How does YouTube algorithm work?

With an extremely large number of YouTube videos (up to billions of streaming hours), the number of viewers is extremely high (more than one billion YouTube users), almost every country, every gender, ages Young adolescents who come to old tools can easily use YouTube, but have you ever wondered howYouTube's algorithm works?In fact, YouTube algorithms help manage distribution of suggested videos when you visit and use them to keep users as long as possible .Not too much to say that this is a testament to YouTube's advanced software industry.Let's explore how this algorithm works.

Short answer: No one knows the details of this algorithm, even YouTube, to some extent.YouTube's algorithm uses machine learning to propose videos to users, which means that there is no specific rule used by the algorithm so we can go into the research. .Besides, Google will not tell us, because that will lead to illegal operators.

What we can know

When you train a machine learning model, you will give it a series of data, input information and then rank for the outputs they propose according to the rationality and accuracy of result.Here is a very simple example.

Suppose you want to train AI to differentiate the difference between the image of cats and dogs.Basically, you will give AI a variety of images of dogs and cats, start for AI selection, and then score for the AI ​​to be correct if the answer it gives is correct.The more times you choose, the better the result is.The end result is that you have a machine that can identify dogs and cats.This training uses data according to which the results will be assessed;in this example will be the percentage of images that are actually cats recognized by the machine.

YouTube metrics use this as the viewing time, ie the amount of time users spend on that video.It's quite reasonable because YouTube doesn't want people to spend a lot of time looking for videos to watch, which in turn reduces their video viewing time.

However, not only does each statistics 'time you watch a video' this algorithm does much more than that.The algorithm takes into account many different factors and ranks them as follows: Audience retention rate, number of clicks, viewer interaction level and some other 'behind the scenes' factors that we never known.YouTube will then proceed to adjust these factors in response to your active profile so you can suggest videos that are more likely to click you.

What you learned from this algorithm

If you are an ambitious YouTube user, there are two main things you need to do to promote the average viewing time on your videos and maximize the click-through rate of your videos.Refer to the following reverse pyramid for better understanding:

YouTube will suggest your video to a group of people who will likely fit those videos on the home screen and in suggested tabs.For example in your account, your videos get nearly 750 thousand times displayed.It sounds pretty impressive, but only a small fraction of users actually click on your videos.This metric is called yourclick-through rate(click-through rate)and is calculated as a percentage (you can see in this example, this YouTube account has aclick-through rate of4.0%).Views figureshows the number of people who actually clicked on the video.After someone clicks on the video, YouTube will begin calculating the amount of time that those people have watched the video.

You can see why so many YouTubers use clickbait's title and thumbnail tips (Clickbait often refers to posts that spark curiosity so that users click on them and will be directed to content. really provides a lot of information for viewers) on videos to check views, clicks.This is sometimes annoying for users.

Some typical cases

Let's look at two big YouTube channels that have different approaches to solving algorithms.FirstPrimitive Technology, a channel run by a guy who goes into hilly areas, wild jungles and does everything himself without any modern tools.All of his videos are very long but still keep a good level of interaction during that time.This means that your videos have a very high average viewing time, and this means that these videos will be more likely to catch the eye of the YouTube algorithm.

Surprisingly, thePrimitive Technologychannelhas more than 8 million subscribers - a feat because he only posts one video per month.Probably due to the long time between each new video upload has created a new feeling, more eager for users.His videos seem to be iconic, so whenever they show up in suggested categories, it's likely that many people will click on them, so he may have click-through rates. high.

The second YouTube channel has a slightly incorrect approach.It is BCC Trolling, a channel to synthesize funny moments in Fortnite game.This channel specializes in grabbing clips from famous Fortnite streamer and then editing them into videos for daily posting.In the past year, this channel has mastered the principles of algorithm operation and thereby regained the number of subscribers to 7.3 million.To maximize the viewing time, they place banner ads in the middle of the video, forcing video viewers to watch the ad for a while or it will take time to turn off those ads.Basically, this will contribute to their viewing time higher.

In addition, this channel is excellent in usingClickbaittricks.They often insert * NEW * words in almost all video titles and always use thumbnails for colorful videos that are often custom made and misleading.

One lesson we can learn from BCC: If you plan to use clickbait, do it subtly, because it can make people angry and counterproductive.

summary

In short, you should know how the algorithm works to make the right strategies so that your YouTube channel can capture a lot of viewing time and clickthrough rate.However, roads become 'puppets' for these algorithms that make their content unattractive in the eyes of the viewer, this is unsustainable development.

See more:

1. Instructions on how to create a YouTube Channel
2. Collection of free music sources to make YouTube videos
3. Instructions for downloading YouTube videos, mp3 music YouTube does not use software
4. 2 ways to replay, replay YouTube videos automatically