Trending charts mostly show channels that are already huge. What matters when you're looking for an idea is a video that far exceeds its own channel's norm: that's what we call an outlier.
The multiplier, not the views
A 2-million-view video on a channel averaging 3 million is a flop. The same video on a channel averaging 80,000 is a huge signal: the topic, title or thumbnail hooked far beyond the usual audience.
| Channel | Average | Video | Multiplier |
|---|---|---|---|
| Big channel | 3M | 2M | 0.7x |
| Small channel | 80k | 2M | 25x |
An outlier on a small channel is the most useful: it proves the idea works without the help of a big audience.
What to take from it
- The topic: does it come back in other outliers of the niche?
- The title format: question, number, contrast, challenge…
- The thumbnail: what it promises in half a second.
In Returbe, the Top videos page sorts the whole index by multiplier, filterable by niche, language and channel size.