One of my YouTube videos is getting a lot of views and I'm not sure why

23skidoo

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I'm hoping someone can help me figure something out. One of my YouTube videos is getting an astounding (to me) number of views and I can't figure out why. It's averaging 30-40 views a day and already has over 1,600 views in only three months. It doesn't seem to be slowing down, either.

When I look at the YouTube 'Analytics' data, the 'traffic source' listed for nearly all of these views is listed as 'mobile apps and direct traffic' and doesn't have any specific information about where the people are finding the link. I've looked around at all the usual ukulele sites that I know about (UkeToob and the like) and I can't find it anywhere. I have no idea how people are finding out about the video.

The video is my cover of The Kinks tune 'Have A Cuppa Tea' that I did for the Season hosted by Eugene Ukulele. Has anybody noticed any reference to this video in their ukulele-related internet travels? Any ideas as to why it's getting so many views? I'm genuinely curious - if it's something I can control, I'd love to do it again. :) If I'd known it was going to be so popular, I would have polished up my playing a bit and practiced it a little more before uploading it.....

Thanks in advance for any insight.....
 
It's because your stuff is good. —but that doesn't address the question.

It's odd how the internet can connect random people in orderly ways. I'm no Luddite, but Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter are things I have never done. Still, I have two websites that get a fair amount of traffic each month even I don't add to them for weeks at a shot.

If I go to YouTube and watch a video, it counts as 1 view. If I go back and watch it over, does it count again? While there's not much flash to your video, the sound production and your own charisma shine through. Maybe guys are going back time and again to show their friends how it should be done.

Count me in as 1601.
 
Might as well count me in at 1,646 ! Thanks for that one.
I've never really been much of a Kinks fan (not that I disliked them at all), but you got me to click and listen. I've never heard their original version, but your's earned a save spot in my youtube playlist. :)
 
thanks for the kind words, guys..... but I'm hoping someone can figure this out. I was exploring all the tools built in to YT to track viewer data - it looks like it's folks from all over the world and they're watching at least half of the video, which leads me to believe that they have at least a passing interest in ukulele.

I googled the video title and came up with this, which looks to be hosted by the magazine NME. Poking around their site, I don't think this is how folks are finding it. There doesn't seem to be a way to access it from the NME page and it looks like they do this with every YouTube video, some sort of automated 'look at YouTube through our website so you have to see our ads' kind of thing - I have no illusions that the powers that be at NME stooped down to choose my video as a featured item.

I'm stumped. I'm not very tech savvy.... I've kind of figured out how to record and post videos by trial and error in the last year or two, but I'm fairly helpless beyond that. I'm always impressed by the quality of the technical support that comes out of the UU community - just hoping someone here has some idea what's going on....
 
That's pretty cool, Bill, sounds like it might go viral. One other thing to try is to plug the YT URL into the google search box, or even just the part after the "v=" token. This might show sites that have linked to your video.
 
NME is awesome and so are you, that is about what I have in total views on YT.
 
Why don't you try another Kink song and see how it goes. I remember this song during the season and it was good.
 
Maybe it's all the perverts searching for "kinky"...

Nope. Just searched for "kinky" on Youtube and it's mostly a bunch of black chicks talking about hair!
 
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When I first started posting to YouTube (over a year before I joined UU), I'd only let some friends and family know about the videos I'd posted. One was a live rendition of the Procol Harum song "A Salty Dog", and overnight it went from 5 to 125 views. I found that someone from a Procol Harum fan site had stumbled across it, and posted a link on that site. So maybe somone has posted a link of your video on a Kinks fan site.
 
Who knows what makes any particular video take off over other equally good ones?

I will say, Bill, your videos are usually well produced and I always enjoy them. No gimmicks but just good musical performances. Cup of Tea was no exception.

Anyway, good luck to you. Nice to see a UUer getting more than the customary few tens of hits.
 
+1 more view.. great fun song and well done.. don't have a clue about the Youtubey issue...

What recording setup are you using?
 
I missed this when you first put it up. "Muswell Hillbillies" is a great album, and I've messed around with uke arrangements of several songs from it, including this one. Ray Davies wrote some really great lyrics. I never fully appreciated The Kinks until a few years ago.

You can add me to the mysteriously growing list of viewers! The bigger mystery to me is: How did it get one "dislike"????!
 
Someone must've linked it somewhere - is there a way to track or view what the referring site is?

Great job on the video, btw. On a completely unrelated note, did you ever figure out the strumming for "Heart Shaped Tattoo"?
 
I had never heard the song before; but, I enjoyed your version. You did very well with the song.

Maybe there is cafe owner who puts this on in their shop.
 
maybe because it's worthy of views. Out of curiosity what percentage of your viewers are Brits?
I',m one :) im stoked for you Bill, wow to be linked to the Mighty NME magazine, it is one of the best weekly music papers over here, you deserve recognition, would be good to solve the mystery , but mate glad your getting views as your stuff is fab.
 
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