Do Dislikes Affect YouTube Video Search Rankings or is it a Myth?

Status
Not open for further replies.
ThioJoe said:
My most popular video is also my most disliked. I don't believe dislikes affect rankings as much as watch time, if at all.
Click to expand...
Same here...also I don't like the video either :) (Considering removing it).
Sadly I don't have a solid statement but I can imagine it's like in Pro Wrestling. You can draw positive or negative reactions from the crowd but you don't want to get caught in the middle where no one cares.
 
ThioJoe said:
My most popular video is also my most disliked. I don't believe dislikes affect rankings as much as watch time, if at all.
Click to expand...

That is my experience too. I think an increase of say 10 seconds to the average watch time over a month is worth about 1000 likes or dislikes (no exaggeration) :)
 
From part of the YouTube FAQ's:
Q: Do likes, comments, shares, etc. factor into search ranking?

A: We've tested this in the past, however these factors are too easily gamed so they aren't reliable enough to use in ranking. However, the organic ripple effects of these actions may help with discoverability in other ways; for example, if someone "likes" your video, and their 1,000 subscribers see that activity in What to Watch, those 1,000 subscribers may decide to also watch that video.
Click to expand...

Source: https://support.google.com/youtube/answer/6046966
 
SabrinaKom said:
Thanks for finding this info!

:eek: So they don't affect ranking at all? It sounds like user engagement doesn't matter anymore.
Click to expand...

It might not matter in the way that this thread thinks (likes, dislikes, etc...) but engaging your audience, listening to their feedback, and trying your best to make sure they know how much you appreciate their support goes a long way. Likes and dislikes are pretty instant. Developing an extended relationship with folks who are interested in seeing you do well over the years is a great way to improve the amount of word of mouth that takes place around your channel. Getting out what you put in still applies.
 
Dislikes affect the ranking from my experience, I once disliked this video a couple of times and it went from page 2 to the front page.
 
Some of my top million view videos have quite a huge ratio of like/dislike. My two top ones have full on likes, and half/half likes/dislike. The half/half ones caused a lot of comment discussion, whether for/against the video and in my opinion increased its growth.
8Tyj82b.png
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: nad
EleniVTV said:
So if I read that correctly, neither like or dislikes matter for ranking?
Click to expand...
That's how I interpret it as well & it's starting to make more sense, I mean the logic behind dislikes effecting users in unecessary ways can also be applied to likes so I guess it negates them altogether. So in order to rely on a likes at all the person liking your vids would need to have a decent following for it to show up to. I've noticed most bigger YouTubers don't like videos that often and I don't even have the option turned on to show up in my feed :S
 
I asked my YouTube Manager this a while ago and she said don't be too concerned about dislikes. I think it's best if there are more likes than dislikes but from her it didn't sound like a big factor. I get my fair share of dislikes. When a video gets the big majority of its views from suggested videos, expect a lot of dislikes. Most of the time your subscriber base will like your videos. So when my dislikes start piling on I'm happy because that means it went beyond the scope of my channel into the big wide world of YouTube Land. And that's where you get monster view counts.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top