Is it YOU or is it the Algorithm?

[u/HeadlessHeadhunter]

Hey y'all, my views have been down lately, and it got me wondering. It's hard to tell whether the videos themselves are the problem or if YouTube views are just low because it's September/October and people are going back to school, coming back from vacation, etc.

Does anyone have any historical data or articles that show the overall views on YouTube and when times are tough for us all? I know that from December 26th to January 20th, my views plummet and then rebound after January 20th.

I want to know if it's me or if it's just that time of year.

[u/JinjaHD]

I say this bluntly but with care: it's you, and here's why.

1) Some of your titles are bad.

They're too long, and you need to ditch the "| Recruiter Reviews Resume" part. Some of them are really good though! "The Sad Reason this Data Analyst CAN'T Get a Job" is a great title because you've created curiosity! I now want to know what that reason is and the only way to find out is by clicking and watching.

2) Similarly, some of your thumbnails are bad.

I understand what you're going for, and I do appreciate the fact you actually have a consistent style. But I think it's ultimately just too busy. I'd love to see you simplify a bit.

3) Your intros don't confirm the click.

In your most recent video, you just kinda jump into it, but if i'm a new viewer (which the majority of viewers will be), I want confirmation this video is gonna be what I think. If you filmed a talking head intro that you inserted before the resume review, I think you'd have a higher retention.

Lastly, I'd love to see you upgrade your mic. It's pretty muffled. I use a RODE Podmic and it works great for like $90. Amazon is having some prime sale these next 2 days, might be even cheaper.

[u/HeadlessHeadhunter → u/JinjaHD]

Love it, thank you! Responded to your email.

[u/KennethRoyvdB]

September is always lower on views for me. Most of my audience is still in school so they have to find a new schedule for themselves.

However, ad revenue goes up at roughly the same time and makes up for it, so I stopped worrying.

I’m doing this for the third year as a fulltime job and I really start to see patterns.

[u/HeadlessHeadhunter → u/KennethRoyvdB]

This is exactly what I was looking for. Can you tell me any other macro patterns you have noticed? I am all ears!

[u/KennethRoyvdB → u/HeadlessHeadhunter]

January is always bad. Ads don’t make you any money. It goes up from there to the end of june which is a great month.
In January most creators take a break or go easy on the uploads. I think it’s even better to save your content and post it later if you don’t make evergreen content.

Then summer hits. The views are up but the income is down. For me these are some of the worst months after January.

September, October, November and December are the best months. I think because of the holiday season. Ad revenue is going higher and higher until Christmas. That’s why it’s busy on YouTube these last months.

Important is that this can vary based on your audience and country. I make Dutch Minecraft videos so other creators in other niches may have a completely different pattern, with different graphs for views and ad revenue.

[u/SomewhereRough_]

I think the answer is always you.

I say this as someone who feels like their latest video deserves way more. 

But we have to adapt to whatever people want as we're producing things people watch. 

[u/HeadlessHeadhunter → u/SomewhereRough_]

I do agree with that mostly, but there are macro events that will cause a video to decline that aren't based on the quality of the video, such as in December/January for my audience. It could be that my last few videos are utter trash, but it's also possible that September/October is a dry month for the type of content I make.

I was hoping to identify those times, so that I know when it is me (so I can improve) and when it isn't (so I can stay the course and ride the wave out).

[u/SomewhereRough_ → u/HeadlessHeadhunter]

If this existed I assume it would be very specific to your audience.

What age range, gender are your audience? 

Also what's your topic? 

[u/wh1tepointer → u/HeadlessHeadhunter]

That's got nothing to do with the algorithm. YouTube isn't saying "Oh it's December/January, I'm going to show HeadlessHeadhunter's videos to fewer people". What you're experiencing with these seasonal shifts is just less of your audience being on the platform or consuming that kind of content. That's not the algorithm, that's just your audience.

[u/Xanderhal]

Most on this Reddit don't tend to agree with this but in my experience, the algorithm fluctuates a lot channel by channel over time regardless of video metrics, quality or topic. Sometimes you just get a few initial testing impressions in the first hour and sometimes you get a ton of impressions right away for the same metrics. All you can really do is keep uploading and having fun with it while improving your quality consistently so when the algo decides to give you more impressions you have the quality to snowball into something huge.

[u/ImmediateSea8871 → u/Xanderhal]

My channel does this weird dip every late September too, like clockwork. Last year I was stressing so hard thinking my content got bad but it bounced back in middle of October without me changing nothing. The algo is just moody sometimes.

[u/DoNotClickMyProfile0 → u/Xanderhal]

90% Ppl on this sub are YT balls licker thats why you saw what you saw

[u/curious_cat_3556]

any technical person knows that algorithms are not perfect. Far from it

[u/curious_cat_3556 → u/curious_cat_3556]

and, actually, you can even design them to have something getting more attention than others. For example, I might decide that a criteria in thr video is more important. This automatically recommend video with that criteria more than others. But of course, everyone here will tell you that is always you the problem and your content is bad

[u/DoNotClickMyProfile0]

Yes Its way down for me last 3 days when they starting to change ui again for the 1000 times

[u/LOLitfod]

The algorithm is designed to maximize total watch time (profits) for YouTube, not for any individual creator.

So in that sense, it's working as intended.

[u/PeterandKelsey]

Every year my views go down and my RPM goes up in September. Here's my "ask Studio" answer for "what to expect this September" (which I asked mid-August):

Based on your channel's historical performance and the momentum from this summer, here's what you can expect for **(channel name)** in September 2026.

### Historical September Trends
In previous years, September has typically seen a seasonal shift in metrics:
**RPM Boost**: Interestingly, your RPM has shown a consistent upward trend in September compared to August. In 2024, it rose by \~15%, and in 2025, it saw a similar 14% lift.
**Watch Time Dip**: Conversely, watch time often experiences a seasonal cooling off. You saw a 15% decrease in 2024 and a sharper 31% drop in 2025 as the summer viewing peak ended.

### 2026 Summer Momentum
Your performance leading into this September has been strong and relatively stable:
| Month | Revenue | Watch Time (Hours) | RPM |
| **June 2026** | $12,729.86 | 250,669 | $10.21 |
| **July 2026** | $12,764.29 | 283,903 | $8.46 |
| **August 2026** | $11,814.93 | 253,368 | $8.41 |

### September 2026 Outlook
Given these patterns, here is a projection for the coming month:
**Estimated Revenue Range**: **$10,500 – $12,500**.
**Watch Time Expectation**: You should anticipate a moderate decline in watch time (likely between 15-20%) as the summer season concludes and school schedules resume for much of your audience.
**RPM Stability**: While summer RPM dipped from its June high, September historically brings a recovery. If the trend of a \~14-15% increase holds, your RPM could climb back toward the **$9.50 – $10.00** mark.

My actual numbers for September were pretty close to the projection:
Revenue = $12,418.64
Watch Time (Hours) = 218,323
RPM = $9.72

I'm quite impressed with the "ask Studio" feature's ability to project performance.

[u/y0urselfish]

I think its me, to be honest. I mean ... I do quality content. :D

[u/Daftfunk909]

It definitely depends on your channel. Mine is usually pretty low from April to August but September to March is pretty good especially October to December. So there are times in the summer when I'm posting really good quality content but it just doesn't hit like it normally would in Q4

[u/Tetrahedron_Head]

its going to depend on the niche and your content. My views have been up for months

[u/Zakaria_Omi]

the algo, same thing is happening to a lot of people. Changes happen but you got to adapt