Hello friends, I will talk about the mistakes that unnecessarily kill your YouTube channel and the essential things you must do after uploading your video. This will be presented as both a warning and a solution.
Let's dive right in.
The 16 Mistakes & Solutions
1. Do not watch your video yourself first, or randomly share it on WhatsApp with others.
It's easy to send the video to a friend or sibling and say, "watch this," but this is bad for YouTube. If you watch it yourself or if your mom, dad, or friend watches it, their viewing habits do not match your target audience. The algorithm looks at who your video is shown to. If you make a technology video and share it with people interested in football, not tech, YouTube might incorrectly categorize your video as "this video interests football fans too." This means that by having the wrong people watch your video, it will be hard for YouTube to find your real audience and recommend the video to them.
2. Do not upload Shorts and long-form videos to the same channel.
Shorts viewers have a short attention span; long-form viewers have a long one. If you mix the two on the same channel, your subscribers who prefer long videos won't watch your Shorts (Tested and proven by experience). Your impression click-through rate and average view duration will drop. Therefore, you should create separate channels for Shorts and long-form content.
3. Your Gmail account and the upload location matter.
YouTube will primarily recommend your videos to people in the country where your Gmail account was opened. If you are targeting people in a specific country, or if your audience is primarily there, it is important to upload your video from that country's IP address. Furthermore, it is beneficial if the Gmail account used for the channel was opened using an IP address from your target country. This gives you a + score. If you upload from an irrelevant country's IP, you start the competition with a - score Period.
4. Ignoring SEO, description, and tags (especially for new channels).
If you're a new channel, it's true that YouTube will struggle to find the right audience immediately. The description, title, tags, and file name are what guide your video to the right people. If you don't complete these correctly and thoroughly, your video's potential for being recommended decreases.
5. Stop handing everything over to Artificial Intelligence.
AI is great, but it still can't fully convey emotion, tone, and natural flow. YouTube values depth and authenticity over sheer quantity. Don't just copy-paste your text; make it original and add a human touch.
6. Start learning video editing now.
It is essential to have editing knowledge to set the right pace in your video edits. Without this fundamental skill, you will get lost in the competition on YouTube.
7. Name your video file correctly.
Don't leave the video on your computer as ASDFG_001.mp4. Make the file name something close to the video title, e.g., macbook-pro-unboxing.mp4.
Why? YouTube reads the file's metadata; it's a small signal, but it works.
8. Do not upload the video as public; upload it as private and leave it that way for an hour.
Don't make it public right away. When a video is uploaded, YouTube begins scanning the content, and it may take some time for the video to process and the quality to become sharp.
9. Your title and thumbnail should create curiosity.
Your video title should contain searchable keywords, ideally be posed as a curiosity-inducing question, and accurately describe the video's content. For example: "If we raised 100 babies in a room, what language would they speak?"
10. Write the first 2 lines of the video description well.
Google/YouTube places great importance on the first two lines. Put a brief summary of the video in the first 2 lines. Add your channel introduction and important links further down. Towards the very bottom of the description, make sure to add your video to at least one playlist of a similar theme. This encourages visitors to move on to your other videos within the channel.
11. Choose your tags wisely.
For example, if you are reviewing a tech product, don't just write 'Technology'. Use more specific keywords like macbook pro unboxing, macbook review 2025. Tags still hold importance for new channels.
12. Leave a pinned comment.
Leave and pin a question-and-answer style comment like, "What are you curious about regarding this topic?" This triggers engagement.
13. Set up Cards and End Screens.
Definitely add a card at the end of the video that redirects viewers to another long-form video. This allows viewers to discover your other content.
14. Share on social media, but intelligently.
Instead of just dropping a direct link, prepare and share a 20-30 second teaser. Do not share randomly on WhatsApp (I explained why); share it in relevant groups and places.
15. Consider ad breaks (for long videos).
In videos that are 8+ minutes long, you can manually place ad breaks. I won't tell you not to put too many ads if the video is popular; on the contrary, try to include more ads. YouTube likes this and recommends the video more often.
16. Engage with the community, reply to comments, and ask open-ended questions.
Don't just write "Thank you" and move on. Ask questions and start a discussion. Reply to a comment, then ask, "What else are you curious about?" For instance, if you have 100 comments, replying brings the total to 200. If your replies contain question-like sentences, they will also get replies, bringing the comment count to 300. This method multiplies the comments and increases engagement.
As long as you pay attention to the points mentioned above, your YouTube channel will grow smoothly. It is also beneficial to add timestamps to your videos. YouTube favors videos with timestamps.
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