Yes, repeated views count toward YouTube video view counts. However, after a certain point (some experts believe around 4 or 5 views) YouTube stops counting replays of the same video from the same user or device within 24 hours.
They do this to ensure that actual human viewers are watching the videos and not bots.
How YouTube Views Are Measured
A view is counted when a viewer intentionally plays a video on YouTube for at least 30 non-consecutive seconds. The view metric is an important one for businesses, especially those involved in the YouTube Partner Program, as it can be used to track engagement metrics and monetization efforts.
Repeat views count toward a video’s total view counts, but they don’t increase the count by more than 4 or 5 views within 24 hours. This is done to prevent people from artificially inflating their views through repetitive actions like refreshing the video’s watch page.
Additionally, if a video is embedded on another website or social media platform and a user purposefully clicks to play it, that counts as a view. But videos that autoplay in the background and those viewed through Facebook don’t. YouTube also doesn’t count views from bots, as they can be a sign of malware or viruses. Those views aren’t counted as legitimate video views.
The 30-Second Rule
YouTube has many tools available to help you determine when your viewers are most active on the site. One of these is the Realtime Graph, which displays the times when your audience is browsing and watching videos on YouTube in a given day. The darkest bars on the graph represent the prime time to post your videos, which enables you to get your videos in front of the most viewers.
Average view duration is also a factor that YouTube considers when ranking videos for search and recommendation results. A video with a high average watch time means that the audience is engaged throughout the entire video, which demonstrates that it is worthy of being surfaced in search results.
Lastly, keep in mind that it’s important to publish your videos during months when people are less likely to be busy with school or work, such as November and December. During these months, they are likely at home, and are more comfortable with viewing longer videos from their favorite channels and businesses.
YouTube’s Algorithm
YouTube’s algorithms are constantly changing and improving, but at the core of every algorithm is that it’s trying to match videos with users who will find them most relevant and engaging. That’s why it’s important to create videos that are broader in appeal and shareable, and not just videos that feature your brand.
YouTube is incredibly strict on how views are counted to ensure that people are actually watching them, and that they’re not being artificially inflated by bots or video spammers. YouTube employees go through every single view, checking the user and their device to make sure that they are human.
The algorithm also looks at patterns in the videos a viewer watches to make recommendations. If you watch a tutorial on how to bake coconut cake and then click on a video about a new recipe, the algorithm will know that your viewers are interested in learning more about baking and recommend your next video accordingly.
Bot Views
Some people try to artificially inflate their view counts on YouTube by using bots. These are computer programs designed to automatically watch and refresh videos on YouTube. YouTube has various ways of detecting these bots.
One way is by analyzing the IP addresses and account names of the people watching your video. Another is by analyzing the behavior of those who are viewing your video. For example, if the same person keeps refreshing your video to increase the number of views, that raises a red flag.
Another way to spot bot views is by looking at the time of day that your viewers are watching your video. If the majority of your viewers are watching your video at the same time, that’s a good sign that the viewership is legitimate.