YouTube Recommended Videos are a few videos that appear on the right side when you watch any video. If you watch YouTube from an app on your phone or tablet, then this content is located below the video. The platform’s algorithms select content for each user depending on the relevance, activity history and the duration of the videos that he most often watches.
Similar and recommended videos are divided into groups:
- content from the same author as the open video;
- videos on YouTube from competitors that are similar to the one you are watching (usually the names have similar words);
- videos selected by algorithms based on your interests (recommended content).
Usually traffic from related videos is over 50%. If you have a new channel, it will be nice to get into similar competitors with a large number of views. At the same time, no one can say what the principle of ranking is exactly. However, there are a few trends that seasoned bloggers highlight. We will talk about them below.
How to get featured on YouTube: 5 tips
To get similar videos on YouTube and get additional traffic, follow our tips.
Optimize your videos
You need to come up with a title for your video with a keyword by which the video will be promoted. At the same time, you should show originality and make an intriguing title so that viewers have a desire to click on the video.
Next, write a description with keywords and add tags. The minimum description length is 3 sentences. For the selection of keywords, the Yandex.Wordstat service is suitable. To be similar and to increase the activity of the channel, write the same phrases, you can repeat the name of the channel in the optimized videos.
In details: YouTube video SEO optimization
Create vibrant previews
You should create such pictures for videos, looking at which viewers will most likely want to watch the video. You need to provoke the viewer to emotion, but the preview must accurately convey the content of your video. It is important to show individuality and not copy the style of competitors.
More details: How to preview a video on YouTube
Shoot interesting videos
Content with high audience retention is more likely to develop. And if the videos are watched less than 35-40%, then you will get into the recommended only for small channels. You can view the video statistics in the Analytics column.
To do this, go to “Audience retention”, select the desired date and you will see the result. The larger the audience on the channel, the more chances you have to get into similar ones to their competitors, the algorithms will understand that your content is interesting to viewers and will give you a chance for development. You need to shoot a variety of videos, but they should all be united by a common theme. For example, if you have a children’s channel, then you can upload unpacking kinders, a review of toys, vlogs, songs to YouTube.
Related article: 40 ideas for interesting videos
Invite subscribers to action
It is imperative to urge viewers to like them, participate in polls (if any), ask questions that viewers can answer in the comments. Any activity on the channel will give an impetus for development. And even if there are dislikes, don’t be upset, this is also some kind of activity and YouTube will promote you.
On YouTube, there will always be viewers who will put the mark “Dislike”, this does not mean that your video is bad. Of course, they shouldn’t outweigh the positive marks. In this case, you should think about improving the content. If viewers are active on the channel, the viewing time will increase, and YouTube will begin to promote you through the recommended videos.
Shoot serial content
Videos with a thoughtful plot, consisting of several episodes, arouse increased interest among YouTube users. Thanks to such content, you will retain viewers, thereby increasing the chances of getting into similar ones. Due to the fact that the metadata will be similar, videos will appear not only in other people’s similar ones, but also in yours.
In addition, you can promote entire playlists with serial content, which will also be displayed on the right side of the screen. To get more views in a video, write its name and episode number. Also preview pictures in the same style. Each video should contain a short description of what the episode is about with the addition of keywords. If you have multiple series cycles, then create playlists.
The most important thing when creating a title and preview is to choose intriguing options that capture the essence of the video. If you decide to deceive viewers, they will close the page immediately when they open your video, which will reduce your chances of getting into similar competitors. Also, such an action can lead to blocking the channel for misleading viewers.
How to view traffic from related videos on a channel
If you have followed all the recommendations and want to check whether they worked or not, in “Youtube analytics»There is a report that shows the number of transitions through similar ones. To open it, you need to click on the “Traffic sources” button.
The screenshot shows that the views of videos for October 2018 through the recommended content were 70%, which means that the algorithms worked in your favor. If you hover over a number, then you can see the number of views from different types of traffic per day.
If you want to see which video the transitions were from, click on the button under the “Recommended Videos” graph. And there will be statistics for the selected period of time. If you hover over the video below the graph, you will see a preview of the picture, its name, channel, the date of the video’s release and the duration. To go to the video, click on the icon next to the two squares. By going to a competitor’s channel, you can see if you are there and what position you are in.
Conclusion
One of the important criteria for getting into similar ones is audience engagement and viewers’ interest in the content. Create high-quality videos, optimize them, select previews, and monitor channel statistics.