YouTube comments are important. If you’re a creator, it’s ideal to have them turned on your videos. Comments on YouTube not only offer a direct line of communication between creators and viewers but also play a significant role in boosting video engagement and visibility.
But what if your video has comments turned off? Navigating YouTube’s settings to effectively manage and encourage this interaction can sometimes be a challenge, especially for new creators. This post aims to demystify the process, showing you exactly how to turn on comments on YouTube, thereby fostering a more interactive and engaged audience. For those looking to enhance their engagement further, integrating YouTube custom comments from FollowZilla into your strategy can be a game-changer, providing an additional layer of interaction and viewer interest.
Why Are YouTube Comments Important?
Comments are valuable for several reasons. First, they’re great for feedback. When someone comments on a video and tells you that they like it, or they have their criticisms, you can grow as a content creator. Comments are also a place for people to have discussions with each other. Obviously, comments can be toxic, but there are ways to filter out the bad actors from the good.
Another reason why comments are important is that they feed the YouTube algorithm. When someone makes a comment, that counts as engagement. Your video is more likely to appear on people’s home pages as a result.
Why Do People Turn Off Comments?
There are several reasons a person may turn off comments instead of keeping them on. For example, if your video is about a controversial subject, or you’ve fallen into controversy yourself, you may want to keep them turned off. Some people may disable comments because they want to use an external forum to discuss a video, or because the videos are for internal company use.
Finally, there are instances where YouTube will automatically turn off comments. In 2019, YouTube started disabling comments automatically on videos that feature minors or videos labeled as for kids. If your channel caters to children, your comments section will automatically not be there.
How to Turn on YouTube Comments
If your video has comments turned off, you may have accidentally done so. First, go to your channel and click “Manage videos.”
You should be on the channel content page. Click on the video you want to turn comments on by going to the “Video details” page.
When you scroll down a bit, you should see this:
Make sure the video is set to “No, it’s not made for kids” if you want comments. However, if your video is meant for kids (in this case, children under 13,) then you’ll want to select yes. Being deceptive about your video’s audience can lead your channel to getting banned.
You should find “Comments and ratings.” Click “On” to turn comments on. “Off” turns comments off. “Pause” prevents new comments from being made while preserving the old comments on the video. You can also click “Comment moderation” to determine how filtered you want your comments to be.
Once you have selected your options, click “Save.”
Turning on Comments On All Your Videos
If you have many videos, then you probably don’t want to turn each video’s comments on individually.
Back at the Channel content page, you should see a checkbox that says “Video” on it.
Once you have done this, comments will be on all your videos.
YouTube Won’t Let Me Turn On My Comments
There are cases when YouTube labels a video as “For kids,” and they won’t let the creators change the settings. YouTube does this to be on the right side of the law, but they often make mistakes. Contacting YouTube and explaining the situation can help. However, there are times when that can be difficult. If your video is truly not meant for kids, you may want to reupload the video.
Final Thought
YouTube comments are great for interaction. However, there are times when your video may have comments turned off. Often, this is because you accidentally disabled comments, and it is easy to switch them back on. However, in the event that your video is labeled as “For kids,” this can be much more difficult to reverse. You may need to contact YouTube to get the problem resolved. Good luck!
