"Shadowbanned", the real solution

Hey, writing this in English so it's easier for us to talk.

My channel seems shadowbanned. Yeah, after a ton of research I really think it exists.

Here's my situation, being fully transparent:

I had a Shorts channel about animals, built a few hundred followers, then switched themes to gaming.

When I posted, my first long video got a lot of impressions but almost no views, so the stats/retention were bad. It was early days and I didn't take advantage of it. Oh well.

The next ones didn't do well either. I'd sometimes spend 8 hours a day editing (those were my first edits). Oh well, that's the game.

I made the mistake of trying to reuse content that was working on other platforms. It was mostly informative stuff about a game, no voice or anything. Turns out the copied content got detected and my channel got a strike.

After that, the channel got absolutely zero views, zero impressions, zero discovery.

So I did what I'd wanted to do for a while: started a new channel so I could have the classic "1 channel = 1 audience" and have the audience match the theme.

My first channel was from 2013, 13 years old. I shut it down to do things properly, and because I'd read somewhere that YouTube recommended it.

Turns out on the new channel I still get 0 impressions from suggestions. Even though I've kept posting and improved the quality of my videos a lot.

I've read a ton of threads and discussions online.

I've explained my situation fully and transparently.

I want to create content, and I chose YouTube over other platforms where I've gone very viral, because I prefer YouTube. And yet it's the only platform that doesn't work...

I just want to know what to do. I've read that some people kept going for months, up to 7 months, before giving up. I'm scared of producing content every day for hours and having it all be for nothing.

I'm only asking for guidance on how to fix this, or how to actually contact YouTube to talk about it. I need a concrete solution. I can't plan to spend the next few months creating content for hours every day without knowing if I'll ever have a chance to get discovered.

It's the story of a little guy who chose YouTube to create content every day and ended up in a views prison.

Huge thanks to anyone who takes the time to help me sort this out.

one of my friend got this situation before sometimes we think it is shadowban, but youtube might just be struggling to find the right audience for the content. if you were me i stick to one niche, keep uploading original stuff and give it some time. Also, don't rush into creating another channel again.

Try to take a pause for a week or something like that from uploading new content. Then start uploading new videos slowly.

I dont think its a shadowban, more like an audience mismatch. Your subs came from animal Shorts, so when you post a long gaming video YouTube first tests it on them, they dont click, and that early low CTR tells the algo nobody wants it. Check Traffic source in Analytics, if most impressions came from Browse/Subscribers with very low CTR thats exactly it. Either keep going until gaming viewers replace the old crowd or start a clean gaming channel, mixing both on one channel usually stays stuck.

Check Studio for active restrictions and appeal any incorrect strike. Contact Creator Support with your channel and video URLs to ask if recommendations are limited. A strike doesn’t automatically mean shadowban, so test a few original videos before investing hours daily.

I wouldn't rush to call it a shadowban. Check the restrictions in YouTube Studio first. Also, getting zero views doesn't always mean YouTube is hiding your channel. Try uploading a few original videos on the new channel and see if they get any impressions at all. That might give you a clearer picture.

I’d check YouTube Studio for active restrictions and appeal the strike if you believe it was incorrect. Then contact Creator Support with your channel and video URLs to ask whether any restrictions affect recommendations. A strike doesn’t automatically mean shadowban, so test a few original videos and monitor impressions before investing hours every day.

Thanks everyone for the replies.

Here's some more precise info:

* I publish about one video a day
* I only share it with people who are interested on Discord
* Every view comes from people who found the video through my shares. Nothing from YouTube suggestions.

I still put a lot of work into every video and the thumbnail / packaging, so it bugs me that my videos aren't getting a chance to be tested with an audience.

All my videos are on the same topic / niche, which is why I started a fresh channel.

I'm still stuck. YouTube isn't giving me any suggestions at all... Yeah, sometimes you just have to be patient, but why does it kick in for other channels and not mine?

I've already done a ton of the stuff they recommend. Phone number verified, identity verified, and it's my only active YouTube channel too.

I've already brought in 98 views/people on YouTube (I only share my link, no preview, so they have to come to YouTube to watch it in the app).

Those people subscribe and sometimes comment my videos, but still no push from YouTube.

I'm gonna keep producing every day, but I'd really love to know how to get YouTube to put me forward a bit more...

Just imagine being stuck like this for 6 months or a year. The time lost is huge... If you know whether this is normal and how long it takes...

It's impossible to contact YouTube to get their help or ask them a question. On Twitter they reply in a generic way that doesn't fit the situation at all, probably an AI-generated response.

I'm not doing this for the views, I'm doing it out of passion. But putting time in every day just to feel held back and not even have a real chance of getting discovered is frustrating.