Many viewers choose what to watch next from the suggested videos on their sidebars. These recommendations are decided by YouTube’s video ranking algorithm.

If you want to get your videos recommended by YouTube more often, follow the tips below.

Focus on increasing your watch time.

Every viewer’s suggested videos are different because they’re based on what the algorithm thinks they’re most likely to watch next. The algorithm is likely to pick videos it already knows other viewers are enjoying, which is why watch time is so important.

To increase your watch time, find the longest average video length your particular audience is willing to sit through. To find this number, look at your best-performing recent videos and compare their lengths.

Watch time isn’t just about getting your viewers’ interest. It’s more important that you keep their interest til the end.

Link your videos through playlists.

Playlists are one of the best tools you have as a content creator. Suggested videos mostly come from the same creator or similar videos. You can get ahead in both categories by categorizing your videos into playlists.

The ranking algorithm treats playlists the same way it treats videos. Therefore, creating more playlists gives you the opportunity to introduce new viewers to a lot more of your videos at once.

Start by making a playlist of all your videos. Then, divide them into separate categories or series. 

Use the right keywords.

SEO can help you do more than just get ahead in the search results. To help the algorithm find videos similar to yours, use the right keywords. They should be general but targeted, such as “makeup tutorial” as opposed to “beauty tutorial.”

Every video has several important places to add keywords. Your title is the most prominent, but you should also utilize your description, tags, and file upload name.

Create relatable, engaging content.

Overall, the algorithm wants to find videos the viewer will want to watch, so it needs videos the viewer can relate to. Target a specific demographic by focusing on a specific age range, location, etc.

The algorithm also needs videos the viewer can engage with. Encourage your viewers to not only like, comment, and subscribe, but to share your videos as well. You can also increase your viewer engagement by adding poll cards and annotations.

To get your videos recommended to more viewers, focus on increasing your watch time, using the right keywords, and reaching a specific demographic. Create video playlists for even better results.