7-Day Trial for HookSounds: What You Need to Know
We all know how important YouTube recommendations are. How many times have you finished watching a YouTube video and instantly clicked on one of the recommended videos? Probably a thousand times. YouTube wants you to stay on the platform and keep watching videos, so the recommended videos are usually content that you might be interested in. YouTube’s algorithm is on point. It perfectly knows what you like and it’s as easy as getting a certain video on the YouTube’s recommended section for you to watch it.
We’ve talked about a few YouTube things before like how to start a YouTube channel,or even the most common mistakes YouTubers make. Today, we are going to talk about how to get your videos into the YouTube recommendations. If you are a content creator, you may want to know how YouTube determines recommended videos. In this article, we will explain everything that there is to know.
YouTube Recommendations Algorithm
Understanding YouTube’s algorithm is fundamental if you wanna get into YouTube’s recommendations. You must know that the suggested videos are key and, most importantly, you must know that a big part of the viewership is driven by this section. If you want to know how to get more views on YouTube there’s an article for you!
So, to understand YouTube’s algorithm, you need to know that YouTube’s goal is to get its audience to spend as much time as possible watching videos on its platform. The more ads you watch, the more money YouTube makes. That’s YouTube business. When determining which video will appear in the suggested section, YouTube takes into account the user’s interests and preferences, clicks on videos, watch time, shares, surveys that the user takes, likes and dislikes. Taking all these factors into account, YouTube creates its algorithm for the suggested videos section.
How To Appear On YouTube Recommendations?
Now that you understand the important role that algorithm plays, let’s see how to get your videos into the suggested section. There are a few things that you can definitely do that will help you out and may make your videos appear on the recommendations. What you need to know is that the suggested videos’ column is structured in a certain way. If you are watching a video by a content creator, you’ll see in the column at the right (which contains the suggested videos) at least 3 videos from the same content creator you were watching which are algorithmically selected, then you’ll see related videos and lastly, but not least, you’ll see recommended videos based on what you have watched.
So, what can you do to appear on the YouTube recommendations?
1. Make ‘Engaging’ Content
When creating YouTube videos it is important that your video content is engaging, What do we mean by that? Well, we mean that your audience should be so entertained by your video that they watch it for a long period of time, at least 7 minutes. By increasing the watch time on your videos, YouTube’s algorithm will rank them in a better position because they can serve ads to your audience. Having your videos well ranked, make them most likely to appear in the suggested videos column.
To increase the watch time, as we said, you should make good and entertaining videos. We know it’s not always easy to keep the audience entertained, but a really good edition and some background music will definitely make your video more entertaining. We have an article about what royalty free music YouTubers use.
Also consider adding royalty free music to your videos. At HookSounds we offer different licenses to fit your needs and you can start adding music and sound effects to your videos.
2. Increase Engagement With Your Audience
Viewers interacting with your videos is also something to have in mind if you want to appear on YouTube’s recommendation section. The more your audience interacts with your videos, the better. YouTube’s algorithm will take into account the likes, comments and shares your video gets, so you should certainly encourage your viewers to comment, like, share and subscribe.
There are ways you can increase engagement, some of them are very used by big content creators. For example, ask a question at the end of your videos, so your viewers can answer it in the comments. When we are giving a call to action, we are also connecting with the viewer too, so it would be a great idea to start using the call to action.
3. Write Catchy Titles And Descriptions
Before selecting the YouTube video we want to watch, we always read the title to see if it’s interesting enough. Well, writing catchy titles and descriptions is a must if you wanna appear in the recommended videos section. We have also talked about this topic in-depth, so you may want to read it. But basically, when writing a title have in mind the length, the proper keywords to use, avoid click-baiting (we all hate that and YouTube does too), use numbers, etc.
For the description, it is fundamental to use proper keywords too and repeat these keywords, add some links, add some hashtags but not too many, include timestamps if your video is long, and include a call to action, among some other things. We recommend that you read the article linked above.
4. Use Attractive Thumbnails
Writing a compelling title and description is crucial, as we’ve already discussed, but let’s not forget about the thumbnails. Thumbnails are relevant because it’s the first thing you notice before clicking on a video. The second thing you notice is the title. But the thumbnails must be attractive in order to get more clicks on your videos, and this way you’ll also get more watch time.
Again, it is important not to clickbait because if you do, YouTube will notice and it’s not good. If you do clickbait, people will click on your video but as soon as they notice the clickbait, they will leave. This harms your average view duration, so have that in mind.
5. Create YouTube Playlists
Creating a YouTube playlist will help your audience to understand that one video is connected to another in some way. Maybe it’s because they use the same format or maybe it’s because they talk about the same topic, but having playlists on your channel is very significant. The thing with YouTube playlists is that when someone watches one video, then they will watch another, and after that another one. So that’s great news for your watch time!
Some big YouTubers make a series of compelling videos and divide them into parts, then create a playlist, and this way they make sure that their audience will see them. Others make a series of videos talking about a topic, for example, mysteries, and they make a playlist with all these videos that contain the same content.
6. Jump On Trends
People love trends and so does YouTube. Jumping on trends is a brilliant idea because when something is trending, people will go and watch it. Every time there’s a trend, you’ll see content everywhere. This is the perfect opportunity for you to talk about what’s trending and increase your views.
Conclusion
To sum up, showing up on the suggested videos on YouTube can totally happen if you start implementing these things. Making engaging content, increasing engagement with your audience, writing catchy and attractive titles and descriptions, using attractive thumbnails, creating YouTube playlists and jumping on trends should help you rank up better. It’s not something that happens from one day to another, it takes some time but, again, it can totally happen. We wish you the best of luck!
