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.

YouTube Views

How To Get More Views on YouTube

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.

YouTube Monetization

How To Make Money 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. 

YouTube Subscribers

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.

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.

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

Welcome to TubeTalk, the online video industry’s #1 podcast for news, insights and best practices on YouTube and beyond. Each week, experts in their field take us through a deep-dive on a range of topics for video creators like personal branding, how to master the YouTube algorithm, and how to get more brand deals as a YouTuber. TubeTalk has been informing video creators and marketers since 2014, and is one of the most respected and listened to podcasts in the online video industry. Subscribe today so you never miss an episode of the best YouTuber podcast!

TubeTalk Podcast

TubeTalk

Why do YouTube videos get demonetized? It’s a valid question, especially when someone takes the time to film, edit, and upload a video. Most creators try their best to make positive, original content for viewers around the world. What are they doing wrong in terms of making money and staying monetized on YouTube?

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

Most of the time, it's a lack of information. Creators know the basics of YouTube's rules, but they don't always know the fine details. And overall, people are just ready to record!

: A set of rules to ensure everyone’s safety on YouTube

 An explanation of which videos are suitable for advertisers

: A set of terms and conditions for placing ads on YouTube videos

: A set of terms and conditions for how viewers and creators operate on YouTube

Violating any of the four could lead to demonetization. Here's how to avoid that outcome.

What Does ‘Demonetized’ Mean on YouTube?

If YouTube demonetized a video, that means it restricted 

 ads from appearing. That includes every type of ad available to creators: display ads, overlay ads, sponsored cards, and skippable and non-skippable video ads. You won’t earn Google AdSense revenue for demonetized content.

Turning off ads is just one form of demonetization.

. This option bars you from all the money-making features: Google AdSense, Super Chats and Stickers, Super Thanks, merchandise shelves, Channel Memberships, and YouTube Premium revenue. It’s like being kicked out of the 

How to Tell If a YouTube Video Is Demonetized

After uploading a video, you can see its monetization status in less than an hour. It takes a while because YouTube is making sure the video is suitable for ads.

In the YouTube Studio, there are seven monetization icons

. Each one tells you the status of a video’s earning power.

 YouTube is checking your video for ad suitability.

 Monetization is on, and your video is eligible for most ads.

 Monetization is on for a song cover, but a music publisher claimed the revenue.

 Monetization is on, but YouTube is still determining who will get paid.

 Monetization is on, but ads are limited.

 You turned on monetization for the video, but YouTube won’t show ads.

 You turned off monetization for the video.

 means your video is demonetized, as shown below.

How to Check a Video’s Monetization Status:

Log into YouTube and click your profile icon in the top right corner. Select 

Find the video in question using the search bar at the top of the page.

. You’ll see one of the seven icons (shown above) indicating your video’s status.

Videos that aren't advertiser-friendly won’t earn much revenue. Here are 14 ways to avoid demonetization on YouTube.

? One of the requirements for monetizing your content is to avoid being repetitious. That means you shouldn't post videos with no recognizable differences on your channel. Your content needs a healthy dose of variety, from the audio tracks you use to the topics you cover.

That doesn’t mean you can’t explore one topic in depth. You can create similar videos as long as the bulk of each one is different. Take a look at the 

, for example. We share tips for gaining 1,000 subscribers all the time. But the advice changes as we discover new methods, which means we’re always talking about something new within the context of gaining subscribers.

2. Add Something Valuable to Repurposed Content

Using another creator’s intellectual property, such as songs, video clips, and images, could lead to one or more 

 on your channel. You’ll get these alerts when your video contains media that doesn’t belong to you. Copyright claims aren’t the end of the world, but YouTube might demonetize the video(s) in question or only give you partial revenue.

Can I Still Monetize My YouTube Channel If I have a Copyright Claim?

 happens when you reuse someone’s content without adding something new or transformative. If you’re posting a reaction video, for example, add some commentary that brings a fresh perspective to the original event, opinion, or narrative.

YouTube says it's OK to monetize reused content when:

You’re using brief clips for a critical review.

You’re adding original commentary to an event (movies, sporting events, etc.).

You’re adding an original storyline to edited footage from other creators.

Your best bet, of course, is to use your own content. But at the same time, YouTube understands that there are thousands of reaction channels out there. And guess what? Lots of creators are making money with that format.

3. Don’t Be Spammy, Deceptive, or Participate In Scams

YouTube wants every viewer to have a positive experience. And no user can do that while being tricked or misled by deceptive videos and comments. If you’re on the platform for the wrong reasons – like running scams and leading people to shady websites – YouTube might demonetize your content.

To stay on YouTube’s good side, don’t:

Repeatedly post content about making fast cash.

Lead viewers to websites with harmful software (viruses, information theft, etc.)

Use misleading thumbnails, video descriptions, and titles to “trick” viewer into clicking.

Promote “get rich quick” content or pyramid schemes.

Sell engagement metrics, like views, comments, and subscribers. That includes Sub4Sub, a type of spam where creators ask people to subscribe to their channels.

Post comments to gather information from viewers or drive them off of YouTube.

Live stream content that doesn’t belong to you.

Check out the image below to see an example of comment spam. Notice how the circled comment is impersonating the owner of the video, finance creator Graham Stephan. If you look closely, you can tell that “Replied_by Graham Stephan” is a bogus account.

This user is trying to drive people away from YouTube. Practices like this will get you demonetized.

Read more about spam, deception, and scams on YouTube’s support page

YouTube doesn’t tolerate hate speech of any kind. If you want to successfully monetize your videos, don't say (or type) harmful, offensive things. YouTube will demonetize your content if you're inciting violence or hate against specific groups.

Avoiding hate speech is easy. Think of all the ways people discriminate against others, and simply avoid saying those things in your videos. 

The most egregious hate speech revolves around age, sexual orientation, gender, race, disabilities, religion, immigration status, and veteran status.

Are there certain “demonetized words” on YouTube? Is it possible to say the wrong thing and lose all your ad revenue?

YouTube won’t demonetize a video for containing words like “hell” or “damn.” That’s considered light profanity, and most people aren’t offended by those terms. It’s the vulgar words that will get you into trouble, like repeatedly dropping F-bombs or constantly saying “b*tch.”

Can You Swear on YouTube and Still Make Money?

Here is a list of words that lead to demonetization:

Even when misspelled, adding these words to any element of a video (titles, thumbnails, etc.) is against the rules.

Our advice? Minimize the profanity in your videos. It's an easy way to get full monetization.

6. Don’t Show Dangerous or Illegal Activities

Want to make sure YouTube doesn’t demonetize your video? Avoid showing clips or images of bodily harm, gruesome injuries, and death. These themes are disturbing to viewers and scare advertisers away.

Logan Paul’s 2017 “suicide forest” video

. This was a huge scandal. Paul uploaded a YouTube video showing a dead body, and people around the world were deeply disturbed. He later shared a video of himself tasering dead rats. Eventually, 

YouTube temporarily demonetized his channel

Posting illegal activities is a bad idea too. You’ll have a better chance of monetizing your videos if you don't show:

glorifying dangerous acts results in demonetization or worse.

 If you can expect certain injury or death from an activity, it’s not suitable for YouTube.

7. Avoid Posting Sexually Explicit Content

YouTube will demonetize any video that gratifies sex. This type of content focuses on nudity, sex scenes, and pornography. If that’s the creator’s intent – indulging in sexual scenes – the next step is a no-brainer for YouTube. There will be no ads on the video, zero AdSense revenue, and (possibly) a channel termination.

Clothed or unclothed, YouTube states that showing genitals, breasts, or buttocks in an indulgent way violates its monetization policies. Also, sexual fetishes of any kind and in various formats (video, text, images, audio) are not allowed.

Read more about nudity and sexual content on YouTube’s support page.

8. Use Royalty-Free Music From the YouTube Library

Music copyright is a deep subject on YouTube. But for the purpose of monetizing videos, you only need to know two things:

Never use someone’s music without their written permission.

Did YouTube demonetize your video? Here are 14 ways to make positive content that stays monetized no matter what.

14 Ways to Avoid YouTube Demonetization

Do you want to change your channel icon for YouTube? It's relatively simple to do on a desktop computer and a tad tricker when you're using a smartphone. Let’s walk through both options.

Changing Your YouTube Channel Icon on Desktop

Go to your YouTube channel homepage and click on your current profile icon. This will take you to the 

Select and upload your new profile image.

Here's what you'll see during the first step:

And here's the final screen that allows you to change the icon:

Changing Your Channel Icon In the YouTube App

. Double-check that you haven't accidentally clicked the YouTube Studio app on your phone.

Click your channel icon at the top of the page to select a new image. 

Here is what step one looks like in the YouTube app:

And finally, here's step three. Simply tap your channel icon to add a new picture:

Before you set a YouTube channel icon, consider how it will look on desktop and mobile. We know for sure that YouTube displays it as a tiny circle on most screens. In this case, it's best to upload a 

. You don't want viewers squinting to see your logo, selfie, or branded image.

The size of your channel icon should be around 

You can upload a GIF, BMP, JPG, or PNG file.

Now that you have a new channel icon for YouTube, what else can you improve on your channel? Here's a full YouTube customization guide to help you out.

Ready to change your YouTube profile icon to something bolder, brighter, and better all around? We show you how.

How to Edit Your YouTube Channel Icon [Mobile and Desktop Guide]

Imagine starting a YouTube channel that eventually becomes 

The perks of such a lifestyle, especially in a world where the 9-to-5 work structure is king, are endless. You no longer have bosses telling you what to do. You get to make videos that entertain thousands of subscribers. Even the ability to create your work schedule is wildly freeing.

All of this sounds like a far-fetched dream, but it doesn’t have to be. YouTube 

 be a full-time job. In fact, thousands of creators are living the fantasy as I type.

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

According to researchers at Oxford Economics, 

YouTube supported 394,000 full-time jobs in 2020

 These jobs belong to creators, in some percentage, who used their channels to launch careers.

, a tech creator, about how to make YouTube your full-time job. He shares all the tips and tricks he learned to grow a channel, network, and as of now, join vidIQ as executive producer.

Want to build a career on YouTube? Here are five skills to master along the way.

Burnout is a real thing on YouTube. Have you ever seen channels doing daily upload challenges, such as "vlogmas?" While you can get tons of views uploading every day in December (or any month), that’s a recipe for disaster. You might have to take a lengthy vacation from YouTube just to recover.

. Once you know your objectives on YouTube – gaining subscribers, increasing views, building a community – you can devise a plan to achieve those goals.

“Me, I knew I wanted to grow my main YouTube channel,” Vyyyper says. “So I know I need to put out content consistently on the channel, but I don’t want to burn myself out putting out that content, either…. It’s all about putting things into perspective and making sure you lay out a strategy you can actually execute.”

2. Create Consistent Branding on YouTube and Beyond

Most creators know they need to brand their YouTube channels. But what about the rest of your social media? Does every profile have to be YouTube-centric, or can you separate parts of your identity?

If you want to collect a full-time income from YouTube, you might have to make some sacrifices.

“I always tell people that if you’re trying to build a personal brand, you want it to be consistent everywhere,” Vyyyper says. “So I’m Vyyyper literally everywhere: Facebook, Twitter, TikTok, YouTube, Instagram.”

When your branding is consistent, people can easily find you across social media. Most creators struggle with getting their channels discovered, so this is an excellent way to overcome that challenge.

3. Network with Creators and Brands In Your YouTube Niche

Recruiters, bosses, and even co-workers in a traditional job will tell you networking is the key to success. It’s no different on YouTube. It truly helps to find a community of creators you have things in common with. That makes it easier to share 

, collaborate, and learn the latest news in your niche.

So how do you expand your network on YouTube? There are plenty of options, but Vyyyper says 

, the social audio app, is one of the best.

“Clubhouse gives you access to people you would not normally have access to,” he says. “One night, I was on a Clubhouse stage with MrBeast – someone I would never have access to talk to on another platform.”

How to Network on Clubhouse as a YouTube Creator

Here’s why you should choose Clubhouse over other platforms:

, whereas comments and direct messages can be a delayed (and sometimes fractured) way of communicating.

 because Clubhouse is 100% audio. That benefits YouTube creators who appear on camera.

, where the topics range from European travel to English literature. You will find your community.

 Networking with any one of them could lead to a sponsorship deal.

We’ll let you in on a secret. You don’t need hundreds of thousands of subscribers to build a YouTube career. After all, Vyyyper has just over 6,000 subscribers on his tech channel and landed a job at vidIQ. So what do creators 

 But not just any kind. To attract everything that comes with a full-time income, you should be genuine and generous, giving more to your network than you take. That’s how Vyyyper became Clubhouse-famous. He gave YouTube advice away without asking for anything in return, effectively growing his network.

“I have put in the work," he says. "I have a body of work to show for it. So I think it’s because of that as well, that [creators] are willing to give me their time because they know I’m a serious content creator.”

Never ask creators you don’t know for a shout-out.

Do the work it takes for people to respect your name – organically.

And while you’re at it, here’s a fun video from Vyyyper about Clubhouse networking etiquette, which conveniently mirrors in-person etiquette.

As our co-host Dan mentioned, some creators focus on YouTube metrics instead of the people behind those numbers. Don’t make that mistake!

Do you know how many skills it takes to run a YouTube channel?

 these skills before starting a channel. They learn them incrementally. But it takes courage to try something new on YouTube over and over again. You will have to 

7 Beliefs You Need to Have to Grow a YouTube Channel

“You have to be willing to adapt to the changes to stay relevant on YouTube as a content creator,” Vyyyper says. “You have to be willing to experiment and do things that you have not done before. It’s hard. It’s not easy. But the more you do it, the easier it becomes. Repetition is a big thing. Just take baby steps.”

And once you’ve mastered them all, here are seven more tips to turn your YouTube channel into a business.

Earning a full-time income on YouTube is tricky. Most creators think it's about having lots of views and subscribers. But sometimes, learning how to stay in the game of content creation is more important.

Want to Make YouTube Your Full-Time Job? Master These 5 Skills

In this post, we show you how to unlock every single YouTube feature. A good place to start is by finding out what features you already have and working your way up from there. You can do this by visiting your 

, which shows you most (but not all) of your features.

When you create a YouTube channel, it's a good idea to verify the account immediately. A successful verification, from YouTube's perspective, means you probably aren't a robot ready to spam viewers and creators.

Verifying your channel unlocks basic YouTube features, including the ability to:

Choose a method to receive your verification code (text message or phone call).

Type in the six-digit code from your text message or automated voice call.

When following these steps, this is the first screen you'll see (step one): 

Unlock Every YouTube Feature for Creators

Simply verifying your YouTube account unlocks the features above. To access additional creator tools, keep reading!

One of the best ways to reach your YouTube audience is through the Community tab. We use it every day to engage with subscribers, and we find that people can't get enough of our voting polls. 

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

To unlock the Community tab, you will need more than 500 subscribers. The requirement used to be 1,000, but starting October 12, 2021, YouTube will make the tab available to more creators.

Is your YouTube URL long and complicated? Something like...

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UTA0Fu8zHbPtnIgWLg5UtIN1

How would you like to have a simple address, like the one below?

https://www.youtube.com/channel/solarsystemfacts

How To Get a Custom URL For Your YouTube Channel

If so, you only need three things to set a custom URL for your YouTube channel:

Upload a profile picture to your channel.

YouTube Monetization: How to Earn AdSense Revenue

Making money on YouTube is an important milestone for many people. It helps you become a serious creator on YouTube and 

turn your channel into a brand or business

Here are the basic requirements for unlocking that journey:

Gaining 1,000 subscribers on your channel

Earning 4,000 hours of Watch Time over the last 12 months

Linking a Google AdSense account to your YouTube account

Having a channel free of active community guidelines strikes

Living in a country where monetization is available

Not having all of this in order can affect your application to the YouTube Partner Program, which is how creators get monetized.

YouTube Partner Program - How to Monetize Your Channel

Once you apply to the program, YouTube will review your channel and either reject or deny your request. If you're rejected, don't worry. You can re-apply to the program in 30 days.

YouTube Shorts Monetization: How to Earn Bonus Money

Did you know that YouTube Shorts – vertical, less-than-a-minute videos – are eligible for monetization? YouTube announced a 

 to pay creators making the best Shorts on their channels. And recently, the platform shared more good news: 

Have you unlocked every feature available to you as a YouTube creator? Here's how to get access to some of the best tools on the platform.

14 Ways to Avoid YouTube Demonetization

How to Edit Your YouTube Channel Icon [Mobile and Desktop Guide]

Want to Make YouTube Your Full-Time Job? Master These 5 Skills

How to Unlock All the Free YouTube Creator Tools on Your Channel

YouTube Audience Retention: 3 Channel Boosting Secrets You Need to Know

YouTube Shorts Thumbnails: How to Upload Them for a Boost In Views

Need a YouTube Camera? 5 Reasons to Use Your Smartphone

YouTube End Screens: How to Make Cool Video Outros

YouTube Copyright Claims: Can I Still Monetize My Channel?

Gaining 40,000 YouTube Subscribers: 6 Tips to Get There In 12 Months

7 Tips to Craft Irresistible Video Ideas on YouTube

4 Honest Reasons Why You're Running Out of YouTube Video Ideas

Daily Ideas from vidIQ: More Video Ideas to Spark Your YouTube Success

5 Amazing Tips to Get 10,000 YouTube Subscribers – Fast

Podcasting on YouTube: 7 Tips to Get Subscribers on a Paid Membership

How to Turn YouTube Comments On or Off: Mobile Device Guide

How to Choose the Best Niche for Your YouTube Channel

How to See and Edit Your YouTube Comment History

Growing a YouTube Channel: 4 Things Creators Overlook

How to Pick a Good YouTube Channel Name

3 Uncommon Ways to Grow Your YouTube Channel

3 Ways to Grow Your YouTube Business

How to Change Your YouTube Channel Name

How to See Who Subscribed to Your YouTube Channel

What YouTube Channels with Over 1,000 Subscribers Have In Common