FYI - YouTube is updating the recommendation system to further prioritize original Shorts and reduce the reach of channels primarily aggregating or re-uploading other creators’ clips without significant changes
YouTube’s goal is to connect viewers with videos they find genuinely valuable and ensure creators publishing original content have the absolute best chance to grow and succeed
I took a bunch of the questions I see most often on Reddit about the YouTube algorithm and asked them to the person who runs that team at YouTube
Things like how the algorithm matches videos with viewers, whether it tests them first on subs, which metrics matter most, what’s being done to help new and small channels build a channel, how off-topic videos are treated, and more
You can find it on YouTube on the Creator Insider channel and if you have follow up questions, just let me know!
Fully custom thumbnails for YouTube Shorts are now rolling out for creators in the YouTube Partner Program. Creators can add a fully custom thumbnail to a new Short as part of the upload flow on desktop, or add a custom thumbnail to an existing Short via the Details tab in Studio desktop
if you don’t want to make a fully custom thumb, you can instead pick one of three suggested video frames as the thumbnail on desktop, or use the existing feature to pick any frame on mobile
A few things to keep in mind: While Shorts are 9x16, the sweet spot for Shorts thumbnails across devices and presentations closer to 5x4, so keep anything important away from the edges
There’s no A/B testing for Shorts thumbnails, and it’s desktop only for now
Most Shorts are watched in the Shorts feed where there are no thumbnails, but for creators who get more views from the home page or Shorts, or want a specific look on the channel pages (for example, for brand partners) this can help with click-through and perception
(Same advice applies as it does for long form video - the thumbnail makes a promise and the video has to deliver on that promise, otherwise any gains it may get on click-through will be lost on abandonment and video-to-video retention)
Shows just rolled out for all YPP creators. They give creators’ episodic videos - think series and seasons - a premium, prestige treatment in the YouTube interface
What makes for a good use of shows? Videos with clear story arcs or narratives that span multiple episodes with consistent topics or segments, characters or hosts, that are easy to follow and understand
Consistent thumbnails, titles, and descriptions, high quality visuals and sound, branding and graphical elements, mood, atmosphere, and pacing across episodes
So viewers know what to expect when they return to the show, hopefully again and again
If you’re in the YouTube Partner Program, you can now make a Show, including a Show with multiple seasons, by converting an existing playlist, or making a new Show from scratch (same way you make a regular or podcast playlist)
When you make a Show, it gets a Show Page playlist under your channel, and that Show page is eligible for inclusion in the Recommended Shows and Continue Watching shelves on the YouTube Home Page, and the continue watching treatment in Watch Next
It’s primarily intended and look especially great on TV
YouTube Shorts continue to evolve, thanks to viewer and creator feedback. They've gone from 1 to 3 minutes, to first frame views, and gotten all types of new creative tools and interactivity. Here’s what’s next:
Clear Screen mode lets you temporarily hide all icons and text on the player, creating a more intuitive, less distracting experience on Shorts.
YouTube is also replacing the thumbs up icon with the heart icon and also retiring the "dislike" button and keeping the "not interested" and "don't recommend this channel" buttons, since the functionality has come to overlap enough that it's caused confusion for viewers as to which does what and when, and ambiguity for YouTube’s recommendation system over when each is being used for what. This is intended to provide greater clarity and control over our feed.
2x speed with speed lock means we’ll now be able to take in a lot of information more quickly, or get to and rewatch favorite moments even faster
And, for those times when you simply can't have the volume on, you'll be able to tap the screen to pause, and tap the new mute button to silence
More information on the official YouTube blog and the Creator Insider YouTube channel