As a platform, YouTube is more than just a place to find funny cat videos on. These days, YouTube is both educational and entertaining for the global masses. Everybody can find something they can relate to on the platform, which is why it is such a huge hit.
For the average viewer, a YouTube session starts with an inexplicable urge to watch something - whether it is to learn a new skill or to simply be entertained. The viewer will then log on to the platform - usually through their mobile device - and go directly to the search bar. There, they will enter a keyword to try and find videos related to it. This is where it gets super interesting, though: most viewers won’t click on an individual video, but rather on a playlist.
For your viewers, playlists are easier to consume and make a great solution for a prolonged video viewing session. Playing a playlist means the viewer can be “hands free” and carefree - they won’t have to manually click on another video once one ends, and they can carry on with whatever else they were doing while the video plays in the background.
For you, the creator, playlists are much more than a convenient feature: they are a tool that you can use to increase your overall performance on the platform. As creators, you can use playlists to organize your content in topic-based categories that will make life easier for you and for your viewers.
In this article, we’re going to explain why playlists are an important part of your channel optimization that could get you more video views. We’ll also go through some playlist optimization tips that will help you create great playlists that will drive more views to your content. So without further ado, let’s get started!
The term itself is quite self-explanatory: playlists are collections of videos, curated by a certain user on the platform (whether you, yourself created them or someone else). Each playlist is individual and unique, and it can have as many videos on it as you’d like.
The simple answer to this question is anyone. On YouTube, anyone can create a playlist as long as they have a YouTube account.
Again, the answer is everyone - however, it depends on the playlist’s visibility. Playlists have three visibility options:
It’s no secret that watching playlists can increase watch time. This happens because people usually binge on playlists and watch one video after the other - making your session watch time increase. This is good for you, the creator, because the increased watch time sends signals to the algorithms that your content is so compelling that people can’t stop watching it - they’re moving from one video to the next over and over again.
The other side of the equation is also beneficial for you - if people are “binge watching” your playlists, they’re probably watching whole videos through to the end. This increases your audience retention on your videos, which is an important ranking factor on the platform. The higher the audience retention on your videos is, the more likely YouTube’s algorithms are to promote your content on the SERP (Search Engine Results Page), the home page and the suggested videos feature. This will help you avoid losing subscribers because your content will keep being found by new potential subscribers!
No one knows for sure how YouTube’s algorithms really work - we can all only assume and guess. However, one thing remains constant: if you create a video and put it on a playlist, YouTube is going to use it as reference and recommend other videos from that playlist in the suggested videos section - even if the person isn’t watching your playlist at all!
When a lot of users watch your video playlists, it signals to the algorithm that this specific channel is producing engaging, super compelling content. This signal helps your videos “appear” on the algorithms’ radar when it comes to content suggestions. Consequently, the algorithms will favor your content over someone else’s and expose you to more and more potential viewers.
Go to your YouTube Studio and click on Playlists on the left side menu.
Then, click on New Playlist on the top right corner of the screen.
Next, enter your playlist’s title and set the visibility settings. When deciding on your playlist’s title, make sure to target the correct keywords so your playlist will be found through search.
Your playlist will appear on the main table. You should then click on the pencil icon to edit it.
In the editing window, enter a playlist description that’s rich with keywords for better discoverability.
To add videos to your new playlist, go to your Content tab, check the videos you want to add to your playlist and click on Add To Playlist.
Editing your playlist is important because you want to keep your content fresh and relevant - even in YouTube playlists. So the first step was to create YouTube playlist. The next step is to edit it.
To edit YouTube playlist, go to your YouTube studio and click on Playlists.
Then, hover with your mouse over the playlist you wish to edit and click on the little pencil icon.
You will then be taken to the Edit Playlist page, where you could edit your playlist by rearranging the videos, adding a playlist description, changing the title and changing the visibility settings.
Don’t just create one playlist for all of the videos you’ve ever uploaded to the platform. Make sure you organize your playlists by a common topic that they all share and keep things neat and organized. This will help your audience find content easier on your channel page and will keep them watching the playlist because it will only feature videos that they were looking for.
Since playlists are visible on the SERP, you should make sure to use the right keywords in your playlist title - it’s just as important as using keywords in a video title. This will help make your playlist discoverable on the search engine and thus exposing it to new audiences as well as existing ones.
While it does require time and effort, make sure to update your playlists regularly so they’ll stay up-to-date and relevant. Nothing is more annoying than watching a bunch of old, outdated videos on a playlist that are no longer relevant. Take out the irrelevant, old videos and keep your playlists fresh with new, relevant videos to keep people watching and engaged with your content.
As we’ve mentioned in the previous tip, nothing irks people more than watching outdated videos on a playlist. That’s why it’s important that your playlist stays relevant both on the topic aspect of things and on the timeliness of the videos.
If you want people to be able to watch your playlists, you need to make them public. This means that in the playlist visibility settings, you should always make sure it’s set to “Public” when you create your playlist.
To be found on search, you have to do the basic SEO steps. This includes optimizing your description as well as your titles. This means writing your playlist description just as you would write any other video’s description - be informative, use keywords and optimize your description for the search engine. This will also optimize your YouTube channel!
In this article, we explained what playlists are and how they’re beneficial for your channel optimization efforts. If you want more views on your videos, putting them in playlists can definitely help you achieve that goal. Arranging your content in YouTube playlists will help you get more views on your YouTube videos and from there, the road to success will be much more fun to go through!
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