Trying to get more views on YouTube? No matter how well done your video is, it won’t matter if it’s not seen. People won’t come across your content and you will not reach a larger audience unless they click and watch it in the first place. In this article, we’ll dive into 5 common reasons why videos struggle to generate views.
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Why Your YouTube Videos Aren't Getting Views
Low Click-Through-Rate (CTR)
CTR refers to the Click-Through-Rate of your video. To understand click-through rate, simply look at the meaning of two terms: impressions and clicks. Impressions are the number of times a user is seeing your content on the platform. Whereas clicks are the number of times users actually clicked on your video from these impressions. To get your click-through rate you need to divide your clicks with your impressions and multiply by 100.
What does a low CTR mean? It means that YouTube has pushed your video to different places on the platform, but viewers are not clicking through to watch the video. A low CTR can be an indication of any of the following:
- Misleading content
- Uninteresting content
- Ineffective title
- Ineffective thumbnail
Whatever the case may be, the audience has seen the thumbnail and title but decided not to watch the video. Since the goal of any platform is to encourage users to spend more time on it, YouTube will now suggest your video less as a response. Eventually, the video will receive less and less exposure which will decrease the chances of a passerby on the platform viewing it.
Increase Your CTR
So how do you increase your click-through rates? There are a few things you could do, and we’d recommend focusing on the parts the customer will see first — thumbnail and title.
You can test various thumbnails for your content to determine what works best with your audience. Include enticing visuals, colors and text to make it stand out and peak the viewers interest. As for the title, make sure that it includes the main keywords that your audience is searching for, and the questions your video content answers. In the insanely competitive world of video, your title has to include a unique value point, a hook, and cause an emotional response that peaks curiosity.
If you want to learn more about increasing your CTR, we wrote a full blog post on that here: “YouTube CTR – Why It’s Important And How To Improve It“.
Look at the four examples related to selling on this list. Which thumbnail stands out to you the most? Which one seems less interesting and appealing? From a viewership standpoint, the 2nd one stands out as the weaker video. The thumbnail isn’t very appealing or clear, while the other three use simple text in order to draw the attention of the viewer.
Keep in mind, effectiveness can be subjective, but the views for each of these videos speak for themselves. From a titling perspective, we also see a notable difference. The three effective videos have stronger titles which evoke curiosity. The weaker video and its title seem bland and dull in comparison.
Low Audience Retention
Ok so people are finally watching your video and you’re getting more views. Awesome! But that doesn’t mean it’s enough for YouTube to promote it. Audience Retention is another significant factor that YouTube looks at to determine whether or not your video is worth pushing to a wider audience. Here are some reasons why your content may be struggling with a low audience retention rate:
- Misleading title
- Uninteresting thumbnail
- Offensive content which causes viewers to leave
- Lack of cohesiveness in the video
- Poor introduction and organization in the video
- Content is too repetitive
Similar to a low CTR, there can be many factors that cause the audience to leave your video early. YouTube tracks the Average View Duration of each video to determine whether or not your video deserves to be promoted. If the video has low AR in comparison to others within a similar genre, YouTube has no reason to promote it in the first place.
Here is an example of a video which had low audience retention. The title leads the viewer to believe they will learn how to code, but it is actually a 20-minute advertisement for his own coding services. It uses a misleading title and slightly misleading thumbnail, tricking viewers looking for an answer to watch.
Throughout the video, he does not provide a solid answer until well over halfway. This causes viewers to be frustrated and leave the video. As a result, the video has an unusual high number of dislikes, and negative comments. The video is a strong example of clickbait, misleading strategies, poor organization and repetitive content.
Improve Audience Retention
What can you do to improve your audience retention? Make sure your content is authentic, original, relevant and that it hits the nail on the head when it comes to solution to the problem your audience is having. When your content consistently adds value to your viewers life, they are likely to watch your content more and longer.
In addition to your content being well written, it also has to be executed well. Higher quality video, with good lighting and editing, will keep the attention of the viewer longer.
Lack of Human Connection
The human connection is a crucial ingredient to a successful video, but it can be difficult to convey through the screen. If you do a simple search for any topic, you can see there are numerous videos which answer the same question.
The reason for success lies in the way the creator presents the topics. Once a human connection is established, the creator relies on the trust built between them and the audience to grow their fanbase. Credibility is built from that connection, rather than from their educational background, or experience.
Here is another group of videos – this time discussing tips for public speaking. These videos are different examples of how to approach a common topic. They appear in the initial search on YouTube, but as we can see, some of them provide a human connection, while others seem more disconnected. The fourth video TEDx talks feature Richard Greene prominently in the thumbnail and is a largely successful video. The video is not misleading and is a monologue by a real person who gives their experience on what good public speaking is. The “A Guide to Public Speaking” on the other hand seems less personal, using graphics instead of a real person. The generic approach looks less appealing compared to the more personal approach by several of the other videos on this list.
Benefits of a Human Connection
Aside from being a strong differentiating factor, a human connection in a video can add many positive elements to an otherwise boring video: friendliness, personality, familiarity, humor, sympathy. All of these things contribute to an engaging video and help with increasing Watchtime, CTR, and Audience Retention.
Conversely, a robotic delivery, lack of emotion and failure to connect will leave the audience bored and unlikely to watch more. So make sure to be authentic, relatable and interactive when making your content.
Lack of Consistency
Consistency in videos leads to a consistent viewership. Whether the viewer watches your video for the first time, or is a return viewer, being consistent in your content will help your brand grow. If the viewer likes your video and how it is delivered, they might be looking for more similar content from you in the future or even right away. From a video marketing perspective, consistency refers to two things:
Consistent Topics
This refers to the topics discussed from video to video. As mentioned earlier, if your topic isn’t consistent, this leads to viewers being confused by your videos. For example, they may have followed you based on the expert financial advice you gave in a video, but your newest video talks about living a healthy lifestyle.
This inconsistency makes it difficult to accumulate a strong fanbase since the topics keep changing. It doesn’t mean you need to keep making the same video repeatedly, but the genre and topic should still be related to one another. Deliver what people came to your channel in the first place, and consistency will not be an issue.
Consistent Uploads
Upload schedule is a pain that all players on the video platform deal with day in and out. The reason why a consistent schedule for uploading is so crucial is that it builds a habit out of your audience. Through the use of repetition, you leave a lasting impression on your audience. The next time your video is scheduled to be published, they instinctively expect it and will be more likely to watch it immediately. And as platforms want to increase session time, they will promote the video more if there is an initial positive response.
In short, make sure to be clear what is your expertise, what value you offer your viewers and how often can you deliver the content.
Multiple Audience Segments
The audience plays an important role in the continued growth of your channel. Multiple audience segments are when due to the diverse nature of your videos, you develop a variety of audiences all following you for different reasons. As a result, depending on what type of video you create, the views on each video can differ a lot.
Similar to the example given above regarding a consistent topic, developing a consistent audience can prevent the fragmentation of your viewers. Your viewers tube in for a certain topic or genre, so try your best to cater to their needs. Otherwise, YouTube will also notice the inconsistent views across the videos and promote your channel less.
The Exception
However, in cases where the channel is based on a strong personality, it is possible to get away with this issue. Creators who are leaders on YouTube have successfully melted their segmented audience using their personality. Because of their screen presence, lovable personality and entertaining delivery of the content, these creators do not worry about tackling a variety of topics; the viewership stays generally consistent.
Siena Mirabella is a YouTube creator who targets a variety of topics. Despite having over a million subscribers, we can see a clear difference in viewership for each of her topics. For example, her “Healthy Morning Routine 2019” has almost 200k views, whereas her “Winter Haul 2019” only has 40k views. Though all the videos feature herself as the host, the viewership differs because of the inconsistent topics she discusses. She may have developed multiple audience segments who tune in for different videos, and the views for her videos reflect the inconsistency of her channel.
How to avoid having multiple audience segments? It’s simple. Just know what content you are most confident with, what content provides the most value to your audience and your channel and what content you enjoy making. Once you narrow down your niche and it works, stick to it!
Conclusion
There is rarely one single factor that leads to the failure or success of any video. The audience, the topic, consistency and the CTR all factor in whether or not views will accumulate. Make sure you know your content, your audience and the platform you are posting on for best results.
If a video underperforms, go to your analytics and compare it to your better performing content and try to understand what you can change to make it better. The video must contain qualities which lead to a positive response from the audience; it must also pass certain thresholds for the platform to confidently promote it to a wider audience.
If you are still unsure how to reach the audience you are targeting and get your videos on the front page, make sure to contact us and we’d be happy to help you out!
