![YouTube Shorts Explained [What, Where, How, When & Why?] 2](https://i0.wp.com/alanspicer.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/youtube-shorts-explained-what-where-how-when-why-3-e1604132852184.jpg?fit=912%2C667&quality=85&ssl=1)
YouTube Shorts went from a small experiment to one of the biggest things on the internet — and the rules have changed completely.
Shorts now run up to 3 minutes, pull in 70 billion+ views a day, and — crucially — they’re monetised. This is the complete 2026 guide: what Shorts are, how to make them, the exact dimensions, why they matter, and how Shorts money, RPM and YouTube Partner Program requirements actually work.
Why trust this? I’m Alan Spicer — a YouTube Certified Expert with two decades on the platform, six Silver Play Buttons and 500+ creators coached. I’ve used Shorts to grow channels since the day the format launched.
Want a Shorts strategy built around your channel? Book a free discovery call.
🔑 Key takeaways
- Shorts are vertical videos up to 3 minutes (since Oct 2024).
- They get 70 billion+ views a day — unbeatable for reach.
- Shorts are monetised — a 45% pooled ad-revenue share since 2023.
- Pay is low (~$0.01–$0.07 per 1,000 views) — use Shorts to grow.
- Best strategy: Shorts for reach, long-form for revenue.
📌 Jump to a section:
⚡ QUICK ANSWER: What are YouTube Shorts?
YouTube Shorts are vertical videos up to 3 minutes long, shown in a swipeable feed — YouTube’s answer to TikTok and Reels. They’re brilliant for reach and discovery (70 billion+ views a day) and they’re now monetised through the Partner Program, though pay per view is low. The winning play: use Shorts to grow your audience, and funnel viewers to your long-form videos where the real revenue is.
What Are YouTube Shorts?
YouTube Shorts are short, vertical videos that play in a dedicated, swipeable Shorts Feed across the YouTube app and website. Launched globally in 2021 to take on TikTok, Snapchat and Instagram Reels, Shorts has since become one of YouTube’s most important formats.
Any video that is vertical (or square) and under three minutes is treated as a Short. They appear on the Shorts shelf on the home page, in the Shorts tab, on your channel, and in search — giving even brand-new creators a genuine shot at being discovered by millions. If you’ve ever fallen into a “just one more” scrolling session, you’ve experienced exactly why YouTube leans on the format so heavily.
YouTube Shorts by the Numbers (2026)
The scale is hard to overstate:
| Metric | 2026 figure |
|---|---|
| Daily Shorts views | 70 billion+ (up from 50bn in 2023) |
| Monthly logged-in Shorts viewers | 2 billion+ |
| Share of total YouTube watch time | ~25–30% |
| Maximum length | 3 minutes (since Oct 2024) |
| Creator ad-revenue share | 45% (pooled from the Shorts Feed) |
For any creator, that’s an enormous discovery engine sitting inside the platform you’re already on.
How to Make a YouTube Short
You can create a Short in two ways — film it in the app, or upload a vertical video you’ve already made:
- Open the Shorts camera — in the YouTube app tap Create then Create a Short. Or simply upload a vertical video under 3 minutes.
- Record or upload your clip — shoot in segments in the app, or bring in footage from your phone.
- Add music, text and effects — pull a track from the music library and add captions to hold attention.
- Hook fast and loop — open with your best moment; a satisfying loop earns replays.
- Title, add #Shorts and publish.
Now that Shorts can run to three minutes, you’ve got room for proper storytelling too:
Clean sound still matters even in short vertical video — see recording clean audio.
YouTube Shorts Dimensions & Specs
Get the format right and your Short fills the screen instead of sitting in a letterboxed box:
| Spec | Recommended |
|---|---|
| Aspect ratio | 9:16 (vertical); square also works |
| Resolution | 1080 x 1920 pixels |
| Length | Up to 3 minutes |
| Orientation | Vertical, filmed in portrait |
Why Make YouTube Shorts?
Even with low per-view pay, Shorts are worth the effort for one reason above all: reach. A single Short can be shown to people who’ve never heard of you, which makes the format one of the fastest ways to grow a new channel. The benefits stack up:
- Discovery. The Shorts Feed pushes your content to brand-new viewers, not just your subscribers.
- Growth. Consistent Shorts can grow subscribers far quicker than long-form alone.
- Low barrier. A phone and an idea is all you need — no big production.
- A funnel. Shorts bring people in; your long-form videos keep and monetise them.
- Cross-platform. The same vertical clip works on TikTok and Reels — repurpose once, post everywhere.
How the YouTube Shorts Algorithm Works
The Shorts algorithm behaves very differently from the long-form one, and understanding that difference is the key to getting views. Long-form YouTube leans heavily on click-through rate and watch time; the Shorts Feed is far more like a slot machine of quick tests. Here’s what actually drives it:
- It tests small, then scales. YouTube shows your Short to a small batch of viewers first. If they watch, rewatch and engage, it shows it to a bigger batch — and so on. Strong early signals are everything.
- Watched-vs-swiped-away is the core signal. The percentage of people who watch rather than instantly scroll past tells YouTube whether to keep pushing it.
- Subscribers barely matter. Unlike long-form, a Short from a tiny channel can reach millions — the feed is built for discovery, not loyalty. That’s what makes it so powerful for new creators.
- Loops and rewatches count. A Short people watch twice sends a stronger signal than one they watch once, which is why a clean loop is worth engineering.
- Each Short is judged on its own. One flop won’t sink the next one, so consistency and volume let you take more swings.
In short: nail the first two seconds, keep people watching, and the algorithm does the rest.
Can You Monetise YouTube Shorts?
Yes — and this is the single biggest change since this format launched. Since February 2023, Shorts earn ad revenue through the YouTube Partner Program, replacing the old fixed Shorts Fund. Here’s how it works: ads that run between videos in the Shorts Feed are pooled each month, a portion covers music licensing, and the rest is shared out to creators based on their engaged views. Creators receive 45% of their allocated share.
To earn it, you need to be in the Partner Program and accept the Shorts Monetization Module. The thresholds:
| Tier | Subscribers | Plus one of… |
|---|---|---|
| Full YPP (ad + Shorts revenue) | 1,000 | 4,000 watch hrs (12 mo) OR 10M Shorts views (90 days) |
| Expanded tier (fan funding) | 500 | 3,000 watch hrs (90 days) OR 3M Shorts views (90 days) |
You only need to hit one of the paths. For a deeper dive, see can YouTube Shorts be monetised and my guide to the YouTube Partner Programme.
How Much Do YouTube Shorts Pay?
Here’s the honest part. Shorts pay very little per view. Typical Shorts RPM in 2026 sits around $0.01 to $0.07 per 1,000 views, with higher-value niches reaching a little more. In plain numbers, one million engaged views often earns roughly $10 to $70 — a fraction of what the same views would earn on long-form video.
Reality check: don’t build your income plan on Shorts ad revenue alone. Their real value is the audience they bring you. Treat Shorts money as a bonus, and build your actual income from the methods below and from your long-form content.
7 Ways to Make Money From Shorts (Beyond Ads)
Because ad revenue is small, the creators who profit from Shorts stack income from several sources:
- Brand deals — paid sponsorships, which work from day one with no subscriber minimum.
- Affiliate marketing — earn commission on products you mention or link.
- Digital products & merch — sell your own presets, templates, courses or merch.
- YouTube Shopping — tag products directly in your content.
- Channel memberships — recurring support from your fans.
- Super Thanks & Super Chat — direct tips from viewers.
- The long-form funnel — the big one: send Shorts viewers to your higher-earning long-form videos.
That last point is the whole game. A Short that earns pennies but sends one viewer to a long-form video — or a discovery call — is worth far more than its RPM suggests.
Shorts vs Long-Form: Where Should You Focus?
This isn’t either/or — they do different jobs, and the best channels run both:
| Factor | Shorts | Long-form |
|---|---|---|
| Best for | Reach & discovery | Depth & revenue |
| Pay per view | Low | Much higher |
| Effort per video | Low | Higher |
| Role | Attract new viewers | Keep & monetise them |
The winning formula for most creators: use Shorts to get found, and long-form to get paid.
YouTube Shorts Strategy Tips
- Hook in the first 1–2 seconds. There’s no time to warm up — lead with the payoff.
- Design for the loop. A Short that loops seamlessly gets watched again, boosting reach.
- Ride trends fast. Trending sounds and formats get a discovery boost while they’re hot.
- Post consistently. Volume and regularity feed the Shorts algorithm.
- Always point somewhere. End with a reason to subscribe or watch your long-form — see writing descriptions and best time to upload.
Common YouTube Shorts Mistakes to Avoid
A few avoidable errors quietly kill most people’s Shorts. Steer clear of these:
- A slow start. Spending three seconds saying “hey guys, welcome back” loses half your viewers before you’ve begun. Open on the payoff.
- Filming horizontally. A landscape clip sits in a tiny letterboxed box on a vertical screen. Shoot in portrait, every time.
- No reason to stay. If nothing changes or builds, viewers swipe. Give each second a hook, a question or a turn.
- Treating Shorts as the whole business. Chasing Shorts RPM alone is a dead end — always point viewers to your long-form and offers.
- Giving up too soon. Shorts are a volume game; a handful won’t move the needle. Consistency over weeks is what compounds.
- Ignoring your analytics. Your best-performing Shorts tell you exactly what to make more of. Watch the data and lean in.
Want Shorts to actually grow your channel and business?
On a free discovery call I’ll help you build a Shorts-to-long-form system that turns views into real results.
YouTube Shorts FAQ
What are YouTube Shorts?
YouTube Shorts are short, vertical videos up to 3 minutes long, shown in a swipeable Shorts Feed across the YouTube app and site. They’re YouTube’s answer to TikTok and Instagram Reels, designed for quick, mobile-first viewing and rapid discovery.
How long can a YouTube Short be?
Up to 3 minutes. YouTube raised the limit from 60 seconds to 3 minutes for square or vertical videos on 15 October 2024. Anything vertical and under 3 minutes is treated as a Short.
What size and dimensions are YouTube Shorts?
Shorts are vertical, with a 9:16 aspect ratio. The ideal resolution is 1080 x 1920 pixels. Square videos also qualify, but full vertical fills the screen best and performs strongest.
Can you monetize YouTube Shorts?
Yes. Since February 2023, Shorts earn ad revenue through the YouTube Partner Program, replacing the old Shorts Fund. Revenue from ads in the Shorts Feed is pooled and shared, with creators receiving 45% of their allocated share after music licensing costs.
How much do YouTube Shorts pay?
Not much per view. Typical Shorts RPM is around $0.01 to $0.07 per 1,000 views in 2026, so one million engaged views often earns roughly $10 to $70 — far less than long-form video. Shorts are best seen as a growth and discovery tool, with income stacked from other sources.
What are the requirements to monetize Shorts?
You need to join the YouTube Partner Program: 1,000 subscribers plus either 4,000 valid public watch hours in 12 months or 10 million valid public Shorts views in 90 days. A lower tier at 500 subscribers unlocks fan-funding features. You must also accept the Shorts Monetization Module and be in a supported country.
Are Shorts better than long-form YouTube videos?
They do different jobs. Shorts are unbeatable for reach, discovery and fast growth but pay little; long-form videos pay far more per view and build deeper watch time. The smartest approach uses Shorts to attract new viewers and funnels them to your long-form content and other income streams.
Do Shorts help grow your channel?
Yes, enormously. With over 70 billion daily views, the Shorts Feed is one of the best discovery tools on the platform for reaching new audiences. The key is converting those viewers into subscribers and guiding them to your long-form videos, where deeper engagement and revenue live.
The Bottom Line
YouTube Shorts have grown from a curious experiment into a core pillar of the platform — longer, bigger and, at last, monetised. They won’t make you rich on ad revenue alone, but as a discovery engine they’re unmatched, putting your content in front of millions who’ve never heard of you. Make them consistently, hook fast, keep them vertical and under three minutes, and always give viewers a reason to go deeper. Use Shorts to get found and long-form to get paid, and you’ll have the format working exactly as it should — as the front door to everything else you do.
📚 Keep reading — Shorts & growth:
Turn Shorts views into real growth.
A free discovery call gets you a two-decade head start on a Shorts strategy that actually builds a channel and a business.
