Time Watched Now A YouTube Search Ranking Factor

Oct 15, 2012 - 8:56 am 5 by
Filed Under Misc Google

YouTube ClockI covered this on Friday at Search Engine Land (so stop reading if you read it there).

YouTube has added a ranking factor to YouTube Search - the new ranking factor is time watched.

Now, depending on how much time your video is watched (I guess based on the video length), the longer the whole video is watched, I guess the more likely your video will rank well in YouTube's search results.

YouTube also added time watched to YouTube Analytics so video producers can see how well their videos are doing in terms of time watched.

Here are some stats from the videos on my YouTube channel:

Friday's Video:

YouTube Time Watched Analytics

YouTube Time Watched Analytics

YouTube Time Watched Analytics

Forum discussion at Google+.

 

Popular Categories

The Pulse of the search community

Search Video Recaps

 
Video Details More Videos Subscribe to Videos

Most Recent Articles

Search Forum Recap

Daily Search Forum Recap: February 24, 2026

Feb 24, 2026 - 10:00 am
Bing Search

Microsoft Thwarts AI Prompt Injection Attacks Aimed To Manipulate AI Engines

Feb 24, 2026 - 7:51 am
Google Ads

Google Ads Support Form Requires You To Authorize Google To Make Changes

Feb 24, 2026 - 7:41 am
Bing Search

Microsoft Advertising Tests Shopping Carousel With Multiple Images Toggle

Feb 24, 2026 - 7:31 am
Google

Google Tests Removing Dates From Articles In Discover Feed

Feb 24, 2026 - 7:21 am
Bing Ads

Bing Updates Shopping Ads Design

Feb 24, 2026 - 7:11 am
 
Previous Story: Marissa Mayer Cleans Up Home Page & Drops Purple Logo?