the same audiences as you. Only a tiny percentage of them will manage to gain significant viewership, and those are the ones you should be researching in detail.

If you are able to locate the most successful videos with content similar to yours you are already halfway to your goal, but one obstacle still remains. You can’t even see your competitor’s tags them when you click on their videos on YouTube. This type of information is not displayed, but some specialized solutions are able to reveal it upon request. Here is one YouTube certified analytic tool capable of doing that:

1. VidIQ

Currently used to manage more than 30,000 YouTube channels, this powerful video marketing suite can also help with tag selection. It can enlarge your tag library by a factor of 10, and provide you with a direct comparison with your chief competitors. In addition to increasing your views, this app can help you monitor your visibility on social networks, and track detailed statistics that describe the performance of your video. In other words, this is a comprehensive package that will help you manage your channel in a professional way.

What’s your YouTube tag strategy?

Part 2: YouTube Tag FAQs

1. What is YouTube Tag?

YouTube tag is a keyword that you added to help Google and YouTube understand your video context, which is an important ranking factor in YouTube searching. Basically, the better you tag your video, the more views you can get. But you should keep in mind that adding excessive tags to your video description is against YouTube policy.

2. How Many Tags Should You Use on YouTube?

Though there is no restriction about the numbers of the YouTube tags, you should keep the total characters of all tags within 400 characters. In most cases, 5-8 tags are appreciated for a YouTube video. It is recommended to add as many relevant tags as you can, such as brand-specific tags, YouTube auto-suggest tags, or tags created with some tag generator.

3. Do Tags on YouTube Get More Views?

The short answer is Yes. Since Google is encouraging people to use tags to help them understand your video content, then it can recommend the videos to relevant users accordingly. With tags, YouTube can categorize your videos and make them discoverable easier. For example, when you search tag #FilmoraSchoolStory in YouTube, you can see all the videos with the tag in the search result. allowing viewers to find your content more easily.

Retouch YouTube Videos with Filmora

There are lots of filters, overlays and effects pre-programmed in Wondershare Filmora video editor , you can improve YouTube videos without costing any extra fees if you’ve subscribed to Filmora.

Richard Bennett

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

Follow @Richard Bennett

The Realities of YouTube View Calculation

How Does YouTube Count Views? It’s Not as Simple as You Think

Richard Bennett

Oct 26, 2023• Proven solutions

0

How does YouTube count views? It’s not as simple as the number of clicks your video gets. If someone sits and refreshes your video over and over without letting it play for any significant time, those refreshes won’t be recorded as views. There is a lot more that goes into the calculation.

1. Not Everyone Who Clicks Adds to Your View Count
2. How Does YouTube Count Views
3. How Does YouTube’s View Count Algorithm Work?
4. Account Tracking Factors - Some Viewers Don’t Count
5. The Skip & Skim
6. Frozen YouTube View Counts
7. The 301 Mark

Best YouTube Video Editor - Filmora

After you have created your YouTube channel, do you want to edit videos and upload your first video? Here we recommend using Filmora to easily edit YouTube videos.

You can use Filmora to make YouTube videos with built-in royalty-free audio. Filmora also can help you make YouTube intros. It includes more than 500 templates, transitions, effects, and text resources.

1. Not Everyone Who Clicks Adds to Your View Count

YouTube doesn’t provide a clear definition of what counts as a view, but we know that someone clicks on your video, and clicking right away doesn’t count. That’s how we know that watch time is a factor. Some studies conclude that a full 30 seconds need to be viewed to register as one view, but there is no way to know for sure.

2. How Does YouTube Count Views?

YouTube wants to be sure that views are coming from humans and not bots. So, during the first couple of hours after you publish a video, YouTube seems to be stricter about what they count. The views which are counted are the ones that YouTube believes to be legitimate. Sometimes, it ends up skipping legitimate views for the sake of discretion.

Once this window of time passes, it is likely that you will see the view counter start to update a lot more frequently. The counter could still revert to updating slower and more hesitantly, though, if YouTube’s algorithm thinks it’s detecting something fishy.

At times, your view count can even be frozen temporarily until the algorithm can validate the views you are receiving. This is done to ensure a fair and positive experience for everyone who creates content. View counts can be adjusted by the algorithm in either direction.

You May Also Like:
5 Tips To Get More Views With YouTube Optimization [Free Checklist] >>

3. How Does YouTube’s View Count Algorithm Work?

Termed by many as one of the most boggling algorithms of all time, it is really hard to decode the complete dynamics of the YouTube view count algorithm.

There are some tests you can run yourself to try to unpack it.

If you upload a video and then set it as unlisted it won’t get any public views so you can experiment by doing things like watching for different lengths of time and seeing what gets counted.

You’ll have to use a computer in a different location and make sure the account is not the same as the one you used to upload the video. Now, you need to watch the video for roughly 15 seconds. The key here is to keep it less than 30 seconds. You will see that the view did not add to the count. If you repeat this process on multiple computers at varying locations and with different accounts and you are likely to find the same result.

However, if you watch it for 30 seconds or longer it is likely that the count will go up.

We are adding ‘likely’ here because, despite this 30-second rule which has been decoded, there are other factors that might contribute to whether a view is counted as well as other automated scanning techniques at play.

Try to watch the same video numerous times in a single day. You will find that the count will add up at first, but after some time it will stop. YouTube knows that a lot of times people replay some videos over and over when they really enjoy them, and so they want to factor replays into their algorithm because they suggest quality. However, to avoid spam views, the counter will stop after a certain point.

4. Account Tracking Factors - Some Viewers Don’t Count

Something else that can affect whether a view is counted is the behavior of the account which watches it prior to landing on your video’s watch page. Sometimes, YouTube might feel that there is an increased chance a particular account is actually a bot, and then views from that account might not be added.

One way that YouTube might flag an account as a potential bot is if it is jumping between videos directly without navigating through recommendations, the search engine, or the account’s subscriber feed (how are they getting between these watch page URLs if they aren’t clicking on anything YouTube can record?). To add to it, if the viewer is watching each of the videos for almost 30 seconds exactly (or less) there is an increased probability that it is not a human but a bot (or a human watching the bare minimum as part of a view exchange program).

Any bot-like action will result in an account’s views do not be added to your view count.

5. The Skip & Skim

It’s not uncommon for viewers to watch a video for say five seconds, skip forwards a bit and watch for another ten seconds as they look for a specific part. It is hard to say whether skipping through a video, but watching a scattered 30 seconds, would count as a view or not.

6. Frozen YouTube View Counts

Sometimes YouTube will freeze a view count in order to check that it is accurate. When the count is unfrozen, the count may jump up as views are validated or it can go down if YouTube detects a problem.

You can use YouTube’s analytics reports to monitor an estimate of your potential views, but there is no assurance that this data will completely match your official view count.

7. The 301 Mark

You may have seen a lot of videos that have a stagnant count of 301 views. The algorithm behind YouTube’s view counting system believes that any video which has fetched higher than 300 views has the ability to impact people’s perception of quality on YouTube. They do not want the homepage to be crowded with artificially popular videos.

This is why view counts are often frozen at 301. The employees at YouTube then manually verify whether the views obtained so far are legitimate or fake. Once the employees are sure that the views are legit, the counter is unfrozen and you will see an upward swing.

During the period when the view count is frozen every legitimate view is still counted, just not added immediately. Once the YouTube team is sure that your videos are not getting fake traffic, your view count will be updated to include views that were registered during the frozen phase. However, YouTube says it won’t flag videos at 301 views anymore.

Conclusion

In short, we know YouTube expects a viewer to watch a video for around 30 seconds before it counts a view, that views from suspicious accounts are not counted, and that YouTube can decide to freeze your view count while they review your views. They are protecting the site from becoming saturated with videos that only look popular because of bots. Ultimately, ‘how does YouTube count views’ isn’t a question anyone but YouTube can answer for sure, but we do know it isn’t as simple as ‘a view is someone clicking on your video’.

If you want to engage your audience with cool effects and Filmora is the best choice to make a split-screen and green screen video for YouTubers. Download it now to have a try!

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

How does YouTube count views? It’s not as simple as the number of clicks your video gets. If someone sits and refreshes your video over and over without letting it play for any significant time, those refreshes won’t be recorded as views. There is a lot more that goes into the calculation.

1. Not Everyone Who Clicks Adds to Your View Count
2. How Does YouTube Count Views
3. How Does YouTube’s View Count Algorithm Work?
4. Account Tracking Factors - Some Viewers Don’t Count
5. The Skip & Skim
6. Frozen YouTube View Counts
7. The 301 Mark

Best YouTube Video Editor - Filmora

After you have created your YouTube channel, do you want to edit videos and upload your first video? Here we recommend using Filmora to easily edit YouTube videos.

You can use Filmora to make YouTube videos with built-in royalty-free audio. Filmora also can help you make YouTube intros. It includes more than 500 templates, transitions, effects, and text resources.

1. Not Everyone Who Clicks Adds to Your View Count

YouTube doesn’t provide a clear definition of what counts as a view, but we know that someone clicks on your video, and clicking right away doesn’t count. That’s how we know that watch time is a factor. Some studies conclude that a full 30 seconds need to be viewed to register as one view, but there is no way to know for sure.

2. How Does YouTube Count Views?

YouTube wants to be sure that views are coming from humans and not bots. So, during the first couple of hours after you publish a video, YouTube seems to be stricter about what they count. The views which are counted are the ones that YouTube believes to be legitimate. Sometimes, it ends up skipping legitimate views for the sake of discretion.

Once this window of time passes, it is likely that you will see the view counter start to update a lot more frequently. The counter could still revert to updating slower and more hesitantly, though, if YouTube’s algorithm thinks it’s detecting something fishy.

At times, your view count can even be frozen temporarily until the algorithm can validate the views you are receiving. This is done to ensure a fair and positive experience for everyone who creates content. View counts can be adjusted by the algorithm in either direction.

You May Also Like:
5 Tips To Get More Views With YouTube Optimization [Free Checklist] >>

3. How Does YouTube’s View Count Algorithm Work?

Termed by many as one of the most boggling algorithms of all time, it is really hard to decode the complete dynamics of the YouTube view count algorithm.

There are some tests you can run yourself to try to unpack it.

If you upload a video and then set it as unlisted it won’t get any public views so you can experiment by doing things like watching for different lengths of time and seeing what gets counted.

You’ll have to use a computer in a different location and make sure the account is not the same as the one you used to upload the video. Now, you need to watch the video for roughly 15 seconds. The key here is to keep it less than 30 seconds. You will see that the view did not add to the count. If you repeat this process on multiple computers at varying locations and with different accounts and you are likely to find the same result.

However, if you watch it for 30 seconds or longer it is likely that the count will go up.

We are adding ‘likely’ here because, despite this 30-second rule which has been decoded, there are other factors that might contribute to whether a view is counted as well as other automated scanning techniques at play.

Try to watch the same video numerous times in a single day. You will find that the count will add up at first, but after some time it will stop. YouTube knows that a lot of times people replay some videos over and over when they really enjoy them, and so they want to factor replays into their algorithm because they suggest quality. However, to avoid spam views, the counter will stop after a certain point.

4. Account Tracking Factors - Some Viewers Don’t Count

Something else that can affect whether a view is counted is the behavior of the account which watches it prior to landing on your video’s watch page. Sometimes, YouTube might feel that there is an increased chance a particular account is actually a bot, and then views from that account might not be added.

One way that YouTube might flag an account as a potential bot is if it is jumping between videos directly without navigating through recommendations, the search engine, or the account’s subscriber feed (how are they getting between these watch page URLs if they aren’t clicking on anything YouTube can record?). To add to it, if the viewer is watching each of the videos for almost 30 seconds exactly (or less) there is an increased probability that it is not a human but a bot (or a human watching the bare minimum as part of a view exchange program).

Any bot-like action will result in an account’s views do not be added to your view count.

5. The Skip & Skim

It’s not uncommon for viewers to watch a video for say five seconds, skip forwards a bit and watch for another ten seconds as they look for a specific part. It is hard to say whether skipping through a video, but watching a scattered 30 seconds, would count as a view or not.

6. Frozen YouTube View Counts

Sometimes YouTube will freeze a view count in order to check that it is accurate. When the count is unfrozen, the count may jump up as views are validated or it can go down if YouTube detects a problem.

You can use YouTube’s analytics reports to monitor an estimate of your potential views, but there is no assurance that this data will completely match your official view count.

7. The 301 Mark

You may have seen a lot of videos that have a stagnant count of 301 views. The algorithm behind YouTube’s view counting system believes that any video which has fetched higher than 300 views has the ability to impact people’s perception of quality on YouTube. They do not want the homepage to be crowded with artificially popular videos.

This is why view counts are often frozen at 301. The employees at YouTube then manually verify whether the views obtained so far are legitimate or fake. Once the employees are sure that the views are legit, the counter is unfrozen and you will see an upward swing.

During the period when the view count is frozen every legitimate view is still counted, just not added immediately. Once the YouTube team is sure that your videos are not getting fake traffic, your view count will be updated to include views that were registered during the frozen phase. However, YouTube says it won’t flag videos at 301 views anymore.

Conclusion

In short, we know YouTube expects a viewer to watch a video for around 30 seconds before it counts a view, that views from suspicious accounts are not counted, and that YouTube can decide to freeze your view count while they review your views. They are protecting the site from becoming saturated with videos that only look popular because of bots. Ultimately, ‘how does YouTube count views’ isn’t a question anyone but YouTube can answer for sure, but we do know it isn’t as simple as ‘a view is someone clicking on your video’.

If you want to engage your audience with cool effects and Filmora is the best choice to make a split-screen and green screen video for YouTubers. Download it now to have a try!

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

How does YouTube count views? It’s not as simple as the number of clicks your video gets. If someone sits and refreshes your video over and over without letting it play for any significant time, those refreshes won’t be recorded as views. There is a lot more that goes into the calculation.

1. Not Everyone Who Clicks Adds to Your View Count
2. How Does YouTube Count Views
3. How Does YouTube’s View Count Algorithm Work?
4. Account Tracking Factors - Some Viewers Don’t Count
5. The Skip & Skim
6. Frozen YouTube View Counts
7. The 301 Mark

Best YouTube Video Editor - Filmora

After you have created your YouTube channel, do you want to edit videos and upload your first video? Here we recommend using Filmora to easily edit YouTube videos.

You can use Filmora to make YouTube videos with built-in royalty-free audio. Filmora also can help you make YouTube intros. It includes more than 500 templates, transitions, effects, and text resources.

1. Not Everyone Who Clicks Adds to Your View Count

YouTube doesn’t provide a clear definition of what counts as a view, but we know that someone clicks on your video, and clicking right away doesn’t count. That’s how we know that watch time is a factor. Some studies conclude that a full 30 seconds need to be viewed to register as one view, but there is no way to know for sure.

2. How Does YouTube Count Views?

YouTube wants to be sure that views are coming from humans and not bots. So, during the first couple of hours after you publish a video, YouTube seems to be stricter about what they count. The views which are counted are the ones that YouTube believes to be legitimate. Sometimes, it ends up skipping legitimate views for the sake of discretion.

Once this window of time passes, it is likely that you will see the view counter start to update a lot more frequently. The counter could still revert to updating slower and more hesitantly, though, if YouTube’s algorithm thinks it’s detecting something fishy.

At times, your view count can even be frozen temporarily until the algorithm can validate the views you are receiving. This is done to ensure a fair and positive experience for everyone who creates content. View counts can be adjusted by the algorithm in either direction.

You May Also Like:
5 Tips To Get More Views With YouTube Optimization [Free Checklist] >>

3. How Does YouTube’s View Count Algorithm Work?

Termed by many as one of the most boggling algorithms of all time, it is really hard to decode the complete dynamics of the YouTube view count algorithm.

There are some tests you can run yourself to try to unpack it.

If you upload a video and then set it as unlisted it won’t get any public views so you can experiment by doing things like watching for different lengths of time and seeing what gets counted.

You’ll have to use a computer in a different location and make sure the account is not the same as the one you used to upload the video. Now, you need to watch the video for roughly 15 seconds. The key here is to keep it less than 30 seconds. You will see that the view did not add to the count. If you repeat this process on multiple computers at varying locations and with different accounts and you are likely to find the same result.

However, if you watch it for 30 seconds or longer it is likely that the count will go up.

We are adding ‘likely’ here because, despite this 30-second rule which has been decoded, there are other factors that might contribute to whether a view is counted as well as other automated scanning techniques at play.

Try to watch the same video numerous times in a single day. You will find that the count will add up at first, but after some time it will stop. YouTube knows that a lot of times people replay some videos over and over when they really enjoy them, and so they want to factor replays into their algorithm because they suggest quality. However, to avoid spam views, the counter will stop after a certain point.

4. Account Tracking Factors - Some Viewers Don’t Count

Something else that can affect whether a view is counted is the behavior of the account which watches it prior to landing on your video’s watch page. Sometimes, YouTube might feel that there is an increased chance a particular account is actually a bot, and then views from that account might not be added.

One way that YouTube might flag an account as a potential bot is if it is jumping between videos directly without navigating through recommendations, the search engine, or the account’s subscriber feed (how are they getting between these watch page URLs if they aren’t clicking on anything YouTube can record?). To add to it, if the viewer is watching each of the videos for almost 30 seconds exactly (or less) there is an increased probability that it is not a human but a bot (or a human watching the bare minimum as part of a view exchange program).

Any bot-like action will result in an account’s views do not be added to your view count.

5. The Skip & Skim

It’s not uncommon for viewers to watch a video for say five seconds, skip forwards a bit and watch for another ten seconds as they look for a specific part. It is hard to say whether skipping through a video, but watching a scattered 30 seconds, would count as a view or not.

6. Frozen YouTube View Counts

Sometimes YouTube will freeze a view count in order to check that it is accurate. When the count is unfrozen, the count may jump up as views are validated or it can go down if YouTube detects a problem.

You can use YouTube’s analytics reports to monitor an estimate of your potential views, but there is no assurance that this data will completely match your official view count.

7. The 301 Mark

You may have seen a lot of videos that have a stagnant count of 301 views. The algorithm behind YouTube’s view counting system believes that any video which has fetched higher than 300 views has the ability to impact people’s perception of quality on YouTube. They do not want the homepage to be crowded with artificially popular videos.

This is why view counts are often frozen at 301. The employees at YouTube then manually verify whether the views obtained so far are legitimate or fake. Once the employees are sure that the views are legit, the counter is unfrozen and you will see an upward swing.

During the period when the view count is frozen every legitimate view is still counted, just not added immediately. Once the YouTube team is sure that your videos are not getting fake traffic, your view count will be updated to include views that were registered during the frozen phase. However, YouTube says it won’t flag videos at 301 views anymore.

Conclusion

In short, we know YouTube expects a viewer to watch a video for around 30 seconds before it counts a view, that views from suspicious accounts are not counted, and that YouTube can decide to freeze your view count while they review your views. They are protecting the site from becoming saturated with videos that only look popular because of bots. Ultimately, ‘how does YouTube count views’ isn’t a question anyone but YouTube can answer for sure, but we do know it isn’t as simple as ‘a view is someone clicking on your video’.

If you want to engage your audience with cool effects and Filmora is the best choice to make a split-screen and green screen video for YouTubers. Download it now to have a try!

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

How does YouTube count views? It’s not as simple as the number of clicks your video gets. If someone sits and refreshes your video over and over without letting it play for any significant time, those refreshes won’t be recorded as views. There is a lot more that goes into the calculation.

1. Not Everyone Who Clicks Adds to Your View Count
2. How Does YouTube Count Views
3. How Does YouTube’s View Count Algorithm Work?
4. Account Tracking Factors - Some Viewers Don’t Count
5. The Skip & Skim
6. Frozen YouTube View Counts
7. The 301 Mark

Best YouTube Video Editor - Filmora

After you have created your YouTube channel, do you want to edit videos and upload your first video? Here we recommend using Filmora to easily edit YouTube videos.

You can use Filmora to make YouTube videos with built-in royalty-free audio. Filmora also can help you make YouTube intros. It includes more than 500 templates, transitions, effects, and text resources.

1. Not Everyone Who Clicks Adds to Your View Count

YouTube doesn’t provide a clear definition of what counts as a view, but we know that someone clicks on your video, and clicking right away doesn’t count. That’s how we know that watch time is a factor. Some studies conclude that a full 30 seconds need to be viewed to register as one view, but there is no way to know for sure.

2. How Does YouTube Count Views?

YouTube wants to be sure that views are coming from humans and not bots. So, during the first couple of hours after you publish a video, YouTube seems to be stricter about what they count. The views which are counted are the ones that YouTube believes to be legitimate. Sometimes, it ends up skipping legitimate views for the sake of discretion.

Once this window of time passes, it is likely that you will see the view counter start to update a lot more frequently. The counter could still revert to updating slower and more hesitantly, though, if YouTube’s algorithm thinks it’s detecting something fishy.

At times, your view count can even be frozen temporarily until the algorithm can validate the views you are receiving. This is done to ensure a fair and positive experience for everyone who creates content. View counts can be adjusted by the algorithm in either direction.

You May Also Like:
5 Tips To Get More Views With YouTube Optimization [Free Checklist] >>

3. How Does YouTube’s View Count Algorithm Work?

Termed by many as one of the most boggling algorithms of all time, it is really hard to decode the complete dynamics of the YouTube view count algorithm.

There are some tests you can run yourself to try to unpack it.

If you upload a video and then set it as unlisted it won’t get any public views so you can experiment by doing things like watching for different lengths of time and seeing what gets counted.

You’ll have to use a computer in a different location and make sure the account is not the same as the one you used to upload the video. Now, you need to watch the video for roughly 15 seconds. The key here is to keep it less than 30 seconds. You will see that the view did not add to the count. If you repeat this process on multiple computers at varying locations and with different accounts and you are likely to find the same result.

However, if you watch it for 30 seconds or longer it is likely that the count will go up.

We are adding ‘likely’ here because, despite this 30-second rule which has been decoded, there are other factors that might contribute to whether a view is counted as well as other automated scanning techniques at play.

Try to watch the same video numerous times in a single day. You will find that the count will add up at first, but after some time it will stop. YouTube knows that a lot of times people replay some videos over and over when they really enjoy them, and so they want to factor replays into their algorithm because they suggest quality. However, to avoid spam views, the counter will stop after a certain point.

4. Account Tracking Factors - Some Viewers Don’t Count

Something else that can affect whether a view is counted is the behavior of the account which watches it prior to landing on your video’s watch page. Sometimes, YouTube might feel that there is an increased chance a particular account is actually a bot, and then views from that account might not be added.

One way that YouTube might flag an account as a potential bot is if it is jumping between videos directly without navigating through recommendations, the search engine, or the account’s subscriber feed (how are they getting between these watch page URLs if they aren’t clicking on anything YouTube can record?). To add to it, if the viewer is watching each of the videos for almost 30 seconds exactly (or less) there is an increased probability that it is not a human but a bot (or a human watching the bare minimum as part of a view exchange program).

Any bot-like action will result in an account’s views do not be added to your view count.

5. The Skip & Skim

It’s not uncommon for viewers to watch a video for say five seconds, skip forwards a bit and watch for another ten seconds as they look for a specific part. It is hard to say whether skipping through a video, but watching a scattered 30 seconds, would count as a view or not.

6. Frozen YouTube View Counts

Sometimes YouTube will freeze a view count in order to check that it is accurate. When the count is unfrozen, the count may jump up as views are validated or it can go down if YouTube detects a problem.

You can use YouTube’s analytics reports to monitor an estimate of your potential views, but there is no assurance that this data will completely match your official view count.

7. The 301 Mark

You may have seen a lot of videos that have a stagnant count of 301 views. The algorithm behind YouTube’s view counting system believes that any video which has fetched higher than 300 views has the ability to impact people’s perception of quality on YouTube. They do not want the homepage to be crowded with artificially popular videos.

This is why view counts are often frozen at 301. The employees at YouTube then manually verify whether the views obtained so far are legitimate or fake. Once the employees are sure that the views are legit, the counter is unfrozen and you will see an upward swing.

During the period when the view count is frozen every legitimate view is still counted, just not added immediately. Once the YouTube team is sure that your videos are not getting fake traffic, your view count will be updated to include views that were registered during the frozen phase. However, YouTube says it won’t flag videos at 301 views anymore.

Conclusion

In short, we know YouTube expects a viewer to watch a video for around 30 seconds before it counts a view, that views from suspicious accounts are not counted, and that YouTube can decide to freeze your view count while they review your views. They are protecting the site from becoming saturated with videos that only look popular because of bots. Ultimately, ‘how does YouTube count views’ isn’t a question anyone but YouTube can answer for sure, but we do know it isn’t as simple as ‘a view is someone clicking on your video’.

If you want to engage your audience with cool effects and Filmora is the best choice to make a split-screen and green screen video for YouTubers. Download it now to have a try!

Richard Bennett

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

Follow @Richard Bennett

Also read: