We've started adjusting the ranking of videos in YouTube search to reward engaging videos that keep viewers watching. This is a continuation of ongoing efforts to focus our video discovery features on watch time, and follows changes we made to Suggested Videos in March, and recent improvements to YouTube Analytics.
The experimental results of this change have proven positive -- less clicking, more watching. We expect the amount of time viewers spend watching videos from search and across the site to increase. As with previous optimizations to our discovery features, this should benefit your channel if your videos drive more viewing time across YouTube.
Yesterday, we added new Time Watched reporting to YouTube Analytics, so now you have even more tools to evaluate the performance of your videos and channel. So keep making great videos that your fans will love and share, and encourage them to discover more of what YouTube offers, and you’ll see your own fan base grow, too.
The experimental results of this change have proven positive -- less clicking, more watching. We expect the amount of time viewers spend watching videos from search and across the site to increase. As with previous optimizations to our discovery features, this should benefit your channel if your videos drive more viewing time across YouTube.
Yesterday, we added new Time Watched reporting to YouTube Analytics, so now you have even more tools to evaluate the performance of your videos and channel. So keep making great videos that your fans will love and share, and encourage them to discover more of what YouTube offers, and you’ll see your own fan base grow, too.
I hope this algorithm takes into account the use of annotations toward the last quarter of a video that actually contribute to a significant drop in retention...they are, after all, intended to drive people out of the current video and into another. If not, this would actually discourage the use of such click-through annotations.
ReplyDelete"less clicking, more watching" huh? If that's the way you want to go then can you PLEASE oh PLEASEEEEE get rid of the useless gear icon for quality on videos and put it back to how it was before, when it showed specifically what quality the video is in. EVERY single video I click on I HAVE to click it to make sure it's in the highest quality.
ReplyDeleteIt's absolutely ridiculous.
Will this automatically make longer videos outrank shorter videos? Are you controlling for that as a proportion of total time? Someone that can explain a concept in 1:30 minutes is not necessarily worse than a similar video 10 minutes long.
ReplyDeleteBob, it takes into account total watch time on YouTube, not just watch time on the video itself. So an annotation that gets people to watch more YouTube will benefit that video.
ReplyDeleteI believe your studies might be a bit old considering March was a great month for vloggers. Since March there have been a lot of changes. Most of it geared towards more professional content. If the site now depends on longer videos then you're going to miss out on a lot of greatness on the traditional 1 to 3 minute range which happens to be about 80% of the site. Essentially, you're going to force people to unnecessarily draw out the point of their videos in order to capitalize on the changes. This will have an effect on the quality of videos being made and a lot more of the popular users may get frustrated. My advice would be to study the way things were back in 2009 when the site depended more on the rating and favoriting system. When YouTube took away the "top favorites", it took away a big part of it's soul. THAT is how the good wholesome organic content was essentially found back then. I know this for a fact because I was consulting for several major Hollywood agencies looking for quality content to feature. I've been on this site now for 7 years and even though I'm not on top anymore, I know how things work inside and out. I'm afraid that many of the people who are working there these days don't have the type of information that I have because they haven't been around long enough to study it. YouTube is relying on numbers to tell them how to advance rather than the knowledge of how those numbers came to be. I'm more than willing to help make a better YouTube but people like me need to be invited into the offices. I was the first to make any sort of profit through YouTube, I've created a truly organic hit viral video without being featured by YouTube, I was the first to use many of the features that this site had to offer (even creating a few of my own), I played a major role in building the community by bringing them closer together in person with "As One", I was the first to transition into traditional media in television AND feature films and I've worked with more brands than anyone else on this site. I can back up everything I say with experience and solid numbers. So why not spend more time listening to people like me? I've reached out many times in the past but I feel like my advice has been falling on deaf ears. Right now the formula you have set out is only fit to entertain the viewers you have now. Sure you might get some good returns from them but I assure you it will not promote growth. I'd rather see this site have lots of people watching shorter videos than a few people watching longer ones.
ReplyDeleteI agree, Cory. You know your stuff and YouTube should invite you into their offices and talk with you on how to better the site. I know of many people who have given up trying to make something of themselves on YouTube because they find it difficult to get anywhere. I've been on YouTube since 2006 and the site has changed a lot, and most of it isn't for the best. Slowly, but surely YouTube are killing themselves.
Delete*off topic* but I need to be able to create a "playlists playlist".
ReplyDeleteLet me explain : In the playlist "web series/dramas" I'd like to put all my web-series playlists. Like folders in a folder..
Maybe it could be useful for others too :)
And for this topic, the only thing I can see is that views and earnings are droping days after days for almost everybody (99% vs 1% ...).
If I wasn't passionate about making videos and sharing with people to entertain them, i'd have quit yt since March...
Which would get higher ranking.. a 3 minute video that viewers watch to the end ... or a 60 minute video that viewers only watch for 6 minutes?
ReplyDeleteI would like to ask the same because I upload videos of 50 min and I'm not sure if this will help me or help the ones that make short videos (5 min or less)
DeleteMaybe it could be useful for others too :)
ReplyDeletefilm izle
film izle
It's absolutely ridiculous.
Have you seen the gaming of the vids yet? 15 second vid constitutes a full watcher ,regardless! When can I put one up with a link,make it #1 and what percentage links on that? Better odds than KENO in vegas.
ReplyDelete