Ask any YouTuber and they will tell you that generating significant views and subscribers isn't easy. But with the right strategy and tools, any video creator can build an engaged subscriber base when they understand what those subscribers want to watch.

Appealing to an audience to watch content you are passionate about making is just the first step, you need to know how to reach them and get your videos discovered. Our guides to how to guide more views on YouTube will give you the best tips to succeed on the platform.

Getting Views

How To Get More Views on YouTube

Getting thousands or even millions of YouTube subscribers is a dream for most creators. In the articles below, we'll show you how to turn casual viewers into long-term fans. 

Subscribers

YouTube Subscribers

Do you want to make money on YouTube? Millions of creators are earning a very good living from monetizing the platform and uploading content that drives huge views and engagements. Whether that YouTube income is from advertising revenue, merchandise sales, or brand deals, or subscriptions, we keep you updated with best practices and ideas.

Monetization

How To Make Money on YouTube

Want to see how your channel is performing? Read these YouTube analytics articles to discover what's working and what isn't. You'll learn how to identify which videos have the most Watch Time, clicks, audience retention, revenue, and more.

Analytics

YouTube Analytics

Watch Time is arguably THE most important metric on YouTube right now, and creators won’t be able to monetize their content without 4000 hours of it. But what is it and how can creators increase the amount of Watch Time their videos attract? We keep you updated on the best practices around Watch Time, and how you can increase how much your video content generates.

Watch Time

YouTube Watch Time

YouTube Shorts content is set to explode! 

All the latest tips, tricks, and rock-solid advice you need for this new feature.

YouTube Shorts

Do you know how to do keyword research so you understand what videos people are actually searching for on YouTube? Do you know how to create a custom YouTube thumbnail? Do you know how to create a Playlist on YouTube?

vidIQ has a ton of tips that will help every creator maximise their video content. We publish content every week to keep you up to date with all the best practices.

Tips & Tricks

YouTube Tips & Tricks

At vidIQ we have incredible insights into what viewers are searching for on YouTube. Not only can we confirm the top keywords being searched for, we can also show you how you can leverage that interest to create content around trending topics and tentpole events. That's going to give you a clear edge over other creators!

Insights

YouTube Insights

Your In-Depth Guide to Building a Successful YouTube Channel

We’ve been hard at work refining our tools that help creators grow, and this summer’s drop is proof that vidIQ today isn’t what it was even three months ago.

a brand-new feature and other major updates

 - all built to help you stop the scroll, boost engagement, and turn casual viewers into loyal fans.

 you’ll want to experience the new power we’ve packed in.

One of the biggest struggles for creators is getting viewers to click on their content. With millions of videos out there, you need to stand out in a pool of endless scrolling.

Stopping the scroll is more of a science than an art. And like all sciences, you need tools to accomplish your goals. You haven’t seen vidIQ tools like this. Smarter AI. Faster workflows. Real results.

. This tool is like your own personal AI-powered design studio.

If you’ve been in the YouTube game for more than five minutes, you understand that 

 and best way to stop the scroll. A great thumbnail is clear, compelling, and makes viewers think, “I need to click this.”

Now it’s easier than ever to make thumbnails that 

. Whether you start with a prompt or upload your own assets, our AI builds out designs that look pro — without you needing any Photoshop skills.

 (we’ll remove backgrounds automatically)

 to match a visual style you love. Upload your own or choose from our library of top-performing YouTube templates. 

 to influence your thumbnail’s aesthetic

 with easy prompt tweaks, image edits, or by dropping in text

Thumbnails aren’t just art - they’re strategy. They’re decision points. The better your thumbnail, the higher your click-through rate. And a higher CTR means the algorithm actually works for you.

, you’re not just making something that 

 good — you’re making something that 

You stopped the scroll with killer thumbnails. Now keep them watching.

 helps you write stronger YouTube scripts in a fraction of the time, backed by real YouTube psychology.

: Continuously trained on what’s working 

: Include callback cues, pacing variations, and cliffhangers

: Adjust your scripts’ tone, add keywords, sound more like your favorite creator. All with one click.

 Automated research provides accurate and relevant information and stats.

 helps keep your message clear, your viewers hooked, and your content performing. And now, it doesn’t have to take days. With 

, you can go from idea to polished script in just 3 minutes - making it easier to publish consistently and keep your channel growing.

“I used to spend an hour and a half scripting videos that came out wordy and boring. Someone even commented saying my videos were 'so wordy' — that really stung. But vidIQ's Script Writer changed everything. Now I get organized, concise scripts in just 10–15 minutes.”

“When I used it for my next tutorial, I was so impressed I printed it out to study it. For creators like me who tend to over-explain on camera, this tool does wonders.”

Shorts are still one of the fastest paths to YouTube growth - but understanding why one takes off while another flops? That used to be a mystery.

We built our Shorts tools to tell you exactly what’s working, what’s not, and how to make your next one blow up.

Think of it as your personal highlight reel, performance breakdown, and growth strategist all in one. Now you can discover when a video truly gained popularity and understand what made them successful. 

All of these statistics can be seen directly in-line without having to exit the Shorts view:

including views & views per hour, engagement rate, views history graph, and outlier score.

including channel subscriber count, monthly & total uploads, and subscriber and view growth graphs. 

 now supports YouTube Shorts, giving you even more insight into what’s trending and outperforming expectations across the platform. 

Instead of just surfacing the most-viewed content, Outliers identifies videos that are gaining momentum relative to the creator’s usual performance. That means you’re seeing videos that are beating the odds, not just riding on big subscriber counts. 

Now that this includes Shorts, it’s an incredibly powerful way to discover smart video ideas, fresh angles, and unexpected winners across any niche.

Let’s say you search for a keyword like “budget travel.” Outliers might surface a Short from a smaller creator that’s getting unusually high engagement and rapid growth, even outperforming videos from much larger channels. That’s your signal: something in that format, topic, or style is connecting. Use it to guide your next idea, ride the wave, and post with confidence.

 now works with YouTube Shorts, giving short-form creators the same data-backed recommendations long-form creators have used to increase views and visibility.

Optimize analyzes your video and delivers clear, actionable recommendations for improving your title and adding the right tags to your description. You’ll also get an overall optimization score, so you can instantly see how well your content is aligned with what’s working — and where there’s room to improve.

Most Shorts get lost in a sea of swipes. To rise to the top you need smart packaging. Optimize helps ensure your content gets the visibility it deserves, boosting your chances of landing on the Shorts feed, reaching new audiences, and turning quick views into long-term growth.

 can now submit a video for personalized feedback from one of our expert creator coaches.

A coach will watch your video and record a response, pausing at key moments to explain what’s working, what’s not, and what changes could help you get more views and subscribers. You’ll see the exact moment-by-moment breakdown behind every suggestion. No vague advice, just direct, actionable advice.


Our initial rollout supports Boost users in the U.S., Canada, U.K., Australia, and New Zealand, for English language videos only.

__________________________________________________________________

If you’re looking for more than just one video review, you can work directly with a 

 who will take a deep dive into your entire channel and build a custom-tailored growth plan designed to break through the roadblocks holding you back. 

These aren’t cookie-cutter tips, they’re real, personalized strategies you can start applying immediately to unlock quick wins and build lasting momentum.

Want to see what’s possible with coaching?

. After joining vidIQ Coaching, they refined their content, followed their tailored plan, and watched their channel take off.

TL;DR: This Summer, You Grow or You Ghost

Here’s the latest features you get with the vidIQ Summer 2025 Drop:

 - Create high-impact, click-worthy thumbnails with AI and proven templates

 - Hook viewers and keep them watching with YouTube-optimized storytelling

 - Instantly spot top-performing Shorts and track breakout metrics

 - Discover overperforming videos across YouTube to inspire your next big hit

 - Find the best title and keywords to get your Shorts discovered

The Summer 2025 Drop is here: scroll-stopping science, smarter tools, and real coaching to help you grow on YouTube.

☀️ Welcome to the vidIQ Summer 2025 Drop!

Are viewers watching your YouTube videos to completion? Is your audience retention so high that 70% of people are still watching after the first 30 seconds?

If not, you have an opportunity to improve the "stickiness" of your videos. This is a special kind of video magic that stops people from clicking away. Creating sticky videos is about identifying what’s working (or not) to keep viewers engaged.

This simple act will help you flourish on YouTube. The algorithm loves to 

YouTube Watch Time - The Secret Sauce to More YouTube Views and Subscribers

The first step is understanding how audience retention works. Keep reading to discover this metric on your own channel, plus six simple ways to keep people watching.

 shows how many viewers are watching a video throughout the beginning, middle, end, or altogether. The "altogether" rate is shown as a percentage of total views. So for example, if you post a 12-minute video, and people watch for eight minutes on average, your audience retention rate is 66%.

In the YouTube Studio, you’ll see different moments within a video that affect your audience retention, such as:

 where viewers re-watched or skipped certain parts

 where viewers skipped a section or left the video completely

These moments highlight where viewers are losing or gaining interest during a video.

Take a look at the image below from YouTube’s 

 to see what each moment looks like on an audience retention graph.

 is a key retention metric. It’s an estimate of how many minutes viewers watched a video, on average. Increasing this number, as well as other retention metrics, can boost your views on YouTube.

“YouTube’s search and discovery system loves videos that people have found satisfying, and a great way it determines that is audience retention,” creator liaison Matt Koval said in a Creator Insider 

How to See Your Channel’s Audience Retention

Want to see if your videos are truly engaging? Follow the steps below to find out.

 (click your profile image and select YouTube Studio).

Select the video you want to analyze. Choose from the list of videos shown or use the search bar to find a specific video.

Scroll down to the bottom of the page. You’ll see a graph showing the video’s average view duration and average percentage viewed.

This data is from a video of ours, titled “

YouTube’s Discovery Algorithm...Exposed

.” The audience retention graph shows that:

On average, viewers watched the video for 

, a new YouTube metric. It compares videos of similar length on your channel and tells you if the video you're analyzing is performing better or worse than previous content.

Audience retention varies widely. It can change depending on the length of your video, the topic, and the audience. For example, a gaming or education channel’s retention could be low because of 

Young children are intrigued by gaming videos, but they have short attention spans. An adult who watches a video about investing may skip certain parts to find one piece of information. There are many reasons people don’t finish a video, so take your niche, as well as audience behavior, into consideration.

What Is a Good Audience Retention Rate on YouTube?

First, know that there isn’t a golden percentage for audience retention. Viewers have different intentions for watching a video, which leads to shorter or longer Watch Time. That’s not a bad thing at all. It leaves you free to analyze your data and make adjustments without comparing yourself to others.

But if you need a benchmark, our YouTuber-in-residence Rob Wilson has a number in mind.

“If your video is longer than five minutes, and audience retention is above 50%, you’re probably doing a good job,” Wilson says. “If your video is longer than five minutes, and you’re getting audience retention above 70% in the first 30 seconds, then you’ve got your hook on the video and you’re doing a good job.”

Want his full opinion on audience retention (and another important metric)? Watch the video below to hear Wilson explain in more detail:

How to Increase Audience Retention on YouTube

With everything we’ve covered, here are some tips for increasing audience retention:

During the first 30 seconds, hundreds of people will click away from the video. But you can reduce that number by catching viewers’ attention early. Just think: What would intrigue them so much that clicking away is not an option?

 Some people think chapters encourage viewers to leave a video quickly, but that’s not always the case. For example, would you rather someone click away in the first 30 seconds or watch a three-minute chapter that answers their question? You get more Watch Time from the second option, especially if you’re making valuable content.

Give viewers a sneak peek of what’s coming.

 In your intro, tease the juiciest part of your video without giving away all the details.

Use pattern interrupters to keep viewers engaged. 

Create variety by adding graphics, music changes, lower-thirds, and different camera angles.

Make your videos as long (or as short) as they need to be.

If you can cover a topic in five minutes, end the video there. Lengthy segments that don’t add value will push viewers to click away, which hurts your audience retention. If the information will truly help and engage viewers, it’s OK to keep going.

Study your audience retention graphs in the YouTube Studio.

 Follow the directions in this post so you can check your audience retention for every video. As you investigate, pay attention to the percentage of viewers watching after the first 30 seconds. Is that number low? Maybe you need a better intro or a juicier sneak peek. Next, identify what’s happening in the rest of the video. Are there spikes where almost no viewers clicked away? Replay those portions and try to understand what made people stick around. Keep doing what’s working, and experiment with new pattern interrupters when your audience retention starts to dip.

Boosting your audience retention is smart, but there’s one step to conquer before that.

You need viewers to see your thumbnails and click them to start watching your content. Here are six solid tips to improve your click-through rate every single time.

Young woman with headphones using smartphone outdoors, casual urban setting background

Want to boost your YouTube audience retention? Here are six ways to improve that metric and keep viewers watching for longer.

How to Increase Audience Retention on Every YouTube Video

Is YouTube a real job? Can you make videos every day and maintain the responsibilities of adulting, like paying for rent, water, and electricity?

Yes, you absolutely can. If you want it to be, YouTube can become your full-time job. Thousands of creators have done just that by starting, growing, and monetizing their channels.

How to Monetize Your YouTube Channel - A Beginner's Guide

, we chat with YouTube educator Ryan Walsh about when to go full-time on YouTube. On 

 of more than 20,000 subscribers, Walsh does more than show people how to grow on YouTube. He’s interested in coaching video superfans, people who want to make YouTube their one and only career.

Walsh is a full-time creator and has some opinions on who should attempt that journey. If you can identify with these six signs, you might be one of those daring, entrepreneurial creators.

1. You Have a Viable Plan to Make Money on YouTube

You need an income strategy to have a long YouTube career. In the beginning, your first income stream will probably come from advertising. When you reach 1,000 subscribers and 4,000 hours of Watch Time, you can apply to the 

, which lets creators place ads on their videos. This can generate a nice chunk of change, but don’t expect to keep all the money. YouTube takes 45%, and of course, you have to pay taxes.

Google AdSense 101 - How to Benefit from Ad Revenue on YouTube

. In fact, Walsh thinks creators shouldn’t even count it in their plan.

“AdSense, for most channels, is not a good idea,” Walsh says. “It’s really unpredictable. One month, you can make $2,000. The next month, you can make $500…. It’s a lot of stress because it’s all about the views at that point, and if you don’t get views, you’re not making that income anymore.”

Walsh plans to make money in three different ways: affiliate marketing, one-on-one coaching, and the occasional AdSense revenue.

Understanding your target audience is everything on YouTube. It’s more important than how many subscribers you have or many videos you post. In fact, we’d argue that subscribers don’t matter on YouTube anymore. As long as you 

, you have a shot at growing your channel into a thriving, full-time business. Add some awesome thumbnails, titles, descriptions, and 

13 Ways to Grow Your YouTube Channel Right Now!

YouTube will take care of the rest. Its video recommendation system is so sophisticated that viewers are always discovering new content. Just look at all the videos YouTube is recommending on our homepage:

“You don’t even have to be subscribed to a person,” Walsh says. “Their content is going to follow you, and that’s what really matters. The algorithm is smart enough to know what you’re watching.”

YouTube will find viewers for your videos.

 All you have to do is make videos for the right group of people within your niche.

3. You Don’t Ignore YouTube Analytics, Especially Audience Retention and Click-Through Rate

It’s so easy to overlook the boring stuff on YouTube. All those analytics about the health of your channel are great, but filming videos is more exciting, right?

We know, we know. But if you want to make money on YouTube full-time, you need to know which videos are bringing you the most clicks, revenue, and Watch Time.

Top 5 YouTube Metrics Every Creator Should Study

click-through rate and audience retention

 are metrics you simply can’t ignore. They represent the foundation of getting more views and keeping people entertained with each video.

Your click-through rate is the percentage of people who click your video after seeing its thumbnail. The CTR formula is 

number of clicks / number of impressions x 100 = CTR.

Getting a Good Click-Through Rate on YouTube - 6 Powerful Tips

Most of the time, a high CTR means you’re convincing people to watch your videos, which is half the battle on YouTube.

Audience retention captures how many viewers are still watching a video throughout its beginning, middle, and end. The beginning of a video is most important. Viewers tend to click away in the first 30 seconds, and your audience retention data will show you the exact percentage.

4. You Understand That Your YouTube Channel Is a Business

Thousands of people join YouTube to have fun and share their passions online. It’s a hobby that fulfills a deep, creative desire to make content for other people. To create a full-time YouTube career, you need that same passion. However, what makes you different from the casual creator is how you act on that passion. Casual creators don’t need a detailed strategy. You do.

“You’re creating a brand,” Walsh says. “You’re creating a business, in a sense, and you need to treat it like that. Because if you don’t, you’re probably not going full time anytime soon.”

Creating an online business requires some legal know-how. As you grow your channel, avoid these 

 on YouTube. They’re super common and hard to recover from.

5. You Know How to Promote Your YouTube Channel

Every business needs to be promoted, and a YouTube channel is no different. Plenty of creators highlight their channel on Facebook, TikTok, Instagram, Twitch, and other platforms. 

 is a good idea, but some creators move too fast. They don’t master the promotion tools within YouTube first, which is a huge mistake.

Once you gain more than 1,000 subscribers, YouTube gives you a Community Tab. It’s a mini social network for connecting with viewers and other creators. You can post GIFs, your latest videos, images, survey polls, and more.

YouTube Community Tab - The Underrated Growth Tool You NEED to Use

“I think surveys are extremely underutilized for a lot of YouTubers,” Walsh says. “Most of the creators in this space that I subscribe to, they use [the Community Tab] a lot. And honestly, that’s a really good idea. You can get an idea of what your audience really wants to see. You can ask them different questions.”

If you’re already doing this, keep it up. You understand that YouTube is essentially giving you everything you need to grow a channel, right down to the promotion.

Walsh says the hardest thing about being a full-time creator is the pressure. It becomes a heavy burden if you’re not ready for the responsibility. There’s pressure to 

 to support yourself. There’s pressure to post videos consistently. Almost everything you can imagine in a normal job – predictable income, daily structure, sociable coworkers – is hard to replicate as a YouTube creator.

“You’re kind of on your own…. You have to be your own motivator to keep yourself going,” Walsh says. “There is a ton that is different. It’s not for a lot of people.”

If you’re an independent, self-motivated person, going full-time on YouTube may be a good idea. You get to call the shots and scale your business to unimaginable heights.

Want more tips to start a YouTube career? Here are 

Smiling young man in blue shirt with Tube Talk logo on dark and red background.

Are you ready to make YouTube your full-time job? Here are six signs to gauge how prepared you truly are.

6 Signs It's Time to Make YouTube Your Full-Time Job

Your YouTube channel can become a thriving, money-making business. Once you conquer the big monetization challenges – getting 1,000 subscribers and 4,000 hours of Watch Time – the possibilities are endless. With consistent effort, you can do more than join the 

. There’s money to be made with affiliate marketing, brand deals, product sales, memberships, and more. Best of all, you don’t need millions of subscribers to make it happen. Tens of thousands will do the trick.

Starting a YouTube Career - 7 Steps to Monetize Your Passion

, about how to turn a YouTube channel into a thriving business. She has years of experience as a creator, but the business side of YouTube is her passion.

Want to take your channel from part-time project to business empire? Here’s what Ali recommends.

Most creators don’t become viral superstars overnight. Ninety-nine percent of people on YouTube are slow grinders. They spend years building an audience in the hope that someday, they’ll get thousands of views consistently.

With that in mind, it helps to set a realistic goal for your YouTube channel. Perhaps you want to get 500 subscribers in your first year. Or maybe 1,000. Those are goals anyone can reach with hard work and the right mindset.

7 Beliefs You Need to Have to Grow a YouTube Channel

Compare your journey to another creator’s

Quit because success isn’t happening fast enough

Give yourself time to develop on YouTube.

 Amazing things can happen when you embrace the uncertainty of growing a channel.

2. Choose a Niche (That Isn’t Too Saturated)

To be a successful, well-paid creator, you need a niche. Viewers want to know your expertise because they’re searching for specific content on YouTube. They’re interested in beauty, health, gaming, sports, and so many other categories. Knowing which one you belong to helps them find the right channel.

 as a new creator. Instead of posting random videos, focus on the same broad topic. We know that’s easier said than done. It's hard to ignore the popular creators getting millions of views on 

“All of these creators that can do whatever they want, they started with one single niche,” Ali says. “One single category…. None of these people were jumping from one type of content to another and people just stuck around.”

Want to build a money-making empire for your YouTube channel? Here are seven tips to help you achieve that goal.

Your In-Depth Guide to Building a Successful YouTube Channel

☀️ Welcome to the vidIQ Summer 2025 Drop!

How to Increase Audience Retention on Every YouTube Video

6 Signs It's Time to Make YouTube Your Full-Time Job

Making Money on YouTube: 7 Tips to Start a Successful Business

Getting a Good Click-Through Rate on YouTube: 6 Powerful Tips

How to Grow a YouTube Shorts Channel

5 Tips to Start a YouTube Channel for Your Business

How to Make $200K a Month From YouTube AdSense

Growing a YouTube Channel: 6 Ridiculous Myths That Ruin Your Chances

How to Get Millions of Subscribers on Multiple YouTube Channels

YouTube Success: 3 Steps to Create Valuable, Highly-Watched Videos

Starting a YouTube Career: 7 Steps to Monetize Your Passion

How to Double Your YouTube Watch Time by Looping Shorts