How to Get More Views on YouTube: Step-by-Step Guide (Updated 2025)

You are where you have been put there by your creator, but video live streaming occurs more than 500 hours a minute, and you’re lost. Getting viral like your YouTube video is dependent upon good content planning, optimization, promotion, and interaction with your followers. The new tutorial uses fact-based facts, real success stories, and industry best practice in guiding you through successful channel development.

Step 1: Know Your Niche and Audience

You need to know about your audience first.

Choose a Niche:

• Choose the subject or category of content to produce (tech review, workout, recipes, video games, etc.).
• Example: Marques Brownlee (MKBHD) dominates the tech review niche with production-focused, detail-laden content.

Get to Know Your Target Market:

• Find out their demographics, interests, and pains.
• Example: Utilize YouTube Analytics or Google Audience Insights to research accordingly.

Competitor Research

• Study successful channels in your niche to determine gaps and opportunities.
• Example: If you’re in the fitness niche, study channels like Chris Heria or Chloe Ting to see what works.

Step 2: Create High-Quality, Engaging Content

Content is king on YouTube. Your videos need to be valuable, entertaining, and engaging.

Plan Your Content:

• Brainstorm video subjects within your domain and what’s desired by your audience.
• Place keywords on Google Trends, AnswerThePublic, or TubeBuddy Keyword Explorer and see what’s hot today.
• Put an example on a recipe food channel creating a video like “5 Easy Meal Prep Dinners for Busy College Students” and watch it go viral.

Script and Structure Your Videos:

• Develop a solid script or storyboard to get your video back on track.
• Start with a massive hook that captures people for 10 seconds.
• Example: “Know you’re saving 3 hours weekly with these meal prep tricks. Let’s start!”

Invest in Good Equipment:

Invest in a pro cam (Sony ZV-1 or Canon M50), mic (Rode VideoMic), and lights (softbox lights) so that you appear pro on camera.

Edit Professionally

• Make a pro free edit with Adobe Premiere Pro, Final Cut Pro, or DaVinci Resolve.
• Use graphics, effects, and text to connect with your audience.
  e.g., Add jump cuts for rhythm and text overlay to highlights.

Step 3: SEO-Optimize Your Videos

You Tube is a search engine and therefore SEO-optimize your videos so that they are found.

Keyword Research:

• Use TubeBuddy, VidIQ, or Google Keyword Planner tools to get the correct keywords.
• Use long-tail keywords (i.e., “how to bake a chocolate cake for beginners”).
• Insert “home workout for beginners without equipment.”

Make a Grabbing Title

• Put your target keyword and have it as a link.
• Do not put “Fitness Tips” but put “10 Easy Fitness Tips for Busy Professionals.”

Make a Descriptive Description:

• Put your key keyword on line one and line two.
• Short your video and include links to your site or social media.
• Example: “I am going to give 10 easy fitness tips in this drill in this video. Follow me on Instagram @YourChannel for a daily tip!”

Add Tags:

• Include relevant tags so YouTube becomes accustomed to what your video is discussing.
• Example: For baking, use “baking tips,” “chocolate cake recipe,” and “easy desserts.”

Make Custom Thumbnails:

• Make custom thumbnails with clear color contrast and legible text.
• Example: Use software to make thumbnail like Canva to add close-up food photo and highlighted text like “EASY Chocolate Cake Recipe!”

Use Chapters and Timestamps

• Segment your video into chapters with the aim of retaining users and search engine optimization.
• Example: “0:00 Intro, 1:20 Ingredients, 3:00 Step-by-Step Instructions.”

Step 4: Leverage YouTube Features

There are some features of YouTube that can be employed as strategy in a move to have more videos.

Playlists:

• Chop your videos into playlists so that the users stay on the site.
• For instance, a travel blog can have playlists like “Europe Travel Guides” or “Budget Travel Tips.”

End Screens and Cards:

Encourage the viewers to watch another video or a playlist.

Example: Use an end screen where you request the viewer to watch another video like “Watch Next: How to Save Money on Flights.”

Community Tab

Utilize the Community tab (for channels with more than 500 subs) to communicate with your community through polls, posts, and sneak peeks.

Make a poll question that asks in an interrogative manner, “What do I make next?

Youtube Shorts

Create brief, vertical videos to leverage the Shorts algorithm on YouTube and drive views to the extreme.

Example: Create a 15-second clip of a dish on a plate with a link like “Full recipe in the description!”

Step 5: Drive Views to Your Videos

Let the algorithm do its work. Get your videos viral by commenting and liking them.

Share on Social Media

Share your videos on social media sites like Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and TikTok.

For example, post a trailer video on Instagram Reels and inform the crowd that they can see the full video if they watch until the end.

Work with Other Creators:

Collaborate with other creators in your niche and swap your videos with them.

For example, a wellness creator can work with a nutritionist and create a “Healthy Meal Prep” video.

Participate in Online Communities

Promote your videos on the appropriate forums, Facebook groups, or Reddit comments (do not spam).

Example: Share your video on a subreddit such as r/Cooking or r/Fitness.

Email Marketing:

Sell your videos to your list for traffic.

Example: Use an email subject line such as “New Video: 10 Easy Fitness Tips You’ll Love!”

Step 6: Build a Relationship with Your Audience

Success over the long term is built on an engaged audience.

Respond to Comments

Respond so others can tell you really care to hear what they have to say.

Example: Pin a comment where you’re inviting folks to respond to the video.

Get Feedback:

Feedback needs to be requested in order to be left and addressed.

Example: Finish your video with, “What do I do next? Let me know in the comments!

Host Live Stream

Engage more live interaction of your fans by going live.

Example: Q&A or in-kitchen demonstration.

Giveaways or Contests

Involve individuals to have them feel that they are riding with the win of a free giveaway through comments, likes, and shares.

Example: “Comment below to win a free cookbook!”

Step 7: Analyze and Improve

Monitor daily performance to know what is working and not.

Utilize YouTube Analytics:

Monitor watch watch time, CTR, and viewership retention.

Tip: If CTR is awful, fix thumbnail or title.

Test Content:

Try different length, format, and type of video to find out what your audience needs.

Tip: Rotate between tutorials, vlogs, and listicles.

Optimize Based on Data

Spend money on good content and fix broken videos.

If “10 Easy Fitness Tips” works, create a sequel like “10 More Fitness Tips.”

Step 8: Consistency and Patience

It will take a while for a YouTube channel to gain steam.

Upload Regularly

• Get into the routine of posting at the same rate (weekly, bi-weekly, etc.).
• Example: Display your schedule in your intro videos or banner.

Stay in the Know

• Stay up-to-date with YouTube trends, algorithm updates, and best practices.
• Example: Subscribe to Creator Insider’s YouTube channel for fresh updates.

Be Patient:

• Make long-term and not short-term goals.
• Example: Goals of 1,000 subscribers or 4,000 hours viewed.

Tips on having more views

1. Create Calls-to-Actions (CTAs): Ask the viewer to subscribe, like, comment, and share.
2. Brand Partnership: Produce brand videos under brand partnership to enable them to engage with their fans.
3. Re-Use: Re-use your video and re-skin it as a blog, podcast, or social byte.
4. Use YouTube Ads: Utilize pay-per-view advertisement features to force views.

By following these steps, you’ll be well on your way to increasing your YouTube views and growing your channel. Remember, success on YouTube requires a combination of creativity, strategy, and persistence. Keep creating, optimizing, and engaging, and you’ll see results over time!

Additional Resources

1. YouTube Creator Academy:
   • A free resource by YouTube offering courses and tips for creators.
   • https://creatoracademy.youtube.com/
2. TubeBuddy:
   • A browser extension that helps with keyword research, SEO, and analytics.
   • https://www.tubebuddy.com/
3. VidIQ:
   • A tool for YouTube analytics, keyword research, and competitor analysis.
   • https://vidiq.com/
4. Canva:
   • A free design tool for creating custom thumbnails and graphics.
   • https://www.canva.com/
5. Google Trends:
   • A tool to explore trending topics and search interest over time.
   • https://trends.google.com/
6. AnswerThePublic:
   • A tool to discover questions and topics people are searching for.
   • https://answerthepublic.com/
7. Rode VideoMic:
   • A popular microphone for improving audio quality in videos.
   • https://www.rode.com/
8. DaVinci Resolve:
   • A free, professional-grade video editing software.
   • https://www.blackmagicdesign.com/
9. Adobe Premiere Pro:
   • Industry-standard video editing software for advanced creators.
   • https://www.adobe.com/
10. YouTube’s Official Blog:
    • Stay updated on the latest YouTube features and algorithm changes.
    • https://blog.youtube/