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.
And YouTube knows that people who watch this video
are then very likely to go ahead and also watch this video.
And the more that happens, the more valuable this video
becomes as a related video, because the more watched time
is getting driven to that video.
And the more watched 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 in which order.
But it really does boil down to watch time
and how many people click on this video
then go ahead and watch that video.
But 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
and your description text and your tags.
And 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 and such,
the related videos will likely change.
And it'll switch from being based on metadata
to being based on watched time.
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.
And that you typically watch one of my videos
and then you go ahead and watch another one of my videos.
And 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.
And one of the first things, the easiest thing 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 send them
into the playlist mode to watch that video.
And we've already talked about that several times.
There's two links into the description text below
that'll tell you -- one, how to set up playlist mode and then
two, how to create a series playlist for your videos
on YouTube.
So if you don't know what either of those two things are,
go check those out.
But basically what they let you do is autoplay your videos.
When someone is finished watching one of your videos
in that series, playlist 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 the other videos from that playlist, making it
very easy 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.
And remember the more that happens,
the more YouTube recognizes the relationship
between that video and your video and the more watched time
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 of playlists
in pretty much every video that I do.
One of the best opportunities you
have to promote your other content in 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're 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 this-- probably the second 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.
And then also in the tags, I use three
of the same tags on every video.
One is my name, Tim Schmoyer.
Two is Video Creators, with a space.
And then three is this channel, URL channel,
named 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, YouTube collects more data
and information about you video on 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 watched time those videos have
and how much watched time 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 like-- at a high level--
basically how they work.
And 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 have 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.
And then on Wednesdays, I give you
guys some YouTube tips, ideas, suggestions advice,
just 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.