YouTube’s Creator Liaison Shares Advice For Mid-Roll Ad Changes via @sejournal, @MattGSouthern

YouTube Creator Liaison Rene Ritchie has advised content creators on adapting to YouTube’s upcoming mid-roll advertising changes.

These changes take effect on May 12 and will alter how ads appear within videos.

Background

Starting May 12, YouTube will implement a new system prioritizing mid-roll ad placements during natural content breaks rather than at potentially disruptive moments.

YouTube will automatically place ads at natural transitions in videos, but creators can manually control ad placements if they prefer.

This update introduces a hybrid approach, allowing creators to use automatic and manual mid-roll placements simultaneously.

According to YouTube’s early testing, channels adopting this combined approach have seen an average increase in ad revenue of 5%.

Ritchie’s Adaptation Strategy

Sharing his approach on X, Ritchie outlined specific steps he’s taking with his own YouTube channel:

“I’m turning on auto mid-rolls, since that system will continue to be improved and optimized by launch and over time. For new videos, I’m manually inserting additional slots if and as needed where I think it’ll provide the best experience for viewers.”

For existing content, Ritchie recommends a prioritized approach, stating:

“For back catalog, I’m sorting by current watch time and doing the same for the top 20-50 most-watched videos.”

Maintaining Creator Control

Ritchie addressed concerns about YouTube potentially removing manual placement options:

“No one is taking away manual mid-roll placements. Creators can still put slots wherever and whenever we want.”

He reminded creators that designated ad slots don’t guarantee ad placement but indicate where ads can potentially appear.

Ritchie drew a parallel to YouTube’s retention analytics and explained how the new ad feedback tool provides valuable insights.

“In the days before the retention graph in Analytics, my 10-second long intro might have caused a ton of people to dip from the video and I never knew it. Similarly, I can still put that mid-roll slot anywhere I want, but now I’m getting data about how it will perform.”

Ongoing Improvements

YouTube is actively refining the automatic detection system and will continue improving it after the May launch.

Ritchie notes there’s a mutual interest in making mid-rolls more effective:

“YouTube and creators share revenue, so it’s in everyone’s best interest to make mid-rolls work better.”

What Creators Should Do Now

Based on both YouTube’s official guidance and Ritchie’s recommendations, creators should:

• Enable automatic mid-roll placement while maintaining manual control where needed
• Review high-performing back catalog content first
• Use the new feedback tool to identify potentially disruptive ad placements

Continue providing feedback to YouTube as the system develops. This interaction with Ritchie shows the team is listening.

Featured Image: Alejo Bernal/Shutterstock

YouTube SEO Study: Factors That Correlate With Top Rankings via @sejournal, @MattGSouthern

A study by the video hosting platform Adilo revealed common factors shared by high-ranking YouTube videos.

The research analyzed over 1.6 million videos, focusing on 300 that ranked in the top three for competitive non-local keywords across ten industries.

Authored by Chinasa Ferderick and Felix Johnson, the study offers insights for businesses aiming to improve their visibility on YouTube.

YouTube SEO Study: Top Findings

Engagement Metrics Correlate With Rankings

Research shows that engagement metrics impact YouTube’s ranking algorithm:

• Video Engagement Rate: Top videos averaged 2.65% engagement, compared to the platform average of 0.09%.
• Channel Engagement Rate: Channels with top videos had an average engagement rate of 4.46%.
• View Count: Videos in the top position averaged 358,000 views, while second and third ranked videos averaged 303,000 and 292,000 views, respectively.

Content Formats

The data challenges popular beliefs about video optimization:

• Video length: Videos between 8-9 minutes (median 536 seconds) appeared in top positions most frequently, contrary to popular advice favoring longer content
• Video resolution: 90% of top-ranking videos were in HD or 4K resolution (68% HD, 22% 4K)
• Description length: The average description word count was 222 words

Technical Optimization Factors

The data revealed several technical factors with ranking correlation:

• Transcripts: 94% of top-ranking videos included full transcripts
• Closed captions: Nearly 94% featured closed captions
• Timestamps: 63% incorporated timestamps in descriptions
• Custom thumbnails: 89% used custom thumbnails instead of auto-generated ones
• Hashtags: Only 37% of top-performing videos used hashtags
• External links: 78% included at least one external link in their descriptions

Keyword Strategy

The study found the following patterns in keyword usage:

• Only 6% of top-ranking videos had titles with exact keyword matches
• 75% used related keywords that appeared to address search intent
• 12% used near-exact match phrasing
• 7% included all keywords but in a different order

This data suggests that YouTube may prioritize content relevance over exact-match keywords, similar to trends in traditional search algorithms.

Channel Authority

The study identified several channel-level factors appearing in top-ranked videos:

• Channel age: Top-ranking videos came from channels averaging 111 months (9+ years) in age
• Subscriber count: A median of 520,000 subscribers for channels with top-ranking videos
• Channel type: 63% of top-ranking videos came from brand/organizational channels versus 37% from personal channels
• Verification status: 54% of top videos came from verified channels
• Channel description: 82% of channels included website links or social media in descriptions

Multiple Video Rankings

YouTube appears to allow multiple videos from the same channel to rank for identical keywords.

The researchers found that 19% of YouTube channels have more than one video ranking in the top three positions for the exact keywords.

This suggests that YouTube’s approach to keyword targeting may differ from Google’s, which avoids keyword cannibalization.

Geographic & Age Factors

Two important patterns were noted :

• Video Age: The average age of the top-ranking videos was 29 months. Only 9% of these videos were less than six months old.
• Geographic Patterns: 59% of the top videos came from U.S.-based channels. Channels that didn’t mention their location (15%) performed better than channels clearly identified as non-U.S. (26%).

This trend may indicate that the market size or algorithm preferences favor content from U.S. creators.

What Does This Mean?

Based on the study findings, video creators who want to rank better on YouTube should consider these tips:

1. Track engagement metrics as they can influence rankings.
2. Create videos that are 8 to 9 minutes long and in high resolution.
3. Add transcripts and closed captions to your videos.
4. Use custom thumbnails and include timestamps.
5. Build your channel’s authority by posting regularly.
6. Use a series of videos to target important keywords.
7. Write titles that match what viewers are searching for, not just exact keywords.

Study Methodology & Limitations

The researchers looked at videos that ranked for competitive, non-local keywords in ten different industries. Although the sample size is large, the results may vary for specific industries.

According to the study authors:

“YouTube SEO is constantly evolving, and there’s no guarantee that what works today will work tomorrow. To stay ahead of the curve, creators should stay informed about the latest trends and best practices in YouTube SEO.”

The full study results are available on the Adilo blog.

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YouTube Details Changes Coming To Mid-Roll Ads On May 12 via @sejournal, @MattGSouthern

YouTube revealed plans to update how mid-roll advertisements function, starting May 12.

The update focuses on showing more ads at natural breakpoints in videos while reducing interruptive ad placements that can lead to viewer abandonment.

Key Changes to Mid-Roll Ad Placement

YouTube will prioritize placing mid-roll ads at natural break points, such as scene transitions or pauses in content, rather than during action sequences or in the middle of sentences.

For older videos uploaded before February 24, YouTube will automatically add ad slots at natural break points for creators who have previously used manual mid-roll placements.

Importantly, creators can opt out of this automatic placement through YouTube Studio if they prefer to maintain manual control.

New Creator Tools Being Rolled Out

To help creators adapt to these changes, YouTube is introducing two new features:

1. Feedback in YouTube Studio: This tool will identify if manually placed mid-roll ad slots are considered “interruptive,” allowing creators to adjust their placements accordingly.
2. Automatic Ad Slots: Creators can now simultaneously enable manual and automatic mid-roll placements. This hybrid approach lets creators control specific ad breaks while YouTube’s system identifies additional natural break opportunities.

Thomas Kim (“TK”), who heads the YouTube Partner Program, explained in a video:

“Creators in the past had to choose between automatic or manual mid-rolls, and now we’re going to give you the option to do both.”

Impact on Different Creator Strategies

The changes will affect creators differently based on their current mid-roll strategies:

• Creators using only automatic mid-rolls: No action is needed; these channels won’t be affected.
• Creators manually placing mid-rolls at natural breaks: These channels should be minimally impacted, but they are encouraged to use the new feedback tool to verify their placements.
• Creators placing mid-rolls at fixed intervals without considering content flow: These channels may see decreased revenue if they don’t adapt their strategies, as YouTube will show fewer ads at interruptive points.

Potential Revenue Benefits

YouTube reports positive revenue results from early testing.

Channels enabling automatic mid-roll ads and manual placements saw an average 5% increase in YouTube ad revenue compared to those using manual mid-rolls.

TK stated in the announcement video:

“By adding auto on top [of manual placements], it lets our systems find potentially better breaks and increases your ad opportunity.”

What Creators Should Do Now

With the changes taking effect on May 12, YouTube is giving creators approximately 2.5 months to adjust their strategies. The company recommends:

1. Check existing manual mid-roll placements with the new feedback tool
2. Considering enabling automatic ad slots alongside manual placements
3. Creating content with more natural breakpoints if current videos have limited non-interruptive placement opportunities

YouTube reminds creators that they control whether to show mid-roll ads and where they appear. The company doesn’t force automatic mid-rolls on videos that don’t have them enabled.

TK assured creators

“We’re not taking away any controls. You have control whether you want to turn on mid-roll ads, turn off mid-roll ads, where you want to place them. All we’re giving you is more features to help you optimize those and give you more options.”

For more details, see the video below:

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Does Google Traffic Affect YouTube Recommendations? What To Know via @sejournal, @MattGSouthern

In a recent social media discussion, Rene Ritchie, YouTube’s Creator Liaison, addressed questions about how Google traffic affects YouTube recommendations.

The conversation centered on whether brief view durations from Google Search referrals could negatively impact a channel’s performance.

There is concern that if viewers only watch a video for a short time, this behavior might lead YouTube to recommend the video less frequently.

The question comes from the account @AdventureCrews on X, who write:

“if a channel gets massive external views from Google Search and the viewer only watches for < 2min, does this negatively impact the video or can YouTube decipher this? The content is adventure travel.”

YouTube’s Response

Ritchie explained that viewership data is important, but the effect of traffic mainly comes from where it originates.

This means the algorithm looks at watch time differently depending on how users find the content.

For example, videos clicked from the YouTube homepage are assessed differently than those accessed through external sources like Google Search.

He states:

“Traffic sources primarily affect the same traffic source. So the recommendation system (Browse > Home Page), for example, will look at watch time for the video when it’s clicked on from the Home Page, not from external sources, Sub feed, etc.”

Hi! Traffic sources primarily affect the same traffic source. So the recommendation system (Browse > Home Page), for example, will look at watch time for the video when it’s clicked on from the Home Page, not from external sources, Sub feed, etc. https://t.co/tiecLOrrL0

— YouTube Liaison (@YouTubeInsider) February 19, 2025

What This Means

This clarification offers reassurance to creators.

Even if a video gets many views from outside searches, having a shorter watch time from that traffic doesn’t decrease its chances of being recommended by YouTube.

The platform mainly uses engagement metrics; like watch time from within YouTube, to decide what to recommend.

For more about how YouTube’s recommendation system works, see:

Featured Image: Danille Nicole Wilson/Shutterstock

YouTube Lets Channels Boost Shorts Videos via @sejournal, @MattGSouthern

YouTube introduces the ability to promote Shorts videos, letting channels get short-form content in front of more viewers.

• YouTube now lets creators promote Shorts.
• Promoted Shorts target viewers likely to engage with the creator’s channel.
• This makes it easy to boost Shorts without a full Google Ads campaign.

Google Rolls Out ‘Veo 2’ Video Generation For YouTube Shorts via @sejournal, @MattGSouthern

YouTube upgrades Dream Screen with Google’s Veo 2 video generation model, enabling faster AI-generated backgrounds and standalone clips.

• YouTube has upgraded Dream Screen with Veo 2 AI model for better video generation.
• The feature enables faster creation of AI backgrounds and standalone clips for YouTube Shorts.
• The initial rollout covers US, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand.

YouTube Dominates TV Streaming: New Opportunities For Marketers via @sejournal, @MattGSouthern

YouTube’s CEO, Neal Mohan, has announced that TV screens have become the most popular device for watching YouTube in the United States, surpassing mobile devices.

In a blog post, Mohan states:

“TV has surpassed mobile and is now the primary device for YouTube viewing in the U.S. (by watch time), and according to Nielsen, YouTube has been #1 in streaming watch time in the U.S. for two years.”

Data shows that viewers consume over one billion hours of YouTube content daily on TV screens.

Mohan attributes this growth to YouTube’s integration with smart TVs and streaming devices.

This marks a significant shift in audience behavior, presenting an opportunity to take advantage of new ad formats.

What This Means For Marketers

Fresh Advertising Opportunities

YouTube’s audience is moving towards television, which offers different advertising options and ways to engage viewers.

Marketers can take advantage of this changing viewer behavior in the following ways:

1. QR Codes on TV: Showing a QR code during a video or ad lets viewers scan it with their phones, linking big-screen watching with mobile actions.
2. Pause Ads: When viewers pause a video, advertisers can show targeted messages on the screen, capturing attention without interrupting the show.
3. Second Screen Experiences: YouTube is testing features that let viewers interact with TV content using their phones. This allows them to leave comments, share videos, or make purchases while watching.

These tools can improve viewer engagement and help measure results.

Unlike traditional TV ads, which don’t allow for immediate interaction, these digital options give brands a new way to connect with their audience.

Strategic Considerations

Longer Watch Times
Viewers spend more time watching YouTube on TV than on mobile devices, which can lead to deeper engagement with ads and branded content.

Big-Screen Mindset
Advertising for YouTube consumption on TV requires high production quality to achieve a broadcast-like feel. Marketers should consider the advantages of creating content designed for a living room environment.

Measuring Performance
As technology advances, tracking conversions across multiple devices (TV and mobile) may become increasingly complex. Implementing cross-platform analytics and attribution models will be essential.

Podcasts

Another format thriving on YouTube is podcasting.

Mohan claims YouTube is the number one way people in the U.S. listen to podcasts, stating:

“One of the most relevant formats driving culture — podcasts — is thriving on YouTube. YouTube is now the most frequently used service for listening to podcasts in the U.S.”

As more people engage with TV and podcasts on YouTube, marketers can effectively combine these formats through video podcasts.

This can help brands connect with their audience in an engaging way, leveraging the trend of long videos on larger screens.

Looking Ahead

This signals YouTube’s evolution from a mobile-first platform to a dominant TV streaming service.

Marketers should adapt their strategies to align with this shift in viewer behavior.

Key takeaways include:

• Leverage new ad formats like QR codes and ‘pause ads’
• Create high-quality content tailored for big screens
• Embracing new opportunities like video podcasts

With longer watch times and increased TV engagement, brands have a unique opportunity to connect with audiences more effectively.

However, staying ahead will require focusing on cross-platform analytics and thoughtful integration of mobile and TV experiences.

Featured Image: Kaspars Grinvalds/Shutterstock

YouTube Analytics Update: Device-Type Data In Audience Tab via @sejournal, @MattGSouthern

YouTube updates Analytics with more prominent device data, helping you tailor content to shifting viewing habits.

• Creators can now view device type data easily.
• Data reveals how audiences watch content.
• Device usage shapes video recommendations.

How YouTube’s Recommendation System Works In 2025 via @sejournal, @MattGSouthern

In a recent video interview, YouTube Liaison René Ritchie spoke with Todd Beaupré, YouTube’s Senior Director of Growth & Discovery, to discuss the platform’s recommendation system functions and what creators can expect this year.

Their discussion revealed how time of day, device type, viewer satisfaction, and the advent of large language models (LLMs) are reshaping YouTube’s algorithms.

Here’s what you need to know about YouTube’s recommendation system and how it works.

Personalized Recommendations

One of the central themes of the interview is YouTube’s focus on matching content to individual viewer preferences.

According to Beaupré:

“Often times creators will say hey, uh the recommendation system is pushing out my video to people or why isn’t it pushing out my video yes they they may ask that and the way the work it works is it… isn’t so much about pushing it out as much as it’s pulling…”

He goes on to explain that YouTube’s home feed prioritizes content based on what each viewer is most likely to enjoy at any given moment:

“When you open the homepage, YouTube is going to say hey Rene is here, we need to give Rene the best content that is going to make Rene happy today.”

Metrics & Satisfaction

While click-through rate (CTR) and watch time remain important, YouTube’s system also accounts for user satisfaction gleaned through direct surveys and other feedback signals.

Beaupré notes:

“We introduced this concept of satisfaction… we’re trying to understand not just about the viewer’s behavior and what they do, but how do they feel about the time they’re spending.”

He explains YouTube’s goal is to cultivate long-term viewer satisfaction:

“…we look at things like likes, dislikes, these survey responses… we have a variety of different signals to get at this satisfaction… we want to build a relationship with our audience just as creators want to do with their fans.”

Evergreen & Trending Content

YouTube’s algorithms can identify older videos that become relevant again due to trending topics, viral moments, or nostalgic interests.

Beaupré cites the system’s ability to pivot:

“…maybe like right now there’s a video that that reaches a certain audience but then like in six months… that makes this video relevant again… if it’s relevant and maybe to a different audience than enjoyed it the first time.”

Context: Time, Device, & Viewer Habits

Beaupré revealed YouTube’s system may show different kinds of content depending on whether someone is watching in the morning or at night, on a mobile phone or a TV:

“The recommendation system uses time of day and device… as some of the signals that we learn from to understand if there’s different content that is appealing in those different contexts… if you tend to have a preference for watching news in the morning and comedy at night… we’ll try to learn from other viewers like you if they have that pattern.”

Fluctuations In Views

Creators often worry if their views dip, but Beaupré suggests this can be a natural ebb and flow:

“…the first thing is that that is natural… it’s not particularly reasonable to expect that you’re going to always be at your highest level of views from all time… I would encourage you not to worry about it too much…”

He also recommends comparing metrics over longer periods and leveraging tools like Google Trends:

“…we do see seasonality can play a role… encourage you to look beyond… 90 days or more to kind of see the full context.”

Multi-Language Audio

Many creators are exploring multilingual audio to broaden their audiences.

Beaupré highlights how YouTube has adapted to support dubbed tracks:

“…we needed to add some new capabilities… aware that this video actually is available in multiple languages… so if you’re a Creator who’s interested in extending your reach through dubs… make sure that your titles and descriptions… are also uploaded [in] translated titles and descriptions…”

He also emphasizes consistency:

“We’ve seen in particular creators who dub at least 80% of the… watch time… tend to have more success than those who dub less…”

LLM Integration

Looking to the future, large language models (LLMs) enable YouTube to better understand video content and viewer preferences.

Beaupré says:

“…we’ve applied the large language model technology to recommendations at YouTube to… make them more relevant to viewers… rather than just memorizing that this video tends to be good with this type of viewer… it might actually be able to understand the ingredients of the dish better and maybe some more elements of the video style…”

Beaupré likens it to an expert chef who can adapt recipes:

“…we want to be more like the expert chef and less like the… memorized recipe.”

Key Takeaways For Creators

Here are the top takeaways from their 21-minute conversation on the YouTube recommendation system.

1. The recommendation system is about “pulling” content for each viewer, not pushing videos universally.
2. Metrics like CTR and watch time matter, but satisfaction (likes, dislikes, surveyed feedback) is also essential.
3. YouTube can resurface older videos if renewed interest emerges.
4. Time of day and device usage influence recommendations.
5. View fluctuations are normal—seasonality, trending events, and external factors can all be at play.
6. Dubbing and translated titles may help reach new markets, especially if a high percentage of your content is available in the same language.
7. Large language models empower more nuanced understanding—creators should stay attuned to how this impacts discovery.

Watch the full interview below.

YouTube plans to share more updates at VidCon later this year.

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