Finding Prominent Comment Spotlights

What Is the YouTube Highlighted Comment?

Liza Brown

Mar 27, 2024• Proven solutions

Did you just come across a comment tagged with Highlight on YouTube and wondering what it means? In our guide, you will find an answer to this, along with related queries like how YouTube highlighted comment works, the removal process, its benefits, and more.

If you own a YouTube channel or are starting one, even you can do this. Without further ado, let’s jump straight into the core of YouTube’s highlighted comments. We’ve categorized this article into a total of 8 parts for simple and better understanding.

• Part 1: What Does Highlighted Comment Mean On YouTube?
• Part 2: What Does Highlighted Comments Look Like on YouTube?
• Part 3: How to Make Comment Highlighted?
• Part 4: How to Highlighted Comments URL?
• Part 5: How to Reply to Highlighted Comments?
• Part 6: How to Remove Highlighted Comments?
• Part 7: Tips for Writing a Comment
• Part 8: Benefits of Highlighted Comments

Part 1: What Does The Highlighted Comment Mean On YouTube?

Before you get on with highlighting your comments, you must understand what it means exactly. You may follow comments on the videos posted by several YouTubers, but the highlighted ones are always making it to the top of the list.

Having said that, neither the content creator nor users or moderators choose to highlight YouTube comments to begin with. They are no rocket science, but only a tad bit more than what you know as a bookmarking feature.

Think of highlighted comments as a “tag”. You might notice this in the form of a ‘new activity YouTube notification’ link you receive on your registered email. Only you can see this tag when you click the notification and arrive at Youtube.com to either view or reply to a comment.

Highlighting comments (HC’s) are an automatic feature generated by YouTube. It draws the YouTuber’s & viewer’s attention to relevant activities. Don’t fail to notice that the highlight disappears once you are done interacting in the tagged comment thread. However, they are reloadable by tapping the comment timestamp.

For instance, you may want to check the following links. The 2 URLs lead you to the same video, but only one of them shows a highlighted comment.

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XWhjJjhpmQA&lc=Ugya-89WYAlutJurKGh4AaABAg
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XWhjJjhpmQA

Notice the name “lc” in the first URL- that stands for linked comment. YouTube might include this additional parameter. If a reply comment (HR) gets highlighted, the parent comment gets raised to the top.

Part 2: What Does The Highlighted Comment Look Like?

YouTube has been working on improving the navigation of the comment section for videos, and highlighted comments are one of them. These comments appear even above the pinned comments on a video. The label of a highlighted comment is displayed above the commentator’s name in a light grey shade.

YouTube labels comment replies as well and call it “Highlighted Reply.” You can see this tag above the replier’s name in the same color tone.

Part 3: How to Make My Comment Highlighted?

Now, making YouTube highlight your comment on a popular video is nothing less than an art. YouTube doesn’t make it easy for you. The advantage of getting your comment highlighted on YouTube is limitless.

Thus, anybody who wants to get their YouTube comment an HC tag has to follow a few simple steps, which we will discuss below in another section. Finding the correct or relevant video content that can benefit your channel from such a comment is an excellent place to start.

For example, if you are a YouTuber who deals in tech information, you need to look for a popular video or channel with a similar genre, in this case, technical knowledge. The more popular the channel is, the more is the chance of a viewer checking the comments on its videos. You will only benefit if you’re comment is highlighted on pages of Youtuber’s who are huge.

Part 4: How to Get the URL of Highlighted Comments?

The ways to acquire the URL or link for a highlighted comment are different for both parties- viewer and host.

Suppose you are a viewer who is going through the comments section of a video. If you want to get the highlighted URL for the comment, simply click on the timestamp (e.g., 2 weeks ago) beside the commentator’s username.

On the other hand, for a YouTuber, getting access to the comment URL is relatively straightforward. The host will get a notification on his or her registered email-id when a viewer publishes a comment on their posted video. You will find the link to the highlighted comment in the notification

Part 5: How to Reply to Highlighted Comments?

Replying to “highlighted comments” on your YouTube channel is pretty easy since this feature was developed, keeping the user’s convenience in mind. If you want to follow up or reply to such comments, you can do so from your email or YouTube Dashboard.

If you click the notification bell icon, whenever a viewer drops a new comment on one of your videos, YouTube will send you a notification via email. On opening the email, you will find a clickable “Reply” option. Or else, if you follow the comment section in the YouTube Dashboard, you can directly view or reply to highlighted comments from here as well.

Have you ever wondered why a highlighted comment always shows at the top of the comment list? Both the above options will lead you to the comment thread on YouTube. To help you find the new activity easily, it appears with the highlight tag on it. The purpose is to remind you that you are here for that specific comment.

Part 6: How to Remove Highlighted Comments?

Can you, as a video maker, remove highlighted comments on YouTube? The direct answer to this would be a ‘No.’ It is because based on how you have opened the specific video, YouTube does it automatically.

Alternatively, you can try out a few temporary solutions.

1. You can edit the particular URL of the video where the highlighted tag is showing. Remove the red part of the URL (example given below) starting with “&”:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XWhjJjhpmQA&lc=Ugya-89WYAlutJurKGh4AaABAg After removing the above parameter, reload the original video link (below):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XWhjJjhpmQA

1. Try logging out from your Google Account and browse YouTube (anonymously). Doing this will ensure that you no longer see any highlighted comments. However, at the same time, this will restrict you from interacting in any way with that video, let alone leaving a comment.

Part 7: Tips for Writing a Comment that will be Pinned as a Highlighted Comment?

Many frequently inquire on the internet about how they can improve the chances of getting their comment pinned, as highlighted on YouTube. The secret lies in how you write the statement. We’ve listed a few pro tips below that can help:

• First, go through all the posted comments under the video. It will help you identify what is missing. You can comment or write the missing point in comprehendible and straightforward words. Also, never forget to acknowledge the YouTuber’s talent.
• Remember, no one has the time to read long comments. So, when you know what you want to write, try to shorten your sentences. A short and crisp comment draws more attention.
• After you have framed your comment, make sure that it is grammatically correct. YouTube and Google hate grammatical errors.
• Do not hit the post option already. Before publishing it, you must cross-check that your comment has all the above points in place.
• Lastly, you have to wait after publishing on the video’s comment section. YouTube will highlight your comment if it passes according to the YouTube policy and if the search engine finds it unique.

Part 8: Are Highlighted Comments Beneficial?

Being a convenience feature, a highlighted comment on YouTube is 100% beneficial. That is especially true if you are looking for ways to optimize your channel.

YouTube is undeniably the second largest search engine on the web. Highlight comments can potentially increase the outreach of your content and, consequently, your brand presence.

As said earlier, these comments always show first on the comment section. Needless to say, many people who watch the videos also scroll down to the comments section to start a conversation or see what other viewers are saying about this video.

In the process, alongside the interaction, they also check out the channels or profiles of the commentators. Viewers often visit the pages of these channels, and if they happen to enjoy the video content, they will subscribe to the YouTuber’s channel. If your comment gets highlighted, your YouTube channel can be one of them.

Conclusion

YouTube can be an intimidating tool for marketing and more so for newcomers. Every YouTuber wishes that their channel performs better than the previous day. Even though the highlighted comment or highlighted reply feature doesn’t have any direct benefits, it can indeed help in optimizing your YouTube channel.

It can connect you with potential viewers and increase the number of people that visit your channel regularly. However, how many of them stay and hit the “Subscribe” button is a different story altogether and is wholly based on whether they like what you share through your videos.

In this article, we have shared facts on YouTube’s commonly seen highlighted comment feature. Yet, the term is a heavily misleading one, as far as viewers and Youtuber’s are concerned. We have also covered all other aspects and queries related to this term. Here’s hoping they clarify all your doubts.

Liza Brown

Liza Brown is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Liza Brown

A Comprehensible Explanation of YouTube’s Viewership Puzzle

How to View YouTube Statistics

Richard Bennett

Oct 26, 2023• Proven solutions

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Learn how to view YouTube statistics and you can grow your channel faster. By paying attention to your statistics, which are available for free to every YouTuber in the Analytics section of the Creator Studio, you will be able to see how successful your individual videos are and replicate that success.

The information available for each video includes how many new subscribers it attracted and how much watch time it has so far (which is important if you want to monetize someday). By looking at which videos are performing well in these areas you can determine what you are doing right and replicate that success in future videos.

• How to View Your YouTube Statistics
• Interpreting YouTube Watch Time Reports
• Interpreting YouTube Interaction Reports
• How to View Other People’s YouTube Statistics

Making Better YouTube Videos with Filmora to Get More Views

As one of the best video editing software for YouTube, Filmora provides lots of templates and effects with an intuitive interface, which saves much time. After editing, you can upload the video to YouTube directly when export. Download the free trial version below and start making YouTube videos with Filmora.

How to View Your YouTube Statistics

In order to view your YouTube Analytics, sign in to your YouTube account and go to your Creator Studio. From there, click into the Analytics tab in the menu on the left of your screen.

In order to check which of your videos are performing the best, click on Watch time under Watch time reports. At the top of the page there’ll be a graph of your watch time in general, and if you scroll down you’ll see a list of your videos ranked by watch time. The best performing ones will be at the top and, to see more stats related to these high-performing videos, simply click on their titles. Afterwards, you’ll be able to click around the different sections in your Analytics and see reports relating to the specific video you clicked on.

The two main types of analytics reports are Watch Time Reports and Interaction Reports.

1. Interpreting YouTube Watch Time Reports

To find Watch time reports you just need to log into your Google account, go to the Creator studio, click the analytics tab, and then click on watch time. You can see the watch time of every video on your channel, which is important data to have because watch time is the most important factor when it comes to ranking your video in search results.

A watch time report includes the total amount of time that your video, or a selection of videos, is actually being watched for. In order to make sure that you are publishing only quality videos you need to make sure that your viewers are consistently sticking to your videos and watching them all away through, or at least to the half-way mark. Watch time represents one of the most meaningful metrics in ensuring that you are engaging your audience.

YouTube analytics can now display a watch time of every video that you have produced. Seeing the metrics on how long people are actually watching every video that you produce can show you what you’ve done right in the past and what you need to do more of to continue raising your watch time.

Alongside watch time you can see the average duration individual viewers are watching your videos for. The average percentage of your video that gets viewed will showcase areas where you may be struggling with your video content. For example, if an abnormally high number of viewers are clicking away during your intro, there’s probably something about that clip that needs to be changed.

In the watch time reports for individual videos, you will be able to see data on where your views are coming from and which demographics are watching the most. Where your viewers are watching, in terms of desktop or mobile, is also interesting data that is available in this section.

Click here for more tips on increasing your views .

2. Interpreting YouTube Interaction Reports

Interaction reports are related to the actions viewers take – i.e. subscribing to your channel, liking your videos, or leaving a comments. You can find interaction reports in the Creator Studio under Analytics.

Interaction reports can be broken down into several different reports that can help determine the overall performance of any YouTube videos. The main interaction reports that you should be interested in include:

1. Subscribers: You can find extensive data on your subscribers, like demographics including age groups and gender. Learning more about your subscribers can help you to tailor your content. For example, if you learn that your viewers are mostly young women under 24 in the USA, you can do research into what is currently popular with young women under 24 in the USA.

Want to see your subscriber count in real-time?

2. Likes and dislikes: Likes and dislikes aren’t a powerful metric when it comes to search engine rankings, but they provide useful information to creators. If you’re getting a lot of dislikes on a video, you should look into why. If you’re getting a lot of likes on a video, it can indicate that you should focus on creating similar content.

3. Playlists: A viewer watching a video in a playlist is much more likely to keep watching more videos from that playlist, making playlists great for the growth of your channel. Reports in this section will help you figure out which of your playlists is performing best, which could give you an idea of which types of videos or video topics are going over best with your viewers.

4. Comments: Reading comments is a great way to figure out what your viewers think, but that’s not all they’re good for. If viewers return to a video to continue talking to you or other viewers then that will drive up your views and watch time. If a video is especially good at generating discussion, you should figure out why (i.e. your sign-off question) and keep doing it.

5. Sharing: Discovering where your video is being shared can be important for figuring out what platforms you should be on besides YouTube. If your video is shared and viewed a lot on Twitter, you should consider making a Twitter account for your channel.

6. Cards: Tracking the performance of your Cards will help you optimize them to direct traffic between your videos. By testing out different time stamps for cards you’ll find the perfect places to put them. By trying different messages in your cards you’ll learn how to write ‘calls to action’ that mobilize your viewers.

End screens: End Screens are essential for keeping viewers on your channel. The report of the click-through rates of your end screens is important for helping you figure out which kinds of links work, and which style of ends screen is most effective for you. Are people more likely to click when you talk to them through the end screen, or when it’s a static card?

7. 360 heat map reports: A heat map report works specifically with 360° videos if you are choosing to engage your audience with this type of content. Viewing YouTube video statistics for 360° heat maps will help to show the areas on your video that viewers are most interested in.

How to View Other Peoples YouTube Statistics

If you want to check out the statistics of rival YouTube channels (including the most subscribed channels on YouTube ), or channels you’re a fan of, try using Social Blade . Social Blade is one of the most trusted sources of YouTube data, and it may actually be easier to check your own basic stats there than in the Creator Studio sometimes due to their simple layout. To get started all you need to do is type the name of any YouTube channel into the search bar. You’ll be able to see reports on daily views, channel growth, and even estimated ad revenue (learn more about how to view a channel’s ad revenue here ).

Now that you know how to view YouTube statistics, what will you do with them?

Richard Bennett

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

Follow @Richard Bennett