How to Optimize Your YouTube Videos & Playlist

Apr 10, 2022

7 min read

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This article is about how to optimize your YouTube videos and playlist with the help of an algorithm to rank higher, get more views, and get recommended by the platform. Optimizing your YouTube videos and playlists will allow you to reach a large audience. It's essential to ensure that they are seen by as many people as possible. 
There are some things you can do to help optimize your videos and playlists for success that we will discuss below.

Optimize your videos creations

YouTube's number one goal is to keep people on the platform for as long as possible. The longer people stay and watch content that sends a signal to YouTube that the content is valuable. 

Resulting in videos being pushed out and put in front of more potential viewers that would also be interested in the same topics.

Not only is it YouTube's goal to keep users on the site, but it should also be your prime purpose in retaining viewers for as long as possible.

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If you can do this, you will increase your chances of attaining faster growth while also exposing your channel and content to new audiences, so boosting your brand and authority.

But how can you optimize your content for more watch time and better results? But how can you even achieve those results? The answer would be to make it as engaging and valuable as possible.

You need to be a clue into your audience and have a solid idea of the type of content they would be interested in. But when you are first starting on YouTube, it will be difficult to understand this concept.

The best action plan would be to keep making videos and allow yourself to make mistakes and fail forward. Try out different ideas and keep an eye out for what appeals most to your viewers.


If a particular video is getting more views than the other videos on your channel, that is a clear sign for you to make more similar content while looking for new ways to improve every video. You want to make sure that your content is more focused on the niche you are in. 

You want to make sure that your content is more focused on the niche you are in.

If your channel is about video gaming, then focus on gaming

If your channel is about digital software, then focus on software

If your channel is about affiliate marketing, then stick to the topic of affiliate marketing, etc.

You need to look at your videos and which ones are performing well (Getting lots of views and watch time) and which are not (Fewer views and engagement). The ones that are not doing well will still get some views, but you need to focus your attention on the content getting more engagement.

Here are some key factors that you should consider including giving your videos more chances of gaining more watch time or going viral: Make the content appealing and engaging. 

Try to keep viewers focused by adding in regular changes in: 

  • Camera angles 
  • Use B-roll for overlays to explain topics
  • Use of images and gifs to help explain the current scenes
  • Use sound effects as this helps keep viewers alert and engaged for longer
  • Add in your humor as people watch your videos for your onscreen presence
  • Be informative and do your research so you can bring forward talking points and comments no one else has.

Also, check your video analytics for information on where parts of your videos are performing best to remove what isn’t working in future videos.

If you are making videos that are 10 minutes in length, but your viewers keep dropping off after 4-5 minutes, you need to look at why this is happening.

If so, think about making shorter videos. If they keep people watching to the end, and it also makes them want to click and watch more of your videos, then you're on to a winner.

You also want to direct your viewers to check out the other videos you have on your channel. And make sure that those videos are similar in style and other ways so that you have a better chance of getting them to watch for a long time.

You want to make sure that your content is searchable and that could have the potential to show in the suggested video feed. the best way to achieve this would be to use relevant titles and thumbnails with instances of your chosen keywords placed within them and your video descriptions.

The main goal is to provide value in every video you make, and if people like what you do, they will watch more of your content, leave comments and engage with you on a more personal level.

Optimize Created Playlists 

A lot of YouTube content creators and channels don't use playlists to their full potential. Playlists can help you build up your watch time and how long people stay on the platform watching your videos.
A good thing happens when you do this. YouTube's algorithm will be able to better understand what you're doing as well as see it as useful and fun for people who watch your videos.

This is because YouTube will spread your video and promote it to more people who watch the same kind of videos like yours, which makes it more appealing and interesting to them.
If videos and playlists do well, the algorithm will determine which types of audiences will be a good match for the material. And will test it in front of those audiences to see if it will get more views. And if this occurs, it can only be a positive sign for your material and your channel since YouTube will start to regard you as an expert in your field or niche.
Playlists also have the added benefit of organizing specific pieces of content into one area that is easier for viewers to find and binge-watch your content.
To provide an example of this, if you have a video gaming channel where you make videos and reviews of games from many different genres, you can use playlists as a way to catalog each of those gaming types into one area, for example:

  • Racing games (The best PlayStation Racing Games of the ’90s)
  • Action Games (The action games that defined a generation
  • Difficult to play games (The most difficult PlayStation games of all time)
  • Strategy Games (The best strategy games for the Playstation)

The list of title ideas for your playlists would be endless.

But to give your playlist a much better chance of being ranked and seen within the YouTube search results, you would use relevant keywords within the titles and descriptions of your playlists.

Use playlists to categorize all your content so that it is easier for you to organize, but it will also be easier for your viewers to find and watch what they are interested in.
Some viewers might not interested in certain videos on your channel, but they could be very interested in other topics or subjects.So use the playlists as a platform to hook viewers in to get all the information and entertainment they need in one place.

You may also use playlists to assist your less popular videos to get more views by capitalizing on the popularity of your more popular videos. This may also help them gain more views. The more people who view some of your most popular films, the more likely they are to want to delve deeper or go farther to explore what more you have to offer.

In the playlist editor, you can move and drop videos to make your playlists look the best. Also, you can put your most popular videos at the top of the playlist. This gives you even more chances to get more views and make your playlists show up higher in YouTube search results.

Recommend your playlists: 

  • On your channel pages
  • Add them to cards and end screens
  • Add links to playlists in your video descriptions
  • Recommend and direct viewers to check out your playlists throughout your videos
  • Add pinned links to your playlists at the top of your comments

You want to provide as many opportunities as possible for viewers to find your playlists so that they can keep watching.

Final thoughts

Optimizing your YouTube videos and playlist is one of the most important steps in growing your channel.

Once you've uploaded a video, it's up to you to optimize it as much as possible so that it can get the most views and engagement.

This is important if you want to get the most out of your content. By following these tips, you can improve your rankings and reach more people with your videos.

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