2024 YouTube Video Content Recommendation Mechanism Evolution Ranking Algorithm Rules Revealed

Understanding the evolution of video recommendation mechanisms is critical if you want to gain more viewers and traffic on YouTube.Read this article for an in-depth look at the evolution of the YouTube video ranking algorithm and its impact, and learn howSEOOptimize your videos and attract more viewers.

How to Promote a YouTube Video?

Optimize YouTube recommendation methods to get more exposure for your videos!

YouTube is the world's largest video sharingnew mediaThe platform makes it possible for the whole people to share video content.Nowadays, with the diversification of live broadcasts and short videos, YouTube continues to iterate algorithm recommendations, search recommendations, etc. to improve video distribution efficiency.If you want your video to explode, you need to master the latest strategy.

Traffic to YouTube videos primarily comes from Promoted Videos (Suggested Videos)". So what behaviors will increase the chances of recommendation? And what behaviors will reduce the chances of recommendation? What is YouTube's video recommendation based on? How does the video recommendation algorithm work?

The Evolution of YouTube Video Content Recommendation Mechanism

The rule design of the YouTube content recommendation algorithm has gone through three stages:

1. Before 2012, focus on clicks;
2. From 2012 to 2016, focus on the number of clicks and viewing time;
3. After 2016, it is a machine learning mechanism.

The original intention of its algorithm is to continuously increase the viewing time of users on YouTube and recommend videos according to the audience's preferences.

In other words, the YouTube algorithm does not focus on the content of the video, but which videos the audience likes to watch.

YouTube's recommendation algorithm can be divided into two stages:Candidate generation and ranking ▼

1. At the first level, YouTube mainly screens videos based on user behavior, including features such as viewing history, viewing time, likes or dislikes.The scope of screening at this stage is relatively wide.
2. The second layer is more refined, and the screening criteria include user viewing history, video clicks and freshness, etc.
3. After the video passes the first layer of screening, it will enter the second layer for ranking, and videos with higher scores will be recommended to users first.
4. If the user has not watched the suggested video, it will automatically be ranked lower on the next load.
5. Generally speaking, the more views and likes a video has, the higher its ranking.

YouTube Video Content Recommendation Rules

Video recommendations are undoubtedly a very important part of getting traffic on YouTube.Then, YouTube’s video recommendation mainly has the following 5 methods:

YouTube Search Recommendations

In the search results, the most relevant videos and channels are generally displayed ▼

• The relevance of the match depends mainly on the title, description and content of the video.
• during this process,Video Watch Time and Engagement Rateis also a very important factor.
• Therefore, we can use some highly relevant keywords in the video title and description, and write detailed description content to improve the search ranking of the video.

YouTube Watch Page Recommendations

Watch page recommendation refers to recommending videos related to topics based on what viewers have watched before ▼

• Watch page recommendations typically include the channel the video is being watched on and related videos from different channels.
• In order to increase the recommendation rate of the viewing page of their own videos, video uploaders can actively recommend other videos of their own channel in their own videos, and recommend the next video through playlists, links, end screens, etc.

YouTube homepage recommendation

Home page recommendation is one of the most important recommendation methods on YouTube ▼

• Homepage recommendations generally include newly released videos, similar videos watched by viewers, and some videos from subscribed channels.
• Videos recommended on the homepage have very high interaction and like rates.
• In addition, YouTube's algorithm will also refer to viewers' viewing and search records to recommend homepage recommended videos for them.
• Therefore, in order to get the algorithm’s homepage recommendation, video uploaders need to keep uploading content that the audience is interested in and keep the channel attractive.

Popular YouTube Recommendations

Popular recommendations nowadays generally refer to newly released promotional videos, music, and videos with a high growth momentum▼

• In order to get popular recommendations for their videos, video uploaders need to pay attention to current hot topics, make relevant video content, and use some relevant keywords in the title and description of the video.

YouTube subscription content & notification push

On YouTube, subscriptions are one of the most important connections between viewers and channels.

• Once viewers subscribe to a channel, they can keep up to date with the latest video updates and other news from the channel.
• Therefore, channel owners need to choose the right time to publish new videos to get better engagement among subscribers.
• Push notifications are another important form of subscriber engagement, as they instantly alert subscribers when videos are updated.
• However, push notifications are not always successful, and channel owners need to guide viewers to activate the channel's notification icon to keep them informed of the latest video updates.

How to improve YouTube video ranking?

After understanding the YouTube recommendation algorithm mechanism, if you want to improve your video ranking, you can try the following tips:

Improve video keyword accuracy (YouTube SEO).

• When uploading videos, use concise, precise language, and do your keyword research well and use it in the right place.
• Such as: video file name, video title, video description, video subtitle file.

Use attractive thumbnails.

• When making a thumbnail: It should faithfully reflect the content of the video, which can increase the audience's willingness to click and attract the audience's attention enough.
• Note: Different types of videos and different groups have different rules. You need to be flexible and keep trying to find the picture style that best suits your channel.

external channelsdrainage.

• Marketing for your own video or channel through external channels such as YouTube ads, external websites, social media, etc.drainage, to improve video data performance and get more recommendations.
• In addition, the YouTube platform only pays attention to the performance of the video in context, and is not affected by the external traffic of the video.

Official Q&A of YouTube Recommendation Mechanism

YouTube’s official account @CreatorInsider for creators explains issues related to YouTube’s recommendation mechanism in the form of questions and answers, aiming to help brands and creators reach more users with their high-quality content.