Darryl covers YouTube growth and creator tools at vidIQ, helping creators understand how to grow their channels. 

When not writing, he’s tending to his farm surrounded by horses, chickens, dogs, and somehow cramming more plants into his garden than it could ever reasonably hold.

Darryl Rentz

A pair of scissors with the title YouTube Clips

Learn how to clip YouTube videos, make shareable highlights, and understand the difference from Shorts and Studio.

How to Use YouTube Clips 

graphic showing a title flipping from a curiosity angle to a search angle

Write YouTube titles that rank and get clicks with this proven curiosity + SEO framework from vidIQ.

The Title Flip Framework: How to Write YouTube Titles That Rank and Get Clicks

Lydia Sweatt is a writer who loves balancing her article/blog time indoors with a healthy dose of nature. She bikes, hikes, and identifies edible plants along the way.

Lydia Sweatt

Close-up of a smiling woman with curly hair wearing a green sweater indoors

A magnifying glass hovering over a phone screen showing the YouTube app.

Magnified YouTube logo on smartphone screen with pink background and video thumbnail visible

The best YouTube keywords combine clear viewer intent, enough search volume, and competition your channel can realistically beat. Use YouTube autocomplete, Google Trends, and vidIQ Keyword Tools to build a keyword list, then place your primary keyword in the title, description, chapters, and relevant tags. Use channel keywords to describe your overall niche, not just one video.

How to Do YouTube Keyword Research and Find Top Keywords

Woman filming vlog holding fan of hundred-dollar bills outdoors with camera on tripod

Watch hours come from getting existing viewers to watch more, not just chasing new views. These 10 methods focus on retention: fixing your first 30 seconds, adding captions for sound-off feed viewers, pattern interrupters, verbal next-video recommendations, auto-play playlists, evergreen content, matching length to retention, end screens, a consistent schedule, and live streams that bank hours in batches.

How to Get 4,000 Watch Hours on YouTube Faster (10 Free Methods)

In addition to being an avid movie and gaming enthusiast, Uttaran Samaddar is an experienced writer who has lent his creativity and unique perspective to various publications. He loves hearing and telling stories.

Uttaran Samaddar  

Young man with styled hair wearing a checkered shirt in outdoor evening light

Graphic showing a versus screen featuring YouTube and Instagram logos

YouTube generally pays creators more reliable, long-term income than Instagram because it offers direct AdSense ad revenue, channel memberships, Super Chat, and YouTube Shopping alongside brand deals. Instagram pays creators primarily through brand sponsorships and affiliate commissions, so earnings depend on negotiated deals rather than the platform itself. YouTube rewards depth and watch time with compounding evergreen revenue; Instagram rewards velocity and trend-riding. Hybrid creators who use Instagram for reach and YouTube for stacked monetization typically earn the most overall.

YouTube vs Instagram: Who Pays Creators More?

A line graph with a YouTube logo at the point it starts increasing. title says "12 proven ways to get more views"

To get more views on YouTube, start with a niche you can stick with and make videos people are actually searching for. Win the click with better titles and thumbnails, then hook viewers in the first 30 seconds to keep them watching. Retention and click-through rate are what signal YouTube to recommend your content more. Keywords help you get found in search. Shorts and trends bring in new viewers, and playlists and end screens turn one view into several. Check your analytics weekly and make more of what's working.

How to Get More Views on YouTube in 2026: 12 Proven Tips

Screen showing multiple clips being edited

Clip farming is the practice of cutting one long video, podcast, or stream into many short clips and posting them across YouTube Shorts, TikTok, Reels, and X to multiply reach and drive viewers back to your channel. The workflow is simple: pick your strongest 20 to 60 second moments, edit each into a standalone clip with captions, and distribute them to fit each platform.

How Does Clip Farming Work?

illustration of a YouTube analytics dashboard with upward graphs. Diverse creators climb the bars while a coach guides them with a tablet.

Lessons from 2 years of YouTube coaching, 10B views, and thousands of creators growing their channels.

After 10 Billion Views: What 2 Years of YouTube Coaching Taught Us

a team around a conference table reviewing charts of youtube performance

Save years of trial and error with a dedicated YouTube growth strategist who knows what works and what doesn’t.

vidIQ’s Proven YouTube Strategy for Brands and Enterprises

illustration of a YouTube play button with a bold green check mark and business growth icons around it

The brands winning on YouTube focus on four things: educating their audience, telling real stories, publishing consistently, and using data to guide decisions. None of it requires a massive budget. It requires a repeatable strategy.

YouTube for Business: 4 Strategies Top Brands Use to Grow

Illustration of YouTube thumbnails on a smartphone screen, with one bold design highlighted by a green check mark, symbolizing YouTube thumbnail design tips and best practices.

The best YouTube thumbnails show one clear idea: a human face, high-contrast color, and three to five words of bold text. vidIQ studied 500 recent breakout videos and found 69% used a face (80% of the biggest overperformers) and 89% used a face or high contrast. Design for a small mobile frame, then A/B test in YouTube Studio.

YouTube Thumbnail Design Tips: Best Practices for 2026

illustration of a long horizontal YouTube video being sliced into multiple smaller vertical YouTube Shorts stacked like a feed.

To clip YouTube videos from long to short, use an AI clip maker like vidIQ Clipping. Upload any long-form video like tutorials, podcasts, vlogs, or livestreams, and AI automatically detects the best moments, crops to vertical, and adds captions. You'll get 10+ ready-to-post Shorts, Reels, and TikTok clips in minutes, with no manual editing. vidIQ's clipping tool also includes keyword research and SEO optimization, so you target the right audience from the start.