SEO
Top YouTube Videos, Shorts, And Ads of 2022
Examining YouTube’s list of the top trending videos and top Shorts of 2022, as well as the YouTube Ads Leaderboard: 2022 year-end-wrap-up can teach content marketers, content creators, and digital advertisers some important lessons that they can apply in 2023.
But, it helps if you have a secret decoder ring to decipher why there are three lists – and why each one uses a different methodology to come up with the rankings.
YouTube unveiled its first list of the 10 most-watched YouTube videos back in December 2010. Unfortunately, that list taught many marketers that “view count” was the only metric that mattered.
But, I got my secret decoder ring back in October 2012, when YouTube started adjusting the ranking of videos in YouTube search results to reward engaging videos that kept viewers watching.
In other words, YouTube replaced “view count” with “watch time.”
This was a significant shift, because “watch time” gives you a sense of what content viewers actually watch, as opposed to videos that they click on and then abandon.
In December 2012, YouTube shifted from unveiling its 10 “most-watched” videos of the year to unveiling its “top trending videos,” based on time spent watching, sharing, commenting, liking, and other factors.
In other words, “watch time” and “engagements” were now the metrics that mattered.
Today, YouTube’s algorithm rewards “viewer satisfaction.”
In other words, YouTube doesn’t pay attention to videos; it pays attention to viewers.
So, rather than trying to make videos that’ll make an algorithm happy, focus on making videos that make your viewers happy.
This brings us to YouTube’s lists of “trending videos” and “top Shorts” for 2022.
To learn important lessons that can be applied in 2023, we need to realize that YouTube’s discovery system uses both absolute and relative watch time as signals when deciding audience engagement.
Ultimately, YouTube wants both short and long videos to succeed, so relative watch time is more important for short videos, and absolute watch time is more important for longer videos.
Top 7 Trending Videos Of 2022
1. “So Long Nerds“ By Technoblade (6:32 long, 88.3 million Views, 10.2 million engagements)
In this moving tribute, the father of beloved Minecraft creator Technoblade reads a farewell letter from his son.
The gamer lost his battle with cancer in June, but his legacy remains on YouTube.
2. “Watch The Uncensored Moment Will Smith Smacks Chris Rock On Stage At The Oscars, Drops F-bomb” By Guardian News (1:24 long, 104 million Views, and 1.8 million engagements)
It was the smack heard ‘round the world: Academy Award winner Will Smith went off-script and slapped Chris Rock, live on-stage, at the film industry’s most prestigious event.
3. “Hi, I’m Dream” By Dream (5:42 long, 48.5 million Views, and 4.7 million engagements)
Dream’s ingenuity within Minecraft has led him to become a top creator with a devoted fanbase.
But no one knew what he looked like IRL, until now.
4. “ Dre, Snoop Dogg, Eminem, Mary J. Blige, Kendrick Lamar & 50 Cent Full Pepsi Sb Lvi Halftime Show” By NFL (14:41 long, 146 million Views, and 3.5 million engagements)
Lose yourself in this epic Super Bowl halftime show packed with some of the biggest artists in hip-hop history: Dr. Dre, Snoop, Eminem, Mary J. Blige, Kendrick Lama, and 50 Cent.
5. “I Built Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory!” By Mrbeast (17:01 long, 132 million Views, and 5.1 million engagements)
In a “Willy Wonka” inspired warehouse, MrBeast challenges contestants to traverse a chocolate river, climb a candy wall, compete in confection-themed games, and indulge in their sweetest fantasies.
6. “Pranks Destroy Scam Callers- Glitterbomb Payback” By Mark Rober (26:41 long, 55.9 million Views, and 2.2 million engagements).
Engineer Mark Rober exacts dazzling revenge on a scam call center in the latest version of his glitterbomb series.
7. “Being Not Straight” By Jaiden Animations (15:22 long, 17.8 million Views, and 1.7 million engagements)
In this coming-out video, Jaiden Animations depicts a personal journey from adolescence to adulthood, sharing how they discovered their sexual identity along the way.
Top 7 Shorts Of 2022
1. “Diver Cracks Egg At 45 Ft Deep #Shorts” By Shangerdanger (0:56 long, 251 million Views, and 12.3 million engagements)
The ocean floor is a mysterious place. It’s full of unknown sea creatures, strange plants, and…chicken eggs?!
Join Shangerdanger as he cracks up the internet and dives egg-first into the blue depths.
2. “Sarah Trust Challenges” By Hingaflips (0:31 long, 142 million Views, and 6.5 million engagements)
Better than parkour? This is Trampwall: an epic sport where acrobats defy gravity and leap off a wall, onto a trampoline, to pull off mind-blowing aerial stunts.
3. “Come With Me To Shave My Fluffy Dog! #Doggrooming #Grooming #Goldendoodle” By Brodie That Dood (0:52 long, 108 million Views, and 6.8 million engagements)
For years, his long fluffy fur has made Brodie one of the most iconic dogs on YouTube. So, the heartbreak was real when it was decided that he needed a close trim.
4. “Dave and Busters Bet Me 1000 Tickets I Couldn’t Do This…” By Chris Ivan (0:59 long, 83.6 million Views, and 6.3 million engagements).
No one does trick shots like creator Chris Ivan. In this Short, he attempts to land a plunger on a Dave & Buster’s sign.
The prize? 1,000 tickets … if he can pull it off.
5. “That Gap Between Your Car Seat and Center Console” By Jay & Sharon (0:58 long, 182 million Views, and 6.4 million engagements)
We’ve all lost something in the dreaded gap between the car seat and the center console.
In this comedic sketch, creators Jay & Sharon show us what’s really going on down there.
6. “Welcome To The Stomach #Shorts” By Adrian Bliss (0:34 long, 118 million Views, and 7.0 million engagements)
In this bite-sized skit, witty creator Adrian Bliss brings to life all the characters trying to gain entrance – and party in – his space-limited stomach.
7. “This Magic Trick Explained (America’s Got Talent)” By Zack D. Films (0:34 long, 97.4 million Views, and 5.6 million engagements).
How did he do it? The judges of “America’s Got Talent” were confounded by this magic trick.
But not internet-sleuth Zack D., who unveils its clever secret.
Top 7 YouTube Ads Of 2022
Meanwhile, YouTube uses an entirely different methodology to determine the top YouTube ad for its 2022 year-end wrap-up Leaderboard. This makes sense.
The top ads are generally the ones with the biggest budgets, which drive up view counts, but not always engagements.
1. “Amazon’s Big Game Commercial: Mind Reader” By Amazon (1:31 long, 69.7 million Views, and 25,700 engagements)
The creative agency for this ad was Lucky Generals and the media agency was IPG – Rufus.
The ad’s description asks, “Is Alexa reading minds a good idea? No. No, it is not.”
2. “Welcome To Clan Capital! Clash Of Clans New Update!” By Clash Of Clans (1:20 long, 52.9 million Views, and 212,000 engagements)
The creative agency was Psyop, and the media agency was in-house.
The ad’s description says,
“Welcome to the ultimate clan destination! A place where you and your clan can BUILD and BATTLE together! A place called CLAN CAPITAL!”
3. “Goal Of The Century X BTS | Yet To Come (Hyundai Ver.) Official Music Video” By Hyundaiworldwide (4:08 long, 40.5 million Views, and 886,000 engagements)
The ad’s description says,
“Our ‘Goal of the Century’ can’t be achieved by one individual alone, but we can achieve it if we all join forces and unite.
Just like football players come together as a team to score goals, we aim to use the power of football to go forward together in pursuit of the greatest goal – ‘A united world for sustainability.’”
4. “Harry Potter 20th Anniversary: Return To Hogwarts | Official Trailer | HBO Max” By HBO Max (1:58 long, 27.3 million Views, and 739,000 engagements)
The creative agency was in-house, and the media agency was Hearts & Science.
The ad’s description says,
“Harry Potter 20th Anniversary: Return to Hogwarts invites fans on a magical first-person journey through one of the most beloved film franchises of all time as it reunites Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, Emma Watson, and other esteemed cast members and filmmakers across all eight Harry Potter films for the first time to celebrate the anniversary of the franchise’s first film, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone.”
5. “Introducing iPhone 14 Pro | Apple” by Apple (4:20 long, 23.8 million views, and 571,000 engagements)
The ad’s description asks, “What lies beyond a traditional smartphone? Let’s find out. This is iPhone 14 Pro.”
6. All of Us Are Dead | Official Trailer | Netflix” by Netflix (2:35 long, 22.6 million views, and 518,000 engagements)
The creative agency was The Refinery, and the media agency was in-house. The ad’s description says,
“All of us will die. There is no hope.” The school turned into a bloody battleground and our friends into worst enemies. Who will make it out alive?”
7. Sally’s Seashells (Extended) | Big Game Commercial 2022“ by Squarespace (1:07 long, 21.6 million views, and 67,600 engagements)
The media agency was in-house. The ad’s description says,
“See everything that Sally sells in this extended cut of our 2022 Big Game commercial. Starring Zendaya as Sally and narrated by andré 3000.”
Most Important Lesson That Marketers Can Apply In 2023
Looking back at YouTube’s lists of top trending videos, top Shorts, and top ads for 2022, there is a meta-lesson that marketers can learn: one size does not fit all.
Different metrics matter when measuring different types of video, and different types of ads are better for different marketing objectives.
Or, as the British say, “There are horses for courses.”
Now, that’s a lesson that all of us can apply in 2023, and beyond.
More resources:
Featured Image: /Shutterstock
SEO
How Do You Clean Up Content Without Effecting Rankings?
Today’s Ask An SEO question comes from Neethu, who asks:
My website is almost 20 years old. There are lots of content. Many of them are not performing well. How do you effectively clean up those content without effecting rankings?
Contrary to what some SEO pros tell you, more content is not always better.
Deciding what content to keep, which content to modify, and which content to throw away is an important consideration, as content is the backbone of any website and is essential for driving traffic, engagement, and conversions.
However, not all content is created equal, and outdated, irrelevant, or underperforming content can hinder a website’s success.
Run A Content Audit
To effectively clean up your website’s content, the first step is to conduct a content audit.
This involves analyzing your site’s content and assessing its performance, relevance, and quality.
You can use various metrics such as traffic, bounce rate, and engagement to identify which pages are performing well and which ones are not.
Once you have identified the pages that are not performing well, it’s important to prioritize them based on their importance to your website.
Pages that are not driving traffic or conversions may need to be prioritized over pages that are not performing well but are still important for your site’s overall goals.
Distinguish Evergreen Vs. Time-Sensitive Content
Additionally, it’s important to consider whether a page is evergreen or time-sensitive.
You can update or repurpose evergreen content over time, while you may need to remove time-sensitive content.
After prioritizing your content, you can decide what action to take with each page.
For pages that are still relevant but not performing well, you may be able to update them with fresh information to improve their performance.
For pages that are outdated or no longer relevant, it may be best to remove them altogether.
When removing content, implement 301 redirects to relevant pages to ensure that any backlinks pointing to the old page are not lost.
Monitor Your Stuff
It’s important to monitor your search engine rankings after cleaning up your content to ensure your changes do not negatively impact your SEO.
But don’t just look at rankings.
Content optimization projects can affect traffic, conversions, navigation, and other items that impact your overall search engine optimization efforts.
Watch Google Analytics closely. If there are traffic declines, you may need to re-evaluate a few changes.
It’s important not to have a knee-jerk reaction, however.
Before you throw out your optimization efforts, be sure that the changes you made are actually what is causing a drop – and make sure those changes are stable within the search engines index.
Remember that it may take some time for your rankings to stabilize after a content cleanup, so it’s important to be patient and monitor your website’s performance over time.
To further optimize your content cleanup, consider using Google Search Console to identify pages with high impressions but low click-through rates.
These pages may benefit from content updates or optimization to improve their performance.
Additionally, consolidating pages that cover similar topics into one comprehensive page can improve user experience and help avoid keyword cannibalization.
In Summary
Cleaning up your website’s content is crucial for maintaining a high-quality site.
By conducting a content audit, prioritizing your content, and deciding whether to keep, update, or remove the content, you can effectively clean up your site without negatively impacting your rankings.
Remember to monitor your rankings and be patient as your site adjust.
More Resources:
Featured Image: Song_about_summer/Shutterstock
SEO
Optimize Your SEO Strategy For Maximum ROI With These 5 Tips
Wondering what improvements can you make to boost organic search results and increase ROI?
If you want to be successful in SEO, even after large Google algorithm updates, be sure to:
- Keep the SEO fundamentals at the forefront of your strategy.
- Prioritize your SEO efforts for the most rewarding outcomes.
- Focus on uncovering and prioritizing commercial opportunities if you’re in ecommerce.
- Dive into seasonal trends and how to plan for them.
- Get tip 5 and all of the step-by-step how-tos by joining our upcoming webinar.
We’ll share five actionable ways you can discover the most impactful opportunities for your business and achieve maximum ROI.
You’ll learn how to:
- Identify seasonal trends and plan for them.
- Report on and optimize your online share of voice.
- Maximize SERP feature opportunities, most notably Popular Products.
Join Jon Earnshaw, Chief Product Evangelist and Co-Founder of Pi Datametrics, and Sophie Moule, Head of Product and Marketing at Pi Datametrics, as they walk you through ways to drastically improve the ROI of your SEO strategy.
In this live session, we’ll uncover innovative ways you can step up your search strategy and outperform your competitors.
Ready to start maximizing your results and growing your business?
Sign up now and get the actionable insights you need for SEO success.
Can’t attend the live webinar? We’ve got you covered. Register anyway and you’ll get access to a recording, after the event.
SEO
TikTok’s US Future Uncertain: CEO Faces Congress
During a five-hour congressional hearing, TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew faced intense scrutiny from U.S. lawmakers about the social media platform’s connections to its Chinese parent company, ByteDance.
Legislators from both sides demanded clear answers on whether TikTok spies on Americans for China.
The U.S. government has been pushing for the divestiture of TikTok and has even threatened to ban the app in the United States.
Chew found himself in a difficult position, attempting to portray TikTok as an independent company not influenced by China.
However, lawmakers remained skeptical, citing China’s opposition to the sale of TikTok as evidence of the country’s influence over the company.
The hearing was marked by a rare display of bipartisan unity, with the tone harsher than in previous congressional hearings featuring American social media executives.
The Future of TikTok In The US
With the U.S. and China at odds over TikTok’s sale, the app faces two possible outcomes in the United States.
Either TikTok gets banned, or it revisits negotiations for a technical fix to data security concerns.
Lindsay Gorman, head of technology and geopolitics at the German Marshall Fund, said, “The future of TikTok in the U.S. is definitely dimmer and more uncertain today than it was yesterday.”
TikTok has proposed measures to protect U.S. user data, but no security agreement has been reached.
Addressing Concerns About Societal Impact
Lawmakers at the hearing raised concerns about TikTok’s impact on young Americans, accusing the platform of invading privacy and harming mental health.
According to the Pew Research Center, the app is used by 67% of U.S. teenagers.
Critics argue that the app is too addictive and its algorithm can expose teens to dangerous or lethal situations.
Chew pointed to new screen time limits and content guidelines to address these concerns, but lawmakers remained unconvinced.
In Summary
The House Energy and Commerce Committee’s hearing on TikTok addressed concerns common to all social media platforms, like spreading harmful content and collecting massive user data.
Most committee members were critical of TikTok, but many avoided the typical grandstanding seen in high-profile hearings.
The hearing aimed to make a case for regulating social media and protecting children rather than focusing on the national security threat posed by the app’s connection to China.
If anything emerges from this hearing, it could be related to those regulations.
The hearing also allowed Congress to convince Americans that TikTok is a national security threat that warrants a ban.
This concern arises from the potential for the Chinese government to access the data of TikTok’s 150 million U.S. users or manipulate its recommendation algorithms to spread propaganda or disinformation.
However, limited public evidence supports these claims, making banning the app seem extreme and potentially unnecessary.
As events progress, staying informed is crucial as the outcome could impact the digital marketing landscape.
Featured Image: Rokas Tenys/Shutterstock
Full replay of congressional hearing available on YouTube.
The Top 10 Benefits of Amazon AWS Lightsail: Why It’s a Great Choice for Businesses
Internal Linking for SEO: The Ultimate Guide of Best Practices
Optimize Your SEO Strategy For Maximum ROI With These 5 Tips
Google Search Status Dashboard Adds Google Ranking Updates
Google Bard Won’t Link To Sources Too Often
Google Mars Space Office Design At Belo Horizonte, Brazil
The best web hosting solutions for your personal webpage or business site
Google Search Console Shows If embedURL Page Uses indexifembedded
ActivityPub for WordPress Joins the Automattic Family – WordPress.com News
PPC Campaign Testing: The Dos & Don’ts to Turn Risks into Rewards
-
AMAZON4 days agoThe Top 10 Benefits of Amazon AWS Lightsail: Why It’s a Great Choice for Businesses
-
WORDPRESS3 days agoInternal Linking for SEO: The Ultimate Guide of Best Practices
-
SEO13 hours agoOptimize Your SEO Strategy For Maximum ROI With These 5 Tips
-
SEARCHENGINES2 days agoGoogle Search Status Dashboard Adds Google Ranking Updates
-
SEARCHENGINES1 day agoGoogle Bard Won’t Link To Sources Too Often
-
SEARCHENGINES9 hours agoGoogle Mars Space Office Design At Belo Horizonte, Brazil
-
WORDPRESS6 days agoThe best web hosting solutions for your personal webpage or business site
-
SEARCHENGINES21 hours agoGoogle Search Console Shows If embedURL Page Uses indexifembedded
English 
Svenska 
Deutsch (Sie)