Best YouTube Algorithm Hacks To Get Views

Before I write about YouTube algorithm hacks to get views, I will touch on a couple of other YouTube pointers. I’ve been on YouTube for ages, and although I’m not a fan of analytics, I know they’re essential for gaining traffic. That’s why I wrote Analytics For More YouTube views. I also mentioned it in my YouTube Reviews post.

I repurposed the following post using Content Gorilla, Grammarly from Think Media’s video on algorithm hacks. 

I’m sure that I’m not the only one that is frustrated about YouTube’s constantly changing algorithm. I feel like I can release a video one week that goes viral. Then a week later, I put out a better video, and it falls flat, leading me to have a chat with YouTube experts Ricky Ray Butler and Derrel Eves.

I will be sharing that conversation about how to hack the YouTube algorithm with you in this post, specifically, seven proven strategies that are working right now. All so you can get more views, get more subscribers, and get your videos to stand out. 

YouTube Secrets For Growing On YouTube

While the first one may sound a little basic, I would like to point out that common sense doesn’t always lead to everyday practice. Of course, I’m referring to paying attention to the topic.

When I think about factors that will influence a video ranking, and that’s important for me, I want to rank in search. And when I think about ranking in search, I also think about the suggested videos. A featured video is excellent because it’s getting views in weeks, months and years to come.

Of course, we know that the title thumbnails are essential and that tags have less influence. But, together, tags, description, title, thumbnail are super important. Still, I think a big missing piece when people think about getting that thumbnail right and even getting that title right is the topic itself.  

And so, what I’ve been learning the most from studying YouTube Studio Beta is if I put out the best thumbnail in the world, we could all stand in an art gallery, like “My gosh, there could be no better thumbnail!” And even a clever title, like “I can’t even believe he packed in that much. What a headline, what a title! There are keywords in there, but it speaks to humans! It’s perfect the way that thing has been crafted.” But if it’s not the right topic, then people aren’t going to be interested. And so, I guess what I’ve learned now on THiNK Media is as I hear guys like Matt Gealan talking about and stuff, we’re getting sniper on– YouTube channels need to have one value proposition.

And then there is that pesky algorithm like you throw a thing out there, and I’ll talk about some random stuff; it’s still my channel, so I know camera videos perform well, but the other day I did the DJI Remote video. It was so obscure that it didn’t achieve much at all. It had to be the topic itself! Who is that interested in the DJI Remote?

-Let me interject here for a minute because I reckon that everyone who owns a DJI Drone would be interested in the DJI remote. Perhaps it didn’t perform well because the title, tags and such didn’t conform with YT’s algorithm.- OK, back to the post. 

The views didn’t perform, of course. It wasn’t there.

And you don’t want to do that too many times in a row. You want to be putting out topics that do perform.

-Yep, we all know that. And when we choose those topics, we think that they will perform, but YT’s pesky algorithm sticks up its ugly head and puts a stop to that.-

So I think, when it comes to a topic, here are some tips. What’s trending? Like what is in the zeitgeist, the mentality of your industry? That’s the thing you need to target in your video. So, are you talking about topics where even if you don’t have the best thumbnail or the best title, choosing the right topic at the right time could be a game-changer?  

Right now, Peak Design is doing that new tripod, and of course, when you see Peter drop it, and then my friend Atola Visuals dropped about this new Peak Design tripod, it starts to go viral.

We saw what happened with the SwitchPod, and how other people then jump on that bandwagon. When the SwitchPod came out, Pat loved that I talked about it, and I loved talking about it as well, but I realized I probably got more benefit out of the deal than maybe even Pat did; why? Because when Peter put it out, the suggested videos of being in that conversation was crucial. When thinking about topics, think about what’s trending in your industry. What should you be talking about is as important as what your subscribers want to see! That distribution to your subscribers for established channels is something I’m tryin’ to craft and figure out.

I’m always thinking, “What will click get them to click on one of my videos?” And I know, just to kind of break down my understanding of how it works, right now YouTube is giving that distribution just to a few of your subscribers. Whether they like it or not, whether they click through on that or not. So again, they’re going to click through– They already know me. Even if the thumbnail’s mediocre, they’re going to click through if it’s the right topic. That’s why I’m making the right content decisions, trying to hit the most significant core of my audience as possible, because I see these days it seems as soon as a video dies if it doesn’t get liftoff.

It just dies. Knowing that it’s that topic that’s going to hit, and once it gets liftoff, then I’ve seen it even spike higher than that through the algorithm. 

I’ve mentioned, you know, “What’s gonna be most appealing “to my core audience?” And a lot of creators think that way, and that’s how they’re creating content, and I think that works to a degree. But it depends on the type of channel you have and the type of content you’re creating. But the reality is, when you want to get tactical, it’s like, “OK, what’s my core audience” but more importantly, what’s going to bring in and attract “a new audience?” Because if you take care of your core audience, the core audience will come and go, and that’s where I see many channels plateau.

 I see many channels lose subscribers, and they also lose the view and visibility of what they could have because they’re not taking care of the emerging market and the other people watching.

So, you have to have different balances. – [Sean] So, you have to branch out, then?

– Exactly. (stammers) Was it MatPat? – [Sean] Yeah. – He got on that was talking about that in-depth. He makes four different types of videos or something.

– Yeah, one for subscriptions, one for views – 

Right? [Derral] Yeah, yeah. – one for engagement. – What on our channel do we need more of? And what are the videos that are going to help us get there?

And so we try, in our programming calendars, to find a proper cadence of, “This is a subscriber building episode.” That’s going to get wider dissemination, get people excited about– Covering a trending topic or something very relevant. We then do a powerful call to subscribe at the end.

So, that’s where it starts, so you have your subscriber building episodes, and you have your monetization episodes. Where it’s like, hey, this is a video that’s just going to monetize better than other videos in our repertoire because it has more searchable key phrases. It has something that is building on the hype of something – Right. – that’s hot right now, and that we know there are big marketing dollars behind. So every once in a while, there’s that.

Where we’re like, “Hey, we know that this one isn’t going to blow; It’s not going to be the #1 video on trending or whatever.” – [Interviewer] But, yeah!- Yeah, and then the ones that are super-serving the fans. It’s of a small niche franchise or a topic that they come to us specifically.

It might not have a broader audience appeal, but the people who have been following us for all these years, it’s something that they’ll appreciate. They’ll know, and we will show them that, “Hey, we are still doing the content for you as well, and we’re still very much in touch with this community.” – I think the key is, yes, you gotta figure out what the core is, but you also need to be able to see, OK.

You’ve got to be a little bit experimental to see what’s going to be the next big thing, you know? – Because the YouTube algorithm is constantly changing, we need to be continuously learning and levelling up. 

It took quite a bit of effort with the help of Grammarly to get the above post to a grammatically correct readable standard. I’m not sure I was able to find seven YouTube Algorithm Hacks? As for the video, I struggled to get anything of value out because it was so vague, and I needed several attempts to watch it. Having it all down in written format makes it a whole lot easier to come to grips with it as a whole but I still say it’s lacking the YouTube Algorithm Hacks that was promised. I hope it helped you as well.