Can Short Videos Do Well on YouTube?

While it isn't as common these days as it once was, uploading short videos to YouTube can be a good idea depending on the circumstances. Most channels tend to upload long videos over 10 minutes in length, but for some channels, this isn't the best course of action to take. But why do so many channels upload long videos? Also, can short videos do well on YouTube?

Short videos can do well on YouTube depending on the subject matter at hand. Many short videos go viral and rack up millions of views. However, uploading short videos typically isn't the ideal route to take if you're looking to grow a channel. Often, uploading longer videos results in more channel growth.

Depending on the subject matter at hand, short videos can perform well on YouTube. With this said, it is important to acknowledge that in most circumstances, longer videos should be uploaded. You see, short videos, while having lots of advantages over long videos, also have some significant disadvantages.

Do Short Videos Do Well on YouTube

Do short videos do well on YouTube? Well, as I mentioned above, short videos can do well depending on the subject matter at hand. It's important to recognize, however, that while some short videos do well, many short videos do not do well. Along with this, it's important to acknowledge the disadvantages of publishing short videos.

Watch time is a metric that must be prioritized by every content creator looking to grow a channel. The YouTube algorithm values watch time significantly, so it's in the best interest of content creators to accumulate as many watch time minutes as possible. As you might imagine, this can make uploading short videos a less ideal option for creators.

You see, short videos have less of an ability to accumulate watch time minutes than long videos. For example, a 30-second video can only accumulate a maximum of 30 seconds of watch time for each viewer. A 10-minute video, however, can accumulate a maximum of 10 minutes of watch time for each viewer.

When you only upload short videos, you limit your ability to accumulate watch time minutes. Uploading longer videos increases your ability to accumulate watch time, leading to more channel growth. With this said, a viewer must watch a video for watch time to be gained, and some viewers are more likely to watch short videos than long videos.

Are Longer Videos Better on YouTube

Many YouTube creators tend to upload videos that are 10 minutes or longer. But are longer videos better on YouTube than short videos? Does YouTube favor longer videos? Well, as I mentioned above, short videos can perform well in certain circumstances. By in large, however, longer videos tend to result in more channel growth.

Longer videos can accumulate more watch time minutes than short videos. Since this is the case, they end up being a better option for creators looking to grow their channels. The thing is, longer videos only accumulate more watch time than short videos when viewers watch the videos for a long time.

It isn't unusual for creators to stretch out the length of their videos in hopes of gaining more watch time. The problem is, doing this results in a lower quality video for viewers to watch. When a video is low-quality, viewers are less likely to watch it for an extended time, thus resulting in fewer watch time minutes gained.

You must not sacrifice video quality for the increased potential to gain watch time if you want to achieve YouTube success. Just because a video is longer, it doesn't mean it will gain more watch time than a short video. A short, high-quality video will almost always perform better than a long, low-quality video (unless the short video is only a few seconds long).

Can You Make Money on YouTube With Short Videos

One of the best things about creating YouTube videos is having the ability to make money from doing so once monetization requirements have been met. But can you make money on YouTube with short videos? Or, do your videos need to be longer for them to be monetized with Google AdSense?

You can make money on YouTube with short videos. However, there are some advantages to uploading long videos when it comes to making money. The biggest advantage is having the ability to place mid-roll advertisements on videos longer than 10 minutes in length. By having mid-roll ads, a video has the potential to earn more money for each monetized view.

Of course, just like with gaining watch time, a video should not be stretched out to the 10-minute mark or longer to place mid-roll ads on a video. A video can only make money when it gets viewed, and publishing low-quality videos will not encourage viewers to view your videos.

Ultimately, the length of a YouTube video doesn't matter- videos of all lengths can be monetized with AdSense. Long videos do have an increased potential to make money, but short videos might generate more views than long videos depending on the subject matter at hand.

Conclusion

While many content creators tend to upload videos over 10 minutes in length, it's important to remember that short videos can also do well on YouTube. In fact, some short videos perform better than long videos depending on what the videos are about. Not every viewer wants to spend a significant amount of time watching a single video.