If you visit YouTube on any given day, you'll be certain to find a recently-published video that's been viewed millions of times in mere days.

Or how about YouTube Records? There, you'll find the videos with the most view counts in YouTube history — and the videos that reached one billion views in the shortest amount of time. (Adele's "Hello" reigns on top, taking merely 88 days to reach this mindboggling view count.)

Where do those views come from? What exactly counts as a 'view' and what doesn't? For those who are curious, or if you lot're a marketer looking to aggrandize your strategy onto a platform with over ii billion users, YouTube has the answer.

Absolutely, YouTube hasn't always been the near obvious choice for marketers. Sure, at that place are guides and explanations, even statistics on how to crack the YouTube code. Still at that place'south still uncertainty virtually what does and does not count equally a view. For a site that'south no stranger to regular changes, what's the baseline?

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What Counts as a View on YouTube?

A view counts on YouTube when: ane) information technology'due south a viewer-initiated intended play and 2) the video has been despammed past YouTube's algorithm. In other words, the video was played past a man on ane device, and YouTube confirms it to exist a legitimate view.

More than that, there'south a magic number of views: 300.

One time a video reaches 300 views, YouTube temporarily "freezes" the view count to ostend that those are indeed legitimate plays past real humans. Its organization begins to track incoming views, besides as the first 300. Information technology can delete fraudulent views every bit they're identified. One time the initial screening process is over, the view counter goes back to normal, only YouTube volition continue monitoring for faux views on every video.

Why 300? Numbers beneath that don't accept the power to crowd the YouTube homepage and throw the website off its algorithm.

Then, wait. If there'due south no hugger-mugger formula to what counts every bit a view, can't anyone refresh their video to gain views? Not anymore. In the early days of YouTube, monetization wasn't a thing. It was an assumption that nearly every view fit into the original definition: a viewer-intended play of a spam-free video. Information technology didn't take the platform long to go wise to the fact that creators could crook the organisation. This is loosely referred to as an "artificial" view.

Luckily, YouTube has gotten pretty adept at spotting artificial views. Some of the signs they expect for include:

  • Views, reloaded: This is the classic case of a single user constantly refreshing the video to bring those numbers up.
  • Viruses: If a video looks similar malware — software designed to harm your computer, server, or network — information technology gets deleted.
  • Website autoplay: If the video is set upwardly to autoplay on a website, that doesn't count as a view.

Software in YouTube's security system has the ability to detect malware – a figurer program that assists in sending spam letters from your computer – and spambots. YouTube automatically deletes them to make the screening process go more than smoothly.

Now, let's go over some questions y'all may have about YouTube video views.

Do your own views count on YouTube?

Yeah, your own views count if you play your ain YouTube video — but just if you practice it once or twice, not if you lot constantly refresh the page.

Why does YouTube count my own views?

YouTube's algorithm sees you merely as it sees any other user, so your view will be counted.

Practice replays count as views on YouTube?

Yeah, but only if the replays seem natural. If you replay a video once, it will count equally a view. However, if you constantly refresh the page to artificially upward the view count, YouTube will pinpoint this as a spamming practise (come across the Views, reloaded definition above).

Are YouTube views unique?

No. YouTube's views aren't unique; replays and re-visits are counted in the view count. You can see your number of unique viewers in your YouTube analytics dashboard.

How frequently does YouTube update view count?

Though YouTube doesn't publish this information, we know that it updates views approximately every 24 to 48 hours. Information technology does not update views instantly.

Do embedded YouTube videos count?

Yes, embedded YouTube video views count when the video is embedded into the content of the folio and a user purposefully clicks on the video to play information technology. An autoplay embed video may non count. A background video (that is, you placed the YouTube video in the groundwork of your website) will not count.

Do Facebook views count on YouTube?

Yes, Facebook views count on YouTube. They don't count, all the same, if you manually download the video from YouTube and upload information technology to Facebook.

YouTube Guidelines for Videos and Views

If you're thinking of implementing a YouTube marketing strategy, information technology's critical to adhere to YouTube'south guidelines. If y'all don't, your videos volition be deleted. Viewership has its own set of guidelines and is taken very seriously.

If a video reaches a certain number of views and falls inside the guidelines, it's eligible to brand money. YouTube's business relationship monetization allows a unmarried video to earn thousands of dollars equally information technology creeps into the territory of having millions of views. Accounts that give themselves fake views are, in essence, making money unfairly. YouTube's policies here aim to brand sure every creator works hard on every video they produce.

That said, algorithms change — sometimes at the drop of a chapeau. For the most updated information on proper video protocol, review YouTube's guidelines regularly, especially when they denote changes for creators.

Some other reason viewership is taken so seriously is users' ability to find videos they're interested in. It would be soul-crushing to sift through tons of spam videos in order to get to the 1 that yous want to get to.

All of this talk of algorithms and homepages may seem a little overwhelming, when the main question is actually, "How do I use this stuff to get views?" Don't worry, as long as y'all optimize videos for search, you'll observe means to get people clicking on your content.

It tin can be a bit tricky to decipher the mechanics of YouTube. Merely YouTube uses a system that advisedly and cleverly monitors viewership then it tin can deliver the most authentic feel to its creators and users. By counting views earlier fake views plough into a existent trouble, YouTube keeps its platform clean from spam.

Count Your YouTube Views to Measure Performance

Knowing how many people view your video is important. You can tell whether your title is compelling, whether your thumbnail is effective, and whether your content is watch-worthy based on views alone. By measuring your YouTube views, you lot can successfully pivot your strategy to grow your YouTube channel.

Editor'south note: This mail was originally published in April 2022 and has been updated for comprehensiveness.

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Originally published Apr 13, 2022 7:00:00 AM, updated December 06 2021