How to Get More Views on YouTube: 11 Free Ways

YouTube is the second most popular social network, in terms of monthly active users, having more than 2.70 billion active users in 2024, and trailing only behind Facebook.

It’s kind of understandable, right? After all, even people who detest using social media like Instagram, Twitter, etc., enjoy watching videos.

Of course, some videos, and channels attract more viewers than others. In fact, these are the top 10 YouTube channels with the most views as of December 2023:

1. T-Series (240.71 billion)
2. Cocomelon Nursery Rhymes (172.12 billion)
3. SET India (155.13 billion)
4. Sony SAB (107.88 billion)
5. Kids Diana Show (98.07 billion)
6. Like Nastya (95.82 billion)
7. Zee TV (83.95)
8. Vlad and Niki (82.56 billion)
9. WWE (80.45)
10. Colors TV (66.57 billion)

Ultimately, every YouTube channel has the same goal – getting more views. Remember, you earn between $2 and $12 for every 1,000 views, so growing your view count can also bring you profit.

Alright, how to get more views on YouTube videos, you ask? Let us review some of the best strategies.

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How to Get More Views on YouTube: 11 Free Ways

1. Apply YouTube SEO Best Practices
2. Create Viral Videos
3. Encourage Viewers to Subscribe
4. Engage With Your Community
5. Make Playlists to Keep Viewers Watching
6. Collaborate With Other Channels
7. Publish YouTube Content on Other Social Media
8. Post Videos at the Right Time
9. Transcribe Your Videos
10. Produce Video Series
11. Craft Custom Thumbnails

1. Apply YouTube SEO Best Practices

As with every social media, YouTube has its own algorithm that dictates what type of content will appear to its users. It is important to invest time in understanding YouTube’s SEO, so that you can optimize your channel to reach as many people as possible.

Some of the main aspects of YouTube SEO include:

• Optimizing your titles and descriptions.
• Using categories and tags.
• Researching keywords.

Ultimately, following the best practices will help you increase your visibility, and show up, not only on YouTube, but also on SERPs.

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2. Create Viral Videos

Creating viral content can really skyrocket your business, and bring in tons of views, customers, and profit.

Of course, doing so is easier said than done, yet there are steps you can take to increase your chances of going viral. Consider the following:

• Use hashtags.
• Follow the current events.
• Create content around what is trending.
• Post at the right time.
• Newsjacking.

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3. Encourage Viewers to Subscribe

One of the most natural ways to get more views on YouTube for free is to just ask people, watching your videos, to subscribe to your channel, and turn on their notifications, so they never miss a video you upload.

Naturally, you shouldn’t annoy your viewers by asking them to subscribe to your channel too many times in a single video, as it could have the opposite effect.

It is also important to give them a reason why they should subscribe to your channel. What is in it for them?

After all, it’s much more persuasive to give users a valid reason why you want them to do something for you, as opposed to just telling them what to do.

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4. Engage With Your Community

YouTube might not be the typical social media, but there is a vivid community that comments, likes, and shares your content.

Interacting with your viewers is not only a positive signal to YouTube, but also a great way to show them that you care about their feedback, opinions, and comments.

This way, you can build a strong relationship with your audience, and encourage them to keep coming back to your channel.

What is more, it will only take a few seconds of your time to like comments, or pin a top comment, but for your viewers, it could mean the world.

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5. Make Playlists to Keep Viewers Watching

As your channel grows, it can become hard for viewers to find certain videos. A neat and tidy way to keep your content organized is to create playlists.

Furthermore, you can increase YouTube views by doing so, since users that watched one video, tend to show interest in related content.

For example, travel YouTubers could benefit by creating playlists of featured countries, gaming channels could create playlists of the games they’ve played or reviewed, etc.

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6. Collaborate With Other Channels

Have you ever watched a video by your favorite channel, and be pleasantly surprised to see another one of your favorite content creators appear on that channel?

What a nice surprise, right?

Content creators can really grow their viewership by collaborating with the right YouTube partner. Be sure to find somebody with similar passions and values and who your followers can easily relate to.

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7. Publish YouTube Content on Other Social Media

Video is the favorite type of content for most people, and that includes social media users. Do not miss the opportunity to promote your videos on other social platforms, as it will help increase your chances of getting more views on YouTube.

An awesome way of doing this is to create short, teaser, videos, and add a link to your full video on YouTube.

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8. Post Videos at the Right Time

The time you post your videos matters. Ideally, you would want to publish when the largest number of your audience is online. If you are not available to manually publish them, the best approach would be to use a social media scheduling tool.

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9. Transcribe Your Videos

An astounding 85% of Facebook videos are watched without sound. Furthermore, as many as 80% of consumers said they were more likely to watch a video to completion if captions were available.

So, adding captions to your videos is crucial. On top of satisfying those viewers that prefer to watch videos silently, transcribing your videos will also:

• Help people with hearing disabilities.
• Attract users who cannot turn on their audio, because they are generally in a public location.
• Help people understand what’s being said better.
• Reach international audiences who might not understand the language spoken in the video.

There are plenty of benefits that come with adding transcripts. What is more, it is not that hard to add them, you just have to create a .txt document, and follow some simple steps.

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10. Produce Video Series

People love watching series, regardless if it’s a TV show, a webtoon, or a YouTube series – they become involved with the plot, the setting, the characters, and so on.

Viewers always want more of what they like. So, when brainstorming your next content ideas, try to think about a series of multiple videos, instead of just individual ones.

Here is an example of a well-executed video series called Video Game High School (VGHS).

VGHS is a web series with millions of views that follows students at a high school dedicated to video gaming. It has multiple seasons with a continuous plot.

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11. Craft Custom Thumbnails

They say you should not judge a book by its cover, even though the cover is generally what grabs your attention initially. The same goes for YouTube videos – a generic, low-effort thumbnail has a much lower chance of attracting viewers, compared to a custom-made, high-quality one.

Additionally, a nice-looking thumbnail is a sign of professionalism and can distinguish you from low-quality video content on the platform.

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Over to You

We hope you have learned some valuable advice on how to get more views on YouTube. Of course, you must acknowledge the fact that nothing beats creating great content.

Remember, you might be doing everything right, and even attracting enough viewers, but what good will it do you, when no one sees any value in your videos?

Have you any other valuable advice or tips that could help increase YouTube views? Let us know in the comments below.