Looking to get traffic / leads on YouTube? They've just made it harder than ever.

Hey all,

I know a lot of you create videos as an alternative to writing blog posts, or a supplement to your blog posts.

I wanted to share my experiences in the last few uploads on YouTube and hopefully get you guys' feedback and incite a discussion.

Here's What's Going On:

I have been uploading an average of 1 video per day for the past 6 days. It's a pace I've never been on before as I've decided that I would put 1,000,000% effort into getting every free (labor cost only) lead I could get. So my plan was to upload HEAT every single day.

The first 5 uploads contained links back to my opt-in page. Those 5 videos have been my worst performing videos since my channel was absolutely brand new.

I've been absolutely astonished and I THINK I may have found out why... Keep in mind, I'm definitely open to you guys' feedback and your experiences on this as well.

I've been using Goo.gl to track clicks back on some videos and simply using the direct links to track clicks on others. What I am finding is that the HIGHER the CTR for a link in any description - the worse the video is performing (getting promoted).

The more people click on the link back to my site in the description - the worst the video does over time.

It seems like YT puts a premium on tracking how users interact with new uploads in the first 30 minutes to an hour.

If, after an hour or so they see folks watching a video and then a high enough percentage click away (leave the ecosystem) - the algorithm slaps your video and it's pretty much dead forever.

That aside, I totally understand why they would be doing that. They can't make money if folks leave YT and don't come back.

Here's the thing... There are a TON of videos that have TONS of links to all sorts of stuff in the description and it seems like YouTube has absolutely NO problem with that whatsoever.

If you're a large YouTuber and you promote your merchandise in every video, chances are a low (acceptable) number of people will click away and visit your store.

They only have a problem when your CTR is high. If you get a 1,000 views and 20 people click away from the vid and visit your site - no harm, no foul. If you get a 1,000 views and 200 people click away to your site (or whatever it is you're promoting outside of YT) - that's where the problem comes in.

Again, this is my analysis after seeing that my most recent upload which contains absolutely ZERO links to anything outside of YouTube it on pace to get more fews in the first couple 2 hours than my previous upload got in 29 hours.

So, I guess I'll wrap this up asking you folks - are you seeing the same thing? Are videos that have no links back to your site (maybe a verbal mention) getting more views than those with links back directly to your site?

Thanks!