SEO for YouTube - shut up and double-time ?

[Sgt_Kickaxe]

I don't create content for YouTube, but am curious what full time YouTubers think is going on here. A channel I've followed on and off for years seems to have unlocked a 15x view increase seemingly overnight by changing how he produces his videos.

Originally, he put a lot of effort into production value. He narrated the videos after filming them and did other things, like a weekly podcast, to connect with others in his niche. 30k views seemed to be his reach. His content was essentially tutorials.

A year later, he changed his approach to spend less time editing by simply explaining what he was doing as he went. His reach had grown to 40k views per video by then, but it jumped to 65k per video after the change.

Last month, he decided making videos was getting to be too much work, and he tried something new. He no longer says a word in the videos, not even an intro. He just performs the action his channel is about on various widgets and then speeds the videos to double time. You can see the entire process. You can slow down what and where you want, and you can ask questions in the comments, but he's not explaining anything.

Starting from the first of his "shut up and double time" videos, they are ALL getting over 1 million views when none were getting more than 75k previously... so what's going on? He's filming himself doing his daily job, placing free music over the video, speeding it up and letting it rip. Not even the music has a single word spoken.

- Is it because the videos are no longer language specific (wider audience)?
- No closed captioning is required, not fact checking etc. (less effort on YouTube's end?)
- The tools and equipment he uses can be seen in the videos and the ads have no problem being targeted
- The titles are less descriptive a little, he stopped caring about them. Example: "How to fix a broken widget flugenator - step by step" is now simply "Nature tried to reclaim this widget, let's fix this mess".

Other changes included shutting down his website, closing his social media profiles and ending his podcast. Now you can only see him doing, not explaining. He did add 2 cameras for extra angles and shows the best angle for each step he takes. Also, he does show before and after images at the end of the videos, but they are stills from the video itself.

His videos do seem to be soothing if you have OCD and just want to watch something get modified/repaired/improved in double-time. Could that be it? The videos are actually LESS helpful for me personally, I share the hobby and want specs, names of parts and such.

Maybe it's that any site in any language can embed his videos and still make sense? Something happened, but what triggered the sudden love exactly?

Ironically, it was to spend less time working on videos, but now he can film 2-3 per day at work instead of trying for one a week. Maybe the surge per video is because he produces more content for YouTube without more time or effort?

This type of video is not hard to find. Has this been a thing for a while? They didn't always do as well as they are right now.

Thoughts? I can't help but wonder if it may yield secrets to getting more out of textual web content, too.

[Atomic]

You have to watch the video several times to figure everything out because there's no explanation. He's juicing his stats by making the videos less helpful.

[Sgt_Kickaxe]

He's hovering around 150k subscribers, forgot to mention that if it matters.

The videos aren't less helpful to people interested in the topic. You can clearly see what he's doing and understand what he's trying to do. To someone extremely knowledgeable on the topic and only looking for something very specific, like a specific part number, they are less helpful.

Example: If he uses a widget product, he does hold it up a moment so that you can see its name. The videos are mostly self-explanatory, and about 10 mins long (at double-time).

Can padded stats produce this kind of result, over and over? I had seen these kinds of videos in the past, typically on a restoration/repair/modification topic, but I don't watch much YouTube. I did look just now and see it in other fields too, like cooking, painting, art, fitness and a few others. It can't just be the stats, can it?

[Sgt_Kickaxe]

<snip>

And tell me that sound isn't annoying as possible. It doesn't seem to matter, it does better than videos taking MUCH more effort, even on accounts with MANY more subs.

What's going on to make Google prefer these types of videos? It can't just be padding stats because few would watch that twice.

[edited by: not2easy at 3:01 pm (utc) on Jan 16, 2023]
[edit reason] please see Charter/ToS [/edit]

[tangor]

If we still can't explain cat video fascination, how can we begin to explain time-elapsed photography? (It is something that cannot be seen in real life.)

[Sgt_Kickaxe]

<snip>

It just seems that if the video offers more, like narration, explanation, more details etc. YouTube should REWARD that, but the opposite is happening.

In fact, if someone were to launch a video channel today, they may benefit from finding a way to say nothing at all.

Other signs of it in the wild - After every NFL game, the official NFL YouTube channel offers a game recap that cuts out all time between plays. They add no narration beyond what the announcer said, and it does really well.

The pundits take that video, remove the sound, add their "more" by writing on screen text commentary over the video... and getting more views than the official source?!

Something is very broken between what works and what the best practice manual says, and it's worse than anyone thinks, IMO.

edit: Some channels even show the regression from putting all their effort into a channel to simply hitting record and fast forward. <snip>

None of these are my videos, I don't know these people, just examples that are benefiting from... "it". Restoration videos do even better. I mean, c'mon, how many times have you taken a break from work to do house chores, only to now find out if you had recorded the chore, said nothing, and sped it up you'd have made more than from the actual work?

Is the platform changing people's expectations? What is actually going on here?

Going to the grocery store later? Record yourself from putting on your shoes, driving to the store, navigating the isle, and putting away what you bought.... and call it "Navigating the wild for sustenance" or something weird in that tone.... Million views, ten grand in ad revenue... just what is going on? The avg age on YouTube dropping? What? We're all missing something about this phenomenon.

The topics that cannot do this fast motion stuff are HARD WORK to grow, look at the best SEO channels and compare them to a... "Zoomie Channel"

On the bright side, if you need someone to repair something they'll do it for free if they can record it. Need your grass cut? Free, if they can record. Need food bought for you? Ask if they'll get it for free, if they record.

I just found a delivery guy using the delivery truck windshield cam to make zoomie videos (not sure what to call them) and he's making more from those than the work itself... You're watching a delivery guy at work with no narration... and so are 7 million others on his every video? Seriously... when did this happen?

I'm cleaning the litter box later, wanna watch? Apparently.... yes?!

[edited by: not2easy at 3:03 pm (utc) on Jan 16, 2023]
[edit reason] please see Charter/ToS [/edit]

[Sgt_Kickaxe]

Theory - Do people need to get out more? Is this post-pandemic behavior where people just want to feel connected to what's happening in the world, maybe?

I'm not the first to notice, and it's not just viral cat stuff anymore, it's brushing your teeth meticulously, it's sweeping a barn floor. It's peeling paint with a heat gun, for AN HOUR without saying a word, on fast-forward.

Maybe psychology is changing. Have any reputable sources studied this since the pandemic started? If it's NOT a reaction to something that is changing, is it normalizing something that is addicting somehow?

There's more happening here than meets the eye, the content value is lower, but very much more popular.

[Sgt_Kickaxe]

I looked in my bookmarked video folder to see if I saved any of these fast silent videos.... just one, and it's only silent. <snip>

Even on that channel, if she says a word, you can see the view count is typically much lower.

Have any speechless and fast videos in your saved or favorites?

[edited by: not2easy at 3:05 pm (utc) on Jan 16, 2023]
[edit reason] please see Charter/ToS [/edit]

[tangor]

I do watch some yt from time to time, but have to admit I don't study it. That said, I don't see silent films taking over the channels, or time lapsed photography killing all competition. On the other hand, if one's monetization is yt views and this is a real thing, what kind of income are they actually pulling down?

[McMohan]

A lady from India mastered this technique years ago in the recipe niche and her method of recipe videos has become the benchmark, which many others try to mimic. As you observed, her recipe videos only have free instrumental background score, 2X speed, mostly only the top-view. Videos on average run 2 to 3 minutes. You would hardly see a video that is viewed less than 100,000 times. On average recent videos run about 500,000 views, the most popular being 25M views!

I personally feel when I compare her video with another 'helpful' 10+ minute videos with oral explanations, I ain't missing anything.

[Sgt_Kickaxe]

Less is more, gotcha.

So why does it feel like someone watched the movie "Idiocracy" (2006, Luke Wilson, Terry Crews etc.) and mistook it for a social blueprint?

[not2easy]

This is an excellent topic and a good discussion, but please no links to examples - most of us have seen many, but we don't do reviews of any kind in our public forums. ;)

[Sgt_Kickaxe]

No problem. It's a specific type of video, so I thought an example would help. It wasn't about reviewing anyone's YouTube channel, just examining the results of this specific type of video compared to their previous videos.

Not only that, but it's easier to see for yourself than to read my mini novels.

[phranque]

i would suggest there is a demand for sub-10 minute videos (vs 15-20 minute videos) as well as a demand for videos that work well with sound turned off.

[tangor]

We are reminded once again that "attention span" is the imperative in all things ... and the quicker you satisfy the user, the more they like you: text, images, audio, or video.

Meanwhile, why not make some splash by filming ordinary tasks in a time elapsed fashion with cheap cameras, public domain music, free software, and a yt channel?

Not for me, but if others like it, why not?