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"2024 Approved The Insider's Approach to Maximizing YouTube Video Revenue"
The Insider’s Approach to Maximizing YouTube Video Revenue
Monetize YouTube Videos | The Ultimate Guide to Ad Revenue
Richard Bennett
Oct 26, 2023• Proven solutions
Want to make money on YouTube? There are qualifications you have to meet before you can monetize your videos with ads, but you don’t have to have a huge channel.
Here’s everything you need to know to join the YouTube Partner Program and start earning ad revenue:
- Qualifying for the YouTube Partner Program
- How to Apply for Monetization on YouTube
- What is Ad Friendly Content?
- How to Get Paid Through AdSense
- Which YouTube Videos Get the Highest Paying Ads?
- Useful Terminology (CPM, CPV, CPC)
What is the YouTube Partner Program
YouTube’s Partner Program, or YPP, allows creators to monetize their YouTube videos through ads. If you are a YouTube Partner, that means you are earning revenue from the ads being shown before and during your videos.
Before you dive into the below guide, you may need a video editor to start your monetizing on Youtube. Filmora video editor will be the best choice.
Becoming a skilled video editor takes years of practice, but with Wondershare Filmora video editor, you can produce YouTube videos that have a professional look and feel, even if you are new to the world of video editing. This YouTube Video Creator has big icons and an intuitive interface, so those YouTubers who edit videos for the first time can quickly make a video.
Qualifying for the YouTube Partner Program
In order to qualify for YPP, you need to prove that you’re creating consistent, original, content and that people are watching your content. YouTube believes that has been proven when you reach these qualifications:
- 1000 Subscribers
- 4000 Hours of Watch Time (over the past 12 months)
Not quite there yet? Here’s a list of actionable tips that can help you grow your channel.
If you meet these requirements and are approved for monetization, but then drop below them, your channel will not be automatically demonetized. YouTube may review your content and demonetize you if you seem to have stopped posting videos, but this will not be automatic.
Remember: meeting these milestones does not grant you automatic monetization.
You can apply for YPP when you reach the milestones above, but your channel will still need to be reviewed by a human working for YouTube. Reviewers will be watching for:
- Nudity or sexual content
- Harmful, dangerous, threatening, or hateful content
- Violent or graphic content
- Harassment or cyberbullying
- Spam, scams, and misleading metadata
- Copyright infringement or impersonation
- Privacy violations
- Fake subscribers
- Other guidelines violations
If your content violates any of YouTube’s Community Guidelines you may be denied monetization. Learn more about YouTube’s Community Guidelines here.
How to Apply for Monetization on YouTube
Once you qualify for YPP, applying for monetization is easy.
- In the Creator Studio, select Channel > Status and features.
- Under ‘Monetization’, click Enable and follow the steps that appear to accept YouTube’s terms.
- Wait to be approved.
If you’re approved, you can start earning money as soon as your AdSense account is set up!
If you’re not approved, you can apply again in 30 days.
To make sure you’re approved the next time you apply, review all of YouTube’s related policies (Partner Program policies , Terms of Service , spam policies , and Community Guidelines ) and remove the content that might be holding you back.
In order to start monetizing, you’ll need to link your channel with an AdSense account. You must be over 18 to create an AdSense account. YouTube creators under 18 can link to the AdSense accounts of their parents or guardians.
Here’s how to sign up for AdSense through YouTube:
- Under Channel > Status and features in your Creator Studio, look for Paid content. Click where it says ‘active AdSense account’.
- On the following ‘Monetization’ screen, click Next to go to AdSense.
- You will be asked whether you want to use the Google account you’re already signed in to for AdSense, or if you want to use a different account.
- The next step is ‘Your Website’. This will automatically be filled in with your channel. Click Accept association if it’s right.
Note: you can only have one AdSense account. Do not make a second one if you already have one. Duplicate accounts may be banned, which will stop you from monetizing your videos.
What is Ad Friendly content?
Not all content that meets YouTube’s Community Guidelines will be considered ‘advertiser-friendly’. Companies don’t want to run ads alongside content that doesn’t match the values of their brands.
YouTube may disable ads on any video it doesn’t think is ad-friendly. Videos which may be flagged as inappropriate for ads include (but are not limited to):
- Videos that cover controversial or sensitive subjects.
- Videos depicting the use of drugs or dangerous products.
- Videos may encourage harmful or dangerous behavior.
- Videos with swearing (but not ALL videos with swearing – quantity and context are factors).
- Videos which contain hate speech.
- Videos that depict family entertainment characters (i.e. Disney princesses) engaged in inappropriate behavior (even if you’re being satirical).
If you want to make sure all of your content is advertiser-friendly, here are some best practices suggested by YouTube:
- Be respectful of your viewers and any people or groups you may include or mention in your video.
- Extend this respectful tone to your thumbnails and video titles, and make sure your thumbnails and metadata accurately depict your video’s content.
- Don’t try to monetize videos that already contain ads (i.e. paid product placement ).
How to Get Paid Through AdSense
In order to receive a payment from AdSense, you need to earn at least $100.
For example, if you only earn $10 in a month, you will not receive a payment that month. You will not lose that $10 – you will receive it when your total earnings reach or exceed $100.
You will also need to provide AdSense with tax information and verify your identity and address in order to start being paid.
The most popular way to get paid through AdSense is via an EFT (Electronic Funds Transfer). To receive your payments this way, you’ll need to link your bank account to your AdSense account.
Here’s how:
- Log in to AdSense.
- Click Settings in the menu on the left, and then select Payments.
- On the Payments page, click Manage payment options.
- Click the Add payment method.
- You’ll be prompted to add your bank account details.
- Make sure the name on your AdSense account matches the name on your bank account (if you’re under 18 and cannot make your own AdSense account, this may mean you’re using your parent or guardian’s bank account).
Which YouTube Videos Get the Highest Paying Ads?
Not all ads pay the same, and not all videos will be able to attract the ads that pay the most.
How much money your video has the potential to earn depends on:
- The size of your channel
- Your niche on YouTube
- The specific topic of the video
That the size of your channel matters probably isn’t a surprise. The biggest brands want to run their ads beside videos that are getting more views.
Whether or not your YouTube niche has a high potential for profit will depend on a couple things:
- How many other channels are in your niche?
The more people there are making similar videos to you, the thinner the available ads are spread.
- How many cheap or expensive products are being advertised in your niche?
If the products are free or inexpensive (i.e. free online games) then that limits your earning ability. In large niches like gaming, the few higher paying ads will go to the most popular channels and the low-paying ads will be spread amongst everyone else.
If you have a very specific niche, i.e. luxury cars, then you will have less competition and the ads available will likely be for more expensive products (and thus the ads themselves will be higher paying).
Even if you are in a large niche, you can still make videos on specific topics designed to attract higher-paying ads and more revenue. Pay attention to the analytics in your Creator Studio to learn which of your videos earn the most. Then, make more videos on similar topics to boost your earnings.
Another factor that can affect what ads appear alongside your videos is the viewing habits of individual viewers. People are shown ads that YouTube believes are more relevant to their interests.
Useful Terminology (CPM, CPC, CPV)
A lot of people think your ad revenue is determined by your view count. This isn’t true – it’s determined by ad impressions.
How much revenue you earn from the ads running around your videos depends on these three things:
CPC: ‘cost per click’. Most of the ads on YouTube are CPC, meaning that an ad impression is only recorded when an ad is clicked on.
CPV: ‘cost per view’. Skippable pre-roll ads are the only ads on YouTube which record ad impressions without clicks. These ads record ad impressions when viewers watch 30 seconds of the ad instead of skipping it.
CPM: ‘cost per mille’ or ‘cost per thousand’. This refers to how much money gets paid out for 1000 ad impressions.
Your CPM will be affected by a multitude of things including the ads themselves and the size of your channel. AdSense has made it a rule that you cannot disclose your CPM to anyone, which makes it difficult to determine what you should expect.
Note: never click on ads near your own videos or instruct your viewers/friends to do so. If your clicks are higher than what AdSense considers normal they may ban you.
Sites like Social Blade provide estimated earnings for any channel you want to look up. Looking up channels that are where you plan to be in the near future could help you set your own expectations.
Are you able to monetize your videos? How many more subscribers or hours of watch time do you need?
Richard Bennett
Richard Bennett is a writer and a lover of all things video.
Follow @Richard Bennett
Richard Bennett
Oct 26, 2023• Proven solutions
Want to make money on YouTube? There are qualifications you have to meet before you can monetize your videos with ads, but you don’t have to have a huge channel.
Here’s everything you need to know to join the YouTube Partner Program and start earning ad revenue:
- Qualifying for the YouTube Partner Program
- How to Apply for Monetization on YouTube
- What is Ad Friendly Content?
- How to Get Paid Through AdSense
- Which YouTube Videos Get the Highest Paying Ads?
- Useful Terminology (CPM, CPV, CPC)
What is the YouTube Partner Program
YouTube’s Partner Program, or YPP, allows creators to monetize their YouTube videos through ads. If you are a YouTube Partner, that means you are earning revenue from the ads being shown before and during your videos.
Before you dive into the below guide, you may need a video editor to start your monetizing on Youtube. Filmora video editor will be the best choice.
Becoming a skilled video editor takes years of practice, but with Wondershare Filmora video editor, you can produce YouTube videos that have a professional look and feel, even if you are new to the world of video editing. This YouTube Video Creator has big icons and an intuitive interface, so those YouTubers who edit videos for the first time can quickly make a video.
Qualifying for the YouTube Partner Program
In order to qualify for YPP, you need to prove that you’re creating consistent, original, content and that people are watching your content. YouTube believes that has been proven when you reach these qualifications:
- 1000 Subscribers
- 4000 Hours of Watch Time (over the past 12 months)
Not quite there yet? Here’s a list of actionable tips that can help you grow your channel.
If you meet these requirements and are approved for monetization, but then drop below them, your channel will not be automatically demonetized. YouTube may review your content and demonetize you if you seem to have stopped posting videos, but this will not be automatic.
Remember: meeting these milestones does not grant you automatic monetization.
You can apply for YPP when you reach the milestones above, but your channel will still need to be reviewed by a human working for YouTube. Reviewers will be watching for:
- Nudity or sexual content
- Harmful, dangerous, threatening, or hateful content
- Violent or graphic content
- Harassment or cyberbullying
- Spam, scams, and misleading metadata
- Copyright infringement or impersonation
- Privacy violations
- Fake subscribers
- Other guidelines violations
If your content violates any of YouTube’s Community Guidelines you may be denied monetization. Learn more about YouTube’s Community Guidelines here.
How to Apply for Monetization on YouTube
Once you qualify for YPP, applying for monetization is easy.
- In the Creator Studio, select Channel > Status and features.
- Under ‘Monetization’, click Enable and follow the steps that appear to accept YouTube’s terms.
- Wait to be approved.
If you’re approved, you can start earning money as soon as your AdSense account is set up!
If you’re not approved, you can apply again in 30 days.
To make sure you’re approved the next time you apply, review all of YouTube’s related policies (Partner Program policies , Terms of Service , spam policies , and Community Guidelines ) and remove the content that might be holding you back.
In order to start monetizing, you’ll need to link your channel with an AdSense account. You must be over 18 to create an AdSense account. YouTube creators under 18 can link to the AdSense accounts of their parents or guardians.
Here’s how to sign up for AdSense through YouTube:
- Under Channel > Status and features in your Creator Studio, look for Paid content. Click where it says ‘active AdSense account’.
- On the following ‘Monetization’ screen, click Next to go to AdSense.
- You will be asked whether you want to use the Google account you’re already signed in to for AdSense, or if you want to use a different account.
- The next step is ‘Your Website’. This will automatically be filled in with your channel. Click Accept association if it’s right.
Note: you can only have one AdSense account. Do not make a second one if you already have one. Duplicate accounts may be banned, which will stop you from monetizing your videos.
What is Ad Friendly content?
Not all content that meets YouTube’s Community Guidelines will be considered ‘advertiser-friendly’. Companies don’t want to run ads alongside content that doesn’t match the values of their brands.
YouTube may disable ads on any video it doesn’t think is ad-friendly. Videos which may be flagged as inappropriate for ads include (but are not limited to):
- Videos that cover controversial or sensitive subjects.
- Videos depicting the use of drugs or dangerous products.
- Videos may encourage harmful or dangerous behavior.
- Videos with swearing (but not ALL videos with swearing – quantity and context are factors).
- Videos which contain hate speech.
- Videos that depict family entertainment characters (i.e. Disney princesses) engaged in inappropriate behavior (even if you’re being satirical).
If you want to make sure all of your content is advertiser-friendly, here are some best practices suggested by YouTube:
- Be respectful of your viewers and any people or groups you may include or mention in your video.
- Extend this respectful tone to your thumbnails and video titles, and make sure your thumbnails and metadata accurately depict your video’s content.
- Don’t try to monetize videos that already contain ads (i.e. paid product placement ).
How to Get Paid Through AdSense
In order to receive a payment from AdSense, you need to earn at least $100.
For example, if you only earn $10 in a month, you will not receive a payment that month. You will not lose that $10 – you will receive it when your total earnings reach or exceed $100.
You will also need to provide AdSense with tax information and verify your identity and address in order to start being paid.
The most popular way to get paid through AdSense is via an EFT (Electronic Funds Transfer). To receive your payments this way, you’ll need to link your bank account to your AdSense account.
Here’s how:
- Log in to AdSense.
- Click Settings in the menu on the left, and then select Payments.
- On the Payments page, click Manage payment options.
- Click the Add payment method.
- You’ll be prompted to add your bank account details.
- Make sure the name on your AdSense account matches the name on your bank account (if you’re under 18 and cannot make your own AdSense account, this may mean you’re using your parent or guardian’s bank account).
Which YouTube Videos Get the Highest Paying Ads?
Not all ads pay the same, and not all videos will be able to attract the ads that pay the most.
How much money your video has the potential to earn depends on:
- The size of your channel
- Your niche on YouTube
- The specific topic of the video
That the size of your channel matters probably isn’t a surprise. The biggest brands want to run their ads beside videos that are getting more views.
Whether or not your YouTube niche has a high potential for profit will depend on a couple things:
- How many other channels are in your niche?
The more people there are making similar videos to you, the thinner the available ads are spread.
- How many cheap or expensive products are being advertised in your niche?
If the products are free or inexpensive (i.e. free online games) then that limits your earning ability. In large niches like gaming, the few higher paying ads will go to the most popular channels and the low-paying ads will be spread amongst everyone else.
If you have a very specific niche, i.e. luxury cars, then you will have less competition and the ads available will likely be for more expensive products (and thus the ads themselves will be higher paying).
Even if you are in a large niche, you can still make videos on specific topics designed to attract higher-paying ads and more revenue. Pay attention to the analytics in your Creator Studio to learn which of your videos earn the most. Then, make more videos on similar topics to boost your earnings.
Another factor that can affect what ads appear alongside your videos is the viewing habits of individual viewers. People are shown ads that YouTube believes are more relevant to their interests.
Useful Terminology (CPM, CPC, CPV)
A lot of people think your ad revenue is determined by your view count. This isn’t true – it’s determined by ad impressions.
How much revenue you earn from the ads running around your videos depends on these three things:
CPC: ‘cost per click’. Most of the ads on YouTube are CPC, meaning that an ad impression is only recorded when an ad is clicked on.
CPV: ‘cost per view’. Skippable pre-roll ads are the only ads on YouTube which record ad impressions without clicks. These ads record ad impressions when viewers watch 30 seconds of the ad instead of skipping it.
CPM: ‘cost per mille’ or ‘cost per thousand’. This refers to how much money gets paid out for 1000 ad impressions.
Your CPM will be affected by a multitude of things including the ads themselves and the size of your channel. AdSense has made it a rule that you cannot disclose your CPM to anyone, which makes it difficult to determine what you should expect.
Note: never click on ads near your own videos or instruct your viewers/friends to do so. If your clicks are higher than what AdSense considers normal they may ban you.
Sites like Social Blade provide estimated earnings for any channel you want to look up. Looking up channels that are where you plan to be in the near future could help you set your own expectations.
Are you able to monetize your videos? How many more subscribers or hours of watch time do you need?
Richard Bennett
Richard Bennett is a writer and a lover of all things video.
Follow @Richard Bennett
Richard Bennett
Oct 26, 2023• Proven solutions
Want to make money on YouTube? There are qualifications you have to meet before you can monetize your videos with ads, but you don’t have to have a huge channel.
Here’s everything you need to know to join the YouTube Partner Program and start earning ad revenue:
- Qualifying for the YouTube Partner Program
- How to Apply for Monetization on YouTube
- What is Ad Friendly Content?
- How to Get Paid Through AdSense
- Which YouTube Videos Get the Highest Paying Ads?
- Useful Terminology (CPM, CPV, CPC)
What is the YouTube Partner Program
YouTube’s Partner Program, or YPP, allows creators to monetize their YouTube videos through ads. If you are a YouTube Partner, that means you are earning revenue from the ads being shown before and during your videos.
Before you dive into the below guide, you may need a video editor to start your monetizing on Youtube. Filmora video editor will be the best choice.
Becoming a skilled video editor takes years of practice, but with Wondershare Filmora video editor, you can produce YouTube videos that have a professional look and feel, even if you are new to the world of video editing. This YouTube Video Creator has big icons and an intuitive interface, so those YouTubers who edit videos for the first time can quickly make a video.
Qualifying for the YouTube Partner Program
In order to qualify for YPP, you need to prove that you’re creating consistent, original, content and that people are watching your content. YouTube believes that has been proven when you reach these qualifications:
- 1000 Subscribers
- 4000 Hours of Watch Time (over the past 12 months)
Not quite there yet? Here’s a list of actionable tips that can help you grow your channel.
If you meet these requirements and are approved for monetization, but then drop below them, your channel will not be automatically demonetized. YouTube may review your content and demonetize you if you seem to have stopped posting videos, but this will not be automatic.
Remember: meeting these milestones does not grant you automatic monetization.
You can apply for YPP when you reach the milestones above, but your channel will still need to be reviewed by a human working for YouTube. Reviewers will be watching for:
- Nudity or sexual content
- Harmful, dangerous, threatening, or hateful content
- Violent or graphic content
- Harassment or cyberbullying
- Spam, scams, and misleading metadata
- Copyright infringement or impersonation
- Privacy violations
- Fake subscribers
- Other guidelines violations
If your content violates any of YouTube’s Community Guidelines you may be denied monetization. Learn more about YouTube’s Community Guidelines here.
How to Apply for Monetization on YouTube
Once you qualify for YPP, applying for monetization is easy.
- In the Creator Studio, select Channel > Status and features.
- Under ‘Monetization’, click Enable and follow the steps that appear to accept YouTube’s terms.
- Wait to be approved.
If you’re approved, you can start earning money as soon as your AdSense account is set up!
If you’re not approved, you can apply again in 30 days.
To make sure you’re approved the next time you apply, review all of YouTube’s related policies (Partner Program policies , Terms of Service , spam policies , and Community Guidelines ) and remove the content that might be holding you back.
In order to start monetizing, you’ll need to link your channel with an AdSense account. You must be over 18 to create an AdSense account. YouTube creators under 18 can link to the AdSense accounts of their parents or guardians.
Here’s how to sign up for AdSense through YouTube:
- Under Channel > Status and features in your Creator Studio, look for Paid content. Click where it says ‘active AdSense account’.
- On the following ‘Monetization’ screen, click Next to go to AdSense.
- You will be asked whether you want to use the Google account you’re already signed in to for AdSense, or if you want to use a different account.
- The next step is ‘Your Website’. This will automatically be filled in with your channel. Click Accept association if it’s right.
Note: you can only have one AdSense account. Do not make a second one if you already have one. Duplicate accounts may be banned, which will stop you from monetizing your videos.
What is Ad Friendly content?
Not all content that meets YouTube’s Community Guidelines will be considered ‘advertiser-friendly’. Companies don’t want to run ads alongside content that doesn’t match the values of their brands.
YouTube may disable ads on any video it doesn’t think is ad-friendly. Videos which may be flagged as inappropriate for ads include (but are not limited to):
- Videos that cover controversial or sensitive subjects.
- Videos depicting the use of drugs or dangerous products.
- Videos may encourage harmful or dangerous behavior.
- Videos with swearing (but not ALL videos with swearing – quantity and context are factors).
- Videos which contain hate speech.
- Videos that depict family entertainment characters (i.e. Disney princesses) engaged in inappropriate behavior (even if you’re being satirical).
If you want to make sure all of your content is advertiser-friendly, here are some best practices suggested by YouTube:
- Be respectful of your viewers and any people or groups you may include or mention in your video.
- Extend this respectful tone to your thumbnails and video titles, and make sure your thumbnails and metadata accurately depict your video’s content.
- Don’t try to monetize videos that already contain ads (i.e. paid product placement ).
How to Get Paid Through AdSense
In order to receive a payment from AdSense, you need to earn at least $100.
For example, if you only earn $10 in a month, you will not receive a payment that month. You will not lose that $10 – you will receive it when your total earnings reach or exceed $100.
You will also need to provide AdSense with tax information and verify your identity and address in order to start being paid.
The most popular way to get paid through AdSense is via an EFT (Electronic Funds Transfer). To receive your payments this way, you’ll need to link your bank account to your AdSense account.
Here’s how:
- Log in to AdSense.
- Click Settings in the menu on the left, and then select Payments.
- On the Payments page, click Manage payment options.
- Click the Add payment method.
- You’ll be prompted to add your bank account details.
- Make sure the name on your AdSense account matches the name on your bank account (if you’re under 18 and cannot make your own AdSense account, this may mean you’re using your parent or guardian’s bank account).
Which YouTube Videos Get the Highest Paying Ads?
Not all ads pay the same, and not all videos will be able to attract the ads that pay the most.
How much money your video has the potential to earn depends on:
- The size of your channel
- Your niche on YouTube
- The specific topic of the video
That the size of your channel matters probably isn’t a surprise. The biggest brands want to run their ads beside videos that are getting more views.
Whether or not your YouTube niche has a high potential for profit will depend on a couple things:
- How many other channels are in your niche?
The more people there are making similar videos to you, the thinner the available ads are spread.
- How many cheap or expensive products are being advertised in your niche?
If the products are free or inexpensive (i.e. free online games) then that limits your earning ability. In large niches like gaming, the few higher paying ads will go to the most popular channels and the low-paying ads will be spread amongst everyone else.
If you have a very specific niche, i.e. luxury cars, then you will have less competition and the ads available will likely be for more expensive products (and thus the ads themselves will be higher paying).
Even if you are in a large niche, you can still make videos on specific topics designed to attract higher-paying ads and more revenue. Pay attention to the analytics in your Creator Studio to learn which of your videos earn the most. Then, make more videos on similar topics to boost your earnings.
Another factor that can affect what ads appear alongside your videos is the viewing habits of individual viewers. People are shown ads that YouTube believes are more relevant to their interests.
Useful Terminology (CPM, CPC, CPV)
A lot of people think your ad revenue is determined by your view count. This isn’t true – it’s determined by ad impressions.
How much revenue you earn from the ads running around your videos depends on these three things:
CPC: ‘cost per click’. Most of the ads on YouTube are CPC, meaning that an ad impression is only recorded when an ad is clicked on.
CPV: ‘cost per view’. Skippable pre-roll ads are the only ads on YouTube which record ad impressions without clicks. These ads record ad impressions when viewers watch 30 seconds of the ad instead of skipping it.
CPM: ‘cost per mille’ or ‘cost per thousand’. This refers to how much money gets paid out for 1000 ad impressions.
Your CPM will be affected by a multitude of things including the ads themselves and the size of your channel. AdSense has made it a rule that you cannot disclose your CPM to anyone, which makes it difficult to determine what you should expect.
Note: never click on ads near your own videos or instruct your viewers/friends to do so. If your clicks are higher than what AdSense considers normal they may ban you.
Sites like Social Blade provide estimated earnings for any channel you want to look up. Looking up channels that are where you plan to be in the near future could help you set your own expectations.
Are you able to monetize your videos? How many more subscribers or hours of watch time do you need?
Richard Bennett
Richard Bennett is a writer and a lover of all things video.
Follow @Richard Bennett
Richard Bennett
Oct 26, 2023• Proven solutions
Want to make money on YouTube? There are qualifications you have to meet before you can monetize your videos with ads, but you don’t have to have a huge channel.
Here’s everything you need to know to join the YouTube Partner Program and start earning ad revenue:
- Qualifying for the YouTube Partner Program
- How to Apply for Monetization on YouTube
- What is Ad Friendly Content?
- How to Get Paid Through AdSense
- Which YouTube Videos Get the Highest Paying Ads?
- Useful Terminology (CPM, CPV, CPC)
What is the YouTube Partner Program
YouTube’s Partner Program, or YPP, allows creators to monetize their YouTube videos through ads. If you are a YouTube Partner, that means you are earning revenue from the ads being shown before and during your videos.
Before you dive into the below guide, you may need a video editor to start your monetizing on Youtube. Filmora video editor will be the best choice.
Becoming a skilled video editor takes years of practice, but with Wondershare Filmora video editor, you can produce YouTube videos that have a professional look and feel, even if you are new to the world of video editing. This YouTube Video Creator has big icons and an intuitive interface, so those YouTubers who edit videos for the first time can quickly make a video.
Qualifying for the YouTube Partner Program
In order to qualify for YPP, you need to prove that you’re creating consistent, original, content and that people are watching your content. YouTube believes that has been proven when you reach these qualifications:
- 1000 Subscribers
- 4000 Hours of Watch Time (over the past 12 months)
Not quite there yet? Here’s a list of actionable tips that can help you grow your channel.
If you meet these requirements and are approved for monetization, but then drop below them, your channel will not be automatically demonetized. YouTube may review your content and demonetize you if you seem to have stopped posting videos, but this will not be automatic.
Remember: meeting these milestones does not grant you automatic monetization.
You can apply for YPP when you reach the milestones above, but your channel will still need to be reviewed by a human working for YouTube. Reviewers will be watching for:
- Nudity or sexual content
- Harmful, dangerous, threatening, or hateful content
- Violent or graphic content
- Harassment or cyberbullying
- Spam, scams, and misleading metadata
- Copyright infringement or impersonation
- Privacy violations
- Fake subscribers
- Other guidelines violations
If your content violates any of YouTube’s Community Guidelines you may be denied monetization. Learn more about YouTube’s Community Guidelines here.
How to Apply for Monetization on YouTube
Once you qualify for YPP, applying for monetization is easy.
- In the Creator Studio, select Channel > Status and features.
- Under ‘Monetization’, click Enable and follow the steps that appear to accept YouTube’s terms.
- Wait to be approved.
If you’re approved, you can start earning money as soon as your AdSense account is set up!
If you’re not approved, you can apply again in 30 days.
To make sure you’re approved the next time you apply, review all of YouTube’s related policies (Partner Program policies , Terms of Service , spam policies , and Community Guidelines ) and remove the content that might be holding you back.
In order to start monetizing, you’ll need to link your channel with an AdSense account. You must be over 18 to create an AdSense account. YouTube creators under 18 can link to the AdSense accounts of their parents or guardians.
Here’s how to sign up for AdSense through YouTube:
- Under Channel > Status and features in your Creator Studio, look for Paid content. Click where it says ‘active AdSense account’.
- On the following ‘Monetization’ screen, click Next to go to AdSense.
- You will be asked whether you want to use the Google account you’re already signed in to for AdSense, or if you want to use a different account.
- The next step is ‘Your Website’. This will automatically be filled in with your channel. Click Accept association if it’s right.
Note: you can only have one AdSense account. Do not make a second one if you already have one. Duplicate accounts may be banned, which will stop you from monetizing your videos.
What is Ad Friendly content?
Not all content that meets YouTube’s Community Guidelines will be considered ‘advertiser-friendly’. Companies don’t want to run ads alongside content that doesn’t match the values of their brands.
YouTube may disable ads on any video it doesn’t think is ad-friendly. Videos which may be flagged as inappropriate for ads include (but are not limited to):
- Videos that cover controversial or sensitive subjects.
- Videos depicting the use of drugs or dangerous products.
- Videos may encourage harmful or dangerous behavior.
- Videos with swearing (but not ALL videos with swearing – quantity and context are factors).
- Videos which contain hate speech.
- Videos that depict family entertainment characters (i.e. Disney princesses) engaged in inappropriate behavior (even if you’re being satirical).
If you want to make sure all of your content is advertiser-friendly, here are some best practices suggested by YouTube:
- Be respectful of your viewers and any people or groups you may include or mention in your video.
- Extend this respectful tone to your thumbnails and video titles, and make sure your thumbnails and metadata accurately depict your video’s content.
- Don’t try to monetize videos that already contain ads (i.e. paid product placement ).
How to Get Paid Through AdSense
In order to receive a payment from AdSense, you need to earn at least $100.
For example, if you only earn $10 in a month, you will not receive a payment that month. You will not lose that $10 – you will receive it when your total earnings reach or exceed $100.
You will also need to provide AdSense with tax information and verify your identity and address in order to start being paid.
The most popular way to get paid through AdSense is via an EFT (Electronic Funds Transfer). To receive your payments this way, you’ll need to link your bank account to your AdSense account.
Here’s how:
- Log in to AdSense.
- Click Settings in the menu on the left, and then select Payments.
- On the Payments page, click Manage payment options.
- Click the Add payment method.
- You’ll be prompted to add your bank account details.
- Make sure the name on your AdSense account matches the name on your bank account (if you’re under 18 and cannot make your own AdSense account, this may mean you’re using your parent or guardian’s bank account).
Which YouTube Videos Get the Highest Paying Ads?
Not all ads pay the same, and not all videos will be able to attract the ads that pay the most.
How much money your video has the potential to earn depends on:
- The size of your channel
- Your niche on YouTube
- The specific topic of the video
That the size of your channel matters probably isn’t a surprise. The biggest brands want to run their ads beside videos that are getting more views.
Whether or not your YouTube niche has a high potential for profit will depend on a couple things:
- How many other channels are in your niche?
The more people there are making similar videos to you, the thinner the available ads are spread.
- How many cheap or expensive products are being advertised in your niche?
If the products are free or inexpensive (i.e. free online games) then that limits your earning ability. In large niches like gaming, the few higher paying ads will go to the most popular channels and the low-paying ads will be spread amongst everyone else.
If you have a very specific niche, i.e. luxury cars, then you will have less competition and the ads available will likely be for more expensive products (and thus the ads themselves will be higher paying).
Even if you are in a large niche, you can still make videos on specific topics designed to attract higher-paying ads and more revenue. Pay attention to the analytics in your Creator Studio to learn which of your videos earn the most. Then, make more videos on similar topics to boost your earnings.
Another factor that can affect what ads appear alongside your videos is the viewing habits of individual viewers. People are shown ads that YouTube believes are more relevant to their interests.
Useful Terminology (CPM, CPC, CPV)
A lot of people think your ad revenue is determined by your view count. This isn’t true – it’s determined by ad impressions.
How much revenue you earn from the ads running around your videos depends on these three things:
CPC: ‘cost per click’. Most of the ads on YouTube are CPC, meaning that an ad impression is only recorded when an ad is clicked on.
CPV: ‘cost per view’. Skippable pre-roll ads are the only ads on YouTube which record ad impressions without clicks. These ads record ad impressions when viewers watch 30 seconds of the ad instead of skipping it.
CPM: ‘cost per mille’ or ‘cost per thousand’. This refers to how much money gets paid out for 1000 ad impressions.
Your CPM will be affected by a multitude of things including the ads themselves and the size of your channel. AdSense has made it a rule that you cannot disclose your CPM to anyone, which makes it difficult to determine what you should expect.
Note: never click on ads near your own videos or instruct your viewers/friends to do so. If your clicks are higher than what AdSense considers normal they may ban you.
Sites like Social Blade provide estimated earnings for any channel you want to look up. Looking up channels that are where you plan to be in the near future could help you set your own expectations.
Are you able to monetize your videos? How many more subscribers or hours of watch time do you need?
Richard Bennett
Richard Bennett is a writer and a lover of all things video.
Follow @Richard Bennett
Rise Above, Reach Heights: 5 Tips to Skyrocket Your Visibility
5 Tips to Get More Views with YouTube Optimization [Free Checklist]
Richard Bennett
Oct 26, 2023• Proven solutions
We all want our videos to get a lot of views, and in turn, lead to more subscribers. In order to do so, we have to prepare it for success. If you are hoping to optimize a video after it has already been published to YouTube, then you aren’t going to get the best result, because much of optimization is done before the video is even shot.a
In this article, we will give youa checklist , which you should have with you at the very beginning of creating a YouTube video: the ideation stage. As you go through your process, check off each task. By doing so, you can ensure that you have given the video the best chance to rank high and be discovered.
How to Optimize Your Video to Rank Higher on YouTube?
- Keep Your Audience’s Attention
- Do Keyword Research
- Engage Your Audience
- Upload YouTube Video in Proper Length
1. Keep Your Audience’s Attention:
Even though your view count is going up, it doesn’t mean your audience is watching your video. And if they are not, then YouTube is going to consider your video less valuable and therefore, lowering its rank.
Audience Retention is an important metric to keep an eye on after every video you’ve published.
Before you start your next project, take a look back at the Audience Retention of your previous videos.
- Enter YouTube Studio in your channel
- Access to Analytics
- Select the video you want to review
- Click into engagement
- See where a dip in watch time
What is Good Audience Retention?
If you want to see how your Audience Retention is performing, the Average Percentage Viewed will give you a broad perspective. The higher the percentage, the more people are watching your entire video.
If you get above 60% Average Percentage Viewed, you should feel very proud. In our modern world with our short attention span, that is considered good retention.
In the example above, we see that on average, a viewer will only see 44% of the video. For the video below, we see that it only has 30% of the video viewed. Overall, the first video is performing better.
There is also a dip that happens at the beginning in the second example, which indicates that viewers are skipping forward and about 20% then deciding it’s not worth continuing. It’s good data to help you improve your introduction and the hook.
If there is important information that you are presenting at a given point and in the Audience Retention you see that only a small percentage of your viewers actually see it, then for the next video, you might want to position the details in a different point in the video.
How to Improve Audience Retention
Here are a few ways you can retain your audience’s attention if you noticed a drop in viewership:
- Film a hook (introduce your video to let the audience know what to expect)
- Add b-roll (having supplemental footage to cut to makes your video more interesting to watch)
- Have a co-host (Having someone on screen gives the video more dynamic interactions)
- Edit out the unimportant stuff
- Write a conclusion (having a conclusion prepared will allow you to transition from the content of the video to the call to action without the audience even knowing) See this example by PolyMatter below and notice how seamless their ending is.
If you have a video that is doing a good job retaining the audience, then replicate it. If there isn’t, keep experimenting with new structures. Improving audience retention is not simply important for your ranking, but it will affirm that you are building quality videos.
Knowing how to structure your video will allow you to be strategic as you build out your content.
2. Do Keyword Research:
Many viewers find YouTube videos via search, and if you aren’t using the appropriate keywords, then YouTube won’t be able to identify your content and display it for your viewers.
Where Do Keywords Appear on YouTube?
- Title: Have keywords at the beginning of the title and limit them up to approximately 60 characters so it appears in full in search.
- Tags: Include 10-15 tags from general keywords to more specific.
- Descriptions: Put important information and keywords at the beginning of the description so both searcher and the search engine understands what the video is about.
Why Keywords Matter
keyword arrangement is an integral part of YouTube optimization because the robots behind YouTube don’t associate the value of the actual video content with what the viewer is actually seeking. You should pay attention to the relevance of keywords.
Even when you add closed captions, it doesn’t mean the best keywords are present to the Youtube search engine when we speak.
That is why it is important to know your audience and what words and phrases they are going to use to search for your video.
Here is how you can see what keywords were used to find your video:
- Enter YouTube Studio in your channel
- Access Analytics
- Select Reach
- Click into Traffic Source
- Click Traffic Source: YouTube Search
If you want to find some new keywords for your upcoming video, you will need to do some research.
1. Enter Keywords You Want to Rank for In YouTube Search: This allows you to see what the most popular phrases are in the YouTube search engine.
2. Study the Competitors: See which videos are ranking high for your search term. Use a tool called VidIQ to see the keywords that the top videos are performing.
3. Search for Related Keywords and Evaluate Relevancy: A tool called Ubersuggest can help you find related keywords and allow you to identify the search volume, cost per click (aka CPC is used for determining the budget for paid search), and the competitiveness of the word or phrase.
Search volume: The number of searches with that particular keyword. The higher the number the more popular it is. You should aim to use keywords with a high search volume.
Keyword competition score: This score is usually indicated by a number and it represents how difficult it is for a keyword to rank due to other pages already ranking for that word or phrase. You want to find a keyword with a low competition score.
Pro tip: The best combination is high search volume and low competition score. But if you can’t get that perfect mix, go for the low competitive score, as it will give you a better chance to rank, even if it isn’t searched as often.
4. Come Up With Content Related to Those Keywords: To come up with topic ideas around a keyword, you can use a tool called Answer the Public , which gives you all the most popular questions searched online.
3. Engage Your Audience:
It’s been highly discussed on forums all over the Internet, and there appears to be a strong correlation between YouTube video ranking and the number of likes, dislikes, and comments the video received.
While YouTube itself might not be using the number of likes and comments to determine where your video rank, having high engagement allows your video to be discovered through other means.
Here is an example of how it would work:
- A YouTuber with 100,000 subscribers views your video and likes it
- Then your video might be visible to a fraction of those 100,000 subscribers.
- Boom! Domino effect!
- More people will see your video and like it, increasing your network of viewers and your watch time, which is one of the main factors that YouTube takes into consideration.
Get engagements with a call to action:
- Don’t be afraid to ask for an engagement at the beginning of the video to avoid fall off on retention.
- Encourage them to leave a comment or start a discussion by asking a question at the end of your video.
- Monitor comments and responds to them so you can build a relationship with your audience over time.
It’s all about creating a community and that is what YouTube encourages.
4. Upload YouTube Video in Proper Length:
YouTube puts a lot of weight on watch time, and in addition to that, it puts more weight on session watch time.
Session watch time is counted when people watch your video and then continue to watch others, it doesn’t have to be your own. The more time people spend watching YouTube videos, as a result of your content, the more likely YouTube will increase your ranking.
Since YouTube puts importance on time spent watching videos, the length of your video will play a key role.
If you have 5 videos and all of them are a minute long, a 100% watch through will only get you 5 minutes total.
However, if you have 1 video that is 20 minutes, and an average viewer only watches half of it, then you have an average watch time of over 10 minutes. That’s more than double what your five short videos can do. This longer video is worth more. However, if that 20-minute video is really boring and people drop off in the first minute, then it’s not any better than 1 of the 5 short videos.
If your format allows, go for a longer video instead of a shorter one. But the most important thing is that you can keep people watching your videos: so use end screen and playlist links to keep them engaged.
End screen: Pick related videos for your audience, so they know exactly what they should watch next. You can even create a background template for your end screens .
Playlist: If you have multiple videos that fit a specific topic, add them to a playlist so the viewer can enjoy them all in one viewing.
Key Takeaways:
- Use Audience Retention to better understand how to structure your video for the best results.
- Perform Keyword Research to find the keywords that your competitors are using and your audience is searching for.
- Increasing Subscribers gets your video in front of more people the moment it is published.
- Encourage Comments and respond to establish a relationship with your viewers.
- Ensure that Viewers Continue Watching videos on YouTube after they finish watching yours.
Other Things That Affects Your YouTube Ranking
Except for the above-mentioned factors, there are also other issues that affect the ranking of your YouTube video. YouTube has stated that the number of subscribers doesn’t play a key role in your video ranking.
For example, if a YouTuber has a million subscribers and then overnight they lose 100 thousand, a video they had ranking number 1 will still be ranked number 1.
However, the number of subscribers has a lot of indirect effects on your channel.
- Subscribers know the moment your video is published
- Subscribers will watch your video in the first week (YouTube will rank your video higher if they see a lift in the first week of publishing)
- YouTube put a higher value on subscribers than views and social shares, because it’s harder to fake subscribers
Growing subscribers take time and effort, and even though it shouldn’t be your main focus, there are tactics you can do to gain more subscribers .
Don’t miss a chance to optimize your YouTube video, download, and print out this checklist for your next video project. For more information on SEO(Search Engine Optimization) on YouTube, you can also read the following article.
How to Fast Rank Video Higher with Video SEO >>
10 Best YouTube Keyword Tools to Use with Bonus Tips>>
If you want to find a video editing solution that empowers your imagination and creativity yet takes less effort, please try this robust and user-friendly video editing software Wondershare Filmora. It provides special effects, stock photo & video, sound library, etc., which will definitely enhance your productivity and helps to make money by making videos much accessible.
Richard Bennett
Richard Bennett is a writer and a lover of all things video.
Follow @Richard Bennett
Richard Bennett
Oct 26, 2023• Proven solutions
We all want our videos to get a lot of views, and in turn, lead to more subscribers. In order to do so, we have to prepare it for success. If you are hoping to optimize a video after it has already been published to YouTube, then you aren’t going to get the best result, because much of optimization is done before the video is even shot.a
In this article, we will give youa checklist , which you should have with you at the very beginning of creating a YouTube video: the ideation stage. As you go through your process, check off each task. By doing so, you can ensure that you have given the video the best chance to rank high and be discovered.
How to Optimize Your Video to Rank Higher on YouTube?
- Keep Your Audience’s Attention
- Do Keyword Research
- Engage Your Audience
- Upload YouTube Video in Proper Length
1. Keep Your Audience’s Attention:
Even though your view count is going up, it doesn’t mean your audience is watching your video. And if they are not, then YouTube is going to consider your video less valuable and therefore, lowering its rank.
Audience Retention is an important metric to keep an eye on after every video you’ve published.
Before you start your next project, take a look back at the Audience Retention of your previous videos.
- Enter YouTube Studio in your channel
- Access to Analytics
- Select the video you want to review
- Click into engagement
- See where a dip in watch time
What is Good Audience Retention?
If you want to see how your Audience Retention is performing, the Average Percentage Viewed will give you a broad perspective. The higher the percentage, the more people are watching your entire video.
If you get above 60% Average Percentage Viewed, you should feel very proud. In our modern world with our short attention span, that is considered good retention.
In the example above, we see that on average, a viewer will only see 44% of the video. For the video below, we see that it only has 30% of the video viewed. Overall, the first video is performing better.
There is also a dip that happens at the beginning in the second example, which indicates that viewers are skipping forward and about 20% then deciding it’s not worth continuing. It’s good data to help you improve your introduction and the hook.
If there is important information that you are presenting at a given point and in the Audience Retention you see that only a small percentage of your viewers actually see it, then for the next video, you might want to position the details in a different point in the video.
How to Improve Audience Retention
Here are a few ways you can retain your audience’s attention if you noticed a drop in viewership:
- Film a hook (introduce your video to let the audience know what to expect)
- Add b-roll (having supplemental footage to cut to makes your video more interesting to watch)
- Have a co-host (Having someone on screen gives the video more dynamic interactions)
- Edit out the unimportant stuff
- Write a conclusion (having a conclusion prepared will allow you to transition from the content of the video to the call to action without the audience even knowing) See this example by PolyMatter below and notice how seamless their ending is.
If you have a video that is doing a good job retaining the audience, then replicate it. If there isn’t, keep experimenting with new structures. Improving audience retention is not simply important for your ranking, but it will affirm that you are building quality videos.
Knowing how to structure your video will allow you to be strategic as you build out your content.
2. Do Keyword Research:
Many viewers find YouTube videos via search, and if you aren’t using the appropriate keywords, then YouTube won’t be able to identify your content and display it for your viewers.
Where Do Keywords Appear on YouTube?
- Title: Have keywords at the beginning of the title and limit them up to approximately 60 characters so it appears in full in search.
- Tags: Include 10-15 tags from general keywords to more specific.
- Descriptions: Put important information and keywords at the beginning of the description so both searcher and the search engine understands what the video is about.
Why Keywords Matter
keyword arrangement is an integral part of YouTube optimization because the robots behind YouTube don’t associate the value of the actual video content with what the viewer is actually seeking. You should pay attention to the relevance of keywords.
Even when you add closed captions, it doesn’t mean the best keywords are present to the Youtube search engine when we speak.
That is why it is important to know your audience and what words and phrases they are going to use to search for your video.
Here is how you can see what keywords were used to find your video:
- Enter YouTube Studio in your channel
- Access Analytics
- Select Reach
- Click into Traffic Source
- Click Traffic Source: YouTube Search
If you want to find some new keywords for your upcoming video, you will need to do some research.
1. Enter Keywords You Want to Rank for In YouTube Search: This allows you to see what the most popular phrases are in the YouTube search engine.
2. Study the Competitors: See which videos are ranking high for your search term. Use a tool called VidIQ to see the keywords that the top videos are performing.
3. Search for Related Keywords and Evaluate Relevancy: A tool called Ubersuggest can help you find related keywords and allow you to identify the search volume, cost per click (aka CPC is used for determining the budget for paid search), and the competitiveness of the word or phrase.
Search volume: The number of searches with that particular keyword. The higher the number the more popular it is. You should aim to use keywords with a high search volume.
Keyword competition score: This score is usually indicated by a number and it represents how difficult it is for a keyword to rank due to other pages already ranking for that word or phrase. You want to find a keyword with a low competition score.
Pro tip: The best combination is high search volume and low competition score. But if you can’t get that perfect mix, go for the low competitive score, as it will give you a better chance to rank, even if it isn’t searched as often.
4. Come Up With Content Related to Those Keywords: To come up with topic ideas around a keyword, you can use a tool called Answer the Public , which gives you all the most popular questions searched online.
3. Engage Your Audience:
It’s been highly discussed on forums all over the Internet, and there appears to be a strong correlation between YouTube video ranking and the number of likes, dislikes, and comments the video received.
While YouTube itself might not be using the number of likes and comments to determine where your video rank, having high engagement allows your video to be discovered through other means.
Here is an example of how it would work:
- A YouTuber with 100,000 subscribers views your video and likes it
- Then your video might be visible to a fraction of those 100,000 subscribers.
- Boom! Domino effect!
- More people will see your video and like it, increasing your network of viewers and your watch time, which is one of the main factors that YouTube takes into consideration.
Get engagements with a call to action:
- Don’t be afraid to ask for an engagement at the beginning of the video to avoid fall off on retention.
- Encourage them to leave a comment or start a discussion by asking a question at the end of your video.
- Monitor comments and responds to them so you can build a relationship with your audience over time.
It’s all about creating a community and that is what YouTube encourages.
4. Upload YouTube Video in Proper Length:
YouTube puts a lot of weight on watch time, and in addition to that, it puts more weight on session watch time.
Session watch time is counted when people watch your video and then continue to watch others, it doesn’t have to be your own. The more time people spend watching YouTube videos, as a result of your content, the more likely YouTube will increase your ranking.
Since YouTube puts importance on time spent watching videos, the length of your video will play a key role.
If you have 5 videos and all of them are a minute long, a 100% watch through will only get you 5 minutes total.
However, if you have 1 video that is 20 minutes, and an average viewer only watches half of it, then you have an average watch time of over 10 minutes. That’s more than double what your five short videos can do. This longer video is worth more. However, if that 20-minute video is really boring and people drop off in the first minute, then it’s not any better than 1 of the 5 short videos.
If your format allows, go for a longer video instead of a shorter one. But the most important thing is that you can keep people watching your videos: so use end screen and playlist links to keep them engaged.
End screen: Pick related videos for your audience, so they know exactly what they should watch next. You can even create a background template for your end screens .
Playlist: If you have multiple videos that fit a specific topic, add them to a playlist so the viewer can enjoy them all in one viewing.
Key Takeaways:
- Use Audience Retention to better understand how to structure your video for the best results.
- Perform Keyword Research to find the keywords that your competitors are using and your audience is searching for.
- Increasing Subscribers gets your video in front of more people the moment it is published.
- Encourage Comments and respond to establish a relationship with your viewers.
- Ensure that Viewers Continue Watching videos on YouTube after they finish watching yours.
Other Things That Affects Your YouTube Ranking
Except for the above-mentioned factors, there are also other issues that affect the ranking of your YouTube video. YouTube has stated that the number of subscribers doesn’t play a key role in your video ranking.
For example, if a YouTuber has a million subscribers and then overnight they lose 100 thousand, a video they had ranking number 1 will still be ranked number 1.
However, the number of subscribers has a lot of indirect effects on your channel.
- Subscribers know the moment your video is published
- Subscribers will watch your video in the first week (YouTube will rank your video higher if they see a lift in the first week of publishing)
- YouTube put a higher value on subscribers than views and social shares, because it’s harder to fake subscribers
Growing subscribers take time and effort, and even though it shouldn’t be your main focus, there are tactics you can do to gain more subscribers .
Don’t miss a chance to optimize your YouTube video, download, and print out this checklist for your next video project. For more information on SEO(Search Engine Optimization) on YouTube, you can also read the following article.
How to Fast Rank Video Higher with Video SEO >>
10 Best YouTube Keyword Tools to Use with Bonus Tips>>
If you want to find a video editing solution that empowers your imagination and creativity yet takes less effort, please try this robust and user-friendly video editing software Wondershare Filmora. It provides special effects, stock photo & video, sound library, etc., which will definitely enhance your productivity and helps to make money by making videos much accessible.
Richard Bennett
Richard Bennett is a writer and a lover of all things video.
Follow @Richard Bennett
Richard Bennett
Oct 26, 2023• Proven solutions
We all want our videos to get a lot of views, and in turn, lead to more subscribers. In order to do so, we have to prepare it for success. If you are hoping to optimize a video after it has already been published to YouTube, then you aren’t going to get the best result, because much of optimization is done before the video is even shot.a
In this article, we will give youa checklist , which you should have with you at the very beginning of creating a YouTube video: the ideation stage. As you go through your process, check off each task. By doing so, you can ensure that you have given the video the best chance to rank high and be discovered.
How to Optimize Your Video to Rank Higher on YouTube?
- Keep Your Audience’s Attention
- Do Keyword Research
- Engage Your Audience
- Upload YouTube Video in Proper Length
1. Keep Your Audience’s Attention:
Even though your view count is going up, it doesn’t mean your audience is watching your video. And if they are not, then YouTube is going to consider your video less valuable and therefore, lowering its rank.
Audience Retention is an important metric to keep an eye on after every video you’ve published.
Before you start your next project, take a look back at the Audience Retention of your previous videos.
- Enter YouTube Studio in your channel
- Access to Analytics
- Select the video you want to review
- Click into engagement
- See where a dip in watch time
What is Good Audience Retention?
If you want to see how your Audience Retention is performing, the Average Percentage Viewed will give you a broad perspective. The higher the percentage, the more people are watching your entire video.
If you get above 60% Average Percentage Viewed, you should feel very proud. In our modern world with our short attention span, that is considered good retention.
In the example above, we see that on average, a viewer will only see 44% of the video. For the video below, we see that it only has 30% of the video viewed. Overall, the first video is performing better.
There is also a dip that happens at the beginning in the second example, which indicates that viewers are skipping forward and about 20% then deciding it’s not worth continuing. It’s good data to help you improve your introduction and the hook.
If there is important information that you are presenting at a given point and in the Audience Retention you see that only a small percentage of your viewers actually see it, then for the next video, you might want to position the details in a different point in the video.
How to Improve Audience Retention
Here are a few ways you can retain your audience’s attention if you noticed a drop in viewership:
- Film a hook (introduce your video to let the audience know what to expect)
- Add b-roll (having supplemental footage to cut to makes your video more interesting to watch)
- Have a co-host (Having someone on screen gives the video more dynamic interactions)
- Edit out the unimportant stuff
- Write a conclusion (having a conclusion prepared will allow you to transition from the content of the video to the call to action without the audience even knowing) See this example by PolyMatter below and notice how seamless their ending is.
If you have a video that is doing a good job retaining the audience, then replicate it. If there isn’t, keep experimenting with new structures. Improving audience retention is not simply important for your ranking, but it will affirm that you are building quality videos.
Knowing how to structure your video will allow you to be strategic as you build out your content.
2. Do Keyword Research:
Many viewers find YouTube videos via search, and if you aren’t using the appropriate keywords, then YouTube won’t be able to identify your content and display it for your viewers.
Where Do Keywords Appear on YouTube?
- Title: Have keywords at the beginning of the title and limit them up to approximately 60 characters so it appears in full in search.
- Tags: Include 10-15 tags from general keywords to more specific.
- Descriptions: Put important information and keywords at the beginning of the description so both searcher and the search engine understands what the video is about.
Why Keywords Matter
keyword arrangement is an integral part of YouTube optimization because the robots behind YouTube don’t associate the value of the actual video content with what the viewer is actually seeking. You should pay attention to the relevance of keywords.
Even when you add closed captions, it doesn’t mean the best keywords are present to the Youtube search engine when we speak.
That is why it is important to know your audience and what words and phrases they are going to use to search for your video.
Here is how you can see what keywords were used to find your video:
- Enter YouTube Studio in your channel
- Access Analytics
- Select Reach
- Click into Traffic Source
- Click Traffic Source: YouTube Search
If you want to find some new keywords for your upcoming video, you will need to do some research.
1. Enter Keywords You Want to Rank for In YouTube Search: This allows you to see what the most popular phrases are in the YouTube search engine.
2. Study the Competitors: See which videos are ranking high for your search term. Use a tool called VidIQ to see the keywords that the top videos are performing.
3. Search for Related Keywords and Evaluate Relevancy: A tool called Ubersuggest can help you find related keywords and allow you to identify the search volume, cost per click (aka CPC is used for determining the budget for paid search), and the competitiveness of the word or phrase.
Search volume: The number of searches with that particular keyword. The higher the number the more popular it is. You should aim to use keywords with a high search volume.
Keyword competition score: This score is usually indicated by a number and it represents how difficult it is for a keyword to rank due to other pages already ranking for that word or phrase. You want to find a keyword with a low competition score.
Pro tip: The best combination is high search volume and low competition score. But if you can’t get that perfect mix, go for the low competitive score, as it will give you a better chance to rank, even if it isn’t searched as often.
4. Come Up With Content Related to Those Keywords: To come up with topic ideas around a keyword, you can use a tool called Answer the Public , which gives you all the most popular questions searched online.
3. Engage Your Audience:
It’s been highly discussed on forums all over the Internet, and there appears to be a strong correlation between YouTube video ranking and the number of likes, dislikes, and comments the video received.
While YouTube itself might not be using the number of likes and comments to determine where your video rank, having high engagement allows your video to be discovered through other means.
Here is an example of how it would work:
- A YouTuber with 100,000 subscribers views your video and likes it
- Then your video might be visible to a fraction of those 100,000 subscribers.
- Boom! Domino effect!
- More people will see your video and like it, increasing your network of viewers and your watch time, which is one of the main factors that YouTube takes into consideration.
Get engagements with a call to action:
- Don’t be afraid to ask for an engagement at the beginning of the video to avoid fall off on retention.
- Encourage them to leave a comment or start a discussion by asking a question at the end of your video.
- Monitor comments and responds to them so you can build a relationship with your audience over time.
It’s all about creating a community and that is what YouTube encourages.
4. Upload YouTube Video in Proper Length:
YouTube puts a lot of weight on watch time, and in addition to that, it puts more weight on session watch time.
Session watch time is counted when people watch your video and then continue to watch others, it doesn’t have to be your own. The more time people spend watching YouTube videos, as a result of your content, the more likely YouTube will increase your ranking.
Since YouTube puts importance on time spent watching videos, the length of your video will play a key role.
If you have 5 videos and all of them are a minute long, a 100% watch through will only get you 5 minutes total.
However, if you have 1 video that is 20 minutes, and an average viewer only watches half of it, then you have an average watch time of over 10 minutes. That’s more than double what your five short videos can do. This longer video is worth more. However, if that 20-minute video is really boring and people drop off in the first minute, then it’s not any better than 1 of the 5 short videos.
If your format allows, go for a longer video instead of a shorter one. But the most important thing is that you can keep people watching your videos: so use end screen and playlist links to keep them engaged.
End screen: Pick related videos for your audience, so they know exactly what they should watch next. You can even create a background template for your end screens .
Playlist: If you have multiple videos that fit a specific topic, add them to a playlist so the viewer can enjoy them all in one viewing.
Key Takeaways:
- Use Audience Retention to better understand how to structure your video for the best results.
- Perform Keyword Research to find the keywords that your competitors are using and your audience is searching for.
- Increasing Subscribers gets your video in front of more people the moment it is published.
- Encourage Comments and respond to establish a relationship with your viewers.
- Ensure that Viewers Continue Watching videos on YouTube after they finish watching yours.
Other Things That Affects Your YouTube Ranking
Except for the above-mentioned factors, there are also other issues that affect the ranking of your YouTube video. YouTube has stated that the number of subscribers doesn’t play a key role in your video ranking.
For example, if a YouTuber has a million subscribers and then overnight they lose 100 thousand, a video they had ranking number 1 will still be ranked number 1.
However, the number of subscribers has a lot of indirect effects on your channel.
- Subscribers know the moment your video is published
- Subscribers will watch your video in the first week (YouTube will rank your video higher if they see a lift in the first week of publishing)
- YouTube put a higher value on subscribers than views and social shares, because it’s harder to fake subscribers
Growing subscribers take time and effort, and even though it shouldn’t be your main focus, there are tactics you can do to gain more subscribers .
Don’t miss a chance to optimize your YouTube video, download, and print out this checklist for your next video project. For more information on SEO(Search Engine Optimization) on YouTube, you can also read the following article.
How to Fast Rank Video Higher with Video SEO >>
10 Best YouTube Keyword Tools to Use with Bonus Tips>>
If you want to find a video editing solution that empowers your imagination and creativity yet takes less effort, please try this robust and user-friendly video editing software Wondershare Filmora. It provides special effects, stock photo & video, sound library, etc., which will definitely enhance your productivity and helps to make money by making videos much accessible.
Richard Bennett
Richard Bennett is a writer and a lover of all things video.
Follow @Richard Bennett
Richard Bennett
Oct 26, 2023• Proven solutions
We all want our videos to get a lot of views, and in turn, lead to more subscribers. In order to do so, we have to prepare it for success. If you are hoping to optimize a video after it has already been published to YouTube, then you aren’t going to get the best result, because much of optimization is done before the video is even shot.a
In this article, we will give youa checklist , which you should have with you at the very beginning of creating a YouTube video: the ideation stage. As you go through your process, check off each task. By doing so, you can ensure that you have given the video the best chance to rank high and be discovered.
How to Optimize Your Video to Rank Higher on YouTube?
- Keep Your Audience’s Attention
- Do Keyword Research
- Engage Your Audience
- Upload YouTube Video in Proper Length
1. Keep Your Audience’s Attention:
Even though your view count is going up, it doesn’t mean your audience is watching your video. And if they are not, then YouTube is going to consider your video less valuable and therefore, lowering its rank.
Audience Retention is an important metric to keep an eye on after every video you’ve published.
Before you start your next project, take a look back at the Audience Retention of your previous videos.
- Enter YouTube Studio in your channel
- Access to Analytics
- Select the video you want to review
- Click into engagement
- See where a dip in watch time
What is Good Audience Retention?
If you want to see how your Audience Retention is performing, the Average Percentage Viewed will give you a broad perspective. The higher the percentage, the more people are watching your entire video.
If you get above 60% Average Percentage Viewed, you should feel very proud. In our modern world with our short attention span, that is considered good retention.
In the example above, we see that on average, a viewer will only see 44% of the video. For the video below, we see that it only has 30% of the video viewed. Overall, the first video is performing better.
There is also a dip that happens at the beginning in the second example, which indicates that viewers are skipping forward and about 20% then deciding it’s not worth continuing. It’s good data to help you improve your introduction and the hook.
If there is important information that you are presenting at a given point and in the Audience Retention you see that only a small percentage of your viewers actually see it, then for the next video, you might want to position the details in a different point in the video.
How to Improve Audience Retention
Here are a few ways you can retain your audience’s attention if you noticed a drop in viewership:
- Film a hook (introduce your video to let the audience know what to expect)
- Add b-roll (having supplemental footage to cut to makes your video more interesting to watch)
- Have a co-host (Having someone on screen gives the video more dynamic interactions)
- Edit out the unimportant stuff
- Write a conclusion (having a conclusion prepared will allow you to transition from the content of the video to the call to action without the audience even knowing) See this example by PolyMatter below and notice how seamless their ending is.
If you have a video that is doing a good job retaining the audience, then replicate it. If there isn’t, keep experimenting with new structures. Improving audience retention is not simply important for your ranking, but it will affirm that you are building quality videos.
Knowing how to structure your video will allow you to be strategic as you build out your content.
2. Do Keyword Research:
Many viewers find YouTube videos via search, and if you aren’t using the appropriate keywords, then YouTube won’t be able to identify your content and display it for your viewers.
Where Do Keywords Appear on YouTube?
- Title: Have keywords at the beginning of the title and limit them up to approximately 60 characters so it appears in full in search.
- Tags: Include 10-15 tags from general keywords to more specific.
- Descriptions: Put important information and keywords at the beginning of the description so both searcher and the search engine understands what the video is about.
Why Keywords Matter
keyword arrangement is an integral part of YouTube optimization because the robots behind YouTube don’t associate the value of the actual video content with what the viewer is actually seeking. You should pay attention to the relevance of keywords.
Even when you add closed captions, it doesn’t mean the best keywords are present to the Youtube search engine when we speak.
That is why it is important to know your audience and what words and phrases they are going to use to search for your video.
Here is how you can see what keywords were used to find your video:
- Enter YouTube Studio in your channel
- Access Analytics
- Select Reach
- Click into Traffic Source
- Click Traffic Source: YouTube Search
If you want to find some new keywords for your upcoming video, you will need to do some research.
1. Enter Keywords You Want to Rank for In YouTube Search: This allows you to see what the most popular phrases are in the YouTube search engine.
2. Study the Competitors: See which videos are ranking high for your search term. Use a tool called VidIQ to see the keywords that the top videos are performing.
3. Search for Related Keywords and Evaluate Relevancy: A tool called Ubersuggest can help you find related keywords and allow you to identify the search volume, cost per click (aka CPC is used for determining the budget for paid search), and the competitiveness of the word or phrase.
Search volume: The number of searches with that particular keyword. The higher the number the more popular it is. You should aim to use keywords with a high search volume.
Keyword competition score: This score is usually indicated by a number and it represents how difficult it is for a keyword to rank due to other pages already ranking for that word or phrase. You want to find a keyword with a low competition score.
Pro tip: The best combination is high search volume and low competition score. But if you can’t get that perfect mix, go for the low competitive score, as it will give you a better chance to rank, even if it isn’t searched as often.
4. Come Up With Content Related to Those Keywords: To come up with topic ideas around a keyword, you can use a tool called Answer the Public , which gives you all the most popular questions searched online.
3. Engage Your Audience:
It’s been highly discussed on forums all over the Internet, and there appears to be a strong correlation between YouTube video ranking and the number of likes, dislikes, and comments the video received.
While YouTube itself might not be using the number of likes and comments to determine where your video rank, having high engagement allows your video to be discovered through other means.
Here is an example of how it would work:
- A YouTuber with 100,000 subscribers views your video and likes it
- Then your video might be visible to a fraction of those 100,000 subscribers.
- Boom! Domino effect!
- More people will see your video and like it, increasing your network of viewers and your watch time, which is one of the main factors that YouTube takes into consideration.
Get engagements with a call to action:
- Don’t be afraid to ask for an engagement at the beginning of the video to avoid fall off on retention.
- Encourage them to leave a comment or start a discussion by asking a question at the end of your video.
- Monitor comments and responds to them so you can build a relationship with your audience over time.
It’s all about creating a community and that is what YouTube encourages.
4. Upload YouTube Video in Proper Length:
YouTube puts a lot of weight on watch time, and in addition to that, it puts more weight on session watch time.
Session watch time is counted when people watch your video and then continue to watch others, it doesn’t have to be your own. The more time people spend watching YouTube videos, as a result of your content, the more likely YouTube will increase your ranking.
Since YouTube puts importance on time spent watching videos, the length of your video will play a key role.
If you have 5 videos and all of them are a minute long, a 100% watch through will only get you 5 minutes total.
However, if you have 1 video that is 20 minutes, and an average viewer only watches half of it, then you have an average watch time of over 10 minutes. That’s more than double what your five short videos can do. This longer video is worth more. However, if that 20-minute video is really boring and people drop off in the first minute, then it’s not any better than 1 of the 5 short videos.
If your format allows, go for a longer video instead of a shorter one. But the most important thing is that you can keep people watching your videos: so use end screen and playlist links to keep them engaged.
End screen: Pick related videos for your audience, so they know exactly what they should watch next. You can even create a background template for your end screens .
Playlist: If you have multiple videos that fit a specific topic, add them to a playlist so the viewer can enjoy them all in one viewing.
Key Takeaways:
- Use Audience Retention to better understand how to structure your video for the best results.
- Perform Keyword Research to find the keywords that your competitors are using and your audience is searching for.
- Increasing Subscribers gets your video in front of more people the moment it is published.
- Encourage Comments and respond to establish a relationship with your viewers.
- Ensure that Viewers Continue Watching videos on YouTube after they finish watching yours.
Other Things That Affects Your YouTube Ranking
Except for the above-mentioned factors, there are also other issues that affect the ranking of your YouTube video. YouTube has stated that the number of subscribers doesn’t play a key role in your video ranking.
For example, if a YouTuber has a million subscribers and then overnight they lose 100 thousand, a video they had ranking number 1 will still be ranked number 1.
However, the number of subscribers has a lot of indirect effects on your channel.
- Subscribers know the moment your video is published
- Subscribers will watch your video in the first week (YouTube will rank your video higher if they see a lift in the first week of publishing)
- YouTube put a higher value on subscribers than views and social shares, because it’s harder to fake subscribers
Growing subscribers take time and effort, and even though it shouldn’t be your main focus, there are tactics you can do to gain more subscribers .
Don’t miss a chance to optimize your YouTube video, download, and print out this checklist for your next video project. For more information on SEO(Search Engine Optimization) on YouTube, you can also read the following article.
How to Fast Rank Video Higher with Video SEO >>
10 Best YouTube Keyword Tools to Use with Bonus Tips>>
If you want to find a video editing solution that empowers your imagination and creativity yet takes less effort, please try this robust and user-friendly video editing software Wondershare Filmora. It provides special effects, stock photo & video, sound library, etc., which will definitely enhance your productivity and helps to make money by making videos much accessible.
Richard Bennett
Richard Bennett is a writer and a lover of all things video.
Follow @Richard Bennett
- Title: "2024 Approved The Insider's Approach to Maximizing YouTube Video Revenue"
- Author: Joseph
- Created at : 2024-05-31 13:51:16
- Updated at : 2024-06-01 13:51:16
- Link: https://youtube-stream.techidaily.com/2024-approved-the-insiders-approach-to-maximizing-youtube-video-revenue/
- License: This work is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0.
