One of our long-term partner channels, a massive Arabic-language kids channel with 7 million subscribers, hit a wall in August. Everything looked fine on the surface.
- Posting was consistent
- CTR held strong
- Average view duration was even up compared to the previous period
But under the hood?
- Recommendations down 91%
- New uploads barely picked up by the algorithm
- Even live streams showed the same flatline.
Only old videos kept getting recommended. Just one video from 2024 made it through, and it was a vertical short. For everything else?
Just 1–5% of traffic was coming from recommendations.
That’s a full-blown algorithmic blackout.
Nothing was clear at the beginning, as it usually is. But a few steps from AIR solved it, bringing 2.8X more views and over 6X revenue growth.
Here’s what was going on.
Step 1: Certified YouTube Review
We pulled in one of the strongest assets in the AIR toolkit: our direct line to YouTube support via certified partner access.
We raised the flag. YouTube investigated.
They confirmed the issue had existed and reported it was fixed:
“We have investigated this video with our internal teams to troubleshoot the decline in WatchTime / Views… Thank you for raising the issue, we value the feedback…”
But the stats weren’t improving yet. Recommendations remained stuck at 2–3%. A few videos even had zero visibility from the suggested feed. Small bumps of 0.5–1% is not something we consider a win.
Step 2: Dig Deeper. Solve It Ourselves
When YouTube doesn’t spot anything technical, we go surgical.
Our team ran a full Channel Audit, analyzing every content, thumbnail, and metadata trend across their catalog.
What did we find? YouTube had flagged the thumbnails as low quality.
That’s lethal for kids content. Almost every video used clickbait-style imagery: open mouths, exaggerated pouting, facial distortions.
For YouTube’s systems, especially on kids channels, these = low trust signals.
Step 3: New Thumbnail Strategy, New Growth
We guided the channel through a complete visual strategy shift:
- Replaced all problematic thumbnails
- Rebuilt visuals around YouTube’s kids-content best practices
- Optimized everything for discoverability and trustworthiness
And then… things exploded.
The Results Were Massive
Then came the results and they were insane.
|
Metric |
Growth Multiplier |
|
Views |
2.8x |
|
Recommendations |
4.99x |
|
Watch Time |
7.97x |
|
Revenue |
6.6x |
That’s not a recovery. That’s a resurrection.
Solving Troubles Is What We Do
Here’s what we handle at AIR, day in and day out.
- Traffic drops, like this one? Diagnosed, escalated, solved.
- Strikes or demonetization? We manage the appeal, talk to YouTube, and help you get your earnings back.
- Channel got hacked? We step in immediately and work with you to recover access fast.
- Monetization issues? We audit, help to fix, and guide you through reapproval.
We know how YouTube works technically, algorithmically, and operationally.
That’s why over 3000+ creators trust us to keep their channels not just growing, but safe.
If something’s off with your channel, reach out. We’ll take it from here.
