YouTube Shorts Algorithm Explained + Tips to Grow in 2024

YouTube Shorts have become one of the greatest features on the app to share content. And thanks to the success of TikTok, other networks have turned to short-form video content, even the well-established long-form video platform. As we know, algorithms are an essential part of each social network and how content is organized for each user’s timeline. 

Therefore, in this article, we are breaking down how the YouTube Shorts algorithm works, and what aspects you need to focus on to improve your content and rank higher in search results. 

Using an interview with YouTube Shorts’ product lead, Todd Shermann, and data for our own 2023 Social Networks Study, we can analyze this platform as large to see how the YouTube Shorts algorithm works in 2024.

What is the YouTube Shorts Algorithm? 

First of all, the YouTube Shorts algorithm is a formula in which the social network gathers information from each user, and then determines which content will appear first in each user’s feed.

Each social network has its algorithm. For example, Instagram uses a separate algorithm for each section: feed, Reels, and Stories. 

The YouTube Shorts algorithm functions independently of the regular YouTube algorithm, to tell the network which content to prioritize for this section.

And why is it important to know how this works?

If you understand how the algorithm works, you can improve your content to appear among the first search results thus increasing views, interactions, and ultimately new subscribers. 

How Does The YouTube Shorts Algorithm Work?

So, how does this algorithm work to rank content? The network uses a series of signals and “triggers” as they are called, which determine how content is organized on each user’s feed. These signals are based on different metrics based on a user’s interactions, watch history, searches, etc.

The top signals in which YouTube uses to rank its Shorts content are the following:

• Viewed vs. Swiped Away: When a video appears in a user’s feed, this metric breaks down how many users stopped to watch your video and those that kept scrolling. This is important as it can be a key indicator of which videos grab the users within the first few seconds.

• Watch time: In tangent with viewed vs. swiped away, viewing the total watch time is another important factor. The higher the watch time, the more engaged the audience is through the whole video, which is the ultimate goal of a brand or creator.

• Audience retention: This metric represents those viewers who stayed until the end of the video. Within YouTube Studio you can see a breakdown of the average view duration time, the average percentage viewed, and a chart that shows the audience retention percentage over time, so you can see which parts in your video you lost viewers.

• Watch history: This is another important factor that determines what content shows on a user’s feed. Based on what content they have interacted with, the algorithm chooses content they believe the user will enjoy. These predictions are a test to see if the user will engage with the videos or not.

• Upload frequency: Consistency is rewarded on social media platforms. This doesn’t necessarily mean that you need to post 10 YouTube Shorts a day, however, posting weekly is important to remain prominent in the algorithm.

• Topic relevancy: Lastly, topic relevance is a factor that will make your content more likely to appear in search results and user feeds. Posting content that contains trending keywords or topic ideas is a way to increase views and reach.

YouTube Shorts Algorithm Tips to Grow in 2024

In an interview with Todd Shermanm, the product lead for YouTube Shorts, hosted by Rene Ritchie on the Creator Insider channel, Shermann gives the answers to the most common questions about the YouTube Shorts algorithm.

Shermann points out an important different in Shorts compared to long-form videos, that being in long-form videos, many users are selecting which videos to watch whereas a Shorts feed is similar to TikTok in that we scroll through without choosing what appears in the feed. Therefore, the Shorts algorithm by nature is measured differently than the long-form algorithm.

In our 2023 Social Networks study, we also found that there needs to be a focus on content quality when it comes to increasing audience interactions and engagement. With this comes a need for SEO optimization and content research to maximize marketing efforts.

The biggest takeaways that we learned and tips that we can implement into our content are the following:

Think Audience, Not Algorithm 

The goal of YouTube Shorts is to cater to users’ behaviors and interests, the algorithm will favor what your audience wants to see. Of course, you can’t always predict this perfectly, but when it comes to content creation, putting yourself in the shoes of your ideal audience is important.

Since Shorts have a scroll-through nature, videos can accrue lots of impressions, however, there’s more under the surface that tells the algorithm if a video “threshold” is met. For example, how much time the user spent on the video, if they left any interactions, and viewed vs. swiped away.

Satisfaction > Watch Time 

Next in the interview, Richie asks Shermann how ‘satisfaction’ factors into the algorithm. When the YouTube Shorts team was developing the algorithm, they wanted to factor in behaviors like watch time. Still, they also understood that they needed user feedback to recommend content. 

Therefore, the network runs recommendation surveys to ask users a few questions about a video they just watched, which they then take into consideration for choosing content. 

Beaupré noted that although watch time is important, it doesn’t encompass a user’s whole experience. With this, he suggests that creators should think of the long-term value of their content in a way that it could be watched back six months from now, or encourage viewers to come back to your channel. 

New Creators Can Succeed 

We have talked a lot about audience satisfaction, but how do creators who are just getting started survive without an audience? YouTube was aware of this challenge and knew there needed to be a different approach.

This is where things like titles, descriptions, thumbnails, keywords, and tags, come in handy. When the network finds users they think might be interested, they run trials with different users to see who will interact with this content.

So, if you’re a creator or brand that is trying to build your audience, research to see what’s trending, which of your videos have had the most success, etc. You can use analytics tools like YouTube Studio and Metricool to understand how your strategy is working, and how you can improve it. 

Keeping Users Engaged

This is one of the biggest struggles creators and brands face: How do I keep my audience engaged? The average attention span is less than 10 seconds, so this means you need to attract your audience’s attention within about the first 15 seconds. 

The algorithm considers a few things when it comes to engagement such as the Viewed vs. Swiped Away rate, which is the balance of how many users watch your Short versus Swiping Away. 

Of course, you’re aiming for a higher engagement rate, indicating more users interact with your content. 

You can view metrics such as watch time, videos growing your audience when your audience is on YouTube, and returning users to see what content your audience better engages in.

Conclusions

As we can see, the algorithm is based on numerous different signals to determine which content will be featured and prioritized in front of viewers. It’s important to understand these signals so you can include them in your content strategy. 

However, as we can also see, the network favors content that users are interested in. So whereas this formula is robotic, it favors humanity. 

This encourages creators to experiment, post content that can communicate with multiple audiences over a long period, and create authentic content. 

For more help on perfecting your YouTube marketing strategy, here’s a guide below. 

Anniston Ward , 13 February 2024