YouTube announced a change to the way that it counts video views, which will have an impact on measurement approaches and potentially affect brand deals with influencers.
As of August 24, the platform is aligning all of its view count measurements with its Shorts viewing methodology, which means that it will count a “view” from the moment a video begins to play across all video formats.
As explained by YouTube: “Historically, we’ve used multiple view counting systems across different formats. However, we’ve heard that creators want to eliminate this metric confusion and accurately understand their true exposure, which is why we’re making this update.”
To clarify, this is how YouTube counts views now:
- YouTube video: When a viewer presses play and watches for 30 seconds
- Live video: When a viewer watches a stream for at least 30 seconds
- Shorts: As soon as a Short is viewable on screen and starts to play
YouTube’s upcoming change is designed to ensure more consistency across all formats, with every video type now set to count a view whenever it's on screen and playing.
This is going to inflate video view counts. By a lot.
A 30-second threshold is actually significant in real-time, and many people skip over YouTube videos well before the 30-second mark. Right now this is not counted as a view, but after August 24, it will be, which will see this metric rising fast across a lot of channels.
YouTube said the current view count measurement will remain in place for engaged views, which will become the primary metric for monetization.
As per YouTube: “This change will not impact creators’ earnings or how they become eligible for the YouTube Partner Program (YPP). Creator earnings will continue to be based on ‘Engaged Shorts views’ and ‘Engaged Watch Hours,’ which you can view in YouTube Analytics > Advanced Mode.”
So creators will still be reliant on intentional views for their most impactful performance measurement. YouTube is just changing general exposure numbers in order to make users aware of how many times their videos showed up in people’s feeds.
Is that helpful?
At present, YouTube’s view counts outside of Shorts reflect intentional viewing, as opposed to random in-stream appearances. On Shorts, it’s a little different due to the shorter nature of the clips, so it makes some sense for YouTube to vary this measurement.
But for other video uploads, it seems less relevant, and less valuable as a measure.
YouTube said the update will give creators “a clearer picture of their overall exposure and makes it easier to confidently express their true scale and value to brand partners and sponsors.”
Which, for marketers, is a relevant point, though not in the way that YouTube is suggesting.
YouTube is saying that this more general reach metric will be valuable for potential brand partners in terms of understanding each creator’s exposure potential. But in most cases, engaged views will be more relevant..
In other words, marketers need to be aware that beginning later this month, view count metrics may not be as valuable. Also, many creators pitching brand deals are likely to make claims about their sudden rise in views. If that count changes just after August, it will likely be because of this and not because of a sudden improvement in audience engagement.
Essentially, this is an aesthetic change, which could make YouTube creators feel better about their view counts, but won’t really mean a lot in terms of actual engagement.
The only real value will be in showing potential audience engagement versus actual engagement, which could help to hone creative strategies to boost engaged view counts.
