YouTube Video Ranking Factors (Explained)

[A7strohhut]

i have ranked many videos on youtube and i need to say in the beginning hr views are great but a attractive thumbnail is what lets you rank longterm (if you did all the other steps). this is my experience.

 

[Cyberars]

You're wrong.
It all depends on the niche and similar videos.
On my channel all videos 10+ minutes. There were months with retention of 1:36 (now 1:45). YouTube gives 20-40кк views/month for the top channels in my niche.
In general, it is a very low retention for YT.

you say your videos are ranking high with 13%-14% average retention?

 

[BbHhWwVM]

i have ranked many videos on youtube and i need to say in the beginning hr views are great but a attractive thumbnail is what lets you rank longterm (if you did all the other steps). this is my experience.

I completely forgot to mention thumbnail.
Obviously, the 1st impression. Yup.

 

[HaCr]

I would add to your list and say that channels with already established, enthusiastic audiences, that can 'over-ratio' your upload with likes/comments/shares/playlist adds within the first 24 hours almost always have an advantage with ranking.

If you watch the engagement levels on new videos from popular channels you'll see engagement percentages of well over 20% which is off the charts. Typical engagement ratios are much much lower.

It all becomes a self-feeding mechanism as your channel gets more and more popular over time. Another good reason to focus building your audience around people that actually exist.

 

[socialmediapro]

i have ranked many videos on youtube and i need to say in the beginning hr views are great but a attractive thumbnail is what lets you rank longterm (if you did all the other steps). this is my experience.

Yeah correct an attractive thumbnail def. catches the attention and gets more clicks.