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How to Get More Views on YouTube (NEW Strategy)

0h 13m video Published Jan 17, 2019 Transcribed Jul 28, 2026 Brian Dean Brian Dean
Beginner 8 min read For: YouTube creators, especially beginners looking to increase views through strategic video creation and optimization.
AI Trust Score 65/100
⚠️ Average / Some Fluff

"Delivers a solid step-by-step strategy with real examples, but the 'NEW Strategy' claim is slightly overblown as the core idea has been shared before."

AI Summary

This video presents a step-by-step strategy called the 'sequel technique' to rapidly increase YouTube views. The creator explains how he gained over 25,000 views in three weeks and one subscriber achieved over a million views by creating superior versions of popular videos and optimizing for suggested video placements.

[00:00]
Introduction to Sequel Technique

The video promises a method to get more views fast, citing personal success with 25,339 views and a subscriber reaching over a million views.

[00:41]
Suggested Video as Main Source

The creator notes that 41% of his views come from suggested videos, compared to 25% from search, highlighting the importance of appearing in the suggested sidebar.

[01:50]
Step 1: Find a Popular Video

Search for a high-performing video in your niche to target as a suggested video neighbor. Use the video's keywords and analyze competitors.

[03:16]
Step 2: Create a Bigger and Better Video

Leverage a research paper on YouTube recommendations (Deep Neural Networks for YouTube Recommendations) to understand expected watch time and create content that keeps viewers engaged longer.

[03:56]
Expected Watch Time Importance

YouTube promotes videos with higher expected watch time. Example: a video with 2-minute average watch time is favored over one with 30 seconds, leading to more suggested views.

[04:55]
Elements of a Good Sequel: Intro & Length

Create an engaging intro in the first 15 seconds and make the video longer (10+ minutes) to increase expected watch time, as longer videos tend to have higher retention.

[06:08]
Pattern Interrupts

Use camera angle changes, stories, music, and jokes to keep viewers engaged. Pattern interrupts boost audience retention and watch time.

[08:15]
Step 3: Optimize for Suggested Video

Copy competitor keywords: use exact phrases in the video, title, description, and tags. Tools like TubeBuddy or vidIQ can help identify effective tags.

[10:44]
Bonus: Optimize Thumbnail for CTR

Create a custom thumbnail that stands out from suggested videos nearby. Use contrasting colors and include a face if possible to increase click-through rate.

[12:49]
Results and Call to Action

The creator emphasizes that these strategies can generate thousands of extra views monthly and encourages subscribing for more tips.

The sequel technique is a proven method to boost YouTube views by targeting popular videos and creating superior content that YouTube promotes as suggested videos, with key tactics including optimizing watch time, using pattern interrupts, and enhancing thumbnails.

Mentioned in this Video

Tutorial Checklist

1 01:50 Find a popular video in your niche with many views to target as a suggested video neighbor.
2 04:55 Create a bigger and better video (the sequel) by making the intro engaging (first 15 seconds), lengthening the video to 10+ minutes, and using pattern interrupts like camera changes and stories.
3 08:15 Optimize for suggested video by copying your competitor's keywords. Use the same keywords in your video's title, description, tags, and say them in the video.
4 10:44 Optimize your thumbnail for high CTR by making it stand out from suggested videos. Use contrasting colors and include a face if possible.

Study Flashcards (10)

What percentage of views came from suggested video according to the creator?

easy Click to reveal answer

41%

00:56

What is the 'sequel technique'?

medium Click to reveal answer

Creating a bigger and better version of a popular video in your niche to show up as a suggested video.

01:24

What paper outlines how YouTube suggested video recommendations work?

hard Click to reveal answer

Deep Neural Networks for YouTube Recommendations

03:30

What metric does YouTube use to promote videos as suggested?

medium Click to reveal answer

Expected watch time – YouTube's prediction of how long a viewer will watch.

03:44

What are three elements of a good sequel video?

easy Click to reveal answer

An engaging intro (first 15 seconds), longer video (10+ minutes), and pattern interrupts.

04:55

What are pattern interrupts?

medium Click to reveal answer

Changes in the video (camera angle, joke, music) that boost audience retention and watch time.

07:06

How should you optimize your video's metadata for suggested video?

medium Click to reveal answer

Copy your competitor's keywords: use them in the video's title, description, tags, and say them in the video.

08:53

What tools are mentioned for analyzing competitor tags?

easy Click to reveal answer

TubeBuddy or vidIQ

10:14

What is the bonus tip for increasing views from suggested video?

easy Click to reveal answer

Create a custom thumbnail that stands out from the suggested video thumbnails (use contrasting colors and a face).

11:57

How many views did the creator get in three weeks using the sequel technique?

easy Click to reveal answer

25,339 views

00:13

💡 Key Takeaways

💡

Suggested video as primary traffic source

Reveals that 41% of views come from suggested videos, shifting the focus from search to the sidebar for growth.

00:56
📊

YouTube recommendation algorithm explanation

Cites a research paper to demystify how YouTube ranks suggested videos based on expected watch time.

03:30
🔧

Pattern interrupts boost retention

Provides a practical technique (pattern interrupts) backed by audience retention data to keep viewers engaged.

07:06
⚖️

Keyword copying for suggested video

Explains that matching competitor metadata increases the chance of appearing as a suggested video.

08:53
🔧

Thumbnail optimization for CTR

Demonstrates a specific method to double views from suggested video by designing a standout thumbnail.

11:57

[00:00] how to get more views on your videos fast. I recently used the sequel technique to get 25,339 views

[00:13] One of my subscribers also used and that video now has over a million views. through the entire process, step by step.

[00:29] Keep watching. (gentle music) I was looking at where most of my YouTube views came from.

[00:41] for popular keywords like, video SEO, I notice that most of my views They came from suggested video, pow, mind blown.

[00:56] In my case, 25% of my views came from search, but 41% came from suggested video. on the right hand side of every video on YouTube,

[01:10] And if you can get your video you can get thousands or even millions of views. In fact, when I used the sequel technique,

[01:24] over 25,000 views in less than three weeks. views continue to roll in like clockwork.

[01:36] In fact, 66% of the views on that video Which, as you'll see in a minute, is by design. the entire step by step process.

[01:50] find a popular video in you niche. in your industry with lots of views, why? is to show up as a suggested video.

[02:04] lots of people will click over and watch your video. a popular video in your niche? Here are two simple strategies that work great.

[02:18] All you need to do is search for a keyword Then, keep an eye out for a video in the search results For example, when I searched for improve Google rankings,

[02:34] I noticed that this video had over 200,000 views, bingo. Just head over to their channel, and hit videos. And just like that, you get a list

[02:50] For example, remember Jeff Rose, As you might remember, Jeff used the sequel technique Well, when Jeff looked at his competitor's

[03:04] So, he went with that video for step number one. create a bigger and better video, "the sequel".

[03:16] it's time to create something bigger and better. a little known research paper called, Deep Neural Networks for YouTube Recommendations.

[03:30] And this paper outlined how suggested video probably works. something called expected watch time. It's YouTube's best guess of how much time someone

[03:44] And needless to say, YouTube promotes videos So, the higher your expected watch time, the better.

[03:56] a video about cold brew coffee, let's call it video A. in the suggested video sidebar. they only watch it for 30 seconds, on average.

[04:12] clicks over to your video as a suggested video, it's only gonna result in 30 seconds of watch time. Now, let's see you create another video

[04:25] This time, people watch two minutes That video has an expected watch time of two minutes, And because video B has a higher expected watch time,

[04:41] the suggested video sidebar like crazy. So, as you can see, to show up as a suggested video, And to keep people watching, you video needs to be awesome.

[04:55] creating the sequel, comes into play. that you found in step number one, and make it better. and less like Episode I.

[05:09] First, create an awesome video intro. that the first 15 seconds of your video is huge. someone's interest in the first 15 seconds,

[05:25] Boring, next. they'll stick around. The question, how do you create an awesome video intro?

[05:39] I'll explain with an example. in the first step from this process. but I knew that I could do a little bit better.

[05:53] with something that would grab people's attention. show them how to increase their Google rankings fast. that my approach works.

[06:08] Next, create a longer video. to understand how YouTube's search engine worked.

[06:20] Even though of study focused on YouTube's search, YouTube promotes videos that keep people on YouTube, Plus, longer videos tend to have

[06:35] that your video is three minutes long. which will never happen, your expected watch time will be, But let's say that your video is 10 minutes.

[06:50] your expected watch time is gonna be five minutes. was 10 minutes 48 seconds long. at 12 minutes, nine seconds.

[07:06] Finally, it's time to add pattern interrupts to your video. In fact, I found that pattern interrupts audience retention, and watch time.

[07:19] that you add to your video to change things up. a camera angle change, a joke, music, For example, the video I found in the first step

[07:35] It was pretty much a static screen recording. So, for my sequel, I used dozens of pattern interrupts. I told stories, I even added

[07:48] Well, at least they were funny to me. Jeff Rose implemented all three of the tactics Jeff's intro grabbed people's attention.

[08:00] And he used a ton of different pattern interrupts. optimize your video. Now, usually when you optimize a YouTube video,

[08:15] you're not trying to rank in YouTube search. But it's not the main goal. a suggested video next to a popular video.

[08:29] Like I mentioned earlier, But when you search for the keyword his video doesn't even rank in the top three.

[08:41] plus views came from suggested video. It's simple, copy your competitor's keywords.

[08:53] that when your video's metadata you're more likely to show up as a suggested video. your video for suggested video.

[09:07] First, say your keyword in your video, this is a big one. can understand what you say in your video. they understand about 90 to 95%

[09:20] And when YouTube hears your target keyword in your video, For example, I noticed that this video in the title and description.

[09:36] So, I made sure to say that exact phrase in my video. or a variation of it, in your title. contains the keyword higher Google rankings,

[09:49] which is a variation of improve Google rankings. Specifically, you wanna check out and use the same keywords they use.

[10:02] used the terms SEO, improve Google rankings, into my video description.

[10:14] To do this, you'll need to look at your competitor's tags or use a tool like TubeBuddy or vidIQ. For example, I used as many tags as I could

[10:31] And because my video's title description I consistently show up as In fact, YouTube even promotes

[10:44] it automatically plays after people watch that video. I have a quick bonus step for you. As you just saw, suggested video

[10:58] But what if there was a way to double, of views that you get from suggested video? You might've heard of CTR before.

[11:13] And it simply means, of all the people that see your video, And needless to say, the higher CTR, shows up next to a popular video as a suggested video,

[11:31] that popular video click over to your video. you'll double your views With that, here's exactly how to do it.

[11:45] or open an incognito window in Chrome. Next, visit the popular video you wanna show up next to.

[11:57] Finally, create a thumbnail For example, I noticed that most of the suggested videos red, orange, and white.

[12:12] That way, it really stands out. didn't show anyone's face. Instead, they use mostly texts, screenshots, and visuals.

[12:25] out there that found thumbnails So, I made sure to include a shot In the end, as you can see here,

[12:37] And because it stands out, it has a super high CTR. my video gets thousands of extra views every single month,

[12:49] views that I wouldn't get if my thumbnail blended in. And I hope this video helps show you And if you learned some cool new stuff from today's video,

[13:01] Just click on the subscribe button below this video. head over to Backlinko.com.

[13:13] Which of the strategies Are you gonna start using pattern interrupts? Either way, let me know by leaving

[13:26] (groans) All right, say what? Okay, practice. It's loud as hell.

[13:40] So, I'm gonna go like, pow!

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