YouTube Removed My Video for Violating Their Terms – Now What?

For every minute, 100 hours of video are uploaded to the YouTube network. There’s no denying that YouTube is one of the largest and most successful media hubs that can be visited on the internet. This can translate to loads of advertising and revenue potential for internet marketers and entrepreneurs. However, with the latest string of stringent guidelines that have been rolled out on YouTube, some users are finding out that their videos don’t make the cut.

So, your video has been removed from YouTube, and now you’re at a loss. Maybe that video contributed to a major stream of income for you, or you were in the midst of trying out a new marketing campaign. Whatever the case, your video is gone and you need it back online as soon as possible. Don’t worry; there is life after video deletion on YouTube. You just have to know what steps to take to get back in the saddle. This is the proper course of action you could take after your video was removed for violating YouTube terms.

Analyze Why the Video Was Removed

There’s a likely chance that you feel confusion and anger over your video being removed. Everybody else is uploading videos to yours; so why did yours get removed?

Instead of huffing and puffing, take some time to analyze what it was about your video that didn’t quite jive with YouTube’s terms and conditions. In most cases, a video removal is a result from a copyright violation, nudity content, excessive violence, or a duplicate match to another video that has already been copyrighted.

YouTube is pretty open about discussing their reasons for removing videos with offending users, so be sure to look for an email or notice on the account that goes over what the video was in violation of. If a video has been flagged or removed, the user often receives a message after login that must be read before moving onto his/her account page.

In some cases, the problem can be remedied if it was in relation to a copyright violation. Maybe you used a copyrighted song to accompany the video. In this case, you could remove the music from the video, substitute commercial free music, and re-upload. A removal or flag does not have to be the “be-all, end-all” for your video.

Avoid Increasing Your Views Too Quickly

Particularly, something that should always be avoided is black hat activity for illegitimately acquiring hits and likes on video uploads. As of late, YouTube has significantly cracked down on black hat techniques for increasing visibility for videos on YouTube. Black hat activity might entail using bots to rake in fake views or likes, in an effort to increase awareness and SEO for a video.

Even major record label companies have taken hits of their own in terms of accumulating “dead” or “fake” views. Particularly, Universal lost approximately a billion views collectively on their videos in YouTube’s effort to enforce its new rules and regulations concerning viewing figure violations.

As you can see, using illegitimate means of accruing metrics for your videos on YouTube is a losing battle. Rather than wasting time and money on schemes that advertise “1,000 likes instantly,” spend your efforts on good SEO and quality content building. When you produce great content, the views and likes will naturally come along with it. Likewise, user will be more enthusiastic about sharing your video with their friends and family – helping you earn links in the long run.

Appeal the Decision

Of course, you might not see any immediate reason for the video being taken down in the first place. If you don’t see any viable rhyme or reason to your video being a violation, it’s time to make an appeal.

You can make an appeal by accessing the “Copyright Notices” section on your account and filing a dispute for the video take-down. Understand that the appeal will likely only be considered by YouTube if your video was truly removed in error. Don’t assume that YouTube will merely change their minds or regulations over your differing opinion from the way that they conduct business. They offer you the medium to host your content; therefore, you must play by their rules.

Additionally, simply removing the video and re-uploading will not provide your account with a clean slate. A strike on a video will still stand long after an offending video has been removed from an account.

If you are successful in appealing the strike against your account and the removal of your video, the strike will be removed and the content will be restored. If you are unsuccessful in contesting the removal, everything will remain the same the strike will stay on the account.

Take Your Business Elsewhere

If all else fails and your content doesn’t fall in line with YouTube’s terms and conditions, it’s best to host your video in other places. There are many other media hubs online that provide massive exposure for marketers and entrepreneurs. Understand that YouTube is only one outlet that people use for hosting their content and funneling traffic. There are many other completely viable means for doing this, and just because YouTube doesn’t like what your content doesn’t mean that any other website won’t either.

Things to Consider Before Uploading to YouTube

To make sure that you don’t wind up in this type of situation again, be sure to ask yourself a few questions before uploading to YouTube.

Am I breaking copyright laws? Think about any of the content you have included in your video. Do you own the rights to it? For example, the subtle music you’ve included in the background could be licensed to someone else, and video will remove this type of content without hesitation. Make sure to do a full analysis and audit of your video for copyright violations before uploading.

Does my video include nudity or excessive violence? YouTube prides itself on offering mild content to a wide range of viewers. Always remember that when your video is public, it can be viewed by anyone, even small children. If your video contains gruesome images or nudity, it’s not likely that it will last long on YouTube’s servers. Be sure to omit any of this before uploading to YouTube. If you’d like, you can create a link video for YouTube that funnels traffic to your real video that you’ve hosted on another website. Many users use this method to scrape by with YouTube’s terms and conditions.

Lastly, am I using illegitimate methods for accruing likes or views? If you plan to use a morally questionable means of increasing exposure for your video, think again. These methods typically cost money, and it’s not long before YouTube catches onto what’s going on and removes the video in question. In some cases, the entire account can be removed/banned altogether. Because of this, it’s best to stick to white hat, legitimate means for promoting content on YouTube. Be sure to use tags, an interesting title, and a great description for attracting users to your video. Never forget; great content is what attracts unique users and keeps existing users coming back for more.