Have to disagree with the majority here. Tried it just last week and works great. Yes, the video does get knocked down a few places over the next few days, but my video is still page one for a competitive term. What I did was send 1000 HR views, a few likes and subs while unlisted, then made the video public. Video went straight to #3 and is now mid-page having done nothing extra to it. Of course, I cant guarantee the same will happen every time but from what I've seen it's definitely worth a shot. Cheers!