Does YouTube Live Count as Watch Time? (What You Should Know)

Going live on YouTube can really help you get your subscribers up. This is because while your streaming live you are able to interact with your fans and answer any questions they might have. You are also able to show a more personal side to you that people really enjoy. When it comes down to it, does YouTube Live count as watch time?

In this blog post we will go over whether or not YouTube live counts as watch time along with some pros and cons of using this method.

Answer To The Question Does YouTube Live Count As Watch Time:

The watch time you accumulate while your live doesn’t count as watch time at all. What you can do though, is leave the live video up on the channel for people to watch it in the future. Once you leave the video up, it will be able to show up on the search results and recommended videos.

Any watch time that happens through those avenues will be counted as watch time for your channel.

What Are The Benefits Of Going Live On Youtube?

There are plenty of benefits that come with going live on YouTube. Below we will go over all of the benefits:

Personality

For starters, you’re able to show a more personal side which can really help you connect with your fans. You’re also able to answer any questions they might have in real-time.

Can Help Answer Questions In Real Time

This is a great way to clear up any confusion your fans might have. If you’re able to answer their questions in real-time, it can help build a better relationship with them.

You Can Monetize Live Videos

If your channel is monetized already, you can utilise the tools in order to generate revenue from your live videos. You’re able to get tips through superchat and add in ads during the live stream or before it starts.

You Can Collab With Other YouTubers

You can go live with other YouTubers on their channel and vice versa. This can help expose you to their audience and help grow your own channel.

Live Videos Can Rank High In Search

If you leave your live video up on the channel after it’s done, it has a chance to rank high in search. This is because live videos are given priority in the algorithm.

So make sure the title of your video is concise, this way people will be able to find it easily.

What Are The Cons Of Going Live On Youtube?

There really aren’t too many negative aspects of going live on YouTube, but below we will list a few:

You Need A Decent Internet Connection

In order for your live stream to run smoothly, you’re going to need a pretty good internet connection. This is because live streaming can use up a lot of data.

You Need To Plan Your Streams

While you don’t need to have everything planned out, it’s still a good idea to have an general idea of what you’re going to be talking about. This is especially true if you’re going to be taking questions from your viewers.

You Might Get Nervous

This is especially true if you’re not used to being in front of the camera. It’s perfectly normal to feel a little bit nervous before going live, but try to relax and be yourself.

The benefits of going live far outweigh the negatives, which is why we think it’s a great idea to go live on YouTube.

How Can I Get 4000 Hours On YouTube Fast?

You probably came here in order to see if your live hours can help you achieve the 4,000-hour watch time needed to monetize your YouTube channel. As we stated above the answer is no. Now we will go over how to get 4000 hours on YouTube as fast as possible.

Posting Consistently

The best way to get watch time is by posting videos consistently. This means you should be posting at least a few times a week, if not every day. You should also make sure that your videos are high quality and around 10 minutes long.

Tell Your Subscribers To Spread The Word

If you’re getting very close to the 4,000-hour mark, you can always ask your subscribers to help you out by sharing your videos. This is a great way to give your watch time a boost.

Promise Something At The End Of Your Videos

When you promise something at the end of your videos it will keep the audience wanting to watch the whole video. This could be something like a giveaway or a behind the scenes look. This will help your watch time percentage go up, and in return help you reach those 4,000 hours faster.

Use End Screens and Cards

Adding end screens and cards to your videos is a great way to keep people watching. This is because they will be able to see other related videos that they might be interested in.

Optimize Your Videos For SEO

This is another great way to increase your views and get more watch time. If you’re able to rank your videos high in the search results, you’re bound to get more views. You can do this by using keyword-rich titles and descriptions, as well as adding tags to your videos.

Keep Your Videos Organized In Playlists

If you have a lot of videos on your channel, you should consider organizing them into playlists. This is a great way to keep your viewers engaged and ensure that they watch more than one of your videos.

Lets say you have a channel about blogging. You may want to make a playlist about keyword research, so people who are interested in that topic can go and binge your videos on that topic.

Does Rewatching a YouTube Video Increase Watch Time?

Encouraging your audience to also rewatch your videos is also an option. But does it count towards your watch hours again? As long as the return visitor watches your Youtube video for longer than 30 seconds, this will count as watch hours.

If your over that 1000 subscriber mark you can make a post asking people to rewatch your most popular videos. This is a method that will help you get over the edge and give you that last bit of watch time you need to monetize your channel.

Conclusion

As you can see, you can’t increase your watch hours by going live unless you archive the video to be left on your channel. We hope this blog post answered all of the questions you had about how to get 4000 hours on YouTube. If not, please leave a comment down below and we’ll get back to you as soon as possible. Thanks for reading!

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Take a look at our other most recent blog posts below:

Does YouTube Live Count as Watch Time? (What You Should Know)