The YouTube Algorithm: How It Works in 2025

Many creators—whether independent YouTubers or established brands on YouTube—see the 2025 YouTube algorithm as mysterious and unpredictable, almost like an unseen force controlling their view counts.

Conversations about channel success often highlight YouTube SEO, social media promotion, and subscriber growth. While those tactics help more viewers find your videos, they don’t generate the bulk of views available on the platform. Most traffic comes from YouTube’s recommendation system—especially the homepage feed and “Recommended for you” suggestions.

To reach more viewers, you need to understand how the algorithm works and apply proven strategies that align with it. Here, learn what drives YouTube recommendations and how you can use that knowledge to increase your reach.

What is the YouTube algorithm?

The YouTube algorithm uses data from videos and user interactions—like comments, descriptions, and viewing behavior—to rank content and generate personalized recommendations.

How does the YouTube algorithm work in 2025?

YouTube’s algorithm is all about helping its users find the most relevant content as easily as possible, with the overarching goal of increasing customer retention and viewer watch time. YouTube’s algorithm is increasingly reliant on AI to surface relevant content and micro trends.

Instead of rewarding clicks alone, the algorithm values how much of your video people actually watch. This means content must hold attention, not just attract an initial click.

YouTube recommends videos in two main places: the homepage and the suggested videos section alongside content you’re already watching. While both surfaces use the same underlying algorithm, how it ranks and selects videos varies depending on the viewer’s context and behavior in each space.

Ranking signals that affect YouTube recommendations 

Here are the latest ranking signals that affect YouTube recommendations, according to Rene Ritchie, creator liaison at YouTube. These are consolidated from two interviews with Rene, including one from YouTube’s own channel, Creator Insider, and from the Think Media Podcast.

1. Viewer satisfaction and retention. YouTube prioritizes videos that leave people feeling their time was well spent, not just those with long watch times.
2. Next video continuation. Channels grow fastest when each video naturally leads viewers to watch another, creating bingeable journeys.
3. Personalized relevance. The algorithm predicts for each individual viewer, surfacing the videos most likely to match their interests in that moment.
4. Content packaging (CTR and impressions). Strong titles and thumbnails matter because they win the click and give your video a chance to prove itself.
5. Context-aware signals and nuanced content understanding. YouTube adapts to when, where, and how people watch, using advanced AI to connect nuanced video details with the right audience.

How does YouTube determine satisfaction?

• YouTube sends millions of surveys each month asking for feedback on specific videos.
• YouTube monitors when users click the “Not interested” option on videos.
• YouTube evaluates video likes, dislikes, and shares.

Homepage recommendations

When you open YouTube on the website or mobile app, the first screen you see is the homepage. Here, YouTube’s algorithm works to keep you engaged by showing videos it believes will be the most relevant and appealing.

The system chooses homepage videos using two main factors:

1. Video performance. How strongly similar audiences have responded to the video (for example, whether they clicked, watched, and stayed interested).
2. Personalization. Your own viewing history and engagement patterns.

Because YouTube doesn’t know your exact intent when you land on the app, it relies on what it does know about the videos you’ve enjoyed before and the preferences of people with similar viewing habits. By blending those two signals, the algorithm generates a homepage tailored to draw you in right away.

Suggested video recommendations

When you watch a video on YouTube, the platform displays suggested videos in the sidebar on desktop or below the player on mobile. These recommendations are designed to keep you watching by predicting what you’re most likely to click next.

The YouTube algorithm generates suggested videos using factors such as:

• Videos that other viewers tend to watch together
• Videos on similar topics
• Videos you’ve watched in the past

Unlike the homepage—which relies mostly on long-term viewing history—the suggested videos area tailors recommendations to your current session. Because YouTube has more context about what you’re watching right now, the feed skews toward videos related to your immediate interests.

YouTube Charts algorithm

As of July 2025, YouTube has removed the YouTube Trending page and Trending Now list. 

To support this change, YouTube updated its algorithm to track how niche topics spread across different fandoms and interest groups—a contrast to 2015, when trends often centered on a single viral video. YouTube explained the move in its announcement: “Today, trends consist of many videos created by many fandoms, and there are more micro-trends enjoyed by diverse communities than ever before.” 

This switch aims to better capture micro-trends that surface across different communities. YouTube is essentially changing its algorithm to better reflect how trends arise, which is very different from the way videos went viral back in 2015. 

Going forward, YouTube will emphasize personalized recommendations and community experiences to ensure trending content feels relevant to each viewer.

For users still looking for a central hub of popular content, YouTube Charts is becoming the main destination, with categories for podcasts, music videos, and movie trailers.

YouTube search algorithm

“The good thing about YouTube is, despite the fact that billions of people use it, YouTube won’t show your video to them unless it’s any good,” says James Hoffman, a coffee expert with more than two million subscribers.

YouTube search results prioritize high-quality based on user behaviors such as how often viewers watch certain videos together and how deeply they engage with specific topics or channels.

Recommendations function differently. Instead of ranking the overall “best” videos, YouTube tailors suggestions to each person. The system compares your viewing habits with those of similar users, then recommends videos you’re most likely to enjoy next.

Negative feedback signals 

Feedback options such as “Not interested,” dislikes, and user reports act as negative signals for YouTube’s algorithm. But they may not affect the YouTube algorithm as much as you think. 

User feedback is generally intended to improve the experience for creators and users alike. For creators, dislikes offer opportunities for improving their content to better resonate with viewers. Meanwhile, users can use the “Not interested” function to help YouTube provide better personal recommendations. 

Negative feedback signals aren’t necessarily going to hurt your content in the context of YouTube’s algorithm, though. For example, Tube Buddy highlights a creator duo whose most-disliked video went on to surpass one billion views.

YouTube Shorts algorithm: How it works differently

In short, the YouTube Shorts algorithm does work differently than the YouTube algorithm for regular-length videos. 

“We do different things in short form because it is a different format,” says Todd Sherman, product lead for YouTube Shorts at 29 seconds. 

“In short form, people are swiping through a feed, and they’re discovering things as they go. That’s one important difference, and that leads us to need to measure in different ways. At the core of it … we’re trying to get videos to people that they value.”

For example, Shorts are measured in “View” versus “Swiped away” rather than click-through rate. 

One of the most notable differences between the YouTube Shorts algorithm and the main YouTube algorithm is its “explore and exploit” model. Through this model, YouTube locates a seed audience to test out the Short (explore), and depending on reception, introduces it to a larger crowd where it can gain traction (exploit). 

Below, take a look at a breakdown of how ranking signals differ between regular YouTube videos, Shorts, and YouTube Search. 

11 tips to improve your reach on YouTube

1. Stick to a consistent premise or format
2. Feed the recommendation engine other sources
3. Create clickable thumbnails
4. Encourage viewers to stay after they click
5. Encourage binge watching on your channel
6. Optimize each video for a focus keyword
7. Keep an eye on your competitors
8. Track metrics
9. Create YouTube shorts
10. Post at optimal times
11. Optimize for global audiences

1. Stick to a consistent premise or format

Most great YouTube channels or series can be summed up in five seconds. For example:

• First We Feast. Celebrities and food. 
• Vox. Newsworthy topics explained in an accessible and engaging way. 

On the flipside, many YouTube channels and content creators struggle to gain traction because they treat their YouTube channel as a place to upload all their video content, rather than as a home for a consistent video series.

Consistency is the foundation for success on YouTube—without it, you might be able to capture attention, but you won’t be able to keep it.

“If you can simplify your topic, people will watch and engage [more],” says Mimi Ikonn, co-founder of Luxy Hair. Mimi grew the brand’s YouTube subscriber base to more than three million. 

YouTube creators who focus on a clear, consistent niche—like Mimi does—tend to grow their audiences more sustainably. A focused theme makes it easier for viewers to recognize what the channel offers, watch more videos, and subscribe.

When a video does go viral, that consistency increases the chance of turning a one-time viewer into a long‑term subscriber. New viewers can immediately see that the rest of the channel delivers more of what they just enjoyed.

If you want to experiment beyond your main concept, it’s usually best to launch a separate channel. This prevents confusion and keeps your brand focused. For instance, First We Feast belongs to Complex, a company that runs other channels with very different themes and target audiences. The channels are linked through YouTube’s “Featured Channels” tab, but remain distinct in content.

To streamline publishing, you can use free video editing software that uploads directly to YouTube. This avoids the hassle of exporting, downloading, and re‑uploading files, allowing you to post new content quickly and consistently.

2. Feed the recommendation engine other sources

New YouTube channels can’t depend entirely on the platform’s recommendation engine to drive views. Recommendations are powered by data—specifically, how viewers have watched and interacted with your content in the past. Without an existing viewer history, YouTube has little information to work with.

That’s why you should actively promote your YouTube videos through other channels. Send new uploads to your email list, collaborate with press or influencers, share clips on social media, or explore YouTube affiliate marketing programs. These efforts can provide the initial traction your channel needs.

But above all, focus on YouTube SEO and increasing subscriptions. Subscribers not only build steady long‑term viewership but also send clear signals to YouTube’s algorithm. The system heavily weighs what users repeatedly watch and which channels they intentionally subscribe to when deciding what to recommend.

YouTube’s system pays close attention to viewing context: Did someone watch a related topic recently? Have they engaged with your channel before? If you can keep a first‑time viewer watching additional videos after their initial click, you increase the likelihood that YouTube will surface your content to them again.

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3. Create clickable thumbnails

YouTube emphasizes watch time to safeguard against low‑quality clickbait, but click-through rate is still an important metric, and publishing clickable thumbnails can help increase your CTR. 

YouTube’s Trending tab and Netflix’s approach to visual promotion offer valuable lessons:

Have closeups of emotive faces or action shots

Video thumbnails on YouTube often feature highly expressive faces, and for good reason. 

Netflix research on artwork performance found that emotional expression is one of the most effective ways to capture attention. Humans are naturally drawn to faces, and across media, faces with complex or heightened emotions consistently outperform neutral or stoic ones.

The same research also highlighted that thumbnails become less effective when they include more than three faces. Performance tends to drop as the image grows crowded.

If you don’t have emotive faces in your videos, you can also use thumbnails that convey action to elicit an emotional response, like The Slow Mo Guys. 

Follow the rule of thirds to compose your thumbnail image 

The rule of thirds is a simplified way of achieving the golden ratio, which studies have shown minimizes the amount of time it takes for our brains to process an image.

This image composition guideline suggests that you position your point of interest not in the center of the image, but in the first or last third of the frame.

While it’s more of a guideline than a hard-and-fast rule, designing your thumbnail in this manner lets you draw the viewer’s eye to the most important “message” in your image.

Add text to your thumbnails

Some 90% of YouTube visits worldwide occur on mobile devices. On smaller screens, the thumbnail dominates the visual space and usually captures attention before the title. A compelling image encourages viewers to glance at the title and decide to click.

Adding text directly to the thumbnail can strengthen this effect. The text might repeat the video’s title or simply highlight a few words tied to the video’s hook. Since a large share of mobile viewers are accustomed to “reading” thumbnails, the image itself must communicate the video’s value, even without the title.

Brand your thumbnails

Many successful YouTube videos strengthen their “first impression” by optimizing the thumbnail. Because thumbnails across the platform often look similar, a design that stands out makes it easier for viewers to quickly identify a specific creator’s content. This recognition increases the likelihood of clicks from audiences who already follow or are familiar with that channel.

Consistent use of branded thumbnail formats—through colors, typography, or visual framing—can further distinguish a channel’s videos from others in the recommendation feed.

4. Encourage viewers to stay after they click

Getting people to click on a video is one step. Getting them to watch until the end is another.

You can improve video completion rates—and earn more watch time—by building these practices into your creative process:

• Start strong. Hook viewers in the introduction so they immediately know why the video is worth watching.
• Add captions or transcripts. This allows viewers to follow along even with the sound off.
• Use your analytics to adjust length. Study where viewers tend to drop off and tailor future videos to hold attention longer.
• Keep visuals dynamic. Break up long shots with jump cuts or angle changes to prevent monotony.
• Use pattern breaks in long-form videos. Insert surprising or varied moments that pull attention back when it starts to drift.
• Prompt action at the end. Ask viewers to subscribe, turn on notifications, or check out related videos in your end screen.

5. Encourage binge watching on your channel

You can also optimize for watch time at the channel level by making it easier for viewers to move from one video to the next. While having a focused channel premise is the most important factor, you can strengthen overall watch time with strategies like these:

• Use cards and end screens to directly recommend related videos and guide viewers deeper into your content.
• Share links as playlists so that when viewers finish one video, the next recommendation is another from your channel.
• Maintain a consistent format across thumbnails and videos. If someone enjoys one video, they should feel confident they’ll enjoy the rest.
• Include calls to action—or even short clips from other uploads—that pitch viewers on watching more content.
• Enable subtitles so viewers can stay engaged even if they’re watching without sound.

These tactics help build a consistent viewing path, turning single clicks into longer watch sessions across your channel.

6. Optimize each video for a focus keyword

YouTube also functions as a search engine. Optimizing videos around a primary keyword—and a few secondary ones—helps improve visibility in search results and gives the algorithm a clearer context for when to recommend your content.

Start by researching keywords directly on the platform to see which topics are popular and likely to resonate with your audience. 

Keyword research tools and Chrome extensions such as these help you identify the strongest terms to target:

• VidIQ
• TubeBuddy
• Morningfame
• YouTube Analytics

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7. Keep an eye on your competitors

Are your competitors active on YouTube? If they are, monitor the types of content they’re publishing so you can stay relevant and keep your videos in viewers’ recommendations instead of theirs.

Focus on:

• Their most viral or high-performing videos
• The playlists or series they produce
• How engaged their audience is
• How they craft their video titles, descriptions, and metadata

Understanding what your competition is publishing helps you refine your own strategy. By covering all the relevant topics and presenting them in your unique style, you give your audience more reasons to rely on your channel as their go-to source.

8. Track metrics

YouTube Studio makes it easy to track the performance of your videos and channel. Navigate to “Advanced mode” in the analytics dashboard for a detailed breakdown of the metrics that matter for organic reach and engagement.

You can see the following metrics related to organic reach, which together illustrate YouTube’s new emphasis on click-through rate and watch time: 

• Impressions. How many times your video thumbnails were shown to viewers as a recommended video, on the YouTube homepage, or in search results.
• Traffic sources for impressions. Where on YouTube your video thumbnails were shown to potential viewers.
• Impressions click-through rate (CTR). How often users watched a video after seeing your thumbnails (based on logged-in impressions).
• Views from impressions. How often viewers watched your videos after seeing them on YouTube.
• Watch time from impressions. Watch time that originated from people who saw your videos and clicked them on YouTube.

Regularly reviewing these analytics will help you understand how effectively your videos are reaching and engaging viewers, so you can refine your approach and keep growing your channel.

9. Create YouTube shorts

YouTube Shorts are vertical, short-form videos designed for mobile viewing and fast consumption—similar to TikTok and Instagram Reels. Shorts offer a powerful way for you to connect with your audience through concise, engaging clips.

Mimi Ikonn of Luxy Hair and Intelligent Change advises repurposing longer videos into Shorts by trimming them down to make quick, captivating takes. Meanwhile, YouTube expert Jade Beason affirms (around the seven-minute mark) that YouTube won’t penalize you for editing and sharing cutdowns from existing long-form content, making Shorts an efficient way to expand your reach.

The Shorts algorithm decides which content to recommend based on several factors:

• User engagement. Likes, comments, shares, and watch time signal how much viewers enjoy your Short. Higher engagement leads to greater visibility.
• Personalization. The algorithm looks at each viewer’s history and preferences to serve Shorts tailored to their interests.
• Content relevance. Shorts’ metadata—titles, descriptions, and tags—help the system match your content to relevant searches and browsing behavior.
• Creator history. If you consistently publish high-quality, engaging videos, your Shorts are more likely to get recommended by the algorithm.

Leveraging these factors can help you get your Shorts in front of more viewers and grow your channel alongside your longform videos.

10. Post at optimal times

Learn when your target audience is most active to find the best time to post on YouTube. You can use YouTube Analytics to uncover this information by reviewing data on time zones and device usage. Posting when your audience is online can increase engagement and improve video performance.

The same rationale will help you find the best time to post YouTube Shorts, with target demographics, time zone, competitor activity, and trending topics/events all playing a role. 

Leverage your Channel Analytics in YouTube Studio to pinpoint the most effective moments to publish. Go to the “Audience” tab to see when viewers are typically online, and check the “Overview” section to discover when your videos receive the most views. Testing different days and times can also help you identify patterns that work best for your channel.

Finally, Katie Carson, founder of Royalty Soaps, recommends uploading content consistently. 

“I was consistent with my upload schedule, because making a difference and bringing joy to others in the form of a video, which I enjoyed creating, was worth me staying for,” she says.

11. Optimize for global audiences

Optimizing your content for the international stage will help you reach more viewers worldwide. Make sure you: 

• Enable translated titles and descriptions. YouTube supports multi-language metadata to match search intent in different regions.
• Add subtitles in English and local languages. Subtitles improve accessibility and engagement, especially in non-native speaking regions or for people viewing content without sound. 
• Schedule uploads to cover multiple time zones. For global audiences, publish videos during overlapping peak hours like early afternoon Eastern Time (noon to 2 p.m.) so that they can reach both US and European viewers. 

Use YouTube’s algorithm to grow your business

YouTube’s algorithm has changed frequently over the years, sometimes leaving creators and brands frustrated when old strategies stop working. Yet, despite these shifts, the platform’s main objective remains unchanged: encouraging viewers to spend more time watching and engaging with videos. That goal directly aligns with your aim as a creator.

“I think YouTube was definitely our kind of bread and butter that we use for not only my personal content, but also to deliver the skin care education that brand and our company subscribes to,” says KraveBeauty’s Liah Yoo. 

Focus on creating videos that genuinely connect with your audience. The more engaging videos you make, the more likely YouTube’s algorithm will be to recommend your content to others.