--- title: '15 YouTube Settings That Are Killing Your Channel (Fix Now!)' source: 'https://youtube.com/watch?v=gjbhKYSvqf8' video_id: 'gjbhKYSvqf8' date: 2026-08-05 duration_sec: 900 --- # 15 YouTube Settings That Are Killing Your Channel (Fix Now!) > Source: [15 YouTube Settings That Are Killing Your Channel (Fix Now!)](https://youtube.com/watch?v=gjbhKYSvqf8) ## Summary This video addresses common YouTube channel settings that can hinder growth and reach. The creator explains 15 specific settings, from phone verification to default visibility, that are often misconfigured, and provides step-by-step instructions on how to fix them to optimize channel performance. ### Key Points - **Problem Identification** [00:02] — The issue is not content but channel settings; 15 settings are either off or wrong, silently blocking videos and limiting reach. - **Phone Verification** [00:16] — Without phone verification, you can't add custom thumbnails, upload videos over 15 minutes, or live stream. Fix by verifying phone number in YouTube Studio > Settings > Channel > Feature eligibility > Intermediate feature. - **Made for Kids** [02:28] — If set to 'Yes', comments are disabled, notifications are off, and recommendations are limited. Set to 'No' unless content is truly for children, via Settings > Channel > Advanced > Audience. - **Country Setting** [03:38] — Without a country, YouTube doesn't know your primary audience, impacting search and recommendations. Set Country of Residence in YouTube Studio > Settings > Channel. - **Channel Keywords** [04:19] — Channel keywords give YouTube an extra signal about your channel's niche. Add relevant keywords in Settings > Channel > Keywords. - **Channel Handle** [05:17] — Your handle is your permanent YouTube URL. Set it in Customization > Basic info > Handle to prevent others from taking it. - **Channel Description** [06:13] — A detailed description helps YouTube and Google understand your channel. Write 2-4 paragraphs with keywords in Customization > Basic info > Description. - **Channel Links** [06:53] — Add links to your social media and website in Customization > Basic info > Links to retain viewers and attract sponsors. - **Business Email** [07:46] — Add a business email in Customization > Basic info > Email to allow brands and collaborators to contact you. - **Channel Trailer** [08:31] — Set a channel trailer for new visitors to showcase your best content and increase subscriptions. In Customization > Home > Add section > Channel Trailer. - **Featured Video** [09:41] — Set a featured video for returning subscribers. In Customization > Home > Add section > Spotlight. - **Branding Watermark** [10:07] — Add a watermark (e.g., subscribe button) to all videos via Customization > Branding > Video watermark. Choose 'Entire video' option. - **Video Category** [10:50] — Select the correct category to push videos to the right audience. Set a default category in Settings > Upload defaults > Advanced > Category. - **Default Video Description** [11:44] — Set a default description template in Settings > Upload defaults > Basic info > Description to save time and ensure consistency. - **Comment Moderation** [12:39] — Use comment moderation to block spam and abusive words, keeping the comment section clean and engaging. In Settings > Community > Content controls. - **Default Visibility** [13:21] — Set default visibility to 'Private' to avoid accidental public uploads. In Settings > Upload defaults > Basic info > Visibility. ### Conclusion Correctly configuring these 15 settings can significantly improve your channel's performance and growth potential. The creator emphasizes that these are simple fixes that can have a major impact. ## Transcript making videos, adding thumbnails, spending hours on titles, but still not getting views, then understand one thing clearly. The problem is not in the content. The problem is with your channel. There are 15 settings on your channel that are either off or set completely wrong. And this setting is silently blocking your videos. It's confusing YouTube and limiting your channel's reach. And the worst part is that you do n't even know that this is happening to your channel. You think the channel is running well but everything is wrong inside. So today I will tell you about 15 settings one by one. And I am almost sure that you have set at least 8 to 10 of these settings wrong on your channel. So do watch the video till the end because in the end I will tell you about a setting which I discovered last year and it made my YouTube journey easier, so don't miss it. But before coming to the settings, one small thing, if you do not have a laptop and want to do all these things from your mobile. Have to do a small Open the Chrome browser. Open YouTube Studio there. There you will see exactly the same interface that I see here on my laptop. Same layout, same options, everything exactly the same. Whether you are on mobile or laptop, the settings are the same. Where I can see it, you will see it there. The first setting is phone verification. a restricted mode when starting out [Music] by default. You can't add custom thumbnails , upload videos longer than 15 minutes , or live stream. This means that YouTube has tied your hands in a way and you are not even aware of this. There is a simple solution to this. You just have to verify your phone number. Now what is the first thing to do to fix this? Open YouTube Studio Open YouTube Studio. Here go to Settings on the left side. Here you will get this option of channel options. Click on this. If you look inside here, you will find the feature eligibility tab. Ok? Inside this, you have to click on the intermediate feature here and here on the right side you will see the option of verify phone number. Enter your number here. OTP will come on your number, fill it in and it is a small task. Now there is one more small thing that here below the intermediate feature there is also an option of advanced feature. If you do this, some more options will be added to you. You will get three options for verification. Video verification and this valid ID and channel history. The channel history path is a bit longer. So video verification. YouTube will send a link to your email. Click on that. Verify yourself through the video and you are done. That's all. This is just a one-time task and all the restrictions on your channel are removed. First of all, it is important to get this right. The second setting is Made for Kids. This setting may seem small to you. But if it is set wrongly, it completely destroys the reach of your channel. upload a YouTube video, YouTube asks, is this video made for kids or not? Some writers leave this blank. Some people say yes without for children also and from there the main problem starts. As soon as you turn on Made for Kids, all the comments on the video get closed. Notifications are turned off and recommendations are very limited. So to and click on Settings here. Here you have to select the channel and then there is an advanced tab inside it. This has to be opened. You will find the audience section here. Here you have to choose. No set this channel as not made for kids. Select it and do it. But if your channel and your content are really for children then only you should select yes. The answer to everyone else is no. But your answer should always be yes. Subscribe to the channel whenever I tell you to. So you say yes. So if you want such helpful videos then subscribe to this channel now and press the bell notification so that you get the updates of such videos first. Now comes the third setting, country setting. This setting is skipped by almost everyone because this setting is not visible unless you search for it. But if you haven't set a country, YouTube doesn't know where your primary audience is from, and this directly impacts your search results. Your channel is not recommended to the right people in the right place. There is a simple solution to fix this. Come here to YouTube Studio. Once Click on the channel and here you will get the option Country of Residence. Your country is our India, so choose India here. It's a 1 minute job, do it and it's over. Now comes the fourth setting, channel keywords. 90% of users are not aware of this setting. But this is a very immersive setting. Channel Keywords is a separate field where you can enter your channel topics, your channel keywords. Just like put here. This gives YouTube an extra signal that your entire channel exactly fits into this category and allows YouTube to fits into this category and allows YouTube to Open YouTube Studio. Come to settings here. Select the channel option. Here below you will find the keywords section. Now Growth How to Grow on YouTube? type keywords are for my channel. Similarly, you can enter some keywords related to your niche here and save it. This is a very small step but it is an extra signal to YouTube about what the entire channel is about. Now the next setting comes channel handle. Your handle is your permanent YouTube URL. Like on Instagram, my username @ is Akshay dot Verma. Similarly, there is a handle on YouTube and it remains permanent and many YouTubers have not yet taken their handle. Meaning anyone can take his name. So n't find it. So to set the handle, simply come to YouTube Studio and here you will see the customization tab on the left side. Click on this. Here below you will see the handle option. Ok ? Enter your channel name, the name according to your channel or your name here. First check by putting it whether it n't be late, will you? So set it once. Once set up, can easily share it anywhere. And if you haven't set your channel handle before watching this video, then comment below with the handle. Let's see how many people have missed this thing till now. Tell the truth and comment below. So the next setting is channel description. The channel description is not just an about section. This is an SEO signal for both YouTube and Google. If the channel description of a new channel is blank or only one line is written, then YouTube does not properly understand for whom this new channel is created. Therefore, write clearly in the description, for whom is your channel? What you will get and why you should subscribe. And naturally, put two or four keywords of your choice How to set channel description? To set this up, you have to go to the customization tab in YouTube Studio you will see the description field. Here you have to explain a and if possible, include some keywords in two to four paragraphs. So the next setting comes channel links. When someone is after subscribing, he wants to follow you in other places also. Instagram, Facebook, Lindin and everywhere else. But if there are no links on your channel then that person will leave from here. Will be gone forever. And another thing brands or sponsorships look for uters. First they come to the channels and then from there they see the links. So if they also see the links then it becomes easy to contact and the profession also appears more professional. So to add links, customization tab, in the profile, you will find the links section below. Same is in the phone also. Whoever you do it with, you will get the exact same thing. Here you have to click on the plus icon and enter your Instagram and website. Whatever you want to add, add it here and then simply save it. And then after that all these links will become publicly visible on the home page of your channel. Now after doing this, the next important setting is business email. Many a separate email section on your YouTube channel. Which is publicly visible to everyone. Brands, collaborators, sponsorship offers will all contact you through this. If you leave this blank, no one can contact you directly. So it is very important to add this. And to add this you have to tab. Scroll down and Enter your email here. Whatever email you use, you can check it, put it here. It is a one-time job but the benefits are lifelong. And there is one more thing which is just a one time work and the benefit is available for lifetime. Subscribe to this channel. getting such helpful videos every week which will keep benefiting you. It will make you a better YouTuber, help you grow and earn maximum income. Subscribe now. Now the next setting comes to us, Channel Trailer. Imagine someone saw your video. I liked it. He thought what else would this guy make and opened your channel. That's a perfect moment. That guy is already impressed with you. Now at this moment you have a chance to which best represents your channel, to the new person on the front page so that his chances of subscribing increase and the channel trailer does exactly this. There Come to the Customization tab and click on the Home tab here. Inside the Home tab, you have to click on the Add section and choose Channel Trailer and here you can select your best video which will be visible to your subscribers and non- subscribers who are going to subscribe to you. Now a new viewer will come, see your best work and subscribe. Now here comes the next setting Featured Video. Channel trailer is for newbies who are coming to the channel for the first time but featured video is different. This is for those who have subscribed and are coming back to the channel. So to set this up, same place is inside the Home tab, you have to click on the Add section here and you will get the Spotlight option. Click on this and select whichever video you want to show or promote. Choose and set it. Now whichever new person comes, the channel will handle the trailer part and get him subscriber comes, he will handle it, this featured video part, both are of different now the next setting comes branding watermark, this is a small image which you can show in the corner of every video, want you can put a subscribe button here, you can put your logo, you put whatever you want. To add this, you have to go to the customization tab inside YouTube Studio and by scrolling down here you will see the option of video watermark. You can put your own image on it, whether you put the brand image or upload the subscribe button image. That's your wish. My suggestion is to subscribe. And you must choose on this. This is the entire video option. This will make the branding watermark visible throughout your video. Just set it once and it will automatically appear on all videos. Now next comes the video category. Every video has a category and it tells YouTube who your video is meant for. If the category is selected incorrectly, YouTube pushes the video to the wrong audience. CTR drops, watch time drops and the channel does n't grow. To fix this, you can set a one-time default category option. Come here to YouTube Studio. open the Advanced Settings tab. Here the category option will be available in the dropdown. Click on this. You can select your category from here. select it from here once. Save and it will always be set properly for every video. Save and it will always be set properly for every video. You can change whatever you want in a particular video. By default these categories will be set for your videos. video description. This is the setting that has made my life easier. And last year I came to know about this thing. What did I do before? Used to write description inside every video. Write the same things over and over again. But what now? You just have to automatically remain permanently in every video that you upload. To do this, it is come to YouTube Studio. Go to Settings right here and select Upload Default. In the Basic Info find the Description field below. Once here, put your Instagram link, your social media handles, whatever you put in every video. Now with every new video uploaded, you will which you want to add, tell about that video and everything else is already there. Nothing is missed and you don't have to write it again and again. But there is one thing you have to write down now. If this setting helped you even a little or seemed even slightly important, then comment below. This will also help other struggling users to know whether this setting is useful for them or not. So now the next setting comes comment moderation. Your comment section is not just a place to have a conversation. This is also an engagement signal for YouTube. Spam comments, abusive words, random links – if all these things fill the comment section then the real viewers stop engaging. Turns off commenting. There is a very simple solution to fix this. So come to YouTube Studio and go to Settings. Here you will [Music]. Here you will find the section of content controls. Here you can block specific words. You can add links, hold hashtags, and set different levels of moderation for comments. You just have to set this up once and after that your comment section will look absolutely clean. Whatever comments there are, whatever engagement there will be, it will be real. The last setting is default visibility and after hearing this you will probably go to the channel and check it once. When you upload the video, click save at the end. At that moment, the default visibility gets set and applied. If public is the default, your video may become public directly. Therefore, always set the default visibility to To set this up, you have to go to YouTube Studio and there, under Settings, there is an option for Upload Defaults. This has to be selected. Here, in the Basic Info tab, you will find the Visibility option below. And from here you have to choose private. Choose private and then save. And remember this is just the default. You can change this thing on every video and it will not affect the old videos. Some will remain the same. So think, just 15 settings and hardly half an and once you get all these settings right, the chances are very high that now your channel will go in the right direction. It's just a matter of hard work. Now there is one more thing left to do after fixing these settings. Fixing upload mistakes because many users get the settings right. Channels get their settings right but make small mistakes while uploading which are silently blocking their views and they are not even aware of it. That's why I made this video. In this video I have explained in detail what are the mistakes that YouTubers make in the beginning and how to fix them one by one. Click here how to fix them one by one. Click here and watch this video now.