If you have a popular YouTube channel in which you get views from the YouTube Shorts Feed, you know there is a breaking point when most viral videos simply stop receiving views. One minute your video will be getting 300 views and the next minute it drops to 13 views. So, what gives?
The YouTube Shorts Algorithm is time sensitive. If you have a YouTube Channel that actively shows up in the Shorts Feed, you will know within five (5) minutes of publishing a video. For most YouTube Channels, creators will know within seconds how popular the video will be in the YouTube Shorts Feed.
Throughout the first hour or two of the video showing up in the YouTube Shorts Feed, the algorithm is doing its work. There are hundreds of factors that go into the exposure of a short form video. Some of these factors include audience retention, how often viewers swiped away, impressions to like ratio and so on.
Once the video has a few hours of data applied, the algorithm decides if it will amplify the video or reduce the impressions. Depending on the content of your Channel, it is likely the content is fed into a specific algorithm feed based on topical area.
Note that each of these different topical areas have slightly different algorithms assigned to them. Someone watching F1 high speed race videos will view in a much different way than someone that identifies rare species of birds. While the foundations of all the algorithms are the same, there are slight tweaks based on the way fans view that style of content.
This is why it can be incredibly challenging to get answers when it comes to the Google and YouTube algorithm. If you asked a Google or YouTube employee why one piece of content ranks well, or gets many views, and another piece does not, they do not have the answer. The engineers at Google and YouTube are simply working on a small part of the algorithm and they have no clue as to the amplification of a piece of content.
If you track your YouTube Short videos in real time, you may have seen the YouTube Studio analytical chart that looks like this:
Notice how the video was trending up and it suddenly falls off a cliff. This particular video was getting around 2,000-3,000 views an hour and it dropped all the way down to less than 50 views an hour within a two (2) hour period. Here is another chart to show what that looks like:
If you have spent any amount of time building your Channel, you have seen this a number of times. A video will get several thousand views and then it will just stop getting views. This is because it is no longer being amplified in the YouTube Shorts Feed.
It does not mean you have been blacklisted. It does not mean that your Channel will never show up in the YouTube Shorts Feed again. It simply means that this was the longevity that the YouTube Shorts Feed Algorithm felt your content should be served to the audience. There was a metric somewhere along the way that told the YouTube Shorts Algorithm that fans and viewers were no longer interested in that content.
Oftentimes, this particular Short Form video will never get more than a couple views an hour. Rarely, a video will resurface in the YouTube Shorts Algorithm and it will gain even more momentum. The ultimate goal for most YouTube creators is to have a number of evergreen pieces of short form video content that are consistently getting views in the YouTube Shorts Feed.
Note that it takes a special type of non time sensitive content for that to happen. Any in the moment news or sports story is not going to resurface because when it is amplified in the YouTube Shorts Feed later, the viewers will not engage the way the did on the day of the event.
This is not to say that YouTube creators should only create evergreen and none time sensitive content. To “hack” the YouTube algorithm, time sensitive content gains your Channel exposure. That said, it does not give it longevity. Most really smart content creators do both.
When something timely happens in their industry or topic area, they post a live video, Short Form Video or even a long form video with the proper title so people searching will find their Channel and subscribe. In fact, you will see the clever YouTube creators actively changing the titles of their video throughout the day of the event just to keep viewers tuning in based on what is happening.
If you are stressed that your Channel has been shadow banned, blacklisted or simply doesn’t shoot up in the YouTube Shorts Feed anymore, there are some ways you can test it out. Check your YouTube Studio app and identify the “When your viewers are on YouTube” section on the Audience Tab under Analytics. Post a different short form video during the most optimal hour for three (3)consecutive days. If none of these videos are picked up by the YouTube Shorts Feed within 10-15 minutes, your Channel is likely shadow banned and it will take a lot of time and energy to “un shadow ban” yourself.
If you want to grow your YouTube Channel by getting more views on the YouTube Shorts Feed, reach out to us at jesse@wojdylosocialmedia.com. We have been studying the Google and YouTube algorithms since 2007. This means that anything that can and will happen to your account is something we have seen before.
Do not stress that your YouTube Channel is ruined because your video has completely dropped off in views. Take it as a challenge to make an even better piece of short form video content to submit to YouTube as your next viral YouTube Short.
Note that we are not seeing true YouTube Image Post analytical data from the YouTube Shorts Feed quite yet, but that should be coming in the next few months. When we start crunching that data, we will update with the most optimal way to grow your YouTube Channel with Image Posts.
Reasons for Sudden Drop in YouTube Shorts Views
There are dozens and potentially hundreds of reasons that a video suddenly drops all YouTube Shorts Feed views. The most important thing to know is that almost all videos do this. It can cause your heart to drop and stress or anxiety when the YouTube Channel you have worked so hard to grow all of the sudden sees a huge drop in YouTube Shorts Feed views.
Know that almost every single time a Short form video sees a drop is Shorts Feed views, it does not mean that videos is blacklisted or will never get views again. It simply means that video has shown the YouTube Shorts Feed algorithm what it needs to know and now it is time to move on to different videos.
This is not to say the video won’t repopulate in the YouTube Shorts Feed at a later time, but it will likely not happen for the next several days or weeks.
Some reasons a YouTube Shorts video may see a drop off in views are:
- High swipe away percentage
- Likes vs dislikes ratio diminishing
- Negative comments
- No positive share data
- Audience retention well below 100%
While many creators will want to make certain their videos do not suddenly drop off in the YouTube Shorts Feed, the only way to guarantee that is to create better content. There are ways to improve watch time, make the thumbnail more appealing and other tactics, but, for the most part, YouTube viewers simply want to watch and see great content.
If you are seeing almost all of your YouTube Short form videos dropping off the YouTube Shorts Feed when the views are less than 1000, you might want to consider thinking about improving your channel with different or much better content.