YouTube Answers Common Creator Queries About Shorts

YouTube has shared some new insights into the development of its TikTok clone ‘Shorts’, addressing some of the most common creator questions in a new video uploaded to the Creator Insider channel.

With Shorts viewing on the rise, more creators are looking into the option, and this new video might help address some of your thoughts or queries on the tool.

Here’s a summary of the questions and responses:

Will YouTube include Shorts watch hours in the main channel performance stats?

Shorts views count towards your channel’s overall lifetime views, but they don’t count towards your YPP watch time as yet.

Is creating Shorts of your long-form content viewed as repeated material and penalized by YouTube?

YouTube says that creating Shorts from your already published videos is a good way to repurpose content, however you should consider that not everyone who sees your Shorts will be aware of your main channel, so it’s important to create standalone Shorts clips.

Will there eventually be separate analytics for Shorts and long-form VOD content?

Yes – YouTube’s analytics team is developing these options

Should you create a separate channel for your Shorts?

Creators are seeing success with both approaches. YouTube says that you should consider whether your Shorts content is significantly different from your main channel uploads, and if it is, then maybe creating a separate channel makes sense. But if not, it can work as a great compliment to your broader content strategy.

Shorts look untidy in Channel displays – will this be fixed?

YouTube recently added the ‘Shorts Shelf’ to address this, which channels can enable if they’ve uploaded Shorts clips.

YouTube says that there are no specific further plans on this at this stage.

Will YouTube add custom thumbnails for Shorts?

YouTube says that many creators have asked about this, and that they are investigating ways to address it, but at the same time, the actual exposure of Shorts thumbnails would be fairly limited, given the way Shorts are currently accessed.

As noted, Shorts usage is growing, with cumulative Shorts views surpassing 5 trillion earlier this year. And with YouTube looking to put the pressure on TikTok with its superior creator monetization tools, Shorts can play a key role in helping to build your main YouTube channel, and making significant money directly from your content.

If you’re considering your own approach, these insights may help to clarify your thinking.