You’re a new content creator looking to start making money by uploading video content to YouTube. Or maybe you’ve been making videos and uploading them to YouTube for years now and things just aren’t like they used to be. Perhaps Youtube 4000 hours rule has left you feeling miserable. You aren’t making as much money as you used to. Whether you’re making some money or nothing at all on YouTube, you are probably looking to make more money from the platform.
Well, if that’s the case, you’re going to want to listen to what I have to tell you. Many people don’t realize just how much of an effect total watch time on YouTube can have on their bottom line. In fact, many people don’t know what watch time is. We’re going to learn about YouTube watch time and how you can take advantage of it to make more money from this ever-growing platform.
What is YouTube watch time?
YouTube watch time is the total amount of time viewers have spent watching your content. This might be in the case of one video, or all your videos put together(total watch time).
What does watch time have to do with monetization?
This statistic has always been important, but it began to really affect the platform in 2018 when YouTube set up a policy that allowed only channels that had a total of 4000 watch hours as well as 1000 subscribers to apply for monetization. When this policy was put into effect, even channels that had been making money from ads on their videos were demonetized if they didn’t have up to 4000 watch hours. If you have been uploading videos to YouTube for a long time and have well over 4000 watch hours, this is good news! This means that YouTube is going to be favoring more creators like yourself by redirecting more revenue to your channel. However, if you’re just starting, YouTube’s 4000-hour rule can be a bummer because getting that amount of watch time on a brand new channel is quite tough.
But all hope is not lost! Understanding how YouTube watch time affects your monetization helps you plan to improve that statistic. And for the old-timers, it could be the boost your channel needs to bring in more bucks.
YouTube watch time and Ranking
Another thing that can be affected by your total watch time is your ranking on the platform. As you can imagine, a higher total watch time will correspond to a higher ranking. A high total watch time lets YouTube know that many people find your content engaging, and because of that, your video is recommended to even more people. After all, YouTube wants people on its platform for as long as possible. More recommendations equal more views, and more views equal more money for both you and YouTube; win-win. So even if you’ve gotten past the 4000-hour mark, you are going to want to aim for more watch time, because more watch time will inevitably result in more money for you.
