Last Updated on December 22, 2021

For over 10 years now, Youtube retains the title of the world’s biggest video platform.

And it seems like the party is not stopping any time soon. With over billion hours of daily watch time, Youtube is only getting bigger and bigger.

Despite this huge growth, there are still plenty of small channels who face constant struggles trying to grow their audience on the platform.

The truth is that simply uploading a video and hoping it would start raking views is not a viable strategy anymore. To get traction on Youtube, you need to take more active steps from your side.

In this article, you’ll learn 19 easy ways to get more views on Youtube – without paying a single dime.

How Do I Get More Views on YouTube For Free?

Listed below are 19 ways how to get free YouTube views organically. You will find a detailed description of each method and why it works in every individual section.

This goes without saying; if something is popular on the internet, more people will be searching for content on the topic. If your videos are up to date with the current popular trends, there are more chances of people looking for the kind of content you’ve created, which increases your videos’ chances of getting more views.

Keep an active watch on social media to see trending topics and tailor content around them.

2. Keep videos short

The online population has a very short attention span. Unless the viewer is your dedicated audience, the chances are that very few people will watch a 20-minute video till the end. Keeping videos short is the key to optimizing your channel.

For example, suppose you’ve made a 15-minute video on how to grow your youtube channel, and your competitor has made a 5-minute long video with the same title. In that case, viewers are likely to click on your competitor’s video, as it is more likely to give the same information in a shorter period.

3. Make compelling content

More than any trick in this list, what will get you faithful and organic views is your content. Your content should be current and trending and delivered in a fashion, an amalgamation of entertaining and didactic. Add value to your viewer’s life. Make their time spent on your video worthwhile and keep them hooked to your content by adding unique information or advancing your delivery style.

4. Get inspiration

Remember, to create content; you will have to consume content. While plagiarism is not the right way to go about any creative venture, taking tips and others’ help is not wrong.
Watch what the best YouTubers in your niche are doing, how they optimize their videos, and what they do to attract the audience to their videos and channels.

Take a topic and aesthetic inspiration from bigger channels and incorporate them all into your videos. Give necessary credits and shoutouts to the YouTube channels you took inspiration from wherever needed. When you add value from different channels to one, you are sure to see more people viewing your videos.

Also, by making your content relevant and like popular videos, your videos will most likely be presented in the ‘suggested videos’ section, getting you a larger number of free YouTube views.

5. Descriptive and keyword-rich titles

A descriptive title provides information to potential viewers about your videos’ content. Make the title eye-catching and interesting to gain more organic free YouTube views.
Keywords provide food for the search algorithm to feed from. The more the keywords, the higher the video will rank on search results, naturally attracting more views.

6. Descriptive and keyword-rich descriptions

A detailed description does the same thing as a rich title. The more you detail your description, the more keywords can be incorporated in it, letting your video rank higher in search results.
A brilliant way to write keyword-rich titles and descriptions is by using an online SEO tool that will help you choose relevant keywords for you.

7. Use tags

YouTube provides a tags section that further gives the algorithm information about how to sort your video according to the content. A higher number of relevant tags to the topic do wonder how many viewers are suggested to watch your video. Tags, along with video title ate description, should make the core of the video content transparent to the search algorithm and viewers.

For example, if you have uploaded an acoustic cover of Katy Perry’s Teenage Dream, an optimum title would be ‘Katy Perry – Teenage Dream (Cover by <your name>). Also, the relevant tags will be – cover, Katy perry teenage dream, acoustic cover, etc.

8. Get creative with the thumbnail.

When videos are suggested to a viewer, they all compete through two visible variables – title and thumbnail picture. An average human on the internet responds to visuals much farther than to written ques. Therefore, a catchy and descriptive thumbnail increases the chances of your video being clicked on by viewers.

Disclaimer: Since metadata is versatile and completely in your hands, it is common among YouTubers to resort to ‘click-baiting.’ Click baiting is essentially putting in keywords, descriptions, and thumbnails that attract more audience but are not in sync with your video’s content.

While click-baiting will get more people to click on your video, hardly anyone will watch it, not increasing your channel’s Watch Time. Click baiting also takes a massive blow to your channel’s reputation.

9. Video Transcription

If you’re aiming for a global audience for your video, chances are most people will not be able to understand the language you’re speaking in. If you add a closed caption to your video’s metadata, viewers will have the facility to turn captions on and off at their will.

They will better understand your content, which will make your content more likable. Transcribing your videos also opens them up to people with disabilities.

10. Asking viewers to subscribe

Channels with a higher number of subscribers are deemed more credible by the YouTube search algorithm, giving them preference while assembling the top search results.
The subscribers to your channel are more likely to watch future videos than any new viewers who chance upon your channel.

Retaining your old viewers by getting them to subscribe to your channel ensures a higher view rate on future videos.

The best time to encourage viewers to subscribe to your channel is at the beginning of the video. Don’t forget to encourage them to tap the bell icon so that they’re notified the next time you post a video.

Add watermarks or prompts in your videos to grab viewer attention more effectively and to avoid verbally asking the videos to subscribe.

11. Refer to your older videos

Adding referral links to your previous videos or casually referring to them in the current video flows viewer traffic from one video to another. This keeps viewers hooked to your channel, increasing views on not only one but multiple videos of yours.

12. Use end screens

Adding video links to end screens does a similar job. It makes the viewer flow from one video to another video of yours. The viewer gets well acquainted with your channel. There’s a strong possibility of them liking your content and aesthetic, and voila! You’ve gained a new subscriber.

13. Create a playlist

A YouTube playlist is designed in such a way that once a viewer is done watching one video, the next automatically starts playing right after. Therefore, creating a playlist keeps a viewer in the loop of your videos. The more time organic viewers spend on your channel, the more watch time you will have.

The more the watch time, the higher your channel will be ranked in search results. YouTube statistics state that the topmost channels on the video streaming platform promote twice as many playlists as the bottom 25% of channels. Creating playlists also ensures that a new viewer will get acquainted with your channel by viewing multiple videos. This will give you free YouTube views on multiple videos.

14. Enable embedding

Suppose that you made a video that touched a chord with a viewer. They want to share it on a webpage. This will be a wonderful opportunity to reach viewers you wouldn’t have been able to on your own. However, the viewer is unable to add your video to the desired webpage. Why?

It’s because you’ve disabled video embedding.

You can enable embedding through the advanced settings in the video’s edit page on the creator’s studio. Do this, and your video will be able to embed within webpage and blog coding.

15. Utilize Reddit to Get More Views

Reddit has a community of people that actually care about certain subjects, so if you merely spam your content on Reddit, you will gain nothing. The key to Reddit powered views is to provide value to the community in a subreddit. It is after this that you can add occasional promotional content.

This works because when viewers see your name on Reddit, because of the value addition, they know that you care about the subject of your video. This gives credibility to you and your channel. The key is to follow the 20:1 ratio. Post 20 times on a particular subreddit for every single time that you’d want to promote yourself.

A great way to add value is by putting up answers to FAQs on the subreddit. The Reddit community rightly uses the term karma for the benefits you return for the value you give into it.

The Same can be done by Quora, as your answers get more credibility with the amount of engagement you have on the platform. Once you have that credibility, you can add links to your videos on relevant answers.

Viewer engagement is the key to retaining views. Add links to your Facebook page, Instagram account, and other social media channels, and add a link to your YouTube channel on all these platforms. This will flow traffic from one platform to another, gaining your audience not only on one platform but on many.

17. Guest YouTubers

Invite other YouTubers in your vicinity to collaborate with you on a video, and feature in other YouTuber’s channels. Doing it benefits both parties, as your viewers get acquainted with the other YouTuber’s channel and vice-versa. This is a simple and effective trick to reach viewers that like your niche but haven’t chanced upon your channel yet.

18. Head to the comments

Once your channel starts growing, naturally, some people will give their feedback through comments that can be left under your videos. Never overlook the power of comments. Pay attention to what your viewers have to say, tailor your content according to their wants. Paying attention to positive comments will keep you motivated and impart to you the wants of your viewers.

19. Interact with your audience

Talking on a first-person basis in your videos gives a sense of belonging. Replying to their comments or sharing a few comments from an older video in a future video keeps the viewers on their toes. All this helps build a community, an online family that will get you more organic free YouTube views than any algorithmic trick can.

Why You Shouldn’t buy YouTube views

While buying views might seems like a much easier way to grow your channel, here are a few reasons why doing that is an absolute no.

  • YouTube policies strictly prohibit paid views. If you use a paid service to get Youtube views, your channel will likely get banned or blacklisted.
  • Paid views are not organic views, which means that people are not watching and enjoying your videos when you pay for views. As you’ve read above, building a community is crucial to grow your channel and get more views through your subscribers’ recommendations.

Conclusion

If you’ve been wondering how to get free YouTube views, you need to devote a lot of time and energy to your content and community building. However, with a few tricks up your sleeve and a good understanding of the YouTube algorithm, you can sphinx your way to the top.

The most important thing to remember is that you’re trying to get attention from actual humans, not robots. Grabbing their attention requires thinking and planning. Optimize your aesthetic and your content to what feels most natural to you. People with similar interests will flock towards your channel with the tricks mentioned above, like adding keyword-rich metadata and sticking to the trends.

With an online community, not only will you get organic free YouTube views, but also a lifetime of support and appreciation. Therefore, focusing on your audience is of the utmost importance.

With all these values, tips, and tricks applied cohesively to your channel and videos, you are sure to get many more views than before, and you will see your channel growing rapidly.