The YouTube algorithm, in YouTube’s own words
What YouTube says it ranks on, how Shorts are picked, how views are counted now, and what does not matter.
First brand read free. No filming.
On this page
The short answer
YouTube recommends videos to each viewer from signals it names itself: Clicks, watch time, survey responses, sharing, likes and dislikes. Watch time matters more than clicks, and “valued watch time” is measured by asking viewers in surveys. Shorts in the Shorts tab are ranked by how they perform and how relevant they are to that viewer, and YouTube says there is no minimum posting cadence for them to perform well.
Updated
Work with it
- 01
Earn the click honestly
A title and thumbnail that promise what the video delivers. A click that ends in a quick exit tells YouTube the video was not what the viewer wanted.
- 02
Hold the first seconds
For Shorts, Analytics shows “viewed vs. swiped away”: how often people kept watching instead of swiping. Put the point first.
- 03
Make it worth finishing
Watch time and survey answers reward videos people are glad they watched. Cut anything you would skip yourself.
- 04
Describe it plainly
Search matches your title and description to what people type. Hashtags link your video to others with the same hashtag.
- 05
Post on a schedule you can keep
There is no required cadence, so pick one you can sustain for months. A steady schedule beats a burst followed by silence.
What YouTube actually says
Watch time beats clicks
YouTube added watch time in 2011 after finding that clicking a video did not mean someone watched it. Its stated signals are clicks, watch time, survey responses, sharing, likes and dislikes.
Satisfaction is surveyed
YouTube asks viewers whether a video was worth their time and uses the answers to measure “valued watch time”, not only minutes.
Shorts are ranked per viewer
In the Shorts tab, by performance and relevance to that person. The Subscriptions tab shows the newest Shorts from channels they follow; search matches your title and description to the query.
No minimum cadence
“There is no minimum posting cadence required for your videos to perform well.” YouTube separately says a consistent schedule you can sustain builds audience expectations.
The sources
Every claim on this page is from YouTube’s own blog or Help Center, read on 7 October 2026. YouTube does not name click-through rate as a ranking signal in these pages, only clicks, so this guide does not either.
On YouTube’s recommendation system
Clicks, watch time, survey responses, sharing, likes and dislikes; “valued watchtime” measured with surveys.
Source: blog.youtube, read Invalid Date
- Says
- The signals, and why watch time was added
- Page
- YouTube Official Blog, Cristos Goodrow
- Date
- 15 September 2021
Shorts discovery
“There is no minimum posting cadence required for your videos to perform well.”
Source: support.google.com, read Invalid Date
- Says
- How the Shorts tab, Subscriptions and search pick Shorts
- Page
- YouTube Help
- Date
- Read 7 October 2026
How views are counted
Views count the moment a video starts to play across all formats, from 24 August 2026.
Source: support.google.com, read Invalid Date
- Says
- Views, engaged views and qualified views
- Page
- YouTube Help
- Date
- August 2026
Shorts analytics
“The percentage of times that viewers viewed your Shorts versus swiped away.”
Source: support.google.com, read Invalid Date
- Says
- Viewed vs. swiped away, shown in feed
- Page
- YouTube Help
- Date
- Read 7 October 2026
How views are counted now
Views
Since 24 August 2026, a view counts the moment a video starts to play, for Shorts, long videos and live streams alike. Shorts switched first, on 31 March 2025.
Engaged views
The old, stricter count: someone clicked to watch or watched past the first seconds. YouTube does not publish the exact number of seconds.
What pays
YouTube Partner Program earnings stay on engaged views and engaged watch hours; eligibility stays on qualified views. A higher view count alone does not raise earnings.
Read next
Your questions, answered
Short answers to what people ask next.
It recommends each viewer the videos they are most likely to watch and value, using clicks, watch time, survey responses, sharing, likes and dislikes. Watch time counts for more than the click alone.
YouTube says there is no minimum posting cadence for Shorts to perform well, and that a consistent schedule you can sustain builds audience expectations. Pick a pace you can keep for months.
Shorts are ranked by performance and relevance to each viewer in the Shorts tab. Analytics shows how often viewers watched instead of swiping away, which is the first thing to improve.
Yes. Shorts views have counted every start or replay since 31 March 2025, and since 24 August 2026 a view counts when any video starts to play. Earnings still use engaged views.
They link your video to others with the same hashtag and help search. Your title and description matter for search too, because YouTube matches them to the query.
Yes. Percify makes a short video for your brand every day and posts approved videos to YouTube and up to nine other platforms. Posting accounts come with Scale (3) and Ultra (10), or $5 a month each on any plan.