YouTube verification can feel like a secret sometimes. With the lack of transparency from YouTube, it feels like your best way to get verified is by praying. Don’t worry though! There are a few ways to answer the age-old “How to get verified on YouTube” question.
Being verified on YouTube also gives you more credibility, which leads to more subscribers on YouTube.
In this article, we’ll be looking at what YouTube verification is, why it matters, and how to get verified on YouTube. Bear in mind that there are no exact ways to get verified. We’ll be teaching you all the available methods you can try.
Table of Contents
What Is YouTube Verification?
On any platform, you have the chance to become verified. This option was originally made available for celebrities. In an effort to avoid celebrity impersonations and scams, social media companies started to verify famous and important people.
This verification is typically a small badge that appears next to a username. Nowadays, almost any famous person can be verified. If you have a sizable audience in any way, you can request the platform of your choice to make your account yours officially.
What Are the Benefits of Being Verified on YouTube?
The verification symbol certainly adds credibility, but its advantages extend beyond that. Let’s take a look at everything else that comes with getting a YouTube verified symbol.
1. Longer Videos
YouTube watch time is one of the main things you need to pay attention to as a YouTuber. YouTube tends to promote videos that are longer than 16 minutes. You hear the phrase “hitting the 16-minute mark” quite often in the community.
If your channel isn’t verified, the platform doesn’t allow you to upload videos longer than 15 minutes. This means you can’t optimise your content without being verified. So, more than anything else, verification allows you to be promoted better.
2. Livestreams
Livestreams gained popularity during Covid-19. With the rise of platforms such as Twitch, YouTube started a livestream function as well. Unfortunately, this feature is not available to unverified users at the moment. This is mostly due to the difficulty of monitoring livestreams.
So, if you get the YouTube verified symbol, you can pander to a whole new audience. Livestreams require less effort and offer more content. So consider starting consistent streams if you’re looking to get more views on YouTube.
3. More Credibility
Having a verified account shows people that you’re serious about YouTube. It shows that you are considered a recognized and important figure on the scene. A verified account means you’re an actual YouTuber, and not just messing around with videos.
It also shows your tutorials/teachings are reliable. If you’re a ‘How to…’ channel, having a badge beside your profile automatically makes you more credible than other tutorial channels.
4. Algorithm Opportunities
The YouTube algorithm is basically what can make or break your career. This algorithm is much more likely to recommend content from a verified channel than an unverified one. So, being verified also gives you a better chance of being recommended.
As you can see, all the recommended content is from verified channels:
Another form of content favoured by the algorithm is shorts. Learning how to make YouTube shorts can bring you more subscribers. You will need a certain number of subscribers to request verification.
5. Appealing Claims
When you upload a video on YouTube, it can be copyright claimed or content ID claimed. These two are similar as both of them happen when your video, partly or completely, contains content that isn’t yours.
As a non-verified account, you cannot appeal these claims. While appeals don’t ensure results, they do at least give you an action you can take.
6. Custom Thumbnails
There are millions of hours of content on YouTube, and you only have milliseconds to stand out. Thumbnails are the best way to do that. The first thing that people lay eyes on is your thumbnail. Not being able to customise the thumbnail can badly affect your views.
If your account isn’t verified, you can’t upload a personal thumbnail at all. You are forced to pick between the options provided by YouTube.
7. Brand Protection
A big part of being a content creator is acting in accordance with online culture. This isn’t easy as there are many things you can do to get ‘Cancelled’. However, even if you uphold everything the fans expect of you, there can be fake accounts ruining your reputation.
Having a verified channel means there is a way for everyone to know when it’s definitely you speaking. So you can let your fans know when someone is impersonating you and ensure both theirs and your safety.
8. Better Support
YouTube support tends to prioritise verified channels over unverified ones. While the cause behind this isn’t very obvious, it does mean that if you face any issues, you are much more likely to have it fixed quickly as a verified account.
This is partly due to YouTube being aware that this is your job instead of a hobby. The other reason is that as a creator with fans, you are more likely to affect YouTube’s reputation overall.
9. Sponsorships
Many companies don’t feel inclined to work with unverified accounts. The verification badge comes with much better sponsorship opportunities, as being verified gives you legitimacy and credibility.
10. YouTube Spaces
Being verified means you have the chance to be invited to YouTube Spaces. The company sometimes holds pop-up events or leaves space for creators to film, called YouTube Spaces. Unfortunately, you’re unlikely to be invited to these events without having a verified account .
How to Get Verified on YouTube?
There are two different verification processes on this platform. One allows you to verify your account and the other your channel. Let’s see how you can do both of them.
Account Verification
This is just a way for YouTube to know you are a person, and not a bot or spam account. This process doesn’t need anything more than owning a YouTube account. Here is all you have to do:
- Go to YouTube’s verify page,
- Select your country.
- Enter your phone number.
- Enter the code texted to you.
And that’s it. You now have a verified YouTube account.
Channel Verification
While account verification gives you access to some features, it does not offer the verification badge you probably want. To get that you need to verify your channel as well. This process is more difficult than the previous one.
1. Ensure Your Eligibility
The most basic thing you need for channel verification is:
- 100k subscribers.
- your channel needs to represent only one person or one group,
- and have a ‘complete channel’. That means a profile photo and description must be available.
Note: YouTube will verify channels that are big on other platforms, but have less than 100k subscribers on YouTube.
2. Apply for Verification
The first step you need to take is to apply your channel for verification. This is done through YouTube’s official verification application. If you’re eligible for verification, you will be shown a form you need to fill out. Once this small form is completed, click on submit.
Those are really the only two steps you need to take. After that, you’ll just have to wait and hope that you’re in good enough standing with YouTube to get verified. Unfortunately, there is no way to guarantee you will be getting verified. So just wait and try again if necessary.
Tips and Tricks
There are a few extra things you need to know about verification:
1. Artist Channels
If you’re an artist who makes music, you need to apply for verification as an Artist Channel. Official artist channels have their own eligibility requirements you need to follow. Make sure to apply correctly as the band or solo artist.
2. Keeping Your Verification Badge
Some creators believe that once they get verified, they will not be facing any issues. This is not true. You can actually lose your verification if you don’t adhere to YouTube’s Terms of Service or Community Guidelines.
3. Changing Channel Name
When you change your channel name, you temporarily lose your verification badge. It is not difficult to apply again and gain access to the badge. However, if you change your name consistently, you may lose your badge forever.
Conclusion
Verification on YouTube is important. It’s what sets you apart from casual users, and offers you new and helpful features. While getting a badge isn’t easy, it can be very significant for your channel.
Now you know everything about how to get verified on YouTube. Best of luck on your YouTuber journey!
FAQs
1. How Many Subscribers Do You Need to Get Verified on YouTube?
You need more than 100,000 subscribers to be able to apply for verification on YouTube. Watchtime is not significant in this process. Remember that sometimes you can’t apply for verification immediately. It may take a couple of days after reaching the 100k threshold.
2. When Do You Get Verified on YouTube?
There is really no way to tell when verification happens. YouTube isn’t particularly clear about its verification process and it’s a bit luck-dependent as well. So just stay in the platform’s good graces and hope for the best.
3. How to Check If My YouTube Account Is Verified?
Checking whether your account is verified or not is very simple:
- Head to YouTube,
- Click on your photo on the top right,
- Click on ‘Settings’,
- Find and choose ‘Channel status and features’,
- Check if ‘Intermediate features’ says ‘Enabled’ or not.
If it says enabled then you’re already verified. If it says ‘Eligible’ then you need to verify your account.
4. What Does the Check Mark Mean on Youtube?
The check mark indicates that a channel is verified. That means this channel’s owner is who they say they are, and that YouTube confirms their content is appropriate and fitting for the platform.
