The guidelines for the YouTube Partner Program are constantly changing.

And every YouTube creator must follow these changes closely.

Beyond access to support, creators also need this partnership to earn revenue from ads displayed over their videos through monetization.

It is not uncommon to see YouTube channels get terminated as a result of violating their policies.

Since September 2020, YouTube has terminated over 8,000 channels for this reason [1] and will continue to do so.

So, if you want to keep creating and earning from YouTube, you will have to follow their terms of service.

In this article, we will consider some important guidelines you need to bear in mind regarding creating on YouTube and monetization of your videos.

Important 2022 YouTube Monetization Guidelines

Let’s have a look at some of the 2022 guidelines for YouTube monetization and see what they mean for your channel.

To monetize on youtube, your content has to align with all their policies.

Let’s have a look at some of these policies.

YouTube videos cannot contain any claims that the 2020 US presidential elections were rigged.

This means that any video that suggests voter fraud or that a candidate won due to counting errors or software glitches will be erased.

They’ll be marked as a violation by that channel.

Fake engagement tactics are strictly prohibited.

Practices such as exchanging subscriptions or hosting giveaways to get people to subscribe to your channel and grow your audience are no longer acceptable.

If your call-to-action for a giveaway outrightly states or suggests that you want to get subscribers, it would be a violation of YouTube’s fake engagement policy.

Having over 1,000 subscribers does not necessarily mean that you will be verified as a YouTube creator.

YouTube has added a few more requirements for content creators looking to get verified.

Here are the new criteria for YouTube verification:

YouTube must confirm that you are an actual person or public figure.

In other words, you must pass the authenticity test. 

A few extras:

Your channel should not be similar to popular YouTube channels.

Also, your channel must have a description, icon, as well as content that is actively sought out on YouTube.

 If your channel meets those requirements, you can go ahead to apply for verification.

• Your YouTube thumbnail should not be misleading.

Quite often, YouTube creators use their video title and thumbnail to pique the interest of viewers and rack up views.

While in itself, there is nothing wrong with this, the problem comes when your thumbnail advertises something that is not in the video.

And also, the more obvious restriction on thumbnails with violent or pornographic images will continue to be enforced.

• YouTube channels marked as ‘child friendly’ will no longer be allowed to host any form of adult-related content.

Some new child-related privacy laws are being enforced.

The reason is that Google and YouTube are forced to pay 170 million dollars for allegedly violating child privacy laws in 2019.

[2] Here is what this means for YouTube creators:

As a YouTube creator, you will have to clearly state the age range of your target audience. 

Already existing videos will need to be reviewed and marked either kid-friendly or otherwise.

Content for children?

When you tick the box that indicates that a video is for children, it prevents YouTube from displaying personalized ads over them.

You will have to tick this box for all existing videos on your channel, no matter how many.

There is some obscurity as to what defines a kid-directed video.

YouTube defines it as a video suitable for children 13 years and above.

As a YouTube creator, this is an area where you will have to tread carefully and keep researching to stay updated.

If your video is targeted towards children while containing content unsuitable for kids, you might have to pay a fine of up to $42,530.

The same goes for videos that are marked as containing mature content, but YouTube considers kid-friendly.

Also, you might have to pay fines if your video is animated but contains mature content or themes.

Seeing as revenue onYouTube comes from ads, as a YouTube creator, you will have to decide whether to stop creating kid-friendly content or not.

Security guidelines

• Ensure you have 2-step verification enabled on your google account.

This means that your account should be protected with both a password and an additional account.

Failure to do this will result in a delay in having your application reviewed.

Your channels must have at least 1,000 subscribers and 4,000 valid public watch hours.

This threshold exists because YouTube needs to know that your channel offers enough valuable content before you gain access to monetize your videos.

Only after meeting this requirement can you apply for the YouTube Partner Program.

Once you meet the threshold, sign the YouTube Partner Program terms.

You can set a reminder if you want to be notified when you meet that threshold. 

Ensure that you do not have more than one AdSense account.

Naturally, to get paid you would need to set up an account with google ads.

You should not have more than one and it should be connected to your YouTube account.

After signing the terms of use for the YouTube Partner Program and linking your AdSense account, your application will be put in a queue for review.

If your application is accepted, you can start earning.

However, if your application gets rejected, you can review your channel for any violations.

Then you can submit another application in 30 days.

If your channel has not uploaded new content in 6 months or more, there is a possibility that monetization may be disabled.

The YouTube Partner Program keeps expanding.

So support is focused on creators who are active and engage regularly with the community.

A Side Thought

[bctt tweet=”So many people view YouTube monetization as the holy grail This is something that personally, I have never understood.” username=”adampayne75″]

There are many other ways to make money from YouTube:

• You can learn how to do affiliate marketing.

• Direct people to an e-commerce store.
• Utilize YouTube ads to drive leads and sales.
• Utilize Youtube as a lead generation machine.

To my mind all of these are better than monetization.

In fact, unless you have a super huge channel, you’ll make less from monetization and it will disrupt the viewers experience.

So think wisely before you make this your goal.

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Summary

YouTube can be an amazing platform for video content sharing.

But it cannot be overemphasized that you need to be very mindful regarding their policies and guidelines so as not to violate any.

Also, YouTube policies are constantly changing and as such you need to keep up with your research to stay abreast with the current trends.