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Today we are going to talk about how YouTube determines which videos
it will rank as related videos here on YouTube
and how you guys can increase the likelihood of your videos being related videos to your content
and other people's content. That's coming up.
Hey guys, my name is Tim Schmoyer and it's
Thursday which means it's time for some YouTube Q&A
A question that I get asked here several times a week is "Tim, whenever I look at one of your videos
on YouTube it seems like all of the related videos are your videos - how did you do that?"
The way it works is that there's a relationship between
this video that you're watching right now and "this" video.
YouTube knows that people who watch this video are very likely to also watch "this" video
And the more that happens the more valuable "this" video becomes as a related video
because the more watch time is getting driven to that video and the more watch time
it has the higher up on the related videos list it goes beside this video.
That relationship between people who watch this video then go ahead and watch that video is really
the most important crucial factor in this whole related videos algorithm
Specifically on how much watch time those videos are gaining.
Now there's a lot of different data points and signals that go into which videos YouTube's going to show
and rank and how it's going to rank them and which order
But it really does boil down to watchtime and how many people click on this video
then go ahead and watch that video.
The other thing to remember is that when you first
upload your video YouTube doesn't have any information
so when it first populates the related videos
the main thing it's going to look at is your metadata
which includes your titles, your description text, and your tags.
It will use that information to populate the related videos at first and then as YouTube gets
more information and data and signals about what people are watching
after they're done watching your video
the related videos will likely change and it will switch
from being based on metadata to being based on watchtime.
So when you look at my videos and you say
"Tim, all the related videos are yours"
That's not just because of something I've done
it's also probably more likely because of something you guys have done and your viewing patterns
in that you typically watch one of my videos and then you go ahead and watch another one of my videos
As long as you're adding value to my content like that, YouTube will continue to rank my videos
as related videos to my videos.
But there are several things that you guys can do to increase the likelihood that your videos
will show up as related videos here on YouTube.
One of the first things - the easiest things to do - is make sure you're putting your videos into playlists
Specifically into "series playlists"
One of the advantages of this is that you'll see that the first video at the top of that Related Videos
column is the next video in that series from your playlist.
Also, be very intentional about not just sending people to the watch page of your video
but sending them into the playlist mode to watch that video.
We've already talked about that several times
There's two links in the description text below that will tell you
1) How to Setup Playlist Mode, and
2) How to Create a Series Playlist for your videos on YouTube.
So if you don't know what either of those 2 things are go check those out.
Basically what they let you do is auto-play your videos
When someone is finished watching one of your videos in that series playlist, it will
automatically start playing the next video.
Also, depending on what size they're viewing your video in, it'll show directly to the right side
of that video all of the other videos from that playlist
making it very easier for someone to watch one of your videos and automatically skip
to another one of your videos instead of them skipping to someone else's video
that's related to yours.
Remember, the more that happens, the more YouTube recognizes a relationship
between that video and your video - and the more watchtime you get on that video.
So it's kind of a plus-plus-plus all the way around.
Another thing is, though, don't just create playlists but actually promote them.
For example, this annotation right here links to a playlist of mine that will send you
into playlist mode to automatically start viewing my videos in that playlist.
Also, promote those playlists in the description text of your videos.
You'll notice that on my videos here at Video Creators I'm highlighting a couple playlists
in pretty much every video that I do.
One of the best opportunities you have to promote your other content and your playlist
is actually the very end of your video when you get to that
end card where you're promoting other content
That is a prime opportunity to increase the relationship between your video
and your other videos by sending viewers to those videos when they are finished with your video.
Personally, I highlight videos at the end that perform the best in converting
non-subscribed viewers into subscribers
But you can highlight any number of playlists and other videos that you want there.
Another little trick that I do with the metadata of my videos is that you might notice
that probably like the 2nd half or more of the description text across all my videos are the same
They don't really carry a whole lot of weight in the algorithm but they do
associate my videos together.
Also in the tags I use 3 of the same tags on every video:
One is my name, "Tim Schmoyer"
Two is "Video Creators"
and three is this url channel name "videocreators" - without a space.
That kind of stuff helps your videos appear as related videos to each other
when you first publish your video but then like I said
as YouTube collects more data and information about your video and
how people are interacting with it and the other related videos
that might change, based on which videos people are clicking through to
and how much watchtime those videos have and how much watchtime is being sent to them
and all that kind of stuff.
As you guys can probably assume there's a lot more that goes into the related videos
but this is at a high level basically how they work.
I'd love to hear from you guys in the comments below if you know of any other signals
or triggers that really help influence which videos show up as related.
The rest of you guys: there's a lot of really smart people in the Video Creators community
so make sure you go read the comments of what they're saying down there
And if this is your first time to hang out with us
I'd love to have you subscribe.
Every Thursday we do some YouTube Q&A with you guys just to help you out like we've just done.
On Tuesdays we take a look at some of the online video news updates from the past week
and talk about the implications it has for us as creators, specifically around what's changing
on the platform here of YouTube.
On Wednesdays I give you guys some YouTube tips, ideas, suggestions, advice
things to really help you guys out because
I really do believe that a lot of you guys have messages that can really change and
influence a lot of people's lives and I want to do what I can to help you guys
spread your message so that it does reach the people who need to hear what you have to say.
So thank you for letting me be a part of that with you guys.
Subscribe and I will see you guys again on Tuesday.
Bye.