Unlike other social media platforms, YouTube is notorious for cracking down on users who try to game their system – and cracking down hard. They spare no one in their quest to ensure their website’s integrity, which is why it’s important for any aspiring YouTuber to know the difference between fake views and real views.
Resorting to buying low-quality fake views can cost you all of your hard work (aka your entire channel!). That’s why it’s crucial for any content creator to know the differences between fake and real views, and how to tell one from the other.
Below are some of the key things you need to keep in mind when starting a YouTube channel – especially when it comes to the different types of views. Make sure to take notes as these are huge elements that will contribute to your success in YouTube Land.
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1. Top 10 “Buy YouTube Views” Companies
What are fake views and real views?
Essentially speaking, fake views are acquired through the use of bots or scripts that game the system, resulting in an inflated number of views. These kinds of views are easily detected by Youtube’s algorithms because they have access to data common users like us do not.
Fake views generate lopsided statistics as most users who purchase them don’t bother purchasing likes or comments, which can cost extra. This makes for weird-looking accounts that can raise suspicions in other users.
Purchasing fake views can have detrimental effects on your channel’s integrity and overall existence, as YouTube reserves the right to take down fake views, along with videos and channels that are proven to purchase views – and they’ll do it too. Fake views also screw with YouTube’s inner workings because they can cause a rift in their relationships with advertisers.
And you definitely don’t want to mess with those advertiser relationships. This is probably one of the biggest reasons why YouTube cracks down so hard on users with fake views, but we’ll go deeper into that later.
Authentic, high-quality views come from real people, usually acquired organically or through marketing. These viewers are typically interested in your video and will watch it all, which means you can expect a high retention rate along with real engagements, including:
- Likes
- Dislikes
- Comments
- Shares
- Subscriptions
- Clicks
- Ad revenue
- And more!
Essentially, these are the things you really want. And you can get them from high quality viewers.
How can you spot a fake view?
Spotting fake views is easier than you think. If a particular video has a huge amount of views yet lacks likes, dislikes, comments and shares then the views on it are most likely fake.
The screenshot above shows you a video of a so-called real estate/martial arts guru with over 2 million views – yes, over 2 million views! Now, this might be impressive at first but upon further inspection, we start becoming suspicious.
While his crazy video has some engagement, it doesn’t match up to the view count. Some people have actually noticed, calling the video out for being a fraud – using authentic comments!
You can check out his view statistics for some great evidence. The video views spike right after publishing, and then there’s almost nothing after that. Almost like he bought views that were all delivered very quickly…
If your video has over 2 million views, the likes, dislikes and amount of comments should be relatively high, too. Fake views often result in lopsided engagements because those bells and whistles cost extra, and a person who purchases fake views usually cannot be bothered with the added expenses.
Snooping around the comment section can also give you an idea of whether a video has fake views or not. If you see a bunch of low-quality comments that are unrelated to the video or are too broad – a lot of “awesome!” and “great!” – then the video most likely has fake views. Youtube viewers use and abuse the comment section, and if a video has 2 million views you should be seeing more topic-specific comments and not a lot of generic praises.
Want to know more? You can click here to learn much more about spotting fake Youtube views.
Why is YouTube fighting this so hard?
YouTube is putting the kibosh on users who artificially inflate their views because they want to run against traditional TV, earning more revenue from advertisers. The proliferation of low-quality, fake views devalues ads and complicates the relationship between YouTube and their advertisers, leading to less profit.
Photo by: Alamy
Furthermore, these fake views mess with the website’s algorithms. They don’t want trashy content to make it on their list of recommended videos which are being suggested to their millions of viewers. YouTube puts a high regard on quality when it comes to content and they take fervent steps to make sure these standards are met.
How can fake views affect my channel?
To put it simply, fake views can actually cause your channel to be shut down. Purchasing views is not only a violation of YouTube’s TOS (Terms of Service), it is also considered a cheap way to gain credibility online.
If you’re known as someone who buys their audience, you’ll have a much harder time convincing authentic viewers to watch you.
You could lose your credibility, and all of your hard work – all by resorting to purchasing low-quality fake views.
Why should I only choose high-quality views?
Why should you focus on high-quality views, you ask? Well, because in YouTube Land, they reign supreme.
YouTube pushes for high-quality content in every way they can. In fact, it’s even embedded in their algorithms. Recommended videos are chosen based on factors like how long they are played – not just the number of views they get.
You should also know that YouTube performs manual audits on videos with 301 views or more. Once a video reaches 301 views, you’ll most likely see a hold on the number of views. This is in place until YouTube engineers finish auditing that particular video.
Those extra engagement factors are very important when it comes to gaining credibility and popularity on YouTube. Videos without likes, dislikes, comments, and shares will most likely raise suspicions in viewers and Youtube engineers.
A word to the wise: if you want to make it on YouTube, you gotta get some good quality, authentic views. Resorting to purchasing low quality, fake views is a fast way to get left out of search results and recommendations. The best way to make it is by keeping it real.
Date: November 8, 2016 / Categories: Influencer Marketing, Tips, YouTube, / Author: Mariko
