YouTube has become an integral part of the global cultural landscape where it has found its uses in multiple areas. Starting from parents using it to keep their kids entertained, to students using it as a medium of learning, and of course, to millions of people using it for entertainment, information, and anything and everything under the sky. However, the true mystery lies in the main reason for its popularity – its algorithm. How does this algorithm of YouTube actually work? In this article, we will delve deeper to get to the root of this mystery to better understand YouTube algorithm and how it functions.
What is YouTube Algorithm?
Like almost all other social media platforms, the algorithm of YouTube is a lot like its secret ingredient with which it dishes out content to its users just the way they like it. An algorithm used by any social media platform is, in essence, a set of mathematical or scientific rules that help in determining the kind of content that a particular user would like to watch and also the order in which he would like it.
These algorithms use your previous content interactions to deliver content that you would most likely interact with in the future. YouTube also uses a similar method.
3 Areas where understanding YouTube algorithm will help
The YouTube algorithm 2024, as we have already discussed, makes personalised suggestions to each of its viewers. These suggestions are based on performance as well as quality of the videos and also the interest and behaviour of the viewers.
Now, there are two steps involved in the way that the algorithm recommends its videos to a user. The first step involved rating the videos based on their performance analytics. After that, the past viewing history of the user is used to match the videos with each user.
These recommendations can be seen in 3 main parts of YouTube:
- Home Page
Have you ever wondered how YouTube understands what exactly you want to watch right from the moment you enter the website? It’s simply because YouTube individually curates your Home Page for you.
Video suggestions on your home page are usually based on the following:
- Your Viewing History
- The channels you have subscribed to
- Your engagement history (likes, comments, etc)
Sometimes these videos are also suggested based on the demographics, location, language, and many such other identifying factors of users.
- Suggested Videos
If you look at the right side of your YouTube screen while you are watching a video, you will see a series of other video recommendations similar to the one that you are watching. To list videos in this section, the YouTube algorithm 2024 considers many factors like channels you follow, topics of your interest, your viewing history etc. So it actually analyses your behaviour and engagement on the website to compile a list of videos that you might find interesting.
But how would you make YouTube suggest your videos to other viewers? This is where you have to do a little bit of research. Take a look at the suggested videos next to the content of your competitor. If you find YouTube suggesting specific kinds of videos there, try creating content similar to those so that YouTube recommends your videos as well.
- YouTube Search
This is about trying to understand how the YouTube algorithm decides what should go on the Search page. Keywords and user behaviour are two main aspects that YouTube considers to narrow down the huge video library that it has and then it ranks these videos as per relevance and metrics of engagement. Using all these, coupled with the perfect balance of relevance and popularity, YouTube successfully produces your search results.
The best part is, it also makes sure that fresh relevant content from new channels do not get eclipsed amidst all this. So the algorithm of YouTube also mixes a dash of randomization to include these kinds of videos, while still maintaining relevance.
How YouTube Determines the Algorithm?
Did you know that as many as 500 videos or more are uploaded to YouTube per minute? We don’t need to tell you how difficult it would have been to find relevant videos among the havoc stock had there been no algorithm.
Understanding the 2024 YouTube algorithm is crucial because it not only brings to you the most popular or the most viewed video but also brings to you the videos that you will find the most relevant for your search. This is the reason why two users searching for the same term might often end up getting different search results.
Here are the elements that YouTube prioritizes:
- Engagement
The signals include factors like viewing time, watch percentage, comments, likes, and shares.
- Relevance
The algorithm functions by matching several factors like tags, titles, descriptions, and content with the search term you have used.
- Quality
In order to ensure quality, the algorithm checks the trustworthiness and authority of a channel with respect to the search query in question.
- Search and Watch History of users
The videos you have watched in the past will impact your future search results in YouTube.
How Does the YouTube Algorithm Work in 2024?
At present, as we have already discussed, YouTube suggests personalized content to each viewer based on his watch history, interests, etc. coupled with factors like the performance and quality of videos. But how exactly does YouTube evaluate these videos? Here are the aspects that matter:
- Are People Watching it?
- How Long Are They Watching It for?
- Did they Like it?
- The Regional Context
The functioning of the algorithm remains hidden in the answers to these questions.
Conclusion
To sum it up, your personal viewing history and preferences play a huge role in shaping how the YouTube Algorithm in 2024 and dishes out relevant videos in response to your searches. The better keywords you use for your searches, the better will your video recommendations be.