The Youtube algorithm just screwed me over, I’m shadowbanned! The algorithm hates me 🙁
Our businesses live and die by the number of people engaging with our content. On Youtube, what stands between us, and all the engaged eyeballs we could ever want. Is the infamous Youtube Algorithm.
What is this Youtube algorithm that everyone seems to be struggling with? How does it work?
Has Youtube Revealed the Youtube Algorithm?
Most believe it’s cloaked in mystery. Like the Coca Cola secret formula, it’s locked in a steel vault with 24/7 security.
To my surprise, details of the Youtube algorithm have been public since Aug 3rd 2022. When Youtube Titan, Mrbeast, put the Director of Youtube into a full-nelson. Then pressed him into releasing all the secrets, live, in front of a panel at Vidcon.
We now know the details. And what we discovered is shocking, to say the least. Some of our biggest beliefs about the Youtube algorithm are completely false.
I’ve broken this really important information down for you. So it’s easily digestible.
This first myth is surprisingly common, even though it shouldn’t be. And it’s an important place to start.
Myth 1: Youtube cares about your channel.
The Youtube Algorithm only ‘turns on’ when a viewer opens Youtube.
Fact: Youtube cares about making money from its viewers.
An important place to start is that Youtube’s algorithm doesn’t actually care about creators. This is a tough thing to hear, but it’s backed up by the details of the algorithm.
Youtube’s algorithm is like a refrigerator light bulb. It only turns on when a new viewer opens Youtube.
Consider that Youtube doesn’t make ANY money when you release a video. They make money, when they can serve Ads to a new viewer that’s just opened the app. So that is where the Youtube algorithm begins.
This is a big phase shift, because now we can see where we fit into the picture. Youtube’s priority is making money from Ads, and keeping their viewers happy. And as businesses, who live and die by people seeing our stuff. Youtube will only help us, if we’re helping them make money.
But that raises the question. How does Youtube decide what videos to recommend to a viewer?
Myth 2: The Youtube algorithm shows newly released videos to our subscribers.
Fact: The Youtube algorithm shows newly released videos to people who’ve reacted positively to our recent videos. And other viewers with similar watch habits to them.
Consider this Youtube channel which has millions of subscribers. But much lower average views. There’s no way his video are being shown to even a small fraction of his subscribers.
A channel with millions of subscribers, but a disproportionality smaller viewership
Remember that Youtube’s goal is making people watch and enjoy for as long as possible.
Originally, Youtube’s strategy was to show a channel’s newest video to their subscribers.
But one day they realized a much more valuable signal of what someone might be interested at the moment. Is
- What they’ve recently watched and enjoyed and
- What thousands of other people with similar viewing habits are watching and enjoying
This explains the phenomenon where you watch a genre of video. Then suddenly, your feed is flooded with the same kinds of videos
Youtube recommends your videos to viewers who recently watched and enjoyed. And people just like them.
Do Subscriptions Matter?
Subscribing to a channel is one signal to Youtube that someone enjoyed a video. But, it isn’t the only signal Youtube cares about, and it’s definitely not the most important.
This means your subscriber count is disconnected with how many views you’ll get. If you don’t believe me, here’s Youtube’s largest creator saying the same thing.
So if you actually want your fans to get notified when your new video is released.
2 alternatives to subscription.
- Subscribe and the notification bell
- That will give them a notification when you publish. Unfortunately, many viewers have tuned out these requests. So, you’ll have to ask it in a distinct way that catches the viewer’s attention. It’s good practice to only ask after you’ve given them some value first.
- Add viewers to a Mailing List (Email)
- A better alternative is to collect viewer’s emails into a mailing list, and then contact them whenever you want. You can do this by offering an attractive piece of content called a ‘lead magnet’. And in exchange, you get their email. Be aware that making a large number of viewers leave the app could make Youtube send less views your way.
So in summary, your video has to signal to Youtube that it’ll satisfy viewers and keep them on the platform.
But what signals does Youtube actually use to judge this?
Myth 3: The Youtube algorithm rewards consistency.
Fact: The Youtube algorithm rewards you when viewers.
1) click your thumbnail,
2) watch most of your video,
3) like it and
3) give it a positive survey answer.
What is the Youtube Algorithm?
The Youtube’s algorithm is actually 2 distinct algorithms that work together.
They’re called the ‘Personalization Algorithm’ and the ‘Performance algorithm’.
The Personalization Algorithm
The Personalization Algorithm collects possible videos a viewer might like. It gathers a list of thousands of videos The Performance Algorithm predicts how a viewer will react to each of these videos. And then uses that information to rank which videos to recommend.
Understanding how these 2 algorithms work will help us exploit them.
The Personalization Algorithm wants to find a boatload of videos you might enjoy. And it has a few different ways of doing this.
- It goes into the recent videos you’ve reacted positively to.There’s alot of other people who’ve watched these same videos. The Personalization Algorithm assumes you might enjoy the same types of videos as them. So it collects videos they enjoyed, from their recent watch history.
- It goes into the recent videos you’ve reacted positively to. It checks to see if any of those channels released a new video. It then adds those to the list too.
Youtube cares about thumbnail clicks, watch time, likes and surveys
After this, the Personalization Algorithm has thousands of videos it could recommend. It has to filter those down to a couple dozen videos to show on your feed. That’ll be done with the help of the Performance Algorithm.
The Performance Algorithm
The Performance Algorithm wants to predict how you’ll react to each of those videos. With the goal to make you click, watch and enjoy for as long as possible.
Under the hood, this algorithm is an AI trained on millions of data points from other users. It uses your recent interaction history to predict:
- Whether you’ll click on a video,
- How long you’ll watch it
- The chances of you clicking the ‘Like’ button
- How you’ll answer in a survey about the video
That information is used to rank the videos collected by the Personalization Algorithm.
It then goes through a filtering stage where the results get diversified a bit (so they won’t all be the same kind of video). It’s then placed into the viewer’s feed.
What Metrics Does Youtube Care About?
Youtube recommends videos based on:
1) Thumbnail Click Rate,
2) Viewing duration (how long you watch),
3) Likes and
4) Survey results.
Comments may matter, but aren’t likely to be a priority. Consider that people also comment on videos they hate.
But if all this is true, then why is it that channels usually gain traction after being consistent for a while?
Does Consistency Matter?
Consistency doesn’t matter to the algorithm, but it does matter to your audience.
1) Consistency creates quality.
There’s a famous story where an art teacher experimented on his students. During a month where they were doing pottery, he split his class in half.
He assigned one group to make a new pottery bowl every class. He assigned the other group to work on one fancy bowl the entire month. At the end of the month he brought in another class to judge the work.
And can you guess which group made the better bowls? It was the kids who’d been making a new bowl every day.
When you make consistent videos, you’re getting constant feedback from viewers. That lets you tweak and iterate as you get new information about what works and what doesn’t. So consistently actually creates quality.
2) Consistency builds an audience relationship
As you remain consistent. You’ll build relationships with your viewers. And they’ll be more likely to click on your future content as they know you, and know it’ll be good. So consistency grows the amount of warm viewers that won’t need to be ‘hard sold’ on your new video.
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