Can you delete and reupload a youtube video​?

YouTube has become one of the most popular platforms for content creators to showcase their videos to a global audience. With millions of users uploading content every day, there are often instances where creators may need to delete and re-upload videos. Whether it’s due to a mistake in the video, the need for better editing, or the desire to change the title or description, this question arises frequently: Can you delete and re-upload a YouTube video?

1. The Process of Deleting a YouTube Video

First, let’s start with the basics: How do you delete a YouTube video? Deleting a video from YouTube is relatively simple, but it’s important to note that this action is irreversible. Once a video is deleted, it cannot be recovered. Therefore, before proceeding with deletion, ensure you are completely sure about removing the video.

To delete a YouTube video, follow these steps:

Sign in to Your YouTube Account: Log in to your YouTube account where the video is uploaded.

Go to YouTube Studio: Click on your profile icon in the top right corner of the screen. From the drop-down menu, select “YouTube Studio.”

Navigate to ‘Videos’: In the left-hand sidebar of the YouTube Studio, click on the “Videos” tab. This will show you a list of all the videos you have uploaded to your channel.

Select the Video to Delete: Scroll through your videos and find the one you wish to delete. Click on the video thumbnail or the title to open its details page.

Click on ‘Options’: Once you are on the video details page, click on the three dots (or the options icon) next to the video title.

Click ‘Delete Forever’: From the options that appear, select “Delete Forever.” You will be prompted to confirm that you want to permanently delete the video. Note that there is no way to recover the video once it is deleted, so make sure you have a backup if needed.

Confirm Deletion: After confirming the deletion, the video will be permanently removed from your YouTube channel.

2. Re-uploading a Video on YouTube

After deleting the video, you might want to re-upload it, especially if you made improvements, want to correct mistakes, or need to update the video for SEO reasons. The process of re-uploading a video is almost the same as uploading a new video. Here’s how you can do it:

Prepare the Video File: Ensure that the video you want to upload is ready. If you made any changes, edits, or updates, be sure to save the final version of the video on your device.

Go to YouTube Studio: Once again, sign in to your YouTube account and go to YouTube Studio.

Click on the ‘Create’ Button: In the upper-right corner of YouTube Studio, you will see a camera icon with a plus sign. This is the “Create” button. Click on it, and then select “Upload video.”

Upload the Video: Drag and drop the video file into the upload area or click on the “Select files” button to browse for the video file on your device.

Enter Video Details: While the video uploads, you’ll be prompted to enter the title, description, tags, and other important details for the video. You can also select the thumbnail, choose the video’s privacy settings, and decide if you want to enable monetization (if applicable).

Publish the Video: Once the video has been uploaded and you’ve filled out all the necessary details, click the “Publish” button to make the video live.

Promote the Video: After the video is live, be sure to promote it on your social media channels and through other marketing efforts to attract views.

3. Implications of Deleting and Re-uploading a YouTube Video

While deleting and re-uploading a YouTube video is technically possible, there are several important factors to consider before doing so. Let’s explore the potential implications of this action.

Impact on Video Views and Engagement

One of the main downsides of deleting and re-uploading a video is that you will lose all the accumulated views, comments, likes, and engagement metrics associated with the original video. Here’s why:

Views: When you delete a video, YouTube removes all the view data associated with it. This means that any views the video had earned up until that point will be lost. Upon re-uploading the video, it will start with zero views, as if it’s a brand new upload.

Comments: All the comments on the original video will also be lost. Re-uploading the video means starting from scratch in terms of engagement and interaction with your audience.

Likes and Dislikes: Similar to views and comments, likes and dislikes on the original video are erased once the video is deleted. The re-uploaded version will begin with no likes or dislikes.

Watch Time: YouTube uses watch time as an important metric for ranking videos in search results and recommendations. Deleting a video erases all the watch time data, which could negatively impact the video’s visibility when re-uploaded.

Impact on SEO and Search Rankings

YouTube’s algorithm takes into account various factors, including video views, watch time, comments, and engagement, to determine the ranking of videos in search results. When you delete and re-upload a video, you lose all the SEO benefits that were accumulated from the original video. This includes:

Search Rankings: The re-uploaded video will be treated as a completely new video, so it won’t benefit from the search rankings or visibility that the original video had. If the video had been performing well in search results, re-uploading it could mean that you’ll need to start over in terms of search visibility.

Video Performance: The performance metrics of the original video, such as retention rate and click-through rate (CTR), will no longer be available to YouTube. As a result, the re-uploaded video may not be recommended to viewers in the same way as the original.

Impact on Monetization

If your channel is monetized, deleting and re-uploading a video can affect your ability to generate revenue from the video. YouTube tracks ad performance and revenue generation based on video views. By deleting the video, you lose any ad revenue that may have been generated from the original upload.

Moreover, re-uploading a video means that you’ll need to re-enable monetization, which may take some time to be processed and approved by YouTube. This can cause a delay in generating revenue from the newly uploaded video.

Impact on Video Analytics

Analytics are a key tool for creators to understand how their videos are performing. By deleting a video, you lose all the analytics data associated with that video. This includes:

Audience Retention: You will lose insights into how long viewers were watching the video and at which points they dropped off.

Traffic Sources: You’ll no longer have access to data about where the video’s views were coming from (e.g., search, suggested videos, social media, etc.).

Demographic Insights: Information about the geographic location, age, gender, and interests of viewers will also be lost.

Impact on Playlists

If the deleted video was part of any playlists, you will need to manually re-add the new version to those playlists after re-uploading. This can be time-consuming, especially if the video was featured in multiple playlists.

4. Alternatives to Deleting and Re-uploading a YouTube Video

Before deciding to delete and re-upload a video, it’s worth considering whether there are other options available to achieve your goals without losing engagement and video performance. Some of these alternatives include:

Editing the Existing Video

Instead of deleting the video and re-uploading a new version, you can edit the existing video. YouTube offers a built-in video editor that allows you to make basic edits to your video, such as:

Trimming parts of the video

Adding end screens and annotations

Updating the video’s title, description, and tags

While the YouTube video editor has some limitations, it’s often enough to fix minor issues without needing to delete the video. Additionally, the views, comments, and other engagement data remain intact.

Updating the Video’s Metadata

If you need to change the title, description, tags, or thumbnail of the video, you can do so without deleting the video. YouTube allows you to update these elements at any time after uploading the video, which can help improve the video’s visibility and performance.

Re-uploading a New Version as a Separate Video

If you feel that the changes you want to make are significant enough to warrant a fresh start, you can consider uploading the improved version of the video as a completely new upload without deleting the original. This way, you can retain the original video and its accumulated data while still offering the new and improved version to your audience.