You’re a business owner, and you’ve decided to promote your online store on YouTube. But how do you get more views? Views are important, because they help YouTube determine whether your video deserves to appear on its homepage and in search results. And if it does, you’re more likely to reach new viewers and attract customers who wouldn’t have found your videos otherwise.

But what exactly counts as a YouTube view? In short, a view is any time a user watches a video that is not a live video or a playlist of videos. YouTube’s algorithm is designed to disregard any plays that look like they’re automated. For example, if a video is refreshed repeatedly by a single user or bot, or if a website autoplays the video, it does not count as a view. YouTube also automatically detects malware — software that assists in sending spam messages from your computer — and spambots, and removes them without your involvement to make the screening process go more smoothly.

And while experts aren’t sure how many times a video must be watched in order to count as a view, the minimum watch time is 30 seconds. This is because videos shorter than 30 seconds cannot be monetized on YouTube. YouTube views