Everyone is looking for ways to make it big on YouTube. One of the most popular tactics people use is buying views for their videos. Buying cheap views can be an alluring option for those looking to make a splash on YouTube. However, would-be purchasers should aim to buy high-quality views because there are several drawbacks to buying them on the cheap.

We’ll explain.

Reasons to not buy cheap views

One of the disadvantages of buying cheap views is that you often get low-retention views. On YouTube, retention rate refers to the length of time a viewer spends watching a video before leaving it. The problem with cheap views is that you will most likely get views from low-quality bot accounts who do not watch your videos all the way through, thereby lowering your videos’ retention rate. This is the same as when a viewer plays a video, watches it for a few seconds then finds that it’s not relevant to what they were searching for, or that it’s boring. YouTube’s search algorithms will interpret this to mean that your videos are not worth watching, and as a result you will rank lower on YouTube searches.

Another disadvantage of buying cheap YouTube views is that all you really get are the numbers. You don’t get any engagements from these low-quality views. Because these views most likely come from bot and spam accounts, instead of real people, they cannot engage with your video. They won’t provide any comments, likes or shares. Additionally, these fake bot accounts will not become loyal fans or potential customers. In this way, they are not really advancing your campaign. They also make it hard for you to measure the success of your campaign based on video metrics, which will be skewed by all the fake views.

Buying cheap views can also lead to a damaged reputation. With the exception YouTube amateurs, most users can easily spot views from bot accounts from a mile away. There are many giveaways, like having half a million views on your video, but less than 20 comments or likes. Or maybe you joined YouTube last week, but your boring promotional video has already hit one hundred thousand views? That’s suspicious too. Or maybe you posted a video that can only be understood by an English-speaking audience yet the bulk of your views are from a remote country in Asia whose native language is not English? In all these cases, it’s pretty obvious the views are fake and you probably bought them to look cool. If your real viewers figure this out, your reputation can take a blow and you might end up losing some of your precious real followers.

Another problem with cheap views is that YouTube can easily identify and remove them. YouTube’s Terms of Service state explicitly that they are against the practice of buying views, which they refer to as “view count gaming.” In a bid to stem the growing popularity of view count gaming, YouTube has in place a system of algorithms that are dedicated to spotting and clamping down on people who engage in the practice. Like we noted earlier, the problem with cheap views is that they can easily be detected. When the YouTube algorithms detect that your views are bought, they will eliminate the fake views, taking you back to square one.

Last but not least, cheap views are a waste of money. Buying cheap views does not provide any real benefit to your marketing campaign in the long run. They do not provide any engagements, they have low-retention rates, they might damage your reputation or they could be eliminated after just a few days. Instead of spending money on a strategy that has no tangible return on investment, it’s better to spend that money on other ways of advancing your marketing campaign. For instance, you could buy better equipment to produce higher-quality videos, you could buy official YouTube ads, reach out influencers to help carry your marketing messages or you could just spend a little more money and time to buy higher-quality views.

How to find high-quality view vendors

To avoid the risks associated with buying cheap, fake views, it is important that you find and buy views from a high-quality vendor. High-quality vendors provide views from well-refined, real-looking accounts or sometimes even real viewers. These aren’t as easily detected as cheap views, and may sometimes come with comments, likes and shares.

Due to a great number of websites purporting to sell views, and boost your visibility on YouTube, you need to be a critical shopper and evaluate the potential companies to ensure you do not buy low-quality, cheap views. One simple way of doing this is to head to sites like this one. We’ll give you comparisons that will help you choose the right vendor, and we never back a company whose services we don’t recommend. You can also evaluate the vendor yourself by checking their price and the quality of customer service they offer. Take note of whether they have a money-back guarantee. It’s also important to look at reviews they have received from previous clients if possible.

Interested in learning more? Check out our reviews of the top 5 YouTube view sellers.

Date: May 19, 2016 / Categories: Tips, YouTube, / Author: Rich Drees