Understanding declining YouTube watch time

Some users have noticed a decrease in the watch time on their YouTube channels. To figure out why this might be happening, there are a few considerations to be aware of.

First, you need to determine if the cause of the drop is the result of one video or several videos. Perhaps a popular video that’s starting to drop in watch time is affecting your total number. It’s normal for watch time to decrease a few days after you’ve uploaded a new video since its performance will peak in the few days after the upload.

However, if the trend doesn’t seem to be limited to a single video, there are a few things you can check:

· Visibility settings: Check to ensure all your videos’ visibility is set to public.

· Look out for claims: Copyright and other claims could block your video’s visibility in various countries.

Getting to the bottom of the issue

A decrease in watch time can happen suddenly or establish a gradual pattern that you can track throughout an extended period. Again, if you notice a decline, there are points to consider.

What changed? Even changes you think are insignificant, like a change in title and thumbnail style or your content format, can impact your video’s performance.

When did the drop happen? Look at your analytics and extend the date range to see if the decrease is part of a typical pattern. It will help you establish an average and see if any days correlate with drastic drops, which you can investigate more closely.

Seasonality can be an issue. For example, during the holiday seasons, people spend more time socialising in real life than online. As a result, YouTube often sees a decrease in watch time sitewide during holiday periods.

Do you upload consistently? If you’ve changed your upload frequency, it will impact your watch time. If you’ve been posting on a schedule, viewers will be used to a specific amount of content within a period – a week, month, etc. Therefore, the frequency of content uploaded directly affects watch time.

Contact Right Click Media for details

Speak to our team today to create the best strategy to ensure consistent YouTube watch times.

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