It is estimated that Youtube has approximately 1.3 billion active users. People view about 5 billion videos each day on this online platform.

On a typical day, you can expect around 30 million people to come to YouTube to view content. The online platform is especially popular among people aged 18-44. They account for about 60% of all YouTube users.

The amount of time people spend watching videos on YouTube has increased by 60% for 2017 when compared to 2016. Advertising revenue is also increasing. Mobile ad revenue on YouTube increased by 200% in 2017.

Today YouTube has a greater reach of the millennial generation than any TV or cable network station. An increasing number of small businesses now have a presence on YouTube. You too can benefit and make money on YouTube.

What Watch Time Means In YouTube And Why It Is So Important

To be successful on YouTube you need to create a channel that will draw and engage as many people as possible. You also need to keep your users engaged and watching your videos. YouTube measures how successful a channel is by watch time.

This is the total amount of time that people are spending watching your videos. The more watch time your videos get, the more money you can make from ad revenue and other methods.

It is important to distinguish the difference between view count and watch time to really understand how to monetize your content on YouTube. Simply getting lots of views will not make your content profitable and attractive to advertisers.

Your videos actually need to be watched for a significant period of time for them to be profitable and attract marketers.

The view count is the number of people the clicked your video. Watch time is the actual time people spend watching your content. This is what determines how successful and how profitable your YouTube channel will be.

To make the most money, you want both a high view count and a high watch time. The most Successful Youtube channels generate videos that get lots of views and that have watch times that are many minutes long.

Such videos allow YouTube to insert ads for every thousand of so views and also attract advertisers to pay you on their own.

Building Subscriptions And Monetizing Content In Other Ways

In addition to view count and watch time, the number of subscribers is also a fundamental aspect to the success of a YouTube channel. Generally the more subscribers you have, the more likely it is that advertisers will want to sponsor your content.

A large amount of subscribers can also lead you to fan funding, affiliate, book and merchandise monetization deals.

About the author 

Amy Fulcher is Market Manager at WeAreTop10.com, a product review website that helps the consumer save time while shopping; one product at a time. She is a Scripps College alum and California native.

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