If you hang out on NewTubers, a Reddit subreddit that all YouTube creators should be a part of or at least follow, you’ll see a lot of people asking why their views went down. When you’re a new creator, you tend to monitor your YouTube views a lot closer and will realize when they go down overnight.
For example, one creator was happy when they went to bed with 220 views, but then they woke up to just 190 views.
And for anyone doing the math, this is a near 14% drop in views, which is a decent number of views. If the creator has 100k views, this is a 14k drop, which means the video had a lot lower reach and their earnings will be impacted, too.
So, why did your YouTube views go down overnight?
We’re going to explain the top reasons that your views are going down overnight so that you can spend more time creating and less time worried about traffic drops.
The #1 Reason YouTube Views Go Down Overnight? Invalid Traffic
YouTube and its creators make money from real, legitimate views. Invalid traffic is the number one reason for views dropping. Not sure what invalid traffic is or why it matters? We’ll explain everything and the many reasons that this type of traffic happens.
What is Invalid Traffic?
Everyone has their own ideas of what invalid traffic is but we’re going with what YouTube Help states because it’s the most accurate. Invalid traffic is said to be traffic that comes from either:
- A non-real user, such as a bot, or
- A user without genuine interest
Invalid traffic can be artificial or fraudulent, but it can also be unintentional ways to boost ad revenue.
But we wonder: How can YouTube know that a user doesn’t have a genuine interest in a video? If a person clicks off of the video in 1 – 3 seconds, does it not count as a view? We have heard that views only count when someone has watched a video for 30 seconds (unless it’s a Short).
But these 30 seconds may only be relevant for advertisers – we’re not 100% sure.
What Can Cause Invalid Traffic?
You can have invalid traffic for a lot of reasons, including but not limited to:
1. Multiple Views by One or Just a Few Users
Imagine if you have a VPN and decide to view your own video – on repeat. If you do this, you could hypothetically make your own video go viral and game the system because you could watch your video 24/7 to inflate views.
And if you have a few good friends, they can do the same and you’ll watch the ad revenue pour into your channel.
YouTube is privy to these types of views and will remove them from your total view count. But this isn’t to say that all of these views won’t count. Sometimes, we revisit videos that we’ve seen in the past and the view is still organic and natural, so it will count.
It’s very unlikely you’ll watch the same videos dozens or hundreds of times.
What happens is that creators will:
- See these views count on their video
- YouTube’s algorithm will verify views
- A red flag is trigged and YouTube will remove the excess views
All invalid views will be removed, and if the trend continues and it’s blatantly obvious that you’re trying to game the system, it’s possible that your account will get a strike.
2. Mutual View Schemes
A mutual view scheme is another way that YouTubers game the system, and it works to some extent until the algorithm identifies the issue and you lose your views. What happens is something like this:
- You go on a forum or a Facebook Group
- People recommend that you watch their YouTube video
- In return, the person will watch your video
And since you’re both genuine viewers, the views should count. The problem arises when YouTube identifies these trends and sees that you’re involved in a view scheme that is in place to inflate your views.
We’re not saying that this tactic fails 100% of the time, but when you engage in mutual view schemes for any substantial number of views, the algorithm will catch on and remove the invalid views.
3. Artificial Traffic Generation
YouTube also has algorithms in place to identify artificial traffic, such as bots and non-real people. For example, if you use a service to buy YouTube views and the views are not from real people but bots, the algorithm will pick up on this trend and then remove these views.
Artificial traffic, according to YouTube’s Fake engagement policy, can also be getting views by showing your video to unsuspecting viewers. Imagine if you added your video as a pop-up on a random website that is completely unrelated and 99% of people had no interest in watching your video.
In this case, the views from the unsuspecting viewers will be purged from your account and not count. Organic, real views are the only way to guarantee that you won’t lose some – or all – of your views overnight.
And these are the most common reasons why your YouTube views go down overnight, but there are other reasons, too.
3 Other Reasons Your Views May Go Down
Naturally, there are other reasons that your views may be going down – most out of your control:
1. Changes to the YouTube Algorithm 📈
YouTube’s algorithm evolves over time, with frequent updates that happen behind the scenes every single day. Developers are always hard at work to improve the platform and better understand what people want to see.
If your views are going down, it could be:
- Changes to the algorithm are showing your new videos less often
- New algorithms that distinguish valid and invalid rules were put in place
Algorithm changes happen, and there’s absolutely nothing that you can do to circumvent them.
2. Viewers Deleted Their Accounts 🗑
Unfortunately, if an account is deleted, you may lose the account’s views on your video. We’ve seen this happen with bot accounts in the past, where all of the views on videos were lower because the bot account that watched the video was deleted.
But unless you’re getting heaps of views from bots, the number of views lost at any time should be negligible.
3. Your Video Wasn’t Watched for More Than 10 Seconds 🕗
How many times does a video start on your YouTube and you immediately close it? For me, this happens at least a few times per day, and my view won’t count once the algorithm cleans up the video’s views because it is apparent I never had an intention to watch the video in the first place.
As a general rule of thumb, if you have a longer video and people watch less than 10 seconds of it, YouTube’s algorithm will not count the view as valid.
Does YouTube Penalize You for Watching Your Own Videos?
YouTube will know that you’re the one watching your own videos and adjust the view count accordingly. But, here’s the thing. YouTube knows that creators will:
- Watch their own videos
- Analyze their videos for key edits to make
If you watch your own YouTube videos tens of thousands of times, you may get a strike from YouTube for trying to inflate views. But for watching your own video back a few times, it’s not a problem.
YouTube view counts are not 100% accurate. Audits are made by YouTube’s algorithm, which will filter out any illegitimate views that you receive. True view counts often take 24 – 48 hours to update, so don’t get too focused on your initial view count.
If your views fall by negligible amounts, it’s not something to be concerned about – it happens. Continue uploading new videos, analyze your analytics and continue making great content. You’ll soon notice that your reach increases, and you’ll get more subscribers.
