Not Sure Which Languages to Choose?
See how much global reach you can unlock without changing the content itself. Just with translated metadata and subtitles layers depending on the viewer’s location.
In 2025, we ran a simple but targeted experiment with a long-time entertainment channel partner in Europe. We offered them something they hadn’t tried before: AI-powered translation at scale.
And the results were pretty nice.
What We Did: Test Global Reach with AI
This wasn’t some random experiment on a small channel. We’d been working with this mid-sized European channel for years with an entertainment format. Think comedy skits, games, and lifestyle topics.
But the moment we began layering in subtitles and metadata in other languages, their traffic began shifting in interesting ways.
We focused on two things:
- Subtitles
Auto-translated and AI-edited captions in 20+ languages.
- Metadata
Titles, descriptions, and tags were adapted by AI into key target languages (Spanish, Hindi, Portuguese, and a few niche ones like Turkish and Vietnamese).
We applied this only to selected videos that already had signs of potential: decent CTR, evergreen topics, and strong average view durations. And then we watched.
What Changed
When we compared performance over two six-month periods (September 2024 – March 2025 vs. April – August 2025), here’s what we saw:
- The total views increased from 47.7 million to 52.8 million.
That’s a 10.7% increase, specifically in multilingual discoverability. - Roughly 21.7% of all views came from videos with subtitles.
That’s over 11 million views directly influenced by subtitled versions. - Another 8% of views were tied to AI-translated metadata.
That means roughly 4.2 million views came because users found the video via translated titles, descriptions, or tags.
Native-language content still brought in the lion’s share. But the translated content helped the algorithm rediscover the videos for new audiences. It unlocked visibility where there previously was none.
And for a channel that had already matured in its local market, that was the only way forward.
Want to try AI Metadata Translation? We’ll set you up.
Why This Works (Even If You’re Local)
YouTube doesn’t work like it did five years ago. Today, it’s about discovery across dozens of niches and sub-audiences you’ve never thought about.
When a video is titled only in English, but 60% of your impressions are coming from non-English regions, you’re losing visibility.
So, start with translated metadata and subtitles. See who bites. See where the watch time holds and which countries start pushing your traffic up.
Then consider native dubbing for top-performing regions. That’s what this channel is doing now.
Subtitles and metadata help viewers understand your content, and then YouTube understands where to serve it.
Ready to take your content global?
Contact us and we’ll handle testing, dubbing, and full-scale localization so you can focus on creating.
Practical Takeaways
Don’t just throw subtitles on everything.
Focus on high-retention, evergreen videos first. If a video is working already, it’s got algorithmic “stickiness”. Make it discoverable elsewhere.
Don’t guess which languages to target.
Look at your “Geography” tab in Analytics. Find secondary or tertiary markets that already show up. Prioritize based on potential, not just current size.
Don’t treat translation as a one-time fix.
It’s a layer of audience development, just like SEO or thumbnails. Iterate. Track results. Refine the mix.
The Bigger Picture
Subtitles and metadata are one of the most efficient levers you can pull to boost your content reach.
This case showed it clearly. A 5 million total view growth with zero extra production effort. Just smart AI implementation and the right videos chosen for translation.
So yes, even your local, niche, culturally-specific channel can go international. And when you're ready to scale it up, we’ll help you do it right.
We’ve already built the tools, and we know how to use them. Reach out to us, and let’s see where your content could go next.
