Why shouldn't I delete and reupload my YouTube videos?

From my experience, deleting and reuploading a video can severely impact its visibility. Once a video is out, it starts building an audience. When you take it down, you lose that initial engagement, which can hurt your click-through rate (CTR) on the reupload. The algorithm tends to show your content to those who are likely to engage with it based on past interactions. If those people have already seen your video, they may not click on it again, leading to fewer views.

One thing I never do is delete videos, even the ones that underperform. Instead, I unlist them. You never know when a video might gain traction later on. There’s always a chance that old content can find a new audience or be recommended in some way that surprises you. I’ve had videos that I thought were failures later become popular due to different algorithmic trends.

I believe the algorithm doesn't intentionally punish you, but it does respond to audience engagement. If you delete a video that was gaining traction, you've essentially removed it from the algorithm's reach. When you reupload, it might not be shown to the same audience, resulting in lower performance. I've seen comments from others who have experienced similar drop-offs when they reuploaded videos, indicating a trend.

I’ve also seen cases where people reupload videos with completely different edits or styles after significant time has passed, and they do well. The key seems to be making sure that the new version offers something fresh and engaging. If you’re completely redoing a video, it might be viewed as a new piece of content rather than a simple rehash of the old one.

Interestingly, I’ve noticed that the algorithm sometimes shows the same video multiple times to users, especially in Shorts. It can feel like a gamble. Some creators have noted that they’ve had success even when reuploading similar content. This suggests that the effectiveness of reuploads can vary widely depending on the content and timing.