How To Increase Video Views On Youtube

Any active YouTube user has heard of at least a few of the big names - Ryan Higa, Shane Dawson, Fred, Smosh, Shay Carl, etc. What most users don't realize is that these people have 6-figure incomes... Just from their videos!
Yea, these people make a lot of money, doing things that they love, and what are you doing? You're reading this page, so your goal is clear. You want to increase your views on YouTube, of course. You've come to the right place. Now, prepare to be enlightened.

Tags are a huge part in getting anything seen on the web! When people search for things, they're searching for your tags. On Squidoo there are tags. My previous article was getting only a handful of views. Then I added more tags, better tags. I get around 200% more per week now. That's with no advertising.

Not to mention that it now requires no effort on my part... Those views will keep coming.

If you tag your video poorly on YouTube, how are people supposed to find it? One of the most important parts of getting your videos viewed would be the tagging.
When I say tag, I mean TAG. Use all of the available tags that you can. Tag the video until you're at the maximum number of tags. Be sure to use appropriate tags. If your video is about superheroes, don't tag things related to politics. Because people searching for videos on politics probably aren't going to watch your video about superheroes.

I highly recommend using this website: Google Adwords. You can type in any tags you can think of, and see how many people have searched for them, and how the competition is. You can browse through different categories to see which tags are most popular in said category. This is a very useful tool for increasing traffic to your videos, and your channel. You want to go for tags with low competition, and high amounts of views.

Tell me the above video doesn't have an interesting thumbnail. If your video's thumbnail is a black screen... chances are, people aren't going to click on it. Many people are visual, and so you should always pick a thumbnail that gets someone's attention. If someone sees an amazing picture in the thumbnail, they're more likely to click on the video. The video above had three possible thumbnails:

1. A guy on the phone.
2. A guy with his gun to another guy's head.
3. A guy laying in some grass.

Now knowing that the one that would best get my attention is the one with the gun is the reason I chose the thumbnail with the gun. Now, YouTube chooses your thumbnail options automatically. So the best way to get the thumbnail you want is through the editing process.
YouTube takes 3 thumbnails. The three pictures are taken at 25%, 50%, and 75% through the video. So place your action scenes, your pretty visuals, your half naked women at one of those points in the video. If your video is 10 minutes long, place the gunfight at 5 minutes. This way, your thumbnail will come out looking click-worthy.

The video above is amateur at best. Half-decent gun effects in Windows Movie Maker, a story that appears to have been written by Michael Bay, and horrible acting make up this video... so yes, it may be sub-par, but it's also my third most viewed video,

This section will be short, though the titles of your videos are a very important component. If you title your shooting video "stuff that happened" then it most likely won't get many views. No one wants to watch a video about stuff that happened. But had they known the video was about their favorite music, maybe they'd click on it. Take some notes from Shane Dawson, the YouTuber with the highest income (around $315,000 annually). Examine the titles of his videos. They're all short and to the point, very interesting, and relate to something that happens in the video. This is exactly what you want to achieve with your titles.

Analyze what you've read of this article one more time. I've promoted my videos. You've seen the hyperlinks, and the embedded YouTube modules, and even if you personally haven't clicked on them, someone has. Every time there's a clickout, I get a view. I get recognized. That person clicking on my link could be a potential subscriber. This is why you need to promote your channel. EVERYWHERE. In the comments section at the bottom, leave a comment with a description of your channel, what's on it, and a link to it. Do it! You want to know how to promote yourself more? Read on for a few ways to do just that.

1. Word of mouth. Email everyone you know, tell them to email everyone they know. Call people. Text people. Use every tool available to tell your friends and family about your new video! Meet new people and tell them. If you don't try, you can't fairly complain about your channel not getting views.

2. Social networking sites. Another excellent way to do get the word out. Use StumbleUpon, post your videos on your Facebook, post them on your Myspace, tweet about them, ask people to Digg them... whatever gets your videos seen.

3. Cross-referencing. Have Squidoo articles? Find clever ways to hyperlink to your videos. Have a website? Promote your YouTube page on your website. Promote your website on your YouTube page. If you can draw your followers from your website to your channel (and vice versa) you will build your fanbase even more! Anything you already have on the web, link it to your channel. Many articles on Squidoo could use some extra visual aid, and YouTube videos are a great way to do so, whether you're trying to make a point or give a tutorial.

Get creative! There are tons of ways to promote yourself. If money is no obstacle, you can even find ways to pay for ads with sites such as Google or Facebook.

While not necessary, these things can come in handy. For some things that may be very useful, scroll up a little bit to the Amazon links. Video cameras, editing software, a prop gun, fake blood... some basic things that may come in handy.
Buy yourself a nice camera. After all, it's the primary component to any video. HD cameras that cost thousands of dollars are wonderful, but that Flip cam above is a very nice quality inexpensive camera.
Let's not neglect the editing, though. Adobe After Effects is the god of all editing software, but I've also heard that Sony Vegas is pretty good, and I know a lot of people using the basic Windows Movie Maker, and they're still happy. The effects in Mercenaries 1 and Mercenaries 2 videos were made in Windows Movie Maker. The gunshot effects in my Mercenaries 3 trailer were done in Adobe After Effects... and I've barely scratched the surface of the massive, versatile program. Compare those videos, and you'll see the difference. People have done really cool things with it, and I'm on my way there... but honestly, editing software is a luxury. Not a necessity.

People enjoy higher quality videos, so give them high quality. Give them scripted, well-edited, organized videos that are fun to look at. Whether it be comedy, action, or a computer game video, be sure it was made with the viewer in mind. Then, your advertising will start to do itself, bringing in more traffic to your wonderful channel.

Now, onto probably the most important part of your channel. Your videos! To attract more attention to your channel, variety is always good. Pop culture is a huge way to get views. Music videos are a great way to get views (but also a great way to get record labels to whine at you about copyright stuff). Video game related videos are also great ways to rake in the views. Just to give you an idea of why I believe in this, look at my channel. 3 out of my top 5 videos are video game footage. People want to watch videos about things they enjoy, so give that to them. If you want people to watch your channel, give them something they want to watch. The content of your videos is the base. You have to build upon that, by using everything I've talked about above. Cater to your audience, because they are your viewers. Look at what is popular. Make parodies, make video game videos, make music videos to music you created...

I personally recommend video game footage. It's awesome, and everyone loves it. Learn a good strategy for a certain game? Record yourself using it. Post it online. 20 points to whoever recognizes the animated picture to the right. Post a comment if you know what game it's from.

Promote your videos.
Tag your videos.
Make them look appealing with thumbnails and titles.
Make them look professional with better equipment.
Edit them!

So you've read the heading. Audience interaction? How does one interact with a virtual audience? Simple.
I recommend, at the end of all of your videos, ask a question. Ask a question about your video, and tell people to reply in the comments, or with a video response. You can ask the question with text, or you can film yourself asking it. The point is to ask a question at the end of all of your videos. Don't expect people to just comment. People feel more inclined to comment if they have a question to answer. How is this helpful, you ask?

Well even if you didn't ask, I'm about to tell you why you want comments. As your video receives more comments, it becomes more relevant to search requests. This means when people search for something in your tags, if your video has a lot of comments, it's more likely to be higher in the listed videos. A video with no comments will be shot down as not so great, and has a lower chance of being found in YouTube searches. Not only is this true, but as more people comment on your videos, the chance for argument/controversy/a visit from a troll increases. Everyone loves a good fight (and hates a good troll), and they'll continue to come back to your video, even if it's only to argue some more. Then you get more views, and more comments... The cycle continues, and you win.

You now have the steps to getting your channel seen. You can be known, too. Stay determined, and be persistent. With trial and error, you'll learn what works best for you. But above all, remember that you can't expect the views to come to you. If you want them... you have to work to get them. With tags, with good titles, with effective thumbnails, and with good editing, you can expect more views to come. With the advertising, with additional time put into the videos, you can definitely be successful. I wish you all the luck in the world... though with these tips, you may not need it. Leave me comments if you think of anything I've missed, so I can spread the word. Leave comments with your channel name and links. If you haven't caught on yet, I want you to leave comments below.