Growth Hacks for YouTuber’s Short Form Content: Boosting View Counts Effectively

How to Get More Views with YouTube Shorts

Richard Bennett

Mar 27, 2024• Proven solutions

One of the biggest challenges that people face while using YouTube Shorts is how to get more views. Many new users wonder what and how should they prepare a video that is both 15-to-60 seconds long, and at the same time, it is engaging enough to make the audience view them with excitement.

With that said, the following sections discuss some best practices, and share a couple of tips to increase views on your YouTube Shorts videos.

• Part 1: Get More Views by Adding Shorts Video to the ‘Featured’ Section
• Part 2: Create Attractive Thumbnail for YouTube Shorts to Get More Views
• Part 3: Optimize YouTube Shorts to Get More Views
• Part 4: How to Analyze YouTube Shorts Performance

Part 1: Get More Views by Adding Shorts Video to the ‘Featured’ Section

Comparatively different from other videos, the ones that are added under the ‘Featured’ section are recommended to the audience throughout the YouTube platform on the basis of the algorithms that automatically determine which clips should be liked beach viewer individually.

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To elaborate, generally, YouTube suggests you a video as per your viewing history, browsing statistics, and other such information that the streaming media giant collects over time. On the other hand, the ‘Featured’ videos are suggested according to what YouTube ‘thinks’ might be of your interest, or could be somehow useful to you.

Therefore, when any clip is added as a ‘Featured’ video, YouTube suggests it to more viewers as compared to those that are published under the ‘Recommended’ category.

Note: Although there is a lot more to cover under the ‘Featured’ videos and channels section such as branding, advertisements, etc., such topics are beyond the scope of this piece.

Adding YouTube Shorts videos to the ‘Featured’ section is fairly simple, and the instructions given below explain how this can be done:

Note: It is assumed that you already have a couple of shorts video published on YouTube.

Step 1: Get to YouTube Studio Customization Section

Go to YouTube on your PC’s web browser, sign in to your Google account, click Your videos from the navigation bar in the left, and click Customization from the left bar when the Studio page opens up.

Step 2: Add YouTube Shorts

Click ADD SECTION from the Layout tab in the right window, and click Short videos from the list that appears next to add the YouTube Shorts category.

Step 3: Add Short videos to Featured sections and Save the Changes

Hold the Short videos bar from the moving handle at the left, and move it right below the Featured sections segment. Once the Short videos category is in the right place, click PUBLISH from the top-right corner of the page to save the changes. From this point onward, any YouTube Shorts video that you publish on your channel will be automatically added as ‘Featured’ after its approval.

Part 2: Create Attractive Thumbnail for YouTube Shorts to Get More Views

The thumbnails are the face of the videos that you publish anywhere online. Therefore, it is imperative to take down the default one that is automatically added by YouTube, and add your own, custom image instead.

To have your own thumbnail, you can either pick any frame from within the video itself, or you can upload a separate photo from your PC, and replace the existing one with it.

Things to Consider for creating attractive thumbnail

While using your custom image as a thumbnail for your YouTube Shots videos, a few things that you should keep in mind include:

• Relevance

Make sure that the new photo that you are planning to use as a thumbnail is relevant to the short video. Any image that is out of context might confuse the viewers, and you may lose your audience and the subscribers forever and for good.

• Clarity

Always use an image with clear content and large text (if any). This lets the viewers easily determine whether the video is of their interest.

• Correctness

You should avoid using misleading images as thumbnails. While such photos would attract more viewers initially, people will gradually lose trust in your channel if they do not find what they expect by the glimpse of the thumbnail.

Part 3: Optimize YouTube Shorts to Get More Views

The fact of the matter is, YouTube Shorts videos aren’t much different that any other video that you publish on the platform. Therefore, the process of optimizing both short and regular videos is identical.

A few things that are extremely important, and play a vital role in optimizing YouTube Shorts videos include:

• Attractive Thumbnail

As mentioned above, the thumbnail of a video is its face, and the prettier and appealing the face is the more audience will it attract, and the more hits your video will get. Therefore, ensure to make the thumbnail of your short videos as attractive as you possibly can.

• Compelling Title

The title says it all. Your short videos will have good chances of getting noticed and hits if they have an impulsive and compelling title that can give the viewers a summary of what they can expect from the clip.

• Detailed Description

The description of your short videos should be complete, and must explain the theme, genre, and nature of the clip. With the detailed description, the viewers will be able to assess if the video would be helpful to them in some manner.

• Tags

Make sure to add relevant tags to your short videos. For instance, adding ‘#Shorts’ in the title or description of the video tells YouTube that the clip is created for YouTube Shorts. Likewise, other tags that are related to the genre and/or theme of the short videos help YouTube suggest your media to the relevant audiences across the website.

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Part 4: How to Analyze YouTube Shorts Performance

YouTube Shorts are videos that are no more than 60 seconds long in length. When added under the ‘Featured’ category, you can see a significant amount of increment in the hits, and therefore the view count and the playback duration of your YouTube channel gets directly affected.

However, because these short videos cannot be monetized, at times you may notice that even though the total playback duration and view counts of your YouTube channel are high, your earnings may not be as much as what you would receive if those clips were published as regular videos.

FAQ: Will YouTube Shorts Performance Impact Other YouTube Stats?

Yes. As mentioned above, the view counts and playback durations of YouTube Shorts videos are added to your channel’s statistics. Therefore, with the number of views your short videos get, the overall performance of your YouTube stats is affected accordingly.

Richard Bennett

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

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Taking Down the Veil: YouTube’s Most Elusive Videos

You may have noticed that some videos in your YouTube playlist are unavailable. This is because the platform allows content creators to categorize their videos into public, private, or unlisted based on their preferences.

To help you uncover the content that you otherwise wouldn’t have access to, we’ve compiled a detailed guide to show you how to find YouTube hidden videos. We’ve also explained why so many unlisted videos are now labeled as private.

So, let’s get started with our guide without any further delay!

4 Types of Videos on YouTube

Firstly, let’s learn about the background of the types of YouTube videos. YouTube videos fall into the following four broad categories:

Public Videos: YouTube contains videos on many themes and topics. It makes it impossible to watch all uploaded content under a specific category.

So, whenever you search for a video or theme, a list of content is displayed in the search result: “Public Videos.” It means that they are visible to everyone around the globe (depending on the terms and conditions). Moreover, you can share, like, unlike, download, or add these videos to your playlists for later watching.

Private Videos: Private videos on YouTube can only be seen by people invited by the person who uploaded the video. This means that only those with access to the video’s shareable link can watch it.

Private videos are not visible to the public or to people who are not logged into YouTube. Hence, it is a great way to share sensitive or personal information with a select group.

Unlisted Video Unlisted videos on YouTube are not publicly visible on the site. They can only be seen by people who have the URL. This category works as a bridge between private and public videos. It is accessible only through sharable links without appealing in any YouTube public playlist or search result.

You might upload an unlisted video to YouTube if you do not want everyone to see it. However, you still want to share it with specific people, like your friends or family. You might also use an unlisted video to test out a new idea before making it public on the video-sharing platform.

Age-Restricted Videos: Age-restricted videos on YouTube are not suitable for all audiences. It may contain content that includes violence, profanity, sexual content, and other inappropriate material. YouTube requires that users be at least 18 years old to view these types of videos.

If you search on YouTube and come across an age-restricted video, you will be asked to confirm your age before viewing its content.

How To Find Unlisted YouTube Videos

Now that we’ve learned about the four types of YouTube content, let’s discuss how you can find unlisted YouTube videos:

How To Find Other People’s Unlisted YouTube Videos?

Since unavailable videos in YouTube playlists are hidden from general public viewers, you cannot find them on YouTube or Google search results.

However, the following workaround can help you watch these YouTube videos without facing much trouble:

Step 1: First, open a browser on your PC and visit the Unlisted Videos website. This platform contains over 600,000 unlisted YouTube videos from 2016 and earlier. You can also submit your unlisted video on the site.

Step 2: Use the search bar at the top of your screen to search for other people’s YouTube playlists. You can also click the “All Video” or “Random Videos” option to find the hidden content of a user.

How To See Unlisted Videos on My YouTube Channel?

To see your unlisted videos on your YouTube channel, do the following steps in sequence:

Step 1: In the first step, install the YouTube Studio app on your mobile device or visit its website using a browser on your computer. Next, launch the app and sign in to your channel’s account using your email and password.

Step 2: In the next step, tap/ click the “Content” tab and tap/click the “Funnel” icon at the top of the video list to access the visibility options.

Step 3:

• Now, choose the “Visibility” option.
• Select “Unlisted” to change the visibility.
• Click the “Save” option to apply changes.
• See the hidden videos on your channel.

Since YouTube has marked the videos uploaded before 2017 as private as of July 2021, you can find your old unlisted videos under the “Private” list. To access it, choose “Private” as the visibility option.

How To Find Unlisted YouTube Videos with Google

Sometimes, unlisted YouTube videos appear on Google when someone shares the link to them on a public forum or website.

To confirm this, open a browser on your computer or a mobile device, head to the Google website, and search for your query. With some luck, you can find these unlisted YouTube videos in the search results.

You May Want to Know: Why Are So Many Unlisted Videos Now Private?

All unlisted videos uploaded to YouTube before January 2017 were switched to private. Therefore, if you have any older unlisted videos added to your Playlist or embedded on your website, you won’t be able to access them now.

However, the channel’s owner can restore access to the video by switching it back to unlisted or public. If now, the video will be labeled as “Private” indefinitely or until its settings are changed.

Conclusion

In this detailed guide, we’ve explored the four types of videos on YouTube and how to find YouTube hidden videos in three different ways. We’ve also explained why so many videos are now listed as “Private” and inaccessible.

Hopefully, you’ve found this article helpful and can now access the unlisted videos on YouTube without hassle.

You may have noticed that some videos in your YouTube playlist are unavailable. This is because the platform allows content creators to categorize their videos into public, private, or unlisted based on their preferences.

To help you uncover the content that you otherwise wouldn’t have access to, we’ve compiled a detailed guide to show you how to find YouTube hidden videos. We’ve also explained why so many unlisted videos are now labeled as private.

So, let’s get started with our guide without any further delay!