How To Understand YouTube Algorithm [Free Training]
This is Lesson 3 of my YouTube Masterclass Series
So far in lessons 1 and 2, I have explained how to choose a niche, create a YouTube channel and also how to customize it.
I also added some bonuses on how to create a logo and banner using a free tool – a method that can be applied to any business niche.
The next step in this Lesson 3, is to explain what is called “YouTube Algorithm.”
What is YouTube Algorithm In Simple Terms?
YouTube Algorithm is a set of computer codes working behind the scene to process videos on YouTube and their respective comments, likes, shares and other forms of engagements that such videos receive.
The algorithm then use these parameters to match the videos with users’ experiences.
This happens so that the algorithm will be able to rank the videos and recommend them to viewers based on relevance, interests and how satisfied the viewers are.
Any time you type some keywords on Google and YouTube or you watch a particular video, some moments later you start to see related videos and articles on your feeds or homepage.
That is the work of the algorithm acting on your search history, watch history and the channels you subscribed to bring you suggested videos.
Therefore, knowing how videos rank online is very crucial to your content creation strategy and success in any niche you choose.
Findings
Recent findings revealed that every single day, 30 million users log on to YouTube to watch 1 billion hours of video content across 38 million channels. Source here.
This is really a huge number.
Hence, the need for you as a content creator to be strategic in putting the right video online to the right audience in order to add values and make money in return.
As far as YouTube is concerned, their Algorithm wants to know about the followings:
First, are your videos tailored to people’s interests?
Second, if your videos are tailored to people’s interests, how long can your video hook viewers to your channel and by extension to YouTube platform in general?
Third, do your videos comply with community guidelines? Meaning that you must not put up any content that promotes violence, nudity, molestation, etc.
Essentially, those are the three major goals among others that the YouTube algorithm wants to achieve.
In other words, you get viewers interested in your content and you also keep them glued to the platform for as long as possible and then your content must not break community guidelines.
If you can help YouTube achieve these three major goals, you will always be in their good book and more people will be able to see it.
Here are some additional factors that make YouTube’s Algorithm gives precedence to your videos in order to make your content keywords appear in search queries:
Viewers’ likes, comments, shares and subscription to your channel. This is why in each of your videos, encourage your potential viewers to engage as much as possible.
Keeping your viewers on every video long enough will boost your watch hours and of course will fulfill one of the requirements for monetization.
Trending videos also draw the attention of the algorithm. In other words, you need to, from time to time, create and upload trending content that align with your channel niche.
Then, you also need to create in-depth content, especially in the form of episodes or series so that they form a playlist.
This strategy helps the algorithm to match a current video with other similar content on your channel and can also extend to other people’s channel.
This means that your video can pop up on the side bar of other people’s channel, because they appear similar.
In lesson 4, I will be creating a sample video using one of the video types in Lesson 1.
However, it’s imperative I give you some tips to consider while writing the script for your video in order to make the algorithm give precedence to your content for better user experiences.
Tip 1: Catchy and SEO-friendly Title and Thumbnails:
Findings revealed that among the four leading search engines globally, Google has a market share of 83.84%, Bing takes 8.88%, Yahoo takes 2.55% and YANDEX takes 1.67% in June 2022. Google is at the top of the game leading the global search engine ranking. See proof below
No wonder Google recorded over 91.1 billion visits in April 2022 alone; 89 billion in May
What does this mean for content creators?
It means you need to take advantage of that huge opportunity of pushing your content to the web using Google’s YouTube platform.
To do that is to be mindful of how you curate titles and thumbnails for your videos.
Your title needs to capture what people are searching for and must not be too long.
The reason is because, investigation revealed that titles within 6 to 10 words rank higher than other numbers.
0 – 5 words = 27%
5 – 10 words = 54%
11 – 15 words = 17%
Above 15 words = 2%
Therefore, as a content creator, if you want Youtube Algorithm to rank your videos higher than others, then you need to limit your titles to 5 to 10 words.
And as for the thumbnail for your video, let it be attention-grabbing and should also capture the same keywords in your video title.
The title and thumbnail styles for your videos must be consistent throughout your channel.
I made a video on how to create catchy and SEO-friendly thumbnails. Watch below:
Also, in the video below, I explained how to generate video titles super fast using a free tool. Watch it below:
Tip 2: Keywords and Tags
Ensure you use tags and keywords that are related to your video topic and title. Keywords that can match what people are typing on the YouTube and Google search bars.
You do not need to rack your brain looking for tags that match your video title.
I also made a video explaining how to use this FREE AI-powered tool to generate tags and keywords. Easy to follow process. Watch it below:
Ensure your tags match some keywords in your video titles and thumbnails to increase your click-through rates.
Tip 3: Video Description
Never underrate the description section of your video. The description texts are the texts you see below every video you see uploaded on youtube.
When writing your description texts, ensure they are SEO-targeted and also the first paragraph of your description should contain some keywords in your video title.
This will help the algorithm to better understand what your video is all about and which audience to push your video to.
Tip 4: Upload Videos Regularly
If you are active on YouTube putting up high quality and relevant content, you will definitely be recognized by the YouTube algorithm and also help you gain more subscribers fast.
Apart from being consistent with your uploads, you need to show consistency in your brand’s voice, tone, colors, and personality.
Getting your video in the search results or recommendation stream is not enough; you also need users to click on your videos and watch them. The first thing that you need to do to make that happen is:
And now, we have come to the end of lesson three.
Here are your tasks for this lesson:
- Think about a keyword you want to make a video about in your niche and generate some titles using the tool I showed you in the videos above. Share at least two titles in our Telegram group for suggestions and fine-tuning.
- Based on the video above, generate some tags for your video, copy and paste them in either Google doc or notepad or somewhere on your device.
- Design a thumbnail for your video title using Canva and share your work in the Telegram group.
See you in Lesson 4.
