8 ways to get more watch hours on YouTube

Transform your YouTube channel growth and get monetized quickly by increasing your channel watch time. Learn how to unlock YouTube ad revenue and show up in YouTube recommendations using a range of YouTube strategies.

Discover eight valuable strategies like intro hook writing, adding subtitles to videos, and even using analytics, to boost your watch time. Complement these tips by creating engaging content using the Clipchamp video editor, and you can turn your YouTube channel into a revenue stream.

Learn about YouTube watch time and how to boost it in this helpful guide.

What is YouTube watch time and why it matters

YouTube watch time measures the total minutes viewers spend watching videos on a YouTube channel. Since YouTube’s algorithm rewards videos that keep viewers engaged, creators who drive views receive various benefits on the platform.

Users across the globe spend an average of 40 minutes on YouTube’s mobile app daily, and the platform supports creators that can keep this number high. That's why watch time is a key success metric on YouTube in 2025. It goes beyond pure views as it reveals how engaging one's content is.

These are three core metrics to measure a YouTube channel's success:

1. Total watch time: cumulative minutes watched.

2. Average view duration: the percentage of a video viewers watch on average.

3. Session watch time: how long someone stays on YouTube after watching a video.

Why creators should try to increase watch time

• Creators with a certain amount of watch time qualify to make money from their YouTube channel.

• Videos that keep people watching signal quality, earning trust from new viewers and the algorithm.

• Videos with high watch time get better recommendation placements in feeds, search results, and suggested lists.

• High watch time correlates with better YouTube ad performance as advertisers love engaged viewers.

How to qualify for YouTube monetization

If you want to earn an income from your YouTube channel, the first step is to qualify for the YouTube Partner Program. YouTube creators also need to follow YouTube’s monetization policies, have two-step verification enabled, and live in a country where the program is available. This unlocks access to features like ad revenue, Super Chats, channel memberships, and more. Here’s what you need to qualify for YouTube monetization in 2025:

• 1,000 subscribers on YouTube.

• 4,000 valid public watch hours over the past 12 months or 10 million public Shorts views in the past 90 days.

Now that we know how critical watch time is for YouTube success, let's discover easy tactics to boost it.

1. Consistent uploads to increase watch time

Maintaining a regular YouTube video posting schedule can significantly boost a channel's growth. When you consistently deliver quality content, you're not just building a library of videos but also attract a loyal audience. New creators should be strategic about how many uploads they make in a week. Some new YouTubers suggest between three to four uploads a week. While this requires dedication, the rewards can be substantial, because:

• Algorithm benefits: regular uploads synergize with YouTube's algorithm, enhancing a channel's visibility. 

• Grows channel content: consistently posting videos builds a rich library (including YouTube playlists) that can engage viewers and keep them returning for more content. 

2. Write engaging scripts and hooks with AI

Most viewers decide whether to keep watching or click away within the first few seconds. That’s why a good video script and strong intro hook are important for increasing watch time. Grab attention with an intriguing hook, preview the value of your video, deliver your content in easy-to-follow steps, then end with a clear call to action.

Examples of effective YouTube hook structures

• Watch time tanked until I fixed this one thing—here’s what I changed.”

• “I asked AI to script my video...and it outperformed me.”

• “These 3 edits kept 70% of my viewers watching past the halfway mark.”

• “Here’s how I turned a 10-second intro into 2 extra minutes of watch time.”

You can draft this flow yourself or use tools like Microsoft Copilot to generate fast ideas with AI.

3. Create catchy video thumbnails for clicks

Your thumbnail and title are virtual billboards, so make them impossible to ignore. Try these tips to pull new viewers to your YouTube videos and increase watch hours:

• Use faces: incorporate a face to associate a real person or emotion to the video title and channel.

• Try high contrast: play with contrasting background and font colors to capture attention.

• Choose the right size: follow the latest YouTube thumbnail specifications that suit both desktop and mobile. Learn how to create a thumbnail that gets clicks.

Next, consider how to organize elements of your channel so they are easy to find.

4. Create evergreen content for more watch hours 

Trendy content comes and goes, but evergreen videos contribute to long-term watch time. These are videos that remain useful over time, like tutorial and training videos, FAQ videos, corporate mission videos, among others.

Consider what people in your niche search for regularly. For instance, if your YouTube channel focuses on photography, a video on "how to shoot in manual mode" will consistently attract new viewers. If you’re a business, an explainer video or onboarding video can bring in steady traffic year-round.

You can also revisit older evergreen content to keep it fresh. Update the video title, swap the thumbnail, or trim unnecessary parts using a video trimmer. This way, your YouTube videos keep gaining views without creating new content from scratch.

How to make YouTube content evergreen 

• Address universal questions: dive into those burning questions your audience always asks. The more relevant your content, the longer it stays in the limelight. 

• Keyword research: a sprinkle of keyword research for YouTube SEO goes a long way. Use it to craft content that viewers are constantly searching for. Imagine your video being the first thing they find—jackpot.

5. Use chapters and playlists for binge-worthy viewing

Once a viewer clicks, a creator's goal is to keep them watching more of YouTube content. Chapters and playlists help do just that by organizing videos into easy-to-navigate segments and series.

Add chapters to make videos skimmable

Chapters let viewers jump to the part they care about most. They also encourage them to stay longer since they can see what’s coming. YouTube now auto-generates chapters if your content is structured clearly, but you can also add them manually with timestamps.

Tip: use short, descriptive chapter titles. The example shows how this can improve the viewer experience and also help with video SEO.

• 00:00 Intro

• 01:15 Common mistakes

• 03:40 Editing tips

• 06:10 Final results

Create playlists to keep viewers on your YouTube channel

Playlists group related YouTube content together, encouraging continuous viewing. A good playlist can turn one view into a half-hour session, especially when your videos are designed to build on each other. Try creating playlists around themes like beginner demo videos, product reviews, behind-the-scenes clips, and topics that relate to your channel.

6. Embed videos on your website for views

Embedding your YouTube videos into blog posts and email newsletters is a YouTube growth hack. It also helps increase watch hours by attracting viewers from outside the platform because if someone watches your embedded video directly from a blog, those minutes still count toward YouTube watch hours. It has other benefits like:

• Better content experience: an engaging video can make your landing pages and blogs more engaging by showing something that’s harder to explain in writing.

• Higher visibility: when your videos are part of written content, they reach audiences who prefer reading or land on your site through search engines.

7. Add subtitles for video retention

Subtitles help your video reach a bigger audience. It makes your YouTube channel's videos accessible and enables global viewers to watch and understand your content. There's a growing trend of viewers watching videos with the sound off on their mobile devices, and adding captioning means they won't skip your video even without headphones. Here's why subtitles help YouTube channel watch time:

• Wider global reach: viewers on YouTube also come from outside the United States so subtitles let your videos cross language barriers and reach more viewers.

• Boost in discoverability: captions give search engines more content to index, which can improve how YouTube videos rank in both YouTube and Google search.

• Improved understanding: viewers are more likely to stay engaged when subtitles reinforce your message, especially in tutorials or educational videos.

Creators can generate accurate video captions in a few clicks for free using the Clipchamp subtitle generator. Learn how you can make stylish video captions and save your video transcript to upload it to YouTube.

8. Use YouTube analytics to improve watch time

If you want to grow your channel faster, spend time inside YouTube Studio. A channel's YouTube analytics data shows exactly what’s working and what leads to clickaways. Some key metrics to understand are:

• Average view duration: this shows how long people typically watch your YouTube videos. Aim to increase this number steadily over time.

• Audience retention: a visual graph that shows where viewers drop off. Look for sharp declines and consider adjusting that part of the video.

• Traffic sources: find out how people are discovering your content, whether it’s through search, browse features, or external links.

• Watch time reports: your total watch time helps track progress toward YouTube monetization and reveals which videos hold attention best.

There are many ways to use the data. Start by finding high-performing videos and study what made them successful, such as their titles, topic, or structure. Next you can use top-performing videos as inspiration for future video ideas or to create a spinoff series. Lastly, creators can test different intros or YouTube thumbnails, then compare audience retention across versions.

These helpful tips should support new and seasoned creators on their YouTube growth journey. Continue learning how to make money from YouTube through YouTube sponsorships. To create YouTube videos quickly with AI, learn AI prompts to generate scripts.

When you're ready to create captivating videos for YouTube and YouTube Shorts, start editing for free in for free in Clipchamp video editor or download the Microsoft Clipchamp Windows app.