How to Increase Your YouTube Watch Time

Since 2018, YouTube has tightened rules around its partner program, raising requirements for YT channel monetization. Therefore, and in order to apply for monetization, creators must have squared 4,000 hours of overall watch time on their channel within the previous 12 months, and have at least 1,000 subscribers. How to Increase Your YouTube Watch Time in short time by yourself is what you will discover in this article.

At the end of this article, I will talk about a paid method from a company that provide monetization pack. This pack includes 4000 hours watch time + 1000 subs. So, if you would like to invest a small amount of money, around 150-170 $. Then, you should definitely check out their services.

Up until 2012, total number of views was YouTube’s primary measure of success for video content on YouTube. And therefore the only factor for video rankings. However, after that year, when YouTube updated their algorithm, watch time became the #1 ranking factor. YouTube uses watch time as part of its algorithm for suggesting videos in terms of rankings.

So, what is it anyway?

At the end of this step by step tutorial, you will learn the most secrect behind those private FB groups. Increasing YouTube Watch time with simple process and tools. Hope that this is what you are aiming for, if yes then let’s continue.

What Is YouTube Watch Time?

According to YouTube; Watch time (or audience retention, as it’s popularly called in YouTube analytics) is the amount of time a video is watched by a viewer. YouTube values Watch time more than view count. Because the views counter counts each page load as a view, whereas watch time cannot be manipulated with refreshes. The audience needs to watch the video to show watch time. Idyllically, videos topping in this metric result in higher overall viewing sessions.

With an enhancement in watch time, YouTube is more likely to indorse your channel through search and recommended videos, which in turn will leads to more views. “The greater your watch time, the more likely YouTube will indorse your channel through search and recommended videos.”

Now that you understand YouTube’s watch time metric! Let’s look at our secret trick that will help increase your total watch time.

What is the trick to get more watch time hours?

Before we begin, can you ask yourself; why do I need to get monetized so badly and in short time period? Why not grow my channel organically and get more creative content that people are looking for? To tell you the truth, I won’t answer these questions for you. But I just want you to meditate about it, and get a clear vision of what you are about to do.

In this article, I’m not going to talk neither about all other random advises YouTubers gave. Such as create quality content for YouTube; maximize it on the first 15 seconds; use of relevant titles & thumbnails; and use of long-tail YouTube keywords. But rather going to talk about the hidden secret that most YouTubers use to generate more Watch Time, YouTube Playlist. Yes, you just read it right, the PLAYLIST.

A playlist in YouTube is a list or group of videos that plays in sequence, one video after the other. When one video finishes playing, the next starts automatically so you don’t have to click or search to start playing the next video. With the help of “Loop” tool the playlist will keep rolling till you stop it, unless the YouTube “AUTOPLAY“ button is toggled.

Benifits of using Playlist on your YouTube channel

Did you know that you can get more hours of watch time on YouTube although people don’t watch your videos? To be precise, if a viewer starts watching your video and continues watching a playlist (regardless of the ownership of the videos), you will get credit for that watch time. Yes, definitely you will increase your Watch hours from other creators’ videos. Playlists drive potential viewers toward a more linear viewing experience, which will increase your YouTube watch time in a short time.

Before starting, you must know some basics and rules.

So, what’s next? How to nail more viewers then? And how to get to the point of reaching 4000 hours of watch time by myself? Don’t worry, we will explain that step by step, but first let’s learn the basics and get to know some rules.

When I watch my own videos on YouTube, does it count as a view and watch time?

Yes, if you watch your own videos, it counts as a view, and you will get that watch time. But, if you do this again and again within a short period of time and from the same device and IP address, YouTube will stop increasing your view count and therefore your watch time.

If one person watches the same YouTube video twice, does it count as one or two views?

When it comes to watching YouTube videos, clicking through it is not enough for the counter to fire a one count, but it is not necessary neither to watch the entire video. Real views are counted after 30 seconds of playing the video. However, if you watch the same video several times, only one view will be counted, because the cookies in your device will be considered as the same user or returning user.

These cookies with be deleted automatically after 30 minutes, and thereafter, a new session will start, and then a new view will be counted if you do repeat the same process over and over again. But, if the same person has watched the same video multiple times and his views did count, the reason of this could be that he deleted his cookies or he changed browser.

Underline and remember these two 2 actions, we will come back to it later, because it will be the backbone of our secret Trick.

To what limits can I keep watching my own videos?

So, you have been watching multiple times your own videos, and the counter and watch time are just growing. But, don’t get over-excited because your own views and watch time are counted in an unlimited way. YouTube doesn’t count the first few hours after a video has been uploaded.

Sometimes ago, YouTube had a 301 views threshold, where video view counter just freezes at that number till a real person from YouTube goes and check your video’s content, and thereafter they release the counter again. But with YouTube new Algorithm, they check more frequently all the quality views. That’s why sometimes views and watch time counts are delayed.

Can I really reach YouTube 4000 watch hours by myself?

Well, if we do some mathematics. Let’s assume you got 6 or more videos totaling 60 minutes (1 hour), and you will be watching those videos 10 times (hours) a day on a daily basis from same browser. Meaning that (4000 hours / 10 hours) = 400 days.

To put that in perspective, 400 days are equivalent to 1 year and 2 months. So, you need over 14 months of continuously watching your own videos with the same browser and same IP. Not to mention all the expenses related to internet, electricity, your device, your time and energy.

But, what if we redo the above mathematics differently by increasing your daily watching times from 10 times (hours) to 100 times (hours)? Therefore, we will end up as follow: (4000 hours / 100 hours) = 40 days. So from 14 months you can do it in ⇒ only 1,5 months.

Yes, Yes and Yes, you can reach that number, and I’m telling you, it is tested and experienced and many people are doing this already in groups so why not you. Just keep reading.

Is this against YPP policy?

To be honest, nothing is written in their terms of use and policy. But I’m sure, that you already know YouTube is owned by Google. And these guys are genius, they know everything about Internet and Tech, and of course they know what game you are playing with them (or maybe not).

Just watch any series from Amazon and then go to YouTube, there will be definitely some videos related to that play. Therefore, it is upon your own risks.

Now that I explained above some rules and tried to answer some questions that might be in your head. Let us dive to the core process to get that 4000 hours watch time in short time.

In order to succeed

As it was already demonstrated in previous paragraph above (↑), how we can reduce the required time from 14 months to 1,5 months or even less with simple mathematics. Where I swapped from 10 times to 100 times.

I guess that you wonder what that meant, right? Well, let’s assume that you got one browser, maybe chrome, or explorer. And you watch the same video playlist over and over again, for 10 times. So, what if you do the same process but this time within 10 browsers simultaneously? You will end up multiplying your actions by 10 or by the number of browsers you are using.

So now you got the first hint; Yes, firstly we will be using too many web browsers in this trick. But what browsers do you need to install?

Best secured web browsers

In my previous article, I talked about the best Secure web browsers in 2020 for your computer. In a nutshell, based on my knowhow and experience, I summed up all available free browsers that are safe, secure, and most important privacy friendly. Meaning that they are not traceable by third party cookies and bots; such us Google, Facebook, and Bing. And even some of them have great features such as integrated VPN. To know more please go ahead and refer to my previous article.

Strong and fast computer

Secondly, you must have a good and fast internet connection, because we will be playing multi players and browsers. Thirdly, a good and strong Computer device (Mac or PC) with enough memory at least 8Gb RAM, because this process requires more space, especially due to cache files those browsers will be installing to your computer.

Optional VPN usage

Finally, you can use a VPN system, there are plenty freemium VPNs out there. This helps to make you more anonymous online, encrypts all of your internet traffic, and let’s you effectively trick your Mac/PC device into thinking it’s in another location.

I have tested and reviewed over 10 of the best VPN providers, and selected the TWO best VPN providers available in today’s market, to name it: NordVPN and ExpressVPN. These two are the best so far, and pricewise.

Quick NordVPN review

As far as I’m concerned, I found myself happy to stick with NordVPN, and Purchased their 3 Years deal with a very attractive 70% discount, which is basically nothing compared to what benefits you can get out of it during the 3 years period of time.

And The best part with NordVPN, is that you can connect up to 6 devices simultaneously (laptops, Desktops, Mobiles, TV and you name it). Hence, if you think again, this will double, and faster your process if you have 2 computers doing this trick.

(PS: Currently NordVPN is running a 2 Years deal, even cheaper than the one I got for myself, go ahead and grab this 2Year deal with 70% discount for yourself).

Quick ExpressVPN review

If you want to invest more money, another option would be then ExpressVPN, which I do also recommend, though their prices are a bit higher compared to NordVPN, but again it’s all up to you.

(PS: ExpressVPN offer a 30-day money back guarantee, If you want you can give it a try, and I guess in 30 days you can achieve more than 80% of you watch time).

Using VPN is only optional, but I do recommend it in order to avoid any small mistake in the process, such as leaving traceable data behind from cookies or cached files, which will put your channel at risk of being flagged. Furthermore, with VPN you will automatically rank your channel while watching from different locations, as a result YouTube is more likely to promote your channel and even start recommending your videos.

So far, I covered all basics, rules and what requirements you need in order to accomplish the road to your 4000 hours watch time. On the next chapter, I will explain steps and actions you would require fo this trick.

So, what are the prerequisites?

I’m trying to give as much information and explanation you need in order to understand and follow the process. Therefore, go through each step mentioned bellow.

Install safe and secure browsers

As I explained earlier, you need to have secure and safe browsers installed in your computer. The more browsers you have, the easier and most effective the process can be, and therefore the faster you achieve your goal of 4000 hours watch time.

You can install any browser mentioned in my previous article, those are all tested and approved. Depending on how strong and fast is your device (Mac or PC), I would suggest to start with 10 browsers at least, once you get into the idea you can download and install more. Most of browsers are compatible for Mac and PC, so it is up to you which one you go for.

After installing each browser, make sure to not use Google as default search engine, neither Google as the default window. You can use anything but none of big search engines such as Bing, Yahoo, or DuckDuckGo.

Install a VPN of choice

As I mentioned previously, this is optional but if you got a VPN this would be perfect, beneficial for your channel’s ranking, and 100% secure. At this step go ahead and install your VPN of choice, and get familiarized with it.

Create a YouTube playlist

For now, you have installed browsers, it is time to create your Playlist. If you don’t know how to create a Playlist, I made bellow a video tutorial, where I summed most steps you need. You can watch it, or if you like reading, then keep following these steps:

Create a playlist

1. Find a video you want in the playlist (if you don’t have many videos as I said you can use other creators’ videos)
2. Make sure that your video is embeddable otherwise it will not be added to your playlist
3. Under the video, click the 3 dots icon on the right
4. From the dropdown list, click Save to playlist.
5. Then Select playlist you’ve already created, or click Create new playlist.
   1. If you create a new playlist, enter a playlist name.
6. Use the drop-down box to select your playlist’s privacy setting. Make sure to make your list public and visible to everyone. If it’s private, only you can view the playlist.
7. Click Create.
8. And repeat the same process for every video you want to add. I would advice at least 60 minutes long list.
9. Once all videos are added, get your Playlist URL, and save it somewhere, you will need it.

Perfect, you have just created your playlist, and you are almost ready to start watching it. But hold on, we are just starting. Let us now jump to the hardcore actions.

How to start your Playlist? Steps to follow

The overall process that you will be doing, is watching your own playlist from all previously installed browsers simultaneously. Therefore, following steps are very important for a perfect and effective operation. Once you get to the point you will see how easy to repeat it. So, let’s start.

Clean your device

First of all, if you are using any Google/Gmail/YouTube service, do log out from any browser you connected from. This is a must and an important step in order to secure this process, and avoid YT from tracing your activities.

Once you log out, go ahead and Clear/Erase all Browsing History, Cookies, Cache from all browsers you will be watching your playlist from. Once done, then quit from those browsers.

Launch your VPN

If you have already installed a VPN and  will be using it for this, make sure to quit from all browsers, and clear your caches and cookies. Then, go ahead launch your VPN and set a new location for your device (in my example I select Germany from my NordVPN panel).

Once this is done, your device is now connected from that location (Germany for instance). You will notice this change once you launch YouTube page, the main logo will contain “Country” first two letters (for instance DE for Gemrany – See bellow image).

Open all your browsers

You can launch as many browsers as you want (Except Chrome), in my example I will use 3 browsers: Vivaldi,  Naver Whale, and Brave (but as mentioned before the more browsers, the faster to reach your max watch time), and remember always make sure that your browsing history and caches are erased from your browsers.

Furthermore, avoid using Google as default search engine, neither Google as the default window. You can use anything but none of big search engines such as Bing, Yahoo, or Wikipedia. They tend to install cookies once you fire their pages. For this, best alternatives would be: DuckDuckGo and Qwant.

Launch your Playlist

I asked you previously to get your playlist’s URL, right? Go ahead and garb that one. Copy it, and jump to each browser and Past it directly to the search bar. Hit enter, your video playlist page will be loaded.

Play first video from the list

Now that you have your playlist loaded on all browsers. You can start from any browser you want, Click on first video from your playlist, and press play button. Once the video start playing, go ahead and press Pause button, because we need to change some settings for better performance.

IMPORTANT!

• Do not launch your playlist from the PLAY ALL button
• It is recommended to not start your playlist from same video in other browsers, therefore, play your video by order, first video on first browser and so on.
  

Loop your videos on the list

Next from Playlist menu bar (see below image), make sure to activate the loop option, this will play all videos in your playlist. Also make sure to deactivate the “AUTOPLAY” button, which is only available in some browsers, this will disable playing next video based on recommendation.

Reduce video quality

From YouTube video player bar, click on settings (Gear icon) and change the video quality to as low as possible 144p. This will allow your Device to save enough memory space, and tolerate a smother play. Also, this is good when you don’t have high speed internet connection.

Repeat on each browser

Now, go to your next browser and repeat the same steps:

1. Launch your playlist, once loaded do make sure to Play different video than previous browser (this is recommended)
2. Reduce video quality
3. Loop your videos on the list
4. Disable AUTOPLAY if available

Arrange and organize your browsers

So, once you launch your playlist in every browser you have. It is recommended to arrange all open windows in a way that is visible and easy to act if needed. I would suggest to reduce the size of each window, and make sure the Playlist Name and Loop button are visible. This way you can check from time to time that your playlist is working on every browser.

Check that videos are all played

In order to make sure you get the best outcome, it is good to let all videos on your list play smoothly till the end. Therefore, I would suggest that you set a time alarm based on the length of your playlist, so you can stop the process when all videos in the list are played. To make sure that this is the case, you will notice a red filled bar bellow each video, this means that it was already played (see bellow image).

Clean and redo again

Now that you have played the first-round playlist:

1. Hit Pause button to stop playing your list.
2. Close YouTube window
3. Clear/Erase all Browsing History/Cookies/Cache from each browser you have used. This is important.
4. Quit your browser to make sure no trace is left behind.
5. Stop your VPN or quit it, if you have been using one.
6. Now redo same steps to play another round, and in case you are using a VPN, to make sure to connect from other location thant previous one.

And that’s the process, now you can start a second round and third and so on, all you have to do is follow the same process. I am sure that with hard work you will arrive there and get to the goal. By the way if you need a tool to keep track of your analytics, don’t forget to install the TubeBuddy free browser extension and mobile app. This will integrate directly with YouTube to help you track your channel progress with ease.

Paid alternative method

Incorporating the trick and tactics above in your YouTube will help increase your watch time and, in turn, your search ranking on the network that will be concluded by monetizing your channel.

However, if you think that this process would be more hectic for you, time and energy consuming you may consider getting these services from advertisements companies.

You can buy YouTube monetization pack which include 4000hours watch time and 1000 subscribers from this trusted service provider called TubeBiz. They provide real interaction with your channel, so when you pay for YouTube views or watch time, you can be sure that it will lead to statistics improvement.

To say one word, this advertisement company is an effective and convenient solution for promotion, even with a minimal start budget. Go ahead and check them out. Or use the widget bellow to buy their services directly from here.

I have myself tested their services and its pretty much trustful, and I got to know other channels who had already purchased the monetization pack and its working for them.

Final tips

• Be careful with the process, and do not risk your channel, use a VPN services for better performance. I do recommend: NordVPN or ExpressVPN with their 30 days free trial, you can achieve your goal.
• Avoid using incognito or private windows (they tend not to be counted)
• Don’t use Chrome and Safari at all (I don’t trust them, and they usually have deep access to your activities, therefore make sure that these 2 browsers are quited)
• To make sure that your caches and cookies are cleared, whenever you open your Playlist in a browser, you will notice a privacy reminder from YouTube (See bellow image). If that message don’t appear, go ahead and check your browser settings and confirm that all caches and cookies are deleted. Sometimes you have to check from Advanced settings, and make sure you have set Time Range to “All Time”.
• Install TubeBuddy mobile app, so you can keep an eye on your watch time growth.
• If you would like to invest a 100$, and avoid all the hassles above, then consider using TubeBiz services, pretty easy and straightforward.

Conclusion

So, what do you think? Which method will you try to get 4000 hours watch time for your YouTube channel? If you need any other advise, or other good solutions on how to increase watch time hours on YouTube. Please join our Facebook private Group and share your thoughts and comments with the community of trusted YouTubers. You are also welcome send me a message on Facebook, I will be gladly answering asap.