Why Do YouTube Shorts Stop Getting Views After Hours?

There are so many blogs on this topic all over the internet, but you are here because those articles couldn’t satisfy your curiosity.

You are not alone; even I wrote this piece after I couldn’t find the answer when I was searching for the same.

Let’s read together why our youtube shorts are not getting enough views, or if you want to increase your views, this article will also help!

In this article, I will help you to understand what exactly is going on with your views and why they are so low.

No worries, I got you covered! 

Why Do YouTube Shorts Stop Getting Views After Hours? (8 Valid Reasons)

That happens for several reasons, even when you were getting decent views initially.

Also, YouTube shorts may lose popularity (views) after a while simply because people have moved on to the next great thing or because the algorithm has altered its focus to other forms of content.

Now, let’s look at those reasons in points:

1. The Algorithm

The first and foremost reason is the algorithm. We all know what it is, but none of us can figure out how it works and what precisely the algorithm needs from the content creators to make their content viral.

Youtube algorithm is one of the most complex things to understand, but all you need to know is that because of it, your shorts might not be viewed by as many people as you had expected.

Why? Because the algorithm decides which shorts to show or which would not appear in their feed! Generally, the Youtube algorithm takes into consideration the newer videos(shorts) which had recently been posted, and the older ones will stop getting views as they did at first. 

2. Subscription mechanism

As you all know, Youtube has this system where you subscribe to the channels you like so that you can keep watching them and can watch first when they upload new videos (after you turn the notification on!).

And this might be one of the reasons why your views have dropped after some hours because the earlier or initial views were from your subscribers. 

3. Relevance

Relevancy of the content is crucial to Youtube because if your short videos do not provide any value to the viewer’s life, they won’t be watched by many people.

Let me tell you how Youtube works in this scenario; YouTube will test your shorts with different audiences in order to discover an audience that is interested in your content.

Then your videos will blow up among audiences that choose to watch the type of content you make.  

4. Not Being Active/Regular

To maintain your Shorts getting views, stay active on the platform and constantly provide fresh and relevant content that resonates with your target audience.

Speaking from my experience, even with great and appropriate content, other creators can overshadow you if you don’t post regularly, which would affect your views in the long run.

Prominent creators getting millions of views are active and post regularly; they have set their dates and always put up videos and shorts on that day at a particular time. 

5. No Engagement

Like other online video platforms, Youtube works on engagement. You have to engage your viewers by putting out content that will make them watch your shorts.

So, if your short videos are boring and not appealing to your audience, they will not watch them, and it will push your shorts down, where views will only get less.

Engaging shorts are made by analyzing your audience’s interest!

If an ASMR channel makes short videos on tech & AI, would you watch them? No, right! So, why would your audience? 

6. Hashtags 

Another reason you don’t have high views anymore is because you are using the wrong or no hashtags!

For example- if your shorts show ‘Different ways to style jeans’ but you have tagged #accessories, that means it hasn’t reached the right audience. People looking for accessories will scroll right above your shorts because they are not looking for styling videos.

This can also hamper your channel quality, as some of the viewers do report the videos if they don’t align with their hashtags.

So, keep that in mind! I hope this made you understand the importance of hashtags in a video, and if your views have dropped, this can be one of the reasons. 

7. Not Promoting Your Channel

Shorts by Youtube is a new trend; even though it is pretty popular, you still have to promote your channel to get more views.

Higher the subscribers, the higher the views – it’s no rocket science, right?

8. Low-quality video(s)

If your shorts have a really terrible quality that makes the viewers struggle more, then there is no chance you will get views.

After some initial views, Youtube must have detected low resolution in your video and decided not to show it to a larger audience. 

How To Continue Getting Views On Shorts (4 Tips)

Simply put, to get more views and be consistent with getting views, you have to do exactly what you weren’t doing earlier.

These four factors will help you, so go thoroughly!

1. Have Patience & Give Time

Firstly, you must wait after uploading your Shorts. You can’t always expect to see thousands of views just in the first few hours.

There are so many viral shorts that take more than 24 hours to get to the audience because sometimes the content is more relatable to people who are not your target audience and reach them; it might take some time.

The key is to give enough time to find the right people for your Shorts content.

And do not even worry if your Shorts haven’t gained high views in a week; I have seen some content taking off after months. 

2. New Strategies

Keeping the ideas new, fresh content, contemporary topics, and crispy short videos is what you should be providing in your Shorts or videos.

Also, getting into partnerships (collaborating) with other creators of the same or different niches might help you to get views.

As you must have seen, big Youtubers also collaborate with other creators, and trust me; it doesn’t matter if the other channel is big or small.

You can always get some additional views! This is a form of promotion. 

3. Analyzing Your Viewers

This must be your first step if you want to continue getting views on your Youtube Shorts.

When you are thinking of your next video, then keep in mind who your audience is, what they want, what content they are looking for in your channel, and their interest!

This will help you make shorts that appeal to them; now, how would you know what videos sell the most among your audience?

Go to your profile and look at the analytics data, and it will show what videos were most liked and viewed.

This is a process so you can experiment or explore your way of making videos. Give it some time; then, you will understand what you should provide to get consistent views. 

4. Make An Engaging Hook & Thumbnail

In the Youtube universe, getting your audience’s attention is not a big deal, especially with Shorts, but keeping them hooked is what you need to get high views.

There are many ways of doing that, making engaging thumbnails, using appropriate hashtags, and keeping something engaging at the start of your video.

You just get 15 seconds, so make it work for you by uploading different yet engaging content.

For example: cute animals videos are everywhere; even though it’s adorable to watch, people will not always watch the same dog and cat doing stuff, so if you want to stay in the pet niche, you better opt for other animals such as Giraffe or capybara to keep your audience hooked.  

In Conclusion

Understanding why videos and Shorts viewers drop is not easy because, as I said, you can never know how the algorithm works for any platform, especially Youtube.

But I am sure this article will help you understand the concept in depth. All your questions cannot be answered in one blog, so you can follow other blogs to learn more about social media algorithms. 

FAQs [Frequently Asked Questions]

Pria Sharma

Caffeine junkie, a lively learner, and an experienced affiliate marketing writer for SB Digital. Always wanted to research and write on various verticals – that’s my thing now! Down for a France trip with me? Well, read my blog posts first, and it’s a deal!